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A review by racheln23
Too Late by Colleen Hoover
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I was in a book slump FOR MONTHS - then I started this book. I could have read it in one day (which is very abnormal for me, as much as I love to read), but I ended up starting it pretty late one night. So it was a two-calendar day read.
I was a little worried before reading because Hoover included a content warning. The book is very dark and goes to dark places. I am glad to see she doesn’t want teens reading it…
I kind of reminds me of Breaking Bad regarding the craziness that the drug life is for people. Disturbing.
I love the trope - girl is forced to be with a bad guy. Girl falls in love with bad guy’s worker (who happens to actually be a good guy undercover, much to the relief of everyone), then there’s lots of tension because she can’t escape her reality.
Asa is a drug dealer and Carter is on the inside to try to bust him. He gets on the inside because he can speak Spanish pretty well and is going to serve as the interpreter. Sloan is Asa’s domestically abused and trapped girlfriend. She doesn’t want to be with Asa, but she has no escape and is dependent on him to help her family. Carter falls for Sloan in Spanish class before either of them realize how they will be part of the same story.
So that’s it. That’s the tension. In spite of the darkness of the book, I loved it so much because the incredible sympathy I have for Sloan is something only women can understand. There are shades of Asa out there, and every woman has dealt with some aspect of disturbed and toxic men like him. And then we have Carter being a REAL man, who actually values women in stark contrast. He’s a hero, not because he’s rescuing a helpless damsel in distress, because we see that Sloan is a strong survivor, and Carter treats her with respect.
One weird thing about the book that just made me chuckle was the fact that you don’t really see ANY hustling done by Asa. Nothing. Carter is supposed to work for him but we literally never see any work done. So I was wondering in the back of my mind, “why is he with Asa so much?” Like, for real. But, it would have just been an annoying distraction if we had taken a side trip to a warehouse to see some job component. But along those lines, we see that Carter and Dalton are investigating, and I really just wanted to know what was their goal? What kind of dirt did they need that they didn’t have? Was it because we never went to a warehouse? Lol. Lastly, tiny complaint, Asa is a student and he’s so smart and gets great grades but later we see that he literally never goes to class. I think during editing, Hoover just should have made him a college dropout because he was focusing on his drug empire.
Lastly, I absolutely loved the conversation had about abortion. So thought provoking and deep with real emotions.
I was a little worried before reading because Hoover included a content warning. The book is very dark and goes to dark places. I am glad to see she doesn’t want teens reading it…
I kind of reminds me of Breaking Bad regarding the craziness that the drug life is for people. Disturbing.
I love the trope - girl is forced to be with a bad guy. Girl falls in love with bad guy’s worker (who happens to actually be a good guy undercover, much to the relief of everyone), then there’s lots of tension because she can’t escape her reality.
Asa is a drug dealer and Carter is on the inside to try to bust him. He gets on the inside because he can speak Spanish pretty well and is going to serve as the interpreter. Sloan is Asa’s domestically abused and trapped girlfriend. She doesn’t want to be with Asa, but she has no escape and is dependent on him to help her family. Carter falls for Sloan in Spanish class before either of them realize how they will be part of the same story.
So that’s it. That’s the tension. In spite of the darkness of the book, I loved it so much because the incredible sympathy I have for Sloan is something only women can understand. There are shades of Asa out there, and every woman has dealt with some aspect of disturbed and toxic men like him. And then we have Carter being a REAL man, who actually values women in stark contrast. He’s a hero, not because he’s rescuing a helpless damsel in distress, because we see that Sloan is a strong survivor, and Carter treats her with respect.
One weird thing about the book that just made me chuckle was the fact that you don’t really see ANY hustling done by Asa. Nothing. Carter is supposed to work for him but we literally never see any work done. So I was wondering in the back of my mind, “why is he with Asa so much?” Like, for real. But, it would have just been an annoying distraction if we had taken a side trip to a warehouse to see some job component. But along those lines, we see that Carter and Dalton are investigating, and I really just wanted to know what was their goal? What kind of dirt did they need that they didn’t have? Was it because we never went to a warehouse? Lol. Lastly, tiny complaint, Asa is a student and he’s so smart and gets great grades but later we see that he literally never goes to class. I think during editing, Hoover just should have made him a college dropout because he was focusing on his drug empire.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Abortion