A review by bribreez
Too Late by Colleen Hoover

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

*Check Trigger Warnings before reading 

4.5⭐️

Not every love is kind. Some love is manipulative, some is volatile just like the kind of love Asa Jackson had for Sloan. Sloan once thought she had met a nice guy, but those sweet early days she once shared with Asa were long gone especially when she knew exactly the type of guy he was, a drug trafficker. When agent Carter stepped into the picture of trying to take down Asa and his drug operation, he found himself in the middle of a more complicated situation than he realized when it came to Sloan. This was a completely different type of story that Colleen Hoover wrote from her usual romance stories. This was a story of how a young woman was caught in the middle of a toxic, dark, and dangerous situation, all in the name to protect her younger brother, and how an agent set out on a mission changed his direction. 

Been a while since I’ve read a book by, Colleen Hoover, but the plot alone really piqued my interest. Compared to Colleen’s other books, this was different from her usual books, but I gotta say, I was interested by the dark and dangerous tone to this story. Sloan was caught in a situation that she went along with in order to get help for her younger brother from her drug trafficker boyfriend, Asa. Asa wasn’t the nicest person around from dealing drugs, having a drug ring that was taking over, he was by far the biggest red flag imaginable. Sloan was fully aware of what Asa did, but to her if it meant getting the funds needed for her brother’s wellbeing, she’d do whatever was necessary, even if it meant staying with the devil. 

While I got to see inside both Sloan and Carter’s mind in what they were dealing with, getting to learn more about Asa made me fear him even more. Asa wasn’t just a drug trafficker, he was cruel, obsessive, manipulative, and a whole can of crazy. When it came to Sloan, Asa loved her, but in a creepy, scary, dangerous type of way. Seeing just how obsessive Asa’s thoughts were about Sloan and the way he thought made me realize that he wasn’t right in the head. Plus, with the amount of drugs he used and what not, like I said, he was a big old red flag! When it came down to it, Asa was set in his ways, he enjoyed running his “business”, but also became more paranoid and controlling in wanting to have Sloan all to himself forever by any means necessary.

This was by no means a cute, fluffy story! If you want a dark, messed up, angsty story then this is that book. Poor Sloan, I really felt bad for her with all she dealt with from Asa’s behavior to just trying to survive. Most people would think, “why doesn’t Sloan just leave Asa?” and to answer that, it wasn’t all that easy. Sloan had to think about her brother, who needed money in order to stay at the facility to care for him. Sloan wasn’t ranking in lots of money, and when Asa offered to pay for her brother she went along with it. I could see that Sloan missed the past Asa she once knew, and as long as she had Asa’s protection and help, she went along playing pretend to be still in love with him. I think at some points, Sloan may have still held that love she once had for Asa, but between the drug dealing and increasing dangerous situations she found herself in, it definitely wasn’t the same anymore. 

In the midst of all that was happening in Sloan’s life, she also found herself falling for Carter. Truth be told, Carter wasn’t just pretending to be a college student, he was actually a DEA agent, and tasked with bringing down Asa and his operations. Again not a heartfelt love story, but seeing how protective and kind Carter was with Sloan made her feel desired and actually treated with respect as opposed to the way Asa treated her. For the first time in a long time, Sloan felt genuine affection towards someone, a person that cared for her deeply, and understood her. I felt sympathetic for Sloan in that even with trying to maintain the facade that she was happily in love with Asa, any little moment she could steal with Carter had the potential to cause more harm for both of them. Regardless, those stolen moments were the highlight of Sloan’s day, and Carter’s objective switched to ensuring Sloan’s safety at all costs. 

This was a story filled with heavy topics, darkness, and a whole lot of me feeling anxious about Sloan and Carter’s fates when up against Asa. I initially thought this story was going to be different, but it was still good the way the plot changed and left me on the edge of my seat. An addictive story that made me want to continue reading even as I fought to stay awake. Sloan was a survivor, and my goodness my heart went out to her for all that she endured at the hands of Asa. (Sigh) if anything I was just happy to see that Sloan found happiness and love with Carter (Luke) in the end. While this story constantly had ups and downs from Sloan trying to get away from Asa, to Carter trying to protect Sloan, in the end both of them had a good ending especially with the epilogue showing them moving forward and making peace with everything. Asa was an evil person, and despite sometimes not having the best ideas, his way of thinking disturbed me, and creeped me out. Please be sure to check the trigger warnings for this book, it deals with a lot of heavy topics, and it isn’t for the faint of heart. If you’re ok with the subject matter, I think you’ll enjoy this story, as it was written in a way that makes you want to keep reading on. 
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