It’s a personal taste thing so there is really no right or wrong answer, as long as you do what makes you happy

I would however argue against your first point, while a physical book can break it should definitely last well over a lifetime if properly cared for, it’s yours and you will still own it no matter what. Depending on how it is sold most digital content isn’t yours the same way, for example how many of your books could you still read if you decided to boycott all off amazons services?

I’ve read 4, so I think I’m allowed to have an opinion. Writing is overall pretty bad, very cliche and if you enjoy fancy prose this is not it. They are very quick and easy to read tho.

It ends with us is imo her worst book, verity had a lot of abelist aspects which makes me too uncomfortable to properly recommend it (tho I did enjoy it before that part solely based on how absurd the romance is). Her latest book reminders of him was ok but nothing special, if you’re gonna read one I would probably suggest this one

Overall I would probably recommend just reading other better books with similar themes unless you want to read colleen hoover for the sake of it. Which if so go for it I guess

Don’t forget her husband is also extremely rich. Just because

There are so many things to criticize that book for, but when lily got out of the relationship is so not it

If you want to make fun of something just point to the name lily blossom bloom and her flowershop

I enjoyed the book until the part about >!verity believing her autistic daughter is evil and murdering her!< it felt in very poor taste to me and was not handled in a way that could have justified the plot point

I am leaning team manuscript since I think the letter feels rather contrived and unbelievable. I don’t think the manuscript version makes jeremy (or lowen) a better person so it’s not like it changes much in that way

Yup. It feels awful to say because the book really badly want to be serious and “say” important stuff or whatever. But everything is so over the top and unrealistic that it was hard to take it seriously. Lily Blossom Bloom and her flowershop for people who don’t like flowers should be considered a crime. Not to mention the rich best friend who wants to work anyway and those are the best workers

The only characters that I found interesting was Atlas, Ryle and Lily’s mom. I also don’t think the family dynamic with Ryle and the sister’s parents made any sense at all or was explained in any way that connected to the backstory we got later.

The scene where she asks for a divorce in the end was pretty emotional tho, I will give Colleen that. It messed me up for a couple hours

I’m not sure I think there is that much of a difference. Everything fictional is made by a person living in the real world, so there is always going to be a connection. You can’t just view it in a vacuum

How many fantasy books (and sci-fi but I read less of those) have not touched upon subjects like corrupt religious institutions, how to be a good leader, the nature of humanity, loss, love, the consequences of war and more. Sure if you look at everything on the surface it might seem like fancy swords and pretend people. But any well written book will usually have lessons or views relating to the real world. A bad one might not, but neither will all non-fiction books (Take celebrity biographies made only to make money for example)

Like any book you just have to engage with it and think. I don’t understand why something would have to be an exact replica of our world for it to matter. The important part is you and your reading of the text, what you take away from it.

Allegory being less direct is also the entire point of allegory (avoiding censorship, being allowed to express thoughts you wouldn’t otherwise etc.). Fiction allows a distance to our own world that I think is very beneficial at times. A way to force people to engage with ideas they otherwise would have scoffed at. It’s more digestible and easily approached than stating things outright

Non-fiction is important, yes. Many people could stand to read more and it’s important to have knowledge about our real world in order to live in it. But it doesn’t mean fiction doesn’t have a purpose

Edit: sry it got long

Also obviously you shouldn’t apply things one to one, but engaging with ideas in abstract ways is not unnecessary or not beneficial. And you can do it with anything, I’ve seen amazing societal analysis’s based on the sims with in depth discussion on what parts of our irl society that the game reflects (and not)

Reading comprehension for one. But just because something is fictional doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be had. Most books, even bad ones will make you think about. Politics and philosophy are not missing just because the world is fictional, it can even allow you to explore it in ways that you can’t if you are tied to reality. Putting yourself through someone else’s head can have a positive development on empathy. And this is without even mentioning imagination itself and having fun, which would be perfectly valid reasons on its own

Also, a lot of fantasy and sci-fi uses allegory as a way to criticize aspects of society without being obvious.