Colleen Hoover single-handedly inspired me to get out of my reading slump over a year ago when I read It Ends With Us. I had no idea what it was about, but like the majority of people, I was pleasantly surprised and found it emotional and inspiring. Too Late started out as a writing project for Colleen Hoover and when I saw it was being published after a few editing changes, I went and bought a copy.
Too Late is a romantic thriller and definitely one of Colleen Hoover’s darker stories. Despite this, there is still a strong love story throughout which I was grateful for. I went into it fully prepared that it would be a difficult read and in a way it was. Too Late follows an undercover police officer who infiltrates a drug house in order to take down the guy running a drug operation. Simultaneously, we follow Sloan who is in a relationship with the main drug dealer. This dual POV gives us a clear insight into how both characters gravitate towards each other despite the dangers that surround them.
The trigger warning at the start of the book caused a great deal of alarm to me. That and the title being Too Late. It seemed obvious to me that we (the reader) would fall in love with these characters and they would probably die. Despite this concern, I pushed through.
There are some very heavy scenes but they depict very well how dangerous situations involving drugs can be. One of the more profound moments was when we learn about the reason why Sloane is there and how she ended up being with this terrible guy. From the police officers perspective, it’s understandable that he would form a negative opinion about her. Most of us do, right? We all have choices and when we see people making bad ones, we often put that down to them being bad people. It’s great when you read something that makes you reflect on your own thought processes through the eyes of a main character.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot that can be talked about regarding this book without giving away too many spoilers. If you are a fan of Colleen Hoover’s other books then I strongly believe you will enjoy this one too (even if it is a bit heavier). The end is worthwhile sticking around for and again, it has a positive message at the end. There are also plenty of twists and turns that make it a real page turner. There’s a point about fifty pages or so from the end when it already felt like the end, and there was still another twist!
I believe that Colleen Hoover wrote this as a writing project originally and had readers commenting on her chapters, giving feedback and suggesting where things should go. A similar thing happened with Anna Todd with After (originally on Wattpad). It’s a testament to why we need readers and feedback from people to improve our writing and storylines. They can see the story going in ways that we as the author might miss.
My Rating - 7/10