Reminders of Him: A Novel

Now a major motion picture starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers. A New York Times bestseller.

A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.

After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.

The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.

The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of multiple novels and novellas. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. She is the founder of The Bookworm Box, a non-profit book subscription service and bookstore in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

For more information and for a schedule of events, please visit colleenhoover.com.

To contact Colleen and her team (Her team's name is Stephanie), please email [email protected]

“Emotion-packed and beautifully woven together.” ―New York Post

“Hoover delves deep into grief and guilt to create a multifaceted redemption story for a cast of characters who fight as fiercely as they love. Fans won’t be disappointed.” ―Publishers Weekly

“With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“An angsty, emotionally-charged novel about finding forgiveness and redemption for past mistakes, Reminders of Him took Colleen Hoover’s already evocative writing to a whole new level…An intimate, sometimes painfully real, reading experience like no other.” ―Harlequin Junkie, Top Pick

“Colleen Hoover’s new romance will rip you apart and put you back together again…An emotional masterpiece about loss and hope, grief and forgiveness, and how the power of love can heal.” ―POPSUGAR

“Heartbreaking yet hopeful.” ―The Nerd Daily

Colleen Hoover’s deeply emotional novel, "Reminders of Him," is a heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful story about grief, redemption, and the extraordinary power of forgiveness. The narrative centers on Kenna Rowan, a twenty-six-year-old woman who has just been released from prison after serving five years for involuntary manslaughter. Her conviction stems from a tragic, catastrophic mistake: a drunk driving accident that resulted in the death of her boyfriend, Scotty. At the time of the accident, Kenna was pregnant. She gave birth to their daughter, Diem, while incarcerated, and the baby was immediately taken away and placed in the custody of Scotty’s devastated parents, Grace and Patrick. Now completely free but entirely broken, Kenna returns to the small town where her life fell apart. She arrives with almost no money, no support system, and the heavy burden of being universally despised by the townspeople. Her only motivation for returning to this hostile environment is the desperate, fragile hope that she might somehow catch a glimpse of the daughter she has never been allowed to meet.

Desperate for a moment of normalcy and a brief escape from her crushing loneliness, Kenna wanders into a local bar and crosses paths with Ledger Ward, the ruggedly handsome bartender and owner. There is an immediate, undeniable spark between them, leading to a brief, emotionally charged connection. However, this tentative bond is violently shattered the next day when they realize each other's true identities. Ledger is not just a local business owner; he was Scotty’s lifelong best friend. In the wake of Scotty's death, Ledger became a surrogate uncle and a fiercely protective father figure to little Diem, essentially becoming a permanent fixture in Grace and Patrick's household. When Ledger realizes that the quiet, sad woman he just felt an intense attraction to is the very woman responsible for his best friend's death, he is filled with a volatile mix of rage, confusion, and a desperate need to protect Diem and Scotty’s parents from Kenna's return.

Kenna's life in the town quickly proves to be incredibly bleak. She secures a low-paying job at a local grocery store, lives in a dismal, rundown apartment, and tries to keep her head down, absorbing the harsh judgments of a community that refuses to forget her past. Ledger, meanwhile, finds himself intensely torn. His fierce loyalty to Scotty and his protective love for Grace, Patrick, and Diem demand that he chase Kenna out of town. He initially threatens her, warning her in no uncertain terms to stay away from the family. Yet, as he secretly observes her from afar, he struggles to reconcile the heartless monster he imagined for the past five years with the quiet, broken, and profoundly sad woman he sees before him. Kenna doesn't act like a callous killer; she acts like a grieving mother and a woman who has lost absolutely everything. Against his better judgment, Ledger begins to check on her, slowly intertwining their lives as he realizes she is completely alone and struggling to survive.

The turning point of the narrative lies in Kenna’s most deeply guarded secret: a collection of letters she has been writing to Scotty since the day he died. Every day in prison, and every day since her release, Kenna writes to Scotty in a journal, pouring out her agonizing guilt, her undying love for him, and her desperate, hollow longing for their daughter. When Ledger eventually discovers and reads these letters, his entire perspective is violently upended. Through her raw and unfiltered words, Ledger finally learns the truth about the night of the accident. Kenna hadn't callously abandoned Scotty to save herself, as the prosecution and the town had been led to believe. She had suffered a severe head injury in the crash and, in a state of deep shock and concussion, wandered away into the dark to find help before passing out in a ditch. The letters reveal a woman who has punished herself every single day for her mistake and who loved Scotty just as fiercely as Ledger did.

Armed with this heartbreaking truth, Ledger’s animosity completely dissolves, making way for a deep, profound love for Kenna. They begin a secret romantic relationship, providing Kenna with the first moments of genuine warmth, safety, and acceptance she has felt in years. However, their relationship creates an agonizing dilemma for Ledger. He knows that introducing Kenna to Diem is the right thing to do for both mother and daughter, but he is also terrified of the devastating impact this revelation will have on Grace and Patrick. Scotty’s parents have survived their unimaginable, suffocating grief by clinging to Diem and their absolute hatred of Kenna. Ledger knows that forcing Kenna into their lives could fracture the only family he has left, yet hiding Kenna away is a profound betrayal of the woman he now loves.

The emotional tension boils over when Ledger realizes that hiding the truth is no longer a sustainable option. He takes a massive, terrifying risk by giving Kenna's letters directly to Grace. It is a painstakingly emotional gamble, hoping that the raw, devastating honesty of a grieving mother might somehow reach the heart of another grieving mother. Grace reads the letters, an excruciating process that forces her to confront the agonizing reality of the accident from Kenna's perspective. For the first time, Grace sees Kenna not as a villain who stole her son, but as a traumatized young girl who made a terrible, irreversible mistake and has paid an unfathomable price. The letters bridge a seemingly impossible gap of grief and resentment. In a deeply moving and tearful confrontation, Grace and Patrick choose the incredibly difficult, courageous path of empathy over continued bitterness.

The novel concludes on an incredibly emotional and healing note. Grace and Patrick make the monumental decision to allow Kenna to meet Diem for the very first time. The reunion between mother and daughter is a tender, overwhelmingly beautiful moment that signifies the end of Kenna’s long, solitary punishment. Ledger and Kenna’s relationship is finally brought into the light, supported rather than shunned by Scotty's parents. Rather than fracturing the family, Kenna's inclusion expands it, allowing them all to heal together around the little girl they all love. Kenna is finally able to step out of the suffocating shadow of her tragic past, reclaiming her identity not as a convict, but as a loving mother and a deserving partner, proving that even the most shattered lives can be rebuilt through the immense power of truth and forgiveness.