November 9: A Novel

A gripping tale of love, secrets, and betrayal perfect “for fans of Gillian Flynn” (Library Journal, starred review) from the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reminders of Him and It Ends with Us.

When Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, their connection defies logic, sparking an instant bond that seems almost too perfect. But perfection often hides cracks, and as their unconventional arrangement unfolds, the pair agrees to meet only once a year on November 9th—with no contact in between. What begins as an intriguing exploration of love and trust quickly turns into something stronger with more twists than either of them imagined.

Beneath their romance lies a tense undercurrent and Fallon begins to question Ben’s true intentions. With each passing November, the web of truth and lies grows tighter, and what started as a love story teeters on the edge of obsession.

Pulsing with intense chemistry and heart-stopping revelations this riveting novel dares to ask: Can love survive when the truth is the ultimate plot twist?

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]

"Hoover joins the ranks of such luminaries as Jennifer Weiner and Jojo Moyes, with a dash of Gillian Flynn. Sure to please a plethora of readers." ― Library Journal, Starred Review

"November 9 is yet another breathtaking novel by Colleen Hoover that's full of blushing, gushing, and heartache. I loved every page and breathed in every beautiful word." -- Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the After series

"If you haven't read November 9 yet, then, apologies to your busy schedule, but you're going to have to put everything down and spend the next day devouring it." ― RT Book Reviews, Seal of Excellence Winner

"Colleen Hoover’s one-of-a-kind style of storytelling shines with November 9... I dare you not to fall in love with Ben and Fallon." ― Vilma's Book Blog

November 9 by Colleen Hoover is a romantic novel about fate, timing, and the way two people can change each other’s lives through a series of encounters that begin almost like a game. The story follows Fallon and Ben, who meet on November 9 and immediately form a strong connection. Fallon is a young woman carrying emotional and physical scars from a traumatic fire that left her badly burned and deeply insecure. She is preparing to move across the country to start over, and on the day they meet, she is also struggling with her relationship with her father, her self-image, and the life she believes she has lost. Ben, who is charming, observant, and aspiring to be a writer, enters her life at exactly the right moment, and their meeting feels intense and unusual, as if it is meant to matter.

Fallon and Ben spend one unforgettable day together before she leaves, and their connection is immediate. They talk for hours, share personal stories, and feel a rare ease with each other. Because Fallon is leaving and both of them believe in the importance of timing, they agree to a simple but unusual arrangement: they will meet on the same date, November 9, every year for the next five years, and they will not communicate in between. Their idea is that each year they will reunite, see how their lives have changed, and decide whether their bond is strong enough to become something more permanent. This setup gives the novel its structure and creates a built-in sense of longing, anticipation, and uncertainty. The relationship grows through these yearly meetings, but it also develops in a strange emotional space where much is known and much remains hidden.

Over the years, Fallon and Ben continue their November 9 tradition. Each meeting reveals how they have changed, what they have experienced, and how much they have come to matter to one another. Ben becomes an important emotional presence in Fallon’s life, even though he is absent for long stretches. Their time together is full of chemistry, tenderness, and honest conversation, and their yearly reunions create the feeling of a love story shaped by patience and destiny. At the same time, the novel keeps reminding the reader that not everything is as simple as it appears. Ben is not fully transparent, and Fallon’s trust in him becomes one of the emotional centers of the book. The relationship between them is romantic, but it is also built on restraint, mystery, and the fear that timing alone may not be enough to sustain love.

Fallon’s personal journey is one of the most important parts of the novel. She begins as someone deeply affected by trauma and self-doubt. Her scars are not only physical but emotional; they have shaped how she sees herself and how she believes others see her. In the beginning, she feels broken and unwanted, and she struggles to believe she can be loved fully. Through her relationship with Ben and through her own experiences over time, she slowly begins to confront those feelings. The novel explores how trauma can distort identity and how healing often requires both time and honest connection. Fallon’s development is not linear or easy. She learns, falls back, questions herself, and gradually becomes more aware of what she deserves from others and from her own life.

Ben, meanwhile, is presented as the kind of man who seems to understand Fallon in ways that others do not. He notices her, encourages her, and gives her a sense of emotional safety. He also has his own ambitions, especially his desire to become a writer, and his creative life becomes an important part of the story. Yet his character is also tied to secrets, and Colleen Hoover uses that secrecy to complicate the romance. As the novel moves forward, the reader gradually learns that Ben’s role in Fallon’s life is more complicated than it initially seems. This shift changes the emotional meaning of their meetings and forces Fallon, and the reader, to reconsider everything that has come before. What seemed like a straightforward love story becomes a story about honesty, control, and the consequences of hidden truths.

A major theme in “November 9” is the idea that timing can make or break a relationship, but timing is not the whole story. Fallon and Ben’s annual meetings suggest that love can survive distance and delay, but the novel also shows that love requires truth, trust, and mutual respect. The book asks whether a relationship can truly be built on a carefully arranged pattern if one person is not fully honest. It also explores whether people can ever really know each other if the most important parts of their lives are withheld. In this way, the novel is not only a romance but also a story about the limits of idealized love. It shows how easy it is to fall in love with someone’s attention, words, and presence, and how painful it is when the reality beneath those things begins to emerge.

The emotional intensity of the book comes partly from the way Hoover balances hope and disappointment. Every November 9 meeting feels meaningful because so much time has passed between them, and each reunion carries the possibility of either deepening the relationship or breaking it apart. That structure gives the novel a sense of suspense that is not just about what will happen next, but about whether love can survive the truth. As the years go by, Fallon and Ben become more deeply tied to each other, but the secrets surrounding them create tension that cannot be ignored. The reader is pulled between wanting the relationship to succeed and wanting Fallon to protect herself from being hurt.

By the time the truth is fully revealed, the story has shifted from a dreamy romance into something more painful and complicated. Fallon is forced to see that love without honesty cannot be trusted, no matter how powerful the feelings are. The novel’s final emotional movement is about reclaiming agency, recognizing manipulation, and deciding what kind of love is worth accepting. Fallon’s growth matters just as much as the romance itself, because her real journey is toward self-worth and clarity. She must learn that being chosen is not enough if the choice is built on deception.

November 9 ends as a story about heartbreak, healing, and the difficult beauty of learning to value oneself. It captures the excitement of first love, the hope that one person can understand and save another, and the painful lesson that love must be honest to be real. Through Fallon’s scars, Ben’s secrets, and their annual meetings, Colleen Hoover creates a novel that is emotional, twisty, and deeply focused on how people carry the past into the present. It is a story about connection, but also about truth, and the moment when a person realizes that surviving love means more than just holding on to it—it means facing it honestly, even when that changes everything.