As far as authors go, Colleen Hoover may just be the textbook definition of a household name. The bestselling Texas author has 26 books under her belt — and seems to be showing no signs of slowing down. Her fans don’t seem to be losing steam in their voracious consumption of her books, either. In fact, Hoover reportedly outsold the Bible in 2022.
Whether you’re familiar with Hoover’s work or not, let’s just say that flipping through the pages of her most popular books will reveal that they are … less than holy. CoHo (as she is often called by her fans and foes alike) is beloved primarily by fans of the smutty romance genre, sparing no details in the steamy scenes she cooks up in her novels.
“This book is filled with steam. Steam upon steam upon steam. Steamy steam. Descriptions of steamy steam,” reports a GoodReads user in their review of Hoover’s “Verity.” “Some people desperately need Jesus and Colleen Hoover is one of them,” quipped another.
Clearly our friend Colleen knows how to write a sex scene — or two, or three, or 20 but that doesn’t explain why, exactly, her books are selling off the shelves. There are plenty of authors that fill the niche of literary “porn with plot.” So how come Hoover has sold over 20 million copies of her books? And why is she simultaneously being criticized for them?
The past few years have witnessed a sort of “reading renaissance” among younger people, likely due in large part to the rising popularity of internet phenomena like “BookTok,” the side of TikTok where readers share book reviews and recommendations. The BookTok hashtag has generated a whopping 180 billion views (and counting), and #smuttok has its own 5.2 billion views, and counting. Needless to say, there’s money to be made in the steamy romance genre, and Hoover is taking advantage of this demand.
But her readers say it goes further than that. Hoover’s books are cited for their ability to simultaneously break readers’ hearts and boost their serotonin. Hoover’s novels feature complicated, sometimes twisted relationships that readers report to be page-turning. And we can’t ignore the appeal of the abundant explicit sex scenes throughout her bibliography. This unabashed expression of sexuality is attractive to many readers. Romance novels have long served as healthy outlets for (mainly female) sexuality, and Hoover’s work is the perfect example.
Readers also seem to agree, almost unanimously, that one of the most appealing aspects of Hoover’s novels is how accessible they are. Though their plots can be emotional rollercoasters, these books are widely considered to be easy reads. The range of audience they attract is vast — from seasoned literature lovers to beginner beach-readers. Given this, it’s not hard to understand the appeal of Hoover’s works. So why are they under fire?
There’s a number of reasons why Hoover is as criticized as she is praised. Most of them point to the problematic content in her books and the harmful messages they send. Truth be told, the relationships Hoover writes about aren’t just complicated. Many of them are unhealthy, toxic, and even abusive. Writing about these kinds of relationships isn’t necessarily a problem in and of itself — many writers do so as a means of bringing awareness to the issue. The problem is that Hoover’s books are marketed as romance novels. This gives readers a false impression of what is considered acceptable in a romantic relationship. What’s especially problematic in Hoover’s case is how young much of her fanbase is. Impressionable young women, many of whom have little to no real-life romantic experience, are being exposed to harmful behaviors in these books without understanding Hoover’s idea of “romance” should serve as an example of what not to do.
The largest criticism of the content in Hoover’s books is that it romanticizes abuse. While multiple of her novels depict less-than-healthy dynamics, Hoover’s novel “November 9” is the biggest culprit. Original editions of this novel include a scene in which the love interest continues to sexually touch the main character, despite her repeatedly asking him to stop. There’s no grey area here; this is sexual assault. Hoover has since apologized for this scene and promised that it would not be featured in newer editions of the book, but she has hardly made any movements to scrap all of the scenes from her books in which the love interest acts in a way that is toxic, manipulative and possessive.
Also featured in “November 9” was a scene in which the love interest considers using physical force against the main character, saying, “I’ve never wanted to use physical force on a girl before, but I want to push her to the ground and hold her there until the cab drives away.” And yet this book is still marketed as a romance novel. Charming, right?
Content aside, Hoover is also criticized for her writing’s quality (or lack thereof).
“… Such a crap, cliche book. It reads like a YA book but is clearly written for adults and the writing is just so basic …” griped a StoryGraph user about Hoover’s “It Ends With Us.”
Hoover’s writing style is often accused of being juvenile at best, with many critics even likening it to bad Wattpad fanfiction.
“Was Colleen Hoover blackmailed into putting her name on a book written by a hormonal teenager? Because I can’t comprehend any other explanation for the hot mess that was this book,” reads a one-star Goodreads review of “Ugly Love.”
Whether or not Colleen Hoover is a “good” writer is ultimately a matter of opinion. But with much of her content being so blatantly problematic and harmful, it’s tough to defend her as an author. At the end of the day, it’s up to the individual to decide both what kind of media they want to consume and what kind of authors they want to support. One reader’s purchase of a Colleen Hoover book is just a drop in the bucket of over 20 million other copies sold. But at the very least, we can take a more ethical approach to how we view Hoover’s books. Instead of marketing them as swoon-worthy romances, influential book bloggers should disclaim some of the toxic situations present in CoHo’s stories. Perhaps we can start directing adolescent romance readers toward novels with healthier depictions of love and sex. If we can generate demand for romance novels portraying safe, consensual relationships, our friend Colleen is sure to churn them out in her usual biblical quantities.