Regretting You

Born in 1979 in Sulphur Springs, Texas, Hoover began her career as a social worker and teacher. While still working as a social worker, Hoover self-published her first book Slammed in January 2012 and its sequel Point of Retreat one month later in February 2012.

Hoover’s books found acclaim from online book reviewers, which propelled her onto the New York Times bestseller list without the usual support of an agent and a publishing press. Hoover utilized “Booktok” influencers—content creators on TikTok who specialize in literary content—to bring attention to her newly self-published works, and she found unprecedented success as a result. In an article from ABC News, Hoover mentioned that “[t]he book had already come out and I was getting rejection letters after it hit the New York Times” (Chang, Juju & Zucker, Caren. “Emerging ‘New Adult’ Book Genre Puts Smut Fiction on Bestseller Lists.” ABC News, 20 February 2013). This success allowed Hoover to pursue writing full-time, and many of Hoover’s other self-published books have found similar success. Thanks to the power of her loyal audience, Hoover is one of the most successful American writers of the 2010s. Her best-selling novels include It Ends With Us (2016) and its sequel, It Starts With Us (2022), November 9 (2015), Reminders of Him (2022), and Without Merit (2017).

Hoover is unafraid to confront difficult topics and themes within her works, including grief, sexual assault, infidelity, miscarriage, and toxic masculinity. She writes in the relatively new genre of “New Adult” fiction: a genre targeted at the 18-29 age bracket that blends traditional aspects of young adult fiction with mature themes and explicit sexual content. Through her captivating writing, Hoover offers readers realistic and raw love stories. Hoover’s fans enjoy her unabashed exploration of traumatic experiences and the darker sides of romance, while Hoover’s critics have accused her of romanticizing toxic relationships and failing to portray trauma in mindful ways. Liora Picker writes that “Hoover writes about massive, over-the-top displays of emotion instead of tastefully curated plots. Her fiction is so powerfully evocative,” but “[t]he toxic love in fictional stories that attracts this demographic has become the normalized standard of relationships” (Picker, Liora. “Colleen Hoover’s popularity makes perfect sense, but it’s not without problem.” The Daily Targum, 25 September 2022). Hoover, however, has stated that her books are only intended as entertainment.

As of 2022, Hoover has sold over 20 million copies of her books. Explore more works by Colleen Hoover in the Super Summary library.