Too late by Colleen Hoover

This book, we are told, started out as a 2012 project the author worked on when she was writing her other, very different, books when experiencing writers block. The unfinished chapters were later put on a website for readers to see and they gave feedback as more were written. Writer and readers enjoyed the process and the finished product was released as a free e-book. Now edited and published the foreward of Too Late states that it is in no way appropriate for children or young teens with trigger warnings which include foul language, graphic sexual scenes, murder, sexual assault and drug use.

Sloan is a beautiful college student in a controlling relationship with Asa. He owns the house they live in and Sloan is exhausted as there are parties at the house nearly every night with lots of people and Asa expects her to be there and then provide him with sex every night giving her little time to study. She knows his money comes from drug deals and despises him for it but she needs his money to keep her disabled brother in a care home. Carter, real name Luke, is working undercover with Dalton, real name Ryan, to bust Asa’s drug ring. They have infiltrated his college operation and Carter has been put in Sloan’s Spanish class. In spite of being well trained to keep it as a work assignment Carter feels an immediate strong romantic connection with Sloan, a dangerous development as she is monitored by jealous Asa’s associates. He doesn’t trust anyone and is quick to act where his self interest is compromised. That’s it really, the point of view switches between Sloan, Carter and Asa as the investigation proceeds and the relationship develops and Asa gets more and more paranoid. There is the advertised, sex, drugs and violence but little in the way of narrative arc, the one dimensional characters, supposedly college age, seemed much older, had nothing to recommend them and didn’t develop. Devoted readers of this bestselling author will no doubt find it an entertaining read but I had trouble finishing it.

Themes: Drug use, Sex, Violence, Murder.

Sue Speck