| Without Merit by Colleen Hoover |

"Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness."

PAGES: 224 (Ebook)
SYNOPSIS: It's all about the lies and secrets involving the dysfunctional Voss family.

RATING: 4/5

REVIEW: It was interesting to read about the Voss family. They had a lot of issues and secrets that resulted to their indifference to one another and it was interesting to see things unravel and for them to deal with it. The issues that were mentioned - mental health, suicide, infidelity - were not deeply discussed but played a major role in the development and outcome of things. It was interesting to see how Colleen Hoover integrated those in her story. Focusing on the family aspect rather than the love story was a wonderful change from her usual books. This book had many lesson such as it's important to look at things in different perspective, sometimes there are things that should just be forgiven, be honest, and your feelings matter. 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. The pacing is fast and it's very intriguing. You will really want to learn what is happening in the Voss household.

PS: The first chapter is the reason I read this. It was intriguing, perfect, and heartbreaking.

• Dollar Voss inhabitants are messed up but their issue is mainly rooted on miscommunication. They could have resolved things earlier if no secrets were kept.
• Merit is annoying at points but understandable at some. For all the secrets she kept, it's easy to see why she got messed up. It's hard keeping things to yourself and pretending that things are all right when you know that it's not.
• I liked Sagan but I didn't love him. It was somehow weird that he was so perfect in a story that involved messed up characters. It was terrible that he never found out what happened to his family.
• I liked that Merit liked collecting trophies. It was weird and expensive.
• I didn't like Barnaby at first especially after Merit saw him sneaking out of the basement but when all the things have been revealed, it was admirable about how he kept things together. Sure, he cheated, but he didn't mean too. It was hard for him to see what happened to his wife and it affected him hard.
• I liked Moby. He was very adorable.
• I admire Victoria Finney. Sure, she was a mistress but living in a house with your husband's ex is very hard and everyone just assumed she was a bad person. She took a lot of hatred from Barnaby's children but she held it together.
• I don't like what Honor is doing because I find it weird but her argument about it to Merit seems reasonable.
• I liked Luck at first but it got weird when he tried to sleep with the inhabitant of Dollar Voss. Still, he was a fun character and he was supportive and kind towards Merit.
• I liked Merit and Sagan together but I can't get over the fact that Merit made out with him even after she thought that he was Honor's boyfriend.
• It was fun to see them, especially Barnaby, try to bury Wolfgang with Pastor Brian.
• I like the fact that Wolfgang gave birth to puppies but it's weird that they never noticed that she was pregnant. I love Moby's argument about the puppy's names.
• Utah had pretty weird events - kissing Merit and sleeping with Luck. I agree with Barnaby that his relationship with Luck is weird.
• I liked that Barnaby punched Utah for kissing Merit.
• I love that Sagan saved, stayed, and comforted Merit after her attempted suicide.
• It's weird how Sagan kept using his relationship as leverage for her to love herself. I didn't like it.
• It was nice seeing Utah and Merit make up and seeing the Voss family resolve their issues.
• I liked the tattoo that Sagan put on Merit. I liked the fact that Honor helped Merit cover it up when Barnaby discovered it.
• I wonder what's up with Colleen Hoover when she named the characters. Their names are pretty weird. Even their relationship with one another is weird.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

Maybe if I let all the secrets out, they wouldn't make me feel like drowning anymore.

"So many people dream of living in a house with a white picket fence. Little do they know, there’s no such thing as a perfect family, no matter how white the picket fence is."

"Tuqburni is used to describe the all-encompassing feeling of not being able to live without someone. Which is why the literal translation is, "You bury me."

And I don’t know many people who would stick their hand down someone’s throat and then sift through their vomit to count the number of pills they swallowed.

Maybe that’s the root of a lot of family issues. It isn't actually the issues people are hung up about for so long. It’s that no one has the courage to take the first step in talking about the issues.

 

But if I've learned anything this week, it’s that I don’t know people as well as I think I do.

If someone had told me last week that we’d be having this moment tonight, I’d have laughed at them and said it would be a miracle. 

Maybe it is.

 

What I’m saying is, the same two things could happen to two people, but that doesn't mean they would experience the exact same stress over it. We all have different levels of stress that we’re accustomed to. You probably felt the same amount of stress over your family situation as I sometimes do about mine, even though they’re on completely different levels. But that doesn't make you weaker. It doesn't make you an asshole. We’re just two different people with two different sets of experiences.

“It annoys me when people try to convince other people that their anger or stress isn't warranted if someone else in the world is worse off than them. It’s bullshit. Your emotions and reactions are valid, Merit. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. You’re the only one who feels them.”

“Okay,” Moby says excitedly. He holds up the one in his hands and says, “I’m naming this one Dick.”
  
I laugh. “I’m not sure your mom will go for that.” 

He frowns. “Why not? She named me Moby. I want to name my puppy Dick so we can be brothers.” 

“As long as you use that argument,” I tell him.