2.5 / 5 stars. 
 This review was originally posted on my blog: https://clairehuston.wordpress.com/20... 
 Though I can only give this book 2.5 stars, it wasn't all bad. I loved the idea of the anonymous confessions and the paintings they inspire. This was the best part of Confess for me. It's an original idea which Hoover uses in a thoughtful and effective way. 
 I can also understand why Colleen Hoover has such a loyal following. Her prose is compelling, bordering on hypnotic in places. At times the first person voices are magnetic and if a reader were to connect with her characters I can imagine they would happily forgo sleep to find out how things will work out for them. 
 Sadly, I did not connect with the characters in Confess. 
 My recent experience with Disclaimer, 24 Hours and now Confess, has made something clear to me: I don't read to suffer. I read for adventure, excitement, romance, love, drama, mystery, thrills... But I don't enjoy getting an in-depth, first-person account of ongoing trauma or spending time with broken, highly-damaged characters. Particularly when said characters make choices which mystify and frustrate me. I found myself wishing they'd stop dithering, grow a spine and sort themselves out. 
 I can tell you the exact moment I began to lose patience. Auburn (main female character) has met Owen (main male character) about 15 minutes ago. She looks at him and thinks the following: 
 "His eyes don't seem like the eyes of a twenty-one-year-old. They're dark and deep, and I have a sudden urge to plunge into their depths so I can see everything he's seen." (page 25) 
 Really? REALLY? 
 I stuck with it until "Part 2". Then I skimmed to the end just to find out what happened even though I didn't really care. 
 I would read another book by Colleen Hoover in the hope I would be able to root for the characters and enjoy following their experiences.