This is my first Colleen Hoover novel but I really want to shelve it with my Stephen King collection.

Leeds Gabriel was the bass guitarist in a pretty terrible country band when he sees the most horrific dancer ever flailing around the dance floor, but Layla was just trying to make him smile. He never even realized that this was the moment that would change his life. Leeds was pretty much a loner, but after meeting Layla, he knew he wouldn’t be able to ever live without her.

Of course, just when they hit their highest high, fate has some other plan entirely, and a head injury leaves Leeds caring for a woman who is no longer such a spark in his life. In an attempt to get back what they lost, Leeds takes Layla back to the first place they met, a little hotel called the Corazón del Pais. But in the few months since they first met, it has closed down and Leeds pretends to be a potential buyer so he and Layla can revisit their first days together.

It doesn’t take too long for Leeds to realize why a lucrative and very popular B&B suddenly closed their doors. A spirit? ghost? is now living at the house and has made contact with Leeds. But their conversations are frustrating with just yes and no answers and Leeds has so, so many questions about this ghost, including her name. While he doesn’t know why he would ever suggest it, Leeds has the spirit possess Layla’s body so they can have a real conversation and he can get some answers to his burning questions.

But the more time he spends with Willow, the more time he wants to spend with her…and the less time he wants to spend with Layla.

Leeds knows that continuing to allow Willow to use Layla is wrong, so very wrong, but he just needs to spend just a little more time with her. And as their vacation time is almost up, Leeds begins to fear how he will be able to leave Willow alone in the house by herself while he leaves with a woman he doesn’t think he loves anymore.

This book that starts off with, “I placed two layers of duct tape over Layla’s mouth before I came downstairs, but I can still hear her muffled screams as the detective takes a seat at the table.” I just looked over at my husband and said, “I don’t think this is a romance.” It isn’t and yet, it is.

I liked the way this story unfolds. Leeds brings in an detective (For what? That part slowly unfolds as we go along), and then Leeds proceeds to the story to all of us: how he met Layla, the accident and coming back to the B&B to recapture their original magic and how he came to determine that there was a ghost already in the house, as well as what he allows the ghost to do. We also see Leeds beginning to favor his time spent with Willow over his time with Layla and you have to wonder what Leeds is actually trying to accomplish here. Who is this detective? Is he the police? Something else? Is the problem we trying to get rid of Willow or Layla? It is written in a way that compels you to keep going with just one more chapter.

Oddly, there was a moment in Layla where the investigator said something that had me going, “Wait! Wait! Wait! Nobody’s going to question what he just said? Nobody? Come on!!”

The whole story kept me very intrigued, even after I started feeling really, really bad for Layla. This type of story was also reminiscent of the kind of short story you would get in a Stephen King Anthology, except in one of his stories the detective would have been a demon and the he and Willow would have walked away with both Leeds and Layla’s bodies in an occult ritual or a BBQ.

This was a change of style from Colleen Hoover’s normal trope as well my first Colleen Hoover novel, but it is not the first one to catch my attention. I share my Kindle account and they have several of her books. I am going to have to share them into my account and check out some of her other stories.

If you think you can handle the tension, definitely give this one a chance.

I enjoyed this book!
Good Paranormal Romance with twists that kept me entertained.
Was wanting more at the end but maybe we will get more.
Definitely a different read than what I am use to from the Author which I liked.

Colleen has done it again. She is one of my favorite authors. I never read the description before I start. I’d rather be surprised as what is to come. She can write just about every kind of novel. I’ve never read a paranormal romance before this one. Very captivating!

You guys have to read Layla ! I’m not a paranormal fan, it’s definitely out of my ordinary to read about it. But, Colleen never ceases to amaze me. I devour Layla in a day. Its definitely different than her other reads, I would go into this book with an open mind. I have to say I liked Layla more than verity. I highly recommend all CoHo fans to pick up Layla today ❤️

Thank you @amazonpublishing for the arc copy of Layla.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I am truly amazed by Colleen Hoover and her ability to write such varied book styles and do it so well. I recently read Verity and absolutely loved it. I still think about it and let my mind wander down that rabbit hole. I was a little nervous to read Layla because I loved Verity so much and read it so recently but, again, I am blown away. I was completely unprepared for how much I would love this book. I read it all day yesterday because I. Could. Not. Stop. Reading.

Paranormal romance is a new genre to me and I really don’t know what to expect. From the very first page, I was completely hooked on this book. The alternating timeline sets up the tension and mystery and then slowly builds to a dramatic conclusion. It’s tough to write this review without giving anything away but I will say that it’s a quick read that you will binge read in a day. The characters are fascinating and the setting is perfect for this story. I started to get really tense toward the end when I thought the story was heading in a certain direction but, thankfully, I was wrong. I’ve been thinking about this book and these characters since I finished reading and it will stay with me for a long time.

Well done, Colleen Hoover. Layla is phenomenal.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and Montlake Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

I will never NOT rush to purchase a Colleen Hoover book. Paperback, ebook, and paperback. Again, I wasn’t disappointed.

This crazy ride was intense. Colleen made paranormal romance her b*tch and I’m here for it. I was addicted from page one and found that a genre I don’t normally read was quite entertaining. I can’t say too much as I don’t want to ruin the story but know that Colleen was able to carry over the same feels all her books invoke and make me love a PNR.

I am a romance book lover through and through. Colleen Hoover is without a doubt one of the OGs but over the years, I’ve had a yoyo kind of love for her books. There are those like ‘It Ends with us’, ‘All Your Perfects’, ‘Confess’, ‘Hopeless series’, ‘Slammed series’ which are classic loves, there are also books that I find are way too over hyped and there are also books like Without Merit that I really didn’t enjoy reading. When I found out that Colleen Hoover was writing a paranormal romance, I wanted it. Ever since Verity, I knew I had to check this new change in direction.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room, I enjoyed reading Layla. I really enjoyed the mystery, intrigue and the suspense (That’s coming from a girl who HATES horror but LOVES paranormal romance). Having said that this book is more romance THAN PNR for me. I know it sounds so cheesy but I loved the atmosphere in Layla.

Unfortunately for me, as much as I enjoyed it, I went into this book expecting to be blown away. I don’t think that’s fair to Colleen Hoover but at the same time, I feel like I’ve even spoiled by her previous works. Layla is without a doubt well written, 
Layla isn’t going to be my new favourite book by Colleen Hoover but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

My Review:⭐️⭐⭐.5/ 5 stars
I read this book in a day - and I am still not sure how I feel about it. Utterly confused at what I just read. Colleen Hoover is the queen of a good, angsty romantic read (I didn’t read Verity yet, don’t spoil it)...and this is definitely something else. This story follows the story of Leeds and his gf Layla - who fell in love with each other fairly quickly until a horrific crime that happened to them. Months go by and Layla is still recovering physically, mentally, and emotionally from it. In hopes of reigniting their relationship, Leeds takes Layla back to the B&B where they met in Kansas during her sister’s wedding. While there, he meets Willow and instead of salvaging his relationship, he finds friendship and comfort in her. As his feelings for Willow grows, he is confused with his life with Layla. In order to help Willow with her questions, he has to betray, lie, and essentially endanger Layla.

I didn’t read the premise before starting… so I had no idea what I was walking into. First chapter and I immediately knew this guy was a creep. I know CoHo doesn’t typically write like this… so I knew it was his narrative (the character’s) and I immediately loathed him. Also, I thought this was a thriller after the disturbing first few chapters, but it’s not… Leeds. You just have the instinct that this person was not a good one.. and I knew he would be the douchebag that would basically fall in love with someone else - while in a serious relationship with Layla, who got SHOT because of him. I am still in shock at the audacity - and this is a fictional character. He made me want to throw my kindle across the room. I don’t want to give away too much, but this is definitely unlike anything I’ve read before: equally addicting (the storytelling) and repulsive (the characters) at the same time. BUT THEN THE ENDING HAPPENS! Now the skeptical side of me just wants to shun this whole storyline away, but I can’t stop reading! So if you love CoHo, then read this. If you want something different, kind of ghosty, paranormal-esque, aka then also read this.

Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! It is out today - Dec 8th!

I admit, dear reader, to not quite knowing how to rate this book. On the one hand, I could not put it down. Let me repeat: I could not put it down. I had to know what would happen, even when I despised Leeds and wished he would turn into a ghost. And, oh, did I despise him, but I'll get to that in a minute.

On the other hand, the ending. It's fantastic if you seek closure. If you're the sort of reader who wants your ending tied up in a neat bow that won't come undone if you pull on it even the slightest bit, then you will LOVE this ending. If you're a cranky old sod, you might find the ending a little too ... contrived.

I refuse to tell you anything about this book because you need to go in cold. I read it because Colleen Hoover wrote it, so if you're here, checking out reviews, that's all you need to know. She wrote it, it's a paranormal tale that includes a ghost, and it's also a romance. I love how she tied in the ghost element, and I love how she revealed important details about the ghost. Perfection. She kept me turning the pages as if my life counted on it--and at time I suspected it might! I thought the desperation to know the outcome would destroy me.

As for Leeds, I'll just say there were a few chapters where I really didn't like him in the least. But then Colleen Hoover does what she does so well: She shows me that all along, she had a plan, and I needed to trust that her plan would make the whole I-hate-Leeds thing pay off. Boy, does it ever.

The ending, for me, is problematic. There is SO MUCH THAT HAPPENS. SO MANY FEELINGS. SO MUCH ANTICIPATION. I guess I wanted something that didn't feel quite so manipulated. It sort of fell flat for me. The rest of the book, though, is absolutely fantastic, which makes me wonder if I'm expecting something unreasonable.

So read this. Then come back, hit up the comments, and let me know what you think. This book begs to be discussed.

Layla by Colleen Hoover was unexpected, captivating and different and yet, exactly what you come to expect from this author. I devoured it. The story starts with Leeds and Layla who seem to have found love and a connection in each other. But when tragedy strikes, the woman he fell in love is not the same person. When he tries to reconnect with her, he meets Willow. From here I do not want to give away anything that would spoil the story, but it kept me intrigued and turning the pages. It was a story that was unique, unexpected and mesmerizing.

Happy reading!

Colleen Hoover is one of my favorite authors and this is definitely different than any of her previous books. She wrote a paranormal romance and it was amazing. Colleen always gives readers complex characters that allow the story to be interesting, surprising, and captivating. Layla is such a crazy and unexpected wild ride of a book.

We meet characters Layla and Leeds as they fall in love. It was an instant connection. Things took a turn when they faced an attack, and moving on from that time is difficult especially for Layla. Leeds takes her to the bed and breakfast where they first met trying to get Layla back to her normal self.

Things once again arent' as they seem. It is a wild ride of emotions. I loved the paranormal aspect of the book. If you had a single doubt that Colleen Hoover couldn't pull this genre off then you are gladly mistaken. She gave a unique perspective on the paranormal parts of the story while adding her signature writing when it comes to the couple. This book will make you feel so many emotions like sad and scared but it is all worth it in the end.

I give Layla 4 stars. It was such a good read that captivated me. Colleen Hoover proves that she can write in any genre that she chooses. The characters and story are well-written, engaging, and intriguing. If you are a fan of CoHo and paranormal romance, you have to give this a read!

Thank you to Colleen Hoover and the team at Montlake for the advance reader copy of Layla, releasing on December 8th. Stay tuned at the end of this post for a special giveaway.

I swear it still feels quite unbelievable that I have again been granted an ARC for a Colleen Hoover novel. It was a milestone for me in my blogging career when I was able to review Regretting You last year. I jumped at the chance to pick up Layla, Colleen’s first foray into paranormal romance.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: Leeds and Layla are the main characters of this paranormal fantasy. Leeds is a bass player and a songwriter who meets Layla at her sister’s wedding. Leed first noticed her absolutely awful dancing and from then on he was mesmerized by her. I am going to stress now that you should really go into this story as blind as possible, so I am not going to tell you too much more.
Pacing: This story is paced extremely well. The way Colleen wrote this makes you want to keep reading, just after the first few pages you cannot help but be hooked. She did an excellent job at revealing the information slowly, the mystery was so epic.
Setting: The main setting of this story was the bed and breakfast where Layla’s sister Aspen had her wedding. A year later Leed decides to bring Layla back to the place they met and the hijinks ensue.
Romance: In comparison to other CoHo romances I would not say the romance was the key factor in this story. This is not her usual contemporary romance it is a paranormal mystery story. If you loved Verity I think you would really like Layla. If you love her traditional romances I would really push you to still pick this up. The romance between Leeds and Layla is a great backdrop for the larger story. Leeds loves Layla to death and watching him fight for her in different ways over the course of the story.

Oh wow! It's been a while since I've read a Coho book and I was just reminded of how phenomenal of writer Colleen. I've been a fan of her older book, but dive into her newer stuff every now and then. When I learned she was writing a paranormal romance, I was absolutely in for this one.

But that might have been my biggest mistake because that already put in expectations. I'm a huge paranormal romance fan. I read another review by a fellow bookish friend and she definitely summed up the book the best, it's paranormal activity with some romance.

I didn't quite connect with the characters and their romance, but the mystery/suspense really pushed me through this story. I was intrigued the entire time and at times, a little creeped out. Colleen did mention that it a blend of Verity with romance, I haven't read that book yet, but heard soooo many great things about it.

Layla is definitely a unique story and one I can't say I've read anything like, before. My best advice for this one is to go in blind. The mystery was definitely my favorite part of Layla and I hope Colleen writes more books like this in the future.

Layla is advertised as a romance and a thriller had a baby. I was intrigued from the description but was not prepared for a paranormal, barely romantic read? I was interested from the start and it was a quick read but this one fell flat for me.

Leeds was completely unbearable, and I wanted to shake him for treating anyone so poorly and for not noticing what was right in front of his face! Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough of Layla or Willow to really feel them or be able to cheer for one character.

What we did get was a rushed beginning and weird long drawn out bunch of chapters with a ghost and rushed little tidy ending which left me terribly disappointed. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but Leeds may have been able to redeem himself a little if he was the one who finally sorted out what was happening here with his love.

At first I did like the fact that as weird things started to happen and he suspected it to be Layla, he felt he couldn’t confront his fragile lover since she was still recovering, often we see this kind of story line and I’m yelling at the character to get out or question what’’ happening. I suppose Leeds was in too deep to realize. For me the lack of details and predictability make this read a skip.

Sooooo I'm not even sure where to begin reviewing this book. First let me just say this is not your typical Colleen Hoover story. I wasn't sure what this book was about before I started it but being a huge fan of Ms. Hoover I just dove in. Paranormal isn't really my thing so for me it's not a book I'll be rereading. It is however a really well done book. Not really a surprise since well....Colleen Hoover. The writing is impeccable with intriguing characters and a storyline that is unique and fresh. If you are a fan of paranormal romance you should put this on the must read list.

Whew, I'm still digesting this one. Most of all - huge props to Colleen Hoover for writing a book in a genre that's out of her comfort zone. She did nail it, for those who enjoy paranormal romance books. I am not, unfortunately, the right audience for a paranormal book, regardless of how good her writing is.

When Leeds meets Layla, he's immediately drawn to her. He knows she's the one. But after an attack leaves Layla fighting for her life, Leeds will do anything to bring her back to the girl he fell in love with. Back at the Bed & Breakfast they first met, Layla's behaviour becomes even more strange than before. Leeds then meets Willow, another 'guest' at the B&B, and they bond over concerns for Layla's well being.

Leeds was hands down the worst character in any CoHo book I've ever read and I seriously disliked Atlas from It Ends With Us. Leeds straight up sucked. Sorry for anyone who liked him, I did not. This book gave me similar vibes to another book I absolutely hated, which I think led to my dislike of it. I just couldn't get on board with some of the things that happened in this book. I felt like it dragged a bit too in the middle, with the same things happening over and over and just wanted to get on with it. I will say that the ending spoke to my typically CoHo loving heart, which lead me to giving this book 3 stars, but I definitely have an unpopular opinion on this paranormal romance.

Did I read and LOVE a paranormal romance? Yep, I sure did! Shocked the heck out of me too. The author stepped out of her comfort zone to write it and because I’ll read anything CoHo puts out, I decided to give it a try. Score one for stepping out and trying a new genre because I loved it!

This one is best to go into blind so I’ll leave the synopsis out. Just know that as always with her work, the writing is excellent. I was completely wrapped up in the story. The twists had me gasping out loud because they were so unexpected. You may hear ‘paranormal romance’ and decide to skip this one. Just don’t! This is so much more than a paranormal romance and I enjoyed it immensely! This was fast paced and well plotted. I finished it in a day because I was so into it. Yes, completely and totally hooked by a PARANORMAL ROMANCE. Who knew?! 4⭐️ My thanks to @amazonpublishing for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

This isn't your typical Colleen Hoover novel. This is a foray into a different genre, for her - paranormal romance. Don't worry, I was still immersed in the story line, and I believe you will be too. I actually had to stop myself a few times from skipping ahead to the ending.

Leeds Gabriel is playing a gig at a wedding when he sees a girl, dancing very poorly. She is the only thing making him smile at the event. Layla (the bad dancer) and Leeds have an immediate and intense connection.

Tragedy strikes and Layla is slowly recovering, only she a former shell of who she used to be. Trying to rekindle the connection, Leeds brings them back to the place where they first met, but there is something or rather someone else there - an entity named Willow.

The more time they spend there, the more Leeds connection to Willow grows while the one to Layla widens.

This actually took turns I did not see coming. Definitely one-click now to find out what happens.

Romance is not a primary genre for me but every now and then, I like reading a love story. Paranormal is definitely not an area I'm normally interested in yet I’ve read some very entertaining books that cross over into the world of things we cannot explain. So when author Colleen Hoover decided to enter into a new realm, I was curious and happy to read Layla.

Leeds Gabriel is a musician playing in a band at Layla’s sister’s wedding at a Kansas bed-and-breakfast. They have an instant attraction, develop a deep connection and become inseparable. After a whirlwind romance, Layla is gravely injured and while she recovers physically, she is left with mental issues. In an effort to help her heal and bring them closer again, Leeds brings Layla back to the bed-and-breakfast they met at. What seems like a perfect chance to rebuild their romance becomes something very different. And that’s where I’ll stop. Having already mentioned that this book deals in the paranormal, you really don’t want to know anything more.

Layla is not a scary book but it does require that you accept its strange, eerie, supernatural occurrences. It’s an easy, quick read worth checking out. The love story is very appealing. The paranormal aspect is clever.

I think Colleen has been talking to Tarryn a bit much. This one was definitely different from other books by Hoover, and with this one she ventures into the supernatural words, while maintaining her romance narrative.

There's a bit of an insta love meeting, a former girlfriend who attacks, and a surprise that I wasn't sure she could really pull off, but did well. Can't really describe much without giving spoilers, but probably enjoyed this more than others by this author.