Maybe Someday (Maybe #1) by Colleen Hoover

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At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

A passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance, Maybe Someday will immerse readers in Sydney’s tumultuous world from the very first page.

I’ve decided what it is I like about Colleen Hoover that has me devouring her books – she’s unafraid to explore very uncomfortable situations. Maybe Someday is a very good case of “right place, wrong time” when Sydney and Ridge crash into each other’s orbit. There’s an undeniable attraction but the problem is that she just broke up with her lying, cheating boyfriend (who happened to be hooking up with her best friend and roommate) and Ridge is madly in love with his girlfriend, Maggie. So now the trick is how they have to get along as roommates and songwriting partners.

What I loved: The fact that both Sydney and Ridge acknowledge what is occurring between them. They actually communicate! Whether it’s through conversation or through their songwriting, they’re honest about their feelings and the predicament that puts them in.  Sydney is keenly aware that to pursue anything with Ridge would cast Maggie in the role of the betrayed girlfriend, just as she was. Having had her heart broken recently, there's no way she's doing that to someone else. And Ridge, oh this guy is loyal to a fault. He sees the hurt and confusion he’s causing her because he feels it, too. At least these two have their conscience keeping them in check.

What I struggled with: That extremely fine line between physical and emotional cheating. While they try desperately to avoid anything physical between them, they get more emotionally invested in each other. Therein lies the dilemma: is emotional intimacy just as destructive as any physical intimacy between them? I couldn't root for anyone when it meant that someone else would get hurt. 

So with these two things working against each other, I could have given up. But I didn't. I just had to know where Hoover was taking this story and how Sydney and Ridge would work things out. There’s so much intensity and passion within these pages, especially when writing songs together is such an intimate thing between them. That’s when the barriers come down and what feelings that can’t be said aloud are conveyed through music. 

Despite how uneasy this was at times, I did like Maybe Someday a lot. BEWARE: This will push your "wiggy button" regarding long-term relationships and friendships that skirt the line between remaining friends and moving beyond that. And I’m not condoning cheating either. I happen to think that Hoover did a terrific job giving two people the emotional depth to tell a very difficult story. They’re good people caught in an unenviable position where they choose to put others before their own wants.

~ Bel