Without Merit

A Novel

By: Colleen Hoover

Narrated by: Candace Thaxton

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reminders of Him and It Ends with Us comes a moving and haunting novel of family, love, and the power of the truth.

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

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines, when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

Poignant and powerful, Without Merit explores the layers of lies that tie a family together and the power of love and truth.

This Book Will Not Disappoint!

This was my first Colleen Hoover read and I was blown away! I listened to it and literally did not want to stop to do life because I wanted to know what was going to happen to these magical characters I fell in love with! And the narrator was PERFECT! Merit has an unusual family life. She lives in an old church with her father and step-mother, as well as her mother who lives in the basement and will not come out. Other characters include Merit's twin sister, her older brother, a younger brother, an uncle by marriage who comes along unexpectedly, and Merit's love interest, whom she believes to be her twin's boyfriend. Merit finds herself in the throes of depression and the story comes to a head when she writes a heartfelt letter after which she attempts to remove herself from her reality. Each character is so deliciously developed that you will feel that they are your personal friends. The reader will quickly become invested in the story which has a superb ending. I cannot wait to read more by Colleen Hoover, and luckily I discovered there is quite a collection to choose from!

MEH

First, Colleen is one of my favorite romance authors. I love her books. This one was just okay though. I am curious to know if there will be a sequel - it felt like there was more to the story that needs to be told. AND you must know that his narrator is Shayna Thibodeaux. I literally hate her voice and narration. I avoid all books narrated by her which is sad because there are quite a few authors I enjo----, but stopped mid series because this chick was hired to narrate. Is that why she is going by a different name? Because I can't be the only one that hates her.

Candace Thaxtons narrating

I can't even finish this book...I will have to buy it and read it myself because I cannot listen to her read any longer. it is the most annoying voice and just nothing like all the other audio books I have ever listened to. I have never had to stop listening to an audiobook before...but I just cannot listen any longer. I will avoid buying any and all audiobooks read by her.

Loved Merit!

This was a serious book that made me laugh out loud at times! Merit was such an interesting character - at times I wanted to crawl into her brain and just enjoy the workings. This book is so witty. I didn't even mind the sappy parts!

just ok,,,,,,,

I felt this book to be a lil too teen-ish for my taste. but the overall storyline of the family dynamics kept me listening.