Colleen Hoover’s Formulas for Best-Sellers as Seen in Reminders of Him and it Ends with Us

Publication year
2023
Journal
Romanian Journal of English Studies
Volume
20.1
Pages
72-79
Comment

Here's the abstract:

Using John G. Cawelti’s theory of formulas for understanding the relationship between a work and its culture, this article looks at two of Colleen Hoover’s novels, Reminders of Him and It Ends with Us, in order to comprehend Hoover’s appeal to the public. The popularity of romance novels formula indicates a high interest of the American public in the topic of romantic relationships, and it touches a sensitive nerve existent in American culture.

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while Reminders of Him (Hoover 2022a) strictly follows the formula of romance novels, It Ends with Us (Hoover 2016) has become her most famous story and a best-selling phenomenon with sixty-five weeks on The New York Times’ best-selling list at the moment of writing this article, notably because it departs from the formula and is added an autobiographical element grace to which the novel stands out. (73)