I highly recommend Layla to fans of Colleen Hoover especially if you liked Verity. I also recommend Layla to anyone looking for a unique book and fans of paranormal romance. Typically in a normal romance, it’s the other way around—y’know, when you’d lower the rating because something you didn’t like happen somewhere in the last 1/3 of the book. This is not your avarage romance. It’s . . . peculiar. There are creepy elements, but it’s not scary. It’s compelling and emotional, which basically sums up anything CoHo writes.

Leeds ends up on a forum where people discuss ghosts and gets the idea to communicate with it. He plays the piano and it plays a few keys for him, confirming there’s a ghost around. The ghost then uses his laptop to type her name, Willow.

Not only that, but I couldn’t sympathize with any character whatsoever, especially Leeds. As the reader, we’re supposed to feel some positive emotion, yet I only found anger towards him. What started as a solid and mediocre relationship turned into lies, manipulation, and gaslighting. It all became a repetitive cycle of emotional playing. Not only that, but I found the story boring as a whole. Even the plot twists were something I shrugged off and read through as if they didn't mean anything (because, really, they didn't). And the final thing is the beginning of the book was too fast. It’s always a good thing to go straight to the point when you write a thriller. The fast pacing spins your mind and you are too hooked to learn what’s gonna happen next. Hmmm… now that I've finished, I'm not even sure what genre to categorise Layla as? I would've said psychological thriller until the last 20%. And, Leeds made me too uncomfortable to view him as any type of romantic leading man, so not a romance either? And saying he made me uncomfortable isn’t a spoiler as the first sentence will likely make you feel the same way. And if that's not enough to convince you that Leeds is a creep and a weirdo then the fact that he was utterly consumed with Layla from the moment he laid eyes on her in chapter one, and that he freely admitted he had nothing in his life pre-Layla should’ve sent Layla running for the hills. We find out later that Willow gets hungry so she takes over Layla’s body and starts eating. She was also the one to cover Leeds with the blanket. Leeds tells Willow to take over Layla again so he can have a conversation with her. This is where I started getting pissed.

I get that Leeds is curious and wants to find out why Willow is haunting the bnb but letting a ghost take over her body is such an invasion. Especially when we’re constantly told that Layla wakes up tired because her body gets no rest. I never thought I’d feel more for someone than I felt that night. But right now . . . I’m feeling everything I can feel in this world, coupled with everything I could feel in Willow’s world. There was only one woman who could set me free. But I would rather set myself on fire than ask Sloane Walton for anything.Believer or skeptic, Paranormal reader or Earthly Romance reader, you shall not emerge unscathed or untouched by the intensely mystical story of bodiless, eternal love. The way it's meant to be. Colleen Hoover always writes the best twists and this one threw me for a loop. Honestly, there was a time where I wasn't sure if I was liking it or the characters, but then BAM. It got me. It gave me just the right amount of feels and the ending, though I wish it gave me a bit more, was still satisfying. Když se zastavím u hlavních postav Leedse a Layli, tak mi přišo, že jsou napsaní tak, aby si je čtenář neoblíbil. Leeds je prostě boyfriend kterého nechcete - manipulátor, sobec a přestože na konci ho máme asi litovat nebo ho chápat, tak mě prostě neskutečně vytáčel. U Layli mám zase pocit, že jí nebylo dáno dostatečně prostoru, aby jsme ji mohli poznat a tím pádem s ní soucítit. Mě vlastně na konci bylo úplně jedno jak to dopadne. Nejlepší na tom všem byla Willow. Také mě štvalo, že celou knížku vyprávěl Leeds. A upřímně tím, že jsem knihu měla jako audioknihu, tak ten kdo jí namluvil, mu taky zrovna dvakrát nepomohl. I appreciate Hoover's attempts to cross genres, and find the mix of different ones in this story to be interesting and unique. But when it comes to execution, I'm honestly appalled by the results. To read it as it's written, with Leeds being the protagonist we should cheer for, is repugnant and beyond what I can tolerate, even in a story. Perhaps the moral here is that love justifies all, but if so, that is disturbing indeed.

Layla bola super postava, lenže po prestrelke do hlavy od bývalej priateľky Leedsa sa totálne zmení na nepoznanie (uvidíte sami), tak mi jej neskôr bolo naozaj úprimne ľúto. And the paranormal parts: well, I have to say, the first third of the book was addictive. I didn’t want to put it down. My face was literally glued to my e-reader! I even stopped watching Bridgerton and kept reading and reading! In short, I hated the first 70% but loved the remaining 30%. If you’re looking for a similar type of romance, I recommend Chase the Butterflies by Monica James. I loved, loved, loved that Layla's sister was a nurse (nice touch CoHO, well done, I as a nurse approve)! As her bio reads, she doesn't like to be boxed into a genre....well she killed it!! Absolutely killed it! I have read only two CoHo books- Verity and this one and I can't sing enough praise for both! The characters of Leeds, Layla & Willow are tied to each other, not just physically and emotionally, but their Connection transcends into the uncharted territory of metaphysical as well.And now . . . as Layla slides her tongue up the length of me, I kind of wish it were Willow doing this to me. other than guy gaslights girl. (Oh and insta-love, but that’s kind of a given in a CoHo book.) That gaslighting though? Oof! I’m all for characters that break bad, but the author has to convey some level of awareness that it’s happening. Here we’re just supposed to keep rooting for him and a happy ending. Which I did, until I realized the gaslighting had happened to me too. Následne však kniha prejde cez romantiku k tragédii, dráme, thrilleru, proste celá škála žánrov. Niekomu to môže vadiť, ak čakal iba romantiku, prípadne nemusí byť fanúšikom paranormálnych javov, avšak mne to presne takto vyhovovalo a fascinovalo ma to :) Netušila som do čoho idem a tak to bolo pre mňa o to väčšie prekvapenie. To mi inak dosť vadí na slovenskej obálke, že v podstate ničí čitateľom ten moment prekvapenia, keď nastúpi do deja paranormálno, nakoľko z obálky je to dosť zjavné. Rovnako aj tá prvá veta hneď v anotácii... Som fakt rada, že som mala možnosť si to prečítať bez týchto spoilerov ešte v angličtine. Desde o primeiro momento em que Leeds pousou seus olhos em Layla, ele ficou completamente fascinado por seu jeito de ser. but regardless, this is another satisfyingly wonderful CoHo story and i would never expect anything less from the queen herself.

The first 70% had my sense of loyalty warring with my guilt (👎), and the remaining 30% had me feeling all sorts of mushy (👍). Oceňujem hlavne svojský a originálny námet, rozuzlenie, lebo bolo také, aké som nečakala (autorka ma naťahovala, vždy keď som si myslela, že ,,ahaaa, už viem ako to je", tak mi dokázala, že neviem vôbec nič), ďalej sa mi páčil štýl písania knihy - rozhovory so záhadným mužom striedali kapitoly Leedsových spomienok a samozrejme celé to tajomno, ktorým srší tá kniha a filozofovanie o posmrtnom ,,živote". It’s all the little things that get to me because Leeds never tries to get Layla help when he thinks she’s eating too little. Instead he tells her she’s fine and should eat more. As if that’s a solution. And Willow judges Layla’s body every time she’s in it, saying that she’s always starving. And still Leeds doesn’t try to get help for Layla. Anyway. This is only my second CoHo book but I sure do see why so many readers adore her. There is just something about her easy breezy style of writing that hooks you right away. Not to mention I just love her humor. She is one author that I would love to chill with and have a couple drinks. She just seems like my kind of gal. The best part? She has so many more books for me to discover and that makes my heart happy. The story is told entirely from Leeds' perspective, and I have to say, he is the most despicable character I have ever come across. He is extremely self-centered and morally corrupt. What first starts out as manipulation of his girlfriend soon turns into gaslighting, which then becomes full-on physical restraint and emotional torture. Through it all, he justifies it by saying he can't stop himself and it's because he cares for Layla.The characters aren’t fully developed, and the romance doesn’t feel organic. However, the mystery keeps you invested, the paranormal element is fascinating. I guess, it’s kind of the point, which is that all of those things are meant to be complementary to each other rather than having only one as the main focus while the rest supports it, if that makes sense. Layla is the perfect creepy read for readers like me. I don't want anything too scary, but this is just spooky enough- especially great for fall. The book is told from the male character’s (Leeds) point of view. He asks someone whom you’ll know as the interviewer to help him make sense of what he’s experiencing. Imagine this person is sorta like Sam and Dean from Supernatural. Except, less cool and this book is actually less fun. Regardless, this could totally be an episode on the show. Mňa táto knižka dostala. Nečakala som nič extra, lebo recenzie boli dosť rozpačité. Možno je fajn, že od Colleen Hoover som ešte nič nečítala, takže som nemala možnosť túto knihu porovnávať s jej inými. A som rada, že som začala práve touto. I had an assumption as to what was going on. For a time, I thought I had it right because the characters thought so too. But then the plot twist . . . BAM! And I was . . . relieved. When I thought about it, the twist was pretty self exlpanatory. I couldn’t catch on to it because I was too busy fretting and seething that Leeds was practically cheating on Layla with Willow.