Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does, every single day. After finding herself stuck in a relationship with the dangerous and morally corrupt Asa Jackson, Sloan will do whatever it takes to get by until she’s able to find a way out. Nothing will get in her way. Nothing except Carter. Sloan is the best thing to ever happen to Asa. And if you ask Asa, he’d say he’s … you ask Asa, he’d say he’s the best thing to ever happen to Sloan. Despite Sloan’s disapproval of Asa’s sinister lifestyle, he does exactly what he needs to do in order to stay a step ahead in his business. He also does exactly what he needs to do in order to stay a step ahead of Sloan.
Nothing will get in his way.
Nothing except Carter.
From New York Times bestselling author, Colleen Hoover, writing as C. Hoover.
This book was originally written as a side project by the author. It previously appeared on other platforms under the same title, but has since been slightly edited from its original content and formatted specifically for kindle. Please note that the content of this book is more graphic than the content of other books written by this author, hence the distinction between the names. This title is recommended for mature audiences only due to extreme graphic content. Recommended for readers 18+.
Warning: For readers who might be triggered by sensitive subject matter, this book contains scenes which depict rape, murder and other graphic violence.
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It’s never too late for a fresh start. It is never too late to overcome fear.
It is never too late to fight, to be happy, to find love. Even if the path to your happy ending is not easy.
Sloan feels suffocated and stuck to her boyfriend and academic life. Part for convenience and part out of necessity. She does not recognized herself within the reality that her life has become and within the behaviors that she assumed in this relationship with her former perfect boyfriend.
And we have two strong masculine presences that antagonize each other: Asa and Carter. The first is a drug dealer, Sloan’s boyfriend and has serious behavior problems. The second, appears in Sloan’s life and turns into relief and torment, because he is in a difficult situation, divided between the responsibilities of work and his heart.
An abusive relationship fueled by despair, by the memories of the past, by lies and fantasies. Such is the relationship between Asa and Sloan. A crooked and wrong relationship that gradually destroys and contaminates everything around it.
Although Sloan’s reactions seem insane, they are not. Colleen Hoover manages to bring the problematic of abusive relationships in a vivid and real way, in such a way that the plot involves at the same time that it torments the reader. It is impossible to leave unharmed or unresponsive to this reading. An intense, conflictive, striking and very well developed narrative.
Obsession is the watchword in the book. She defines the relationship between the main couple and determines the insane manner in which Asa is attached to Sloan.
He has an obsession with being loved by her. He believes that she is the only one who loves him and can not live without her love. He surpasses all the limits of morality and sanity to maintain that relationship. In his obsession, he betrays and tells lies and when confronted or annoyed he becomes violent and dangerous.
His past, genetics, and childhood may have helped to construct this obsessive picture, explain his behavior, but do not justify his actions. When he can not deal with his frustrations and feelings, he seeks numbness. Be it with sex, drugs or violence. All he unconsciously seeks is to love and be loved. A basic need that he tries to solve clumsily and brutally.
The book holds the reader at the same time as it bothers us, with inconvenient truths. For the truth is that we all become numb in our daily vices. Most of us maintain this on a healthy level. But we all eat or drink our displeasures and frustrations. Whether with carbohydrates, sweets or with a pint of beer. Neither of us can throw the first stone. However, few of us admit that fact and even avoid thinking about it.
Seeing it so latently and exacerbated in Asa, bothers us. He is neither good nor bad. He is a tormented human being that awakens all sorts of feelings in the reader: hatred, sympathy, pity, anger. With the construction of characters so complex, that overflow reality and humanity, and a narrative so well linked and rhythmic, it is impossible not to fall in love with the writing of Colleen Hoover. She leads the narrative beautifully to a painful, surprising and then quiet and tender closure. You may not like certain parts of the narrative at the ending. You may not agree with the trajectory of the characters or not understand their motives and behaviors. But it is impossible to say that you did not read a well written, engaging, catchy and disturbing book.
Colleen Hoover’s romances never disappoint. Kinda like Pixar movies, only different. A lot different in that her books often have something dark and difficult underpinning them (rapes, unwanted pregnancies, kidnappings, violence, etc). But her characters always suck me in and take me on an emotional roller coaster ride. Somehow, she manages to create plots that could seem totally unrealistic, then she turns them into something defining.
Too Late includes a cheating heroine you’ll love and root for, and a sociopathic, drug-dealing boyfriend you’ll end up feeling sorry for. Horrible things happen. Wonderful things happen. The two juxtapose to create something special. Not just any author can do that. Ignore the fact that most of her books are New Adult (if that sort of thing bothers you), and read this, or any book, by Colleen Hoover.
TO ME : IT WENT ON AND ON
Too Late is a very dark and a hard read but very good. It was 4.5 stars for me. Colleen Hoover is an amazing writer!
A good mystery! A little bit of everything rolled into one read!
“‘ . … ‘ .”
: thriller romance, dark, forbidden and steamy
*TW for violence, cheating and r@pe/dub consent*
I’m speechless!! I love Colleen’s books and I’m used to her sweet stories, but I have to say that she knows how to write dark twisted stories that keep you in the edge until the last chapter.
This book particulary follows Sloane’s story, a girl who had an awful childhood and is living in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend Asa. But things changes when she meets Carter, the new guy who is working for her bf.
Told in 3 POVs, we get to into the characters minds and understand each one of their actions. All plot twists were unexpected and continously left me on the edge.
I did like Carter and Slone as a couple, but as characters, I did not like Sloane at all. I think she always chose the dumbest decisions, hurting two men in the process.
As for Carter, he is the prince charming all girls want. He was there for Sloane since the beginning and did anything to protect her.
And then we have Asa, the villain of the story. At first, I really despised him, but the more I got to know him, the more I sympathized with him. You could tell he is mentally unwell and I felt he was misunderstood. He deserved better.
The ending was confusing af, with all the epilogues and after epilogues. Also a bit open, but I guess it was expected.
Overall, it was a good dark romance book, with the right amount of twists and turns and great steam. Well done Colleen!!
I don’t re-read books and I’m about to re-read this one. It is seriously one of my favorite books of all time.
Too Angsty, Too Poignant, Too Heartbreaking. This book pinches all over my soul. All smiles dipped in tears and all love covered in thorns of Torture, Colleen has taken upon her to rip out reader’s hearts with this story of Trapped Love.
“I don’t even have enough energy left to tell her it’s too late.”
Sloan is clutched tight in Asa’s grip like a bird in Eagle’s talons, she’s flailing and fluttering to escape and so did my heart for Sloan.
The only reprieve is in Spanish class, writing random lines with Carter.
He looks like a saviour, or is he Asa #2?
“I can’t save her. As much as I want to, we’re both stuck. I can’t risk ruining something that is so much bigger than just the two of us. I can’t sacrifice what it is I’m here to do for the sake of helping her leave.”
Beautiful, rough edged story which chafed my heart and made me cry
4.5 stars for
This book deals with some heavy things, and it has some fairly dark parts. But it was written so eloquently and so lovingly. Colleen Hoover has such a magical way of weaving her stories and gripping our hearts and minds. Great book. #toolate #colleenhoover #reading #books #review #katyapproved #novel #read #words #cohorts
This book is WILD.
I’ve been loving everything I’ve read by Colleen Hoover. This was an intense read!! It was interesting to read from three different POV’s – the hero, the heroine and the antagonist. The antagonist’s character is so… complex and troubled. It was weird being inside his head and going through his thought process throughout the book. I loved the heroine, Sloan. She was brave, strong, and resilient. She puts up with a lot of things she shouldn’t have to, but she does it for those she loves. The hero… Carter/Luke, is caring, protective, and extremely understanding and patient. He cares so much for Sloan and will do anything to protect her and get her out of the situation she is in. Amazingly written, kept me on the edge of my seat towards the end. Recommend!
Recommended for readers 18+ due to extreme graphic content.
Warning: For readers who might be triggered by sensitive subject matter, this book contains scenes which depict rape, murder and other graphic violence.
This book took me a few days to read. I love a good dark book and this was definitely a darker and edgier side of Ms. Hoover. I needed some time to process some scenes!!
Too Late kept me on the edge of my seat! I just never knew what Asa was going to do next and he made me a nervous Nellie. Sloan had every reason to be afraid of him. The twists and turns were coming left and right and I was beginning to wonder who the good guys and bad guys were!
They only thing I didn’t enjoy were the many epilogues and prologues, as it made the ending drag.
I wanted to read this book for some time now, but just got the chance to do so. As I am acquainted with the author’s work, I went into this book with high expectations. Colleen did not disappoint. She delivered a disturbing but riveting tale. Too Late kept me glued to its pages from start to finish.
It tells the story of Asa, Sloan and Luke. Sloan goes to college and is Asa’s girlfriend. Unbeknownst to Sloan, Asa is a drug dealer who carries out his trade on campus. When she learns of his extra-curricular activities she left, but unfortunate circumstances, orchestrated by him, led her back to his arms.
Luke, a law enforcement officer, who works undercover. His undercover name is Carter. His current assignment involves infiltrating Asa’s operation aiming to put an end to business. He never counted on falling in love with the girlfriend of the very man’s whose organisation he had infiltrated. Can he carry out his assignment effectively?
I admired Sloan. I found her character compelling. There may be persons who would have negative things to say about her choice to stay with Asa, but I get why she did it. Her willingness to put her brother’s care above her physical and mental safety showed her selfless nature. Finding an alternative means of helping her brother seemed impossible. I admit there were a few times I wished she would fight back, but then I reconsidered knowing that to do so could prove to be more harmful.
Luke may be cute, but when it came to police work, he made stupid mistakes. I could probably blame his mistakes on the fact that he had fallen in love, but as a cop in a dangerous situation, he should never allow his emotions to dominate his thinking.
In my years of reading, I have encountered a few crazy characters but Asa proved the craziest of the bunch. The things he did to keep Sloan with him was creepy. He gets off on other people’s fear and for him love is all about control.
The shocking revelation about Asa’s past helped me to understand how he became the person he now, but I still did not like him. I felt sympathy for him as a child but there was none for the adult version. He may have been crazy, but he was very smart and that made him dangerous.
I enjoyed seeing Sloan and Carter together. He may not have been good at his duties as an undercover cop, but when it came to loving Sloan, he excelled.
There were some intense moments when they were together. Asa monitored her every move and so I feared for them whenever they were together. I kept wondering if Asa would catch them together and feared the outcome if he did.
Conclusion/Recommendation
The story took me on a nerve-wracking journey. It covered a myriad of disturbing topics that may not be for everyone. If you are turned off by abusive situations, then you may want to avoid this book. However, if you are like me and like stories that are dark and suspenseful then you will enjoy Too Late.
What do you know?!?! I never reviewed this book either! What’s wrong with me?!
So this was one of my favorite favorite books ever. Top 5, for sure. It’s actually my favorite Colleen book because it’s so different.
I read this book on Wattpad (after it was already done). But then she kept adding chapters and I was like ohhh my God this is amazing! I mean, I wouldn’t have minded if the story ended fucked up, but Colleen kept going and she gave us twisted ending after twisted ending after happy ending..?
It was like she couldn’t tell where or how to end it, which is something that I DEFINITELY relate to with my own writing.
But anyway, I loved this book because when you got Asa’s POV, it made you hate him less. It made me hate him less, anyway. He was just so fucked up. I didn’t want to hate him. I wanted to SAVE him. The whole thing was a beautiful, tragic mess. I think I might do a reread soon. Wow.
Also read this as serial on Wattpad which I loved the installments. This was a twisted wild ride but so good and so different.
One of my all time favorite books.
This book was a lot different then her previous work. I had to keep putting it down and reading something else. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the book. It had a lot of twists and turns to it. I loved Sloan and Carter. Asa is a villain that you hate but also want to know more about because you want to know what makes him tick. I loved sociology in school and I have always wanted to know how people work and their minds work. Well I got that in this book.
** spoiler alert below ** READ THIS BOOK!!!
I received this book as a Christmas gift and I can’t believe I waited this long to read this book. I was missing out on so much! This book is different than Colleen’s “normal” books and I LOVED it. I hope she continues to write more of these.
A FEW SPOILERS AHEAD:
Sloan – poor Sloan. She has had a hard life and it is not getting any better. Shitty parents, taking care of a minor who is disabled, broke and in college, shitty ass boyfriend, and stuck with him because she had no other choice. Enter Carter 🙂
Carter – oh boy. Carter is the guy Sloan wishes Asa could be. Carter is the boy I’d want to fall in love with too. Especially when Carter is actually Luke, an undercover cop trying to catch Asa. Asa is conducting a large drug ring on campus. This is my kind of book. He finds out that Sloan is with Asa and realizes that he is in more of pickle than just pretending to be a college student so he can catch this guy in the act. He finds out he needs to save Sloan. Sloan is in trouble and can’t get out.
I LOVED their relationship. It was so sweet. The way Colleen Hoover writes in this novel is top notch. I loved the game that she created that they played with each other. And don’t think I didn’t notice she threw a reference to Fred Water in there *haha*. One of my favorite things she writes about is how you can always match a person to a drug. It doesn’t sound good but the way she writes it was absolutely fabulous. That part just stuck with me.
The language is a bit much but you know what?! Unfortunately, that is how today’s society likes to talk. There are some graphic scenes in this book but she handled them well.
Asa – Ugh. I struggle with him because he did love Sloan in his own twisted way. Very twisted way. But his childhood somehow made him the way he was. So there were times that I felt bad for him and other times, I just wanted to punch him in the face.
Colleen Hoover has an extraordinary talent in getting the reader to love/feel for the villain. I’m not sure how she does it, but she does.
Even though I could feel for Asa, I was still team Carter/Luke the entire way. I really just loved the chemistry she created between the two, the way they interacted, and just that he was so much better than Asa. (Don’t hate me Jami!) 🙂
JUST READ THIS! You are missing out if you don’t.
This was an amazing book!
This book is one of the most addicting books I’ve ever read.