Look, I'm just gonna say it: this book made me ugly-cry in my home office while my cats stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Diego actually left the room. Frida stayed, but she was judging.
I came into This Girl already emotionally compromised because I'd binged Slammed and Point of Retreat back-to-back during a logo design marathon last month. So when I saw we were getting Will's perspective? My heart. MY HEART. I knew Colleen Hoover was about to wreck me, and I was ready.
The Voice in My Head (Literally)
Okay, so here's where things get complicated. Kirby Heyborne has this warm, clear delivery that genuinely works for Will's character. His emotional moments hit—like, really hit. There's this scene where Will is processing everything he's been through, and Heyborne's voice just... cracks in exactly the right way. I had to pause my work and just sit with it.
But. BUT. That southern accent? I get why some people found it distracting. The previous books had a different narrator, and switching voices mid-series is always a gamble. It's like when your favorite telenovela recasts the lead and you spend three episodes going "wait, that's not Fernando." You adjust eventually, but there's friction.
For me personally, the accent grew on me. By hour three, it felt like Will's voice. But I can see how listeners who are more attached to how they imagined him might struggle. If you're sensitive to narrator changes, maybe sample first.
The Rehash Problem (Let's Be Real)
Here's my honest take: a solid chunk of this audiobook is retreading ground we've already covered. We're hearing scenes from the first two books, just from Will's perspective. And while I loved getting inside his head—understanding why he made certain choices, what he was really feeling—there were stretches where I caught myself thinking "I know this part already."
Is that a dealbreaker? For me, no. Because the new emotional context changed everything. Scenes I thought I understood hit completely different when I heard Will's internal monologue. That moment when they first meet? Devastated me all over again. The confessions he shares—some of which genuinely shocked me—made the retelling worth it. That same emotional gut-punch—where you think you know the story but new revelations change everything—is what made Before We Were Yours: A Novel wreck me so completely.
But if you're someone who gets impatient with recap content, this might frustrate you. Just being honest.
Where the Gut-Punches Land
Colleen Hoover knows exactly how to twist the knife, and This Girl is no exception. The way she structures Will's revelations—slowly peeling back layers of what he was hiding, what he was afraid of—it's devastating in the best way. I cried at least three times. (Adding to my spreadsheet. Don't look at me like that.)
The pacing works for an audiobook, especially if you're doing something with your hands. I was designing a wedding invitation suite during the middle section, and the story flowed perfectly alongside the work. Not too demanding, but emotionally engaging enough that I stayed invested.
Abuela would have loved this one. She was a sucker for a good love story where the man finally opens up about his feelings. She'd be clutching her rosary during the heavy parts and then smiling during the sweet ones. Miss you, Abuela.
Who This Is (and Isn't) For
If you haven't listened to Slammed and Point of Retreat, please don't start here—you'll be lost and the emotional payoff won't land. Skip this one if you get impatient with retold scenes or if narrator changes pull you out of a story. But if you've been with Layken and Will from the beginning and you want to finally understand what was going on in that man's head? This is your closure.
Frida Stayed, So That's Something
Honestly? I probably won't relisten to the whole thing. But those key emotional scenes—the confessions, the moments where Will finally lets himself be vulnerable—I could see revisiting those on a rainy Sunday when I need a good cry.
This Girl is flawed, yes. Repetitive in places, sure. But the vibes are immaculate when it counts, and sometimes that's enough.
