# Woman Down *By Colleen Hoover. Montlake, 2026.* > I did not read the novel. This note uses Goodreads edition data, two review excerpts, an article on the book, Wikipedia on the author and the video notes. The videos' craft criticism is one editor's opinion, and I report it as that. I do not summarize the ending. ## 1. Book facts | | | |---|---| | Title | *Woman Down* (sometimes listed as *Woman Down: A Novel*) | | Author | Colleen Hoover | | Publisher | Montlake (Amazon Publishing) | | Published | 13 January 2026 | | ISBN | 9781542025614 (paperback, 315 pages); 9781662539374 (another US edition; pages not confirmed); Kindle edition 312 pages | | Genre | Romantic suspense, thriller | | Premise | Petra Rose, a romantic-suspense author with writer's block after a backlash over a film adaptation, retreats to a lakeside cabin, where a detective who calls himself Saint becomes entangled in her research | **Where it came up.** Both videos are by Alyssa Matesic. - [I Read the WORST Book of 2026 So You Don't Have To](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk0mNE5cGI) (from 0:00): an edit letter on the novel, with the author's note read at 3:47 and a review excerpt at 10:21. [[Video Summaries/Alyssa Matesic/I Read the WORST Book of 2026 So You Don't Have To]] - [If I Read One More Villain Like This… (5 Characters We Need to Banish)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-i4PpLWReA&t=255s), 4:15. [[Video Summaries/Alyssa Matesic/If I Read One More Villain Like This… (5 Characters We Need to Banish)]] ## 2. Book resources - **Free copy:** none. New, in copyright; I do not link unofficial copies. Borrow from a library or buy. - [Goodreads editions list](https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/260417773-woman-down): dates, ISBNs and page counts - [Amazon listing (hardcover ISBN 9781662539374)](https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Down-Novel-Colleen-Hoover/dp/1662539371); [NetGalley (archived)](https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/721929) - [Montlake Romance](https://www.montlake.com) (imprint site) - An audiobook edition is listed on Goodreads; I did not check the narrator. - **Cover:** none. Open Library has no record for either ISBN. ## 3. Author biography Colleen Hoover (born 11 December 1979, Sulphur Springs, Texas) writes mainly romance and young adult fiction. She studied social work at Texas A&M University–Commerce, self-published *Slammed* in 2012, and signed with Atria Books soon after. *Hopeless* was the first self-published novel to reach #1 on the *New York Times* list. She is best known for *It Ends with Us* (2016) and *Verity* (self-published 2018, republished by Grand Central in 2021). Wikipedia puts her sales at about 20 million books as of October 2022 and notes her 2023 *Time* 100 listing. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Hoover); her site is [colleenhoover.com](https://www.colleenhoover.com). ## 4. Author interviews and talks - The Las Vegas *Review-Journal* quotes a recent remark to *Elle*: "I have my own story I could tell … but I don't want to bring attention to it." This is second-hand; I did not open the *Elle* piece ([article](https://neon.reviewjournal.com/books/woman-down-might-be-colleen-hoovers-most-revealing-novel-3328098/)). - The Washington Post review excerpt reportedly notes that Hoover has said in interviews that she could attend more to sentence-level prose (from the video; I did not locate the interview). - I found no book-specific interview that I could open. ## 5. Summary **Thesis.** A romantic-suspense novel narrated by a successful author who has hit writer's block after a backlash over a film of her book. Hoover's author's note, as quoted by both the video and the Review-Journal, asks readers not to link the story to her own life: "do not try to make ties between my personal life and this story, as there are none." **Premise.** Petra Rose retreats to a lakeside cabin to finish a manuscript about a woman involved with a married cop. A detective who calls himself Saint knocks on her door while investigating an accident nearby. Their meetings "in the name of book research" become more intense, and the review says his role as her muse "takes on a disturbing edge" (Review-Journal). **Chapter outline.** I found no chapter list. **Reception.** - Book Marks excerpts a review that calls it Hoover's "most personal work to date" and also says "reading this novel feels like walking through a house that got a quick flip before hitting the market". The video attributes that line to the *Washington Post*; the excerpt I read does not show the outlet. - A mixed Review-Journal review finds the gap since her last novel (2022) conspicuous and the real-life parallels hard to ignore. - A positive excerpt on the same page praises the plot twists. **The video's critique (opinion).** (1) Don't use fiction as your diary. (2) Edit overwriting. (3) Make reveals believable. ## 6. Fact-check Overall verdict: **mixed**. The publication facts are supported. The video's rating figure and its "worst book" framing are not something I could check or treat as fact. | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |---|---|---| | Released January 2026 by Montlake | Supported | [Goodreads editions](https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/260417773-woman-down) | | Premise and the author's-note wording | Supported | [Review-Journal](https://neon.reviewjournal.com/books/woman-down-might-be-colleen-hoovers-most-revealing-novel-3328098/) quotes the same note | | "3.48 on Goodreads, one of her lowest" (video) | Unverified | Not re-checked; ratings change over time | | Washington Post line "quick flip" | Partly verified | Appears in a [Book Marks](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/woman-down/) excerpt; the outlet is not shown there | | Hoover's previous novel was 2022 | Supported as stated | Review-Journal says no new novel since 2022 | | "Saint" expands a short story from the *One More Step* anthology | Unverified | From the video's reading of the author's note | | "Worst book of 2026" | Opinion | Reviews are mixed; one positive excerpt exists | ## 7. Citations and references - [Goodreads editions](https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/260417773-woman-down); [NetGalley](https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/721929); [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Down-Novel-Colleen-Hoover/dp/1662539371) - [Book Marks reviews](https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/woman-down/); [Review-Journal review](https://neon.reviewjournal.com/books/woman-down-might-be-colleen-hoovers-most-revealing-novel-3328098/) - [Wikipedia: Colleen Hoover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Hoover)