Explore this Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover summary and review with quotes to savor and save from this utterly addictive and compelling CoHo book. You’ll get a full synopsis of Heart Bones (with spoilers of the ending marked), a review of its pros and cons, and you’ll discover who it’s best for.
Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author that has taken the literary world by storm with her quick and immersive modern romance books that have sold like hotcakes over the last few years.
(Of note, most of this article was written by my friend and freelance writer, a spicy romance reader, and edited by me. Both of us are big Colleen Hoover fans, and we just couldn’t stop talking about this one.)
We think Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover would be the perfect book for someone just getting into Colleen Hoover books. We also recommend it to any fan of Colleen Hoover, beachy romances, or fast-paced books. Fans of her crowd-pleaser Reminders of Him will also likely connect with this one too.
In short, Heart Bones is the kind of book you want to read cover-to-cover as fast as possible and hang onto every single word at the same time. You’ll also be rooting for the characters the whole time.
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover: Summary
Heart Bones Age Rating
- Trigger Warnings: addiction, overdose, sexual assault
- Spice Level: 2 out of 5
- Age Recommendation: Technically, Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover is categorized as a Young Adult novel rated for ages 14 and over, but we personally think maturity should be considered before reading this book under age 18 due to some sexual content and adult topics and themes, including drugs, incarceration, sexual assault, and death.
Heart Bones Characters
Below are the main characters in Heart Bones with brief (no spoiler) descriptions:
- Beyah: Recent high school graduate who moves from her life of extreme poverty in Kentucky with her mother to new affluent life in Texas with her father
- Samson: Beyah’s mysterious neighbor in Texas with whom she forms a friendship and connection
- Sara: Beyah’s new stepsister at her father’s home in Texas who becomes one of Beyah’s closest friends
- Marcos: Sara’s boyfriend who is trying to start up his own clothing line
- Brian: Beyah’s father who has little to do with her life as she grew up but now has her under his roof at his Texas beach home
- Alana: Brian’s wife, Beyah’s stepmother, and Sara’s mother who is a local dentist
- Marjorie: Beyah and Samson’s neighbor, an older woman with some health issues who Samson helps with house projects
Full Heart Bones Summary
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover is the story of Beyah, a 19-year-old recent high school graduate born and raised in Kentucky. She lives in a trailer home with her mother, Janean, who is an addict. Beyah is the product of a one-night stand and has not seen her father, who lives in Washington, for longer than a week at a time, and they have had no contact at all in three years.
Beyah has essentially raised herself and everything she has in life, including her full ride to Penn State in the Fall for her stellar volleyball skills, she has gotten on her own accord. She is, by nature, a fighter who was dealt a terrible hand of cards in the parent department and has grown up hungry, poor, lonely, and sad.
So, when she finds her mother dead on the couch from a drug overdose (with a needle still in her arm), she is completely devoid of emotion — and actually a bit relieved.
With nowhere to go and no other relatives in Kentucky to call upon, the local police officer recommends that Beyah spend her last summer before college elsewhere. Beyah hesitantly phones her father, Brian, who has since left Washington and moved to Texas. Fortunately, he doesn’t hesitate to buy Beyah a one-way plane ticket to stay with him. So, Beyah packs up a couple of bags of her only belongings and leaves her Kentucky life behind.
Once in Texas, Beyah is feeling rather out of place. Her father and stepmother, Alana, “Summer” on the Bolivar Peninsula in a beautiful oceanfront home. Her new stepsister, Sara, is lovely, and Beyah’s bedroom has its own balcony. Beyah is not used to these people or this lifestyle, as she’s fought her entire life for things as essential as food and shelter.
Sara takes Beyah under her wing and excitedly tells Beyah that she would love for her to connect with their hot, rich, single neighbor, Samson. He lives directly next door and is friends with Sara’s boyfriend Marcos.
Beyah, who already had a run-in with Samson on the ferry over to the peninsula, could not be less interested in her new mysterious neighbor. She is just getting her bearings in Texas, learning who her family is, and discovering what it’s like to have a solid roof over her head. The last thing she wants or needs is guy drama.
Samson and his crystal blue eyes, however, are immediately drawn to Beyah. And, as she and Sara attend nightly bonfires on the beach, Beyah and Samson are undoubtedly intrigued by one another. In Samson, Beyah sees some of herself. She sees that he’s damaged and that there is depth in him. Samson feels the same toward Beyah.
The two long to know more about one another, but each of them has their guard up and feels hesitant to share more information.
They often play a game in which they answer one another’s questions and, in doing so, Beyah finds out some basic information about Samson: His mother passed away when he was young. His father owns five rental properties on the peninsula, and Samson manages them for him. He lives in the home next door to Beyah most often because it’s the most expensive to rent and is, therefore, often vacant. His friend Rake died during Hurricane Ike. And, he does odd jobs around town for others, namely his elderly neighbor Marjorie, and doesn’t even take payment for them.
For all the questions Samson answers, however, there are several that he refuses to answer at all. But, as he’s headed to the Air Force Academy in the Fall, he promises to give Beyah all the answers she needs at the end of the Summer.
Unlike Beyah’s previous life in Kentucky, where she was never checked on, never had anyone cheer for her at her volleyball games, and made all of her own decisions, she is now part of a real family dynamic. Her father and Alana are genuinely caring for her and willing to have open conversations about sensitive topics, and Sara is just so elated to have a sister. So, Beyah and Samson simply never get time alone.
One day, Samson invites Beyah on their first “real” date — a golf cart tour of the beach. Their date takes an eerie turn, though, when the two discover the bones of a dead body in the dunes. Samson realizes, via the shirt fabric, that the bones are of his friend Rake, whose boat capsized in this very spot. He dismisses Beyah (and her new loyal dog, Pepper Jack Cheese), telling her that Rake would want to be buried at sea and that he needs to take care of this himself.
In an effort to take their relationship to the next level, Beyah asks her father’s permission to spend the night with Samson at his house next door. Initially hesitant, Beyah eventually explains that she is 19 years old and, while she plans on staying Samson’s house regardless, she prefers to have his blessing. He finally does so, and Beyah heads over to Samson’s for their first night together.
Heart Bones Ending WITH SPOILERS
Beyah and Samsom spend the night together, and it’s just as intense and magical as Beyah knew it would be. She is awoken from her peaceful post-coital slumber at 2:30 a.m., however, to multiple police officers in the house, taking Samson away in handcuffs. Beyah asks for her father and she, with Brian in tow, is also taken to the police station for questioning.
Confused and full of questions, Beyah is told that Samson’s real name is Shawn Samson Bennett and that he has quite the record with the law. The home at which he was staying was not one of his father’s rental properties at all, but rather a young family’s home in which he was trespassing. He had been in prison in the past for auto theft and he had a parole violation, as well as two warrants out for his arrest for arson at another home at which he was trespassing.
Beyah is told she cannot see or speak to Samson until the following day at 9:00 a.m., and that he is looking at quite a bit of jail time.
Beyah is completely shocked, but when she visits Samson, he is finally willing to answer her questions honestly and candidly. First, he apologizes profusely for his repeated lies and omissions throughout their time together. Then, he explains that his mother really did die when he was young, but that Rake was actually his father. Samson had been alone and on the streets since he was 13 years old, trying to make ends meet. He is, in many ways, just like Beyah, and was never the rich kid his peers thought he was.
Samson explains that when he was much younger, he did some stupid things with an old friend, which lead to his prison time, but that the arson wasn’t fully his fault, as there was faulty electrical in the house he was squatting in. Everything simply snowballed from there.
Lastly, Samson was also never going to attend the Air Force Academy, but rather he was preparing to turn himself in.
In a very intense scene, Samson begs Beyah to go to Penn State, to live her life, and to forget about him. He wants her to fulfill her potential and be everything she can be without him holding her back. Initially, Beyah’s hesitant to do this, but she finally realizes it’s best for her to move on and so, she heads up to Pennsylvania. Samson stops taking her phone calls and removes her from his visitor list, making his decision final.
Still, Beyah sees the good in Samson. She can relate to many aspects of his life and believes he made the choices he made out of desperation and necessity. She contacts Marjorie, the elderly woman for whom Samson did some work, and Marjorie, in turn, contacts her son, Kevin, who’s a lawyer, to take on Samson’s case.
Samson is eventually sentenced to four years in prison and Beyah calls Kevin monthly for his entire sentence, never receiving much of an update in return… until she does. After four years pass, Beyah’s college years have come to an end, and Kevin calls her to let her know that it’s time for Samson to be released.
Beyah waits on the hood of her car at the prison for hours. When Samson emerges, he heads for the bus stop and doesn’t even glance at the parking lot, thinking that no one would be waiting for him. He then stops, hesitates, looks back, and runs to his girl. After a kiss that says so much more than, “Hello, I’ve missed you,” the two head to the beach, stare at the ocean, and finally feel ready to be the couple they were always meant to be.
They call Kevin, who informs them that Marjorie recently passed away and left her beach house to Samson, who always lent her a helping hand and offered her friendship. Shocked, but grateful, the two embark on their journey of life, love, and whatever the future holds for their damaged, yet in many ways rapaired, souls.
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Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover: Review
I absolutely loved Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover! I read it cover-to-cover in two days and hung onto every single word. Hoover has the ability to grasp the reader with the first word and not let go until the very last page.
The two main characters were extremely likable. Beyah, due to fighting for nearly everything she has in life, had confidence that sometimes isn’t seen in the leading lady of a romance novel — and I liked it. And Samson, as Beyah mentions early on, is like an onion with many layers, but watching her peel them back slowly and learning of their similarities is wonderful to watch.
The supporting characters in this book were simply perfect — no secrets, just genuinely good people. I found myself rooting for Brian and Alana, Sara and Marcos, and even Pepper Jack Cheese just as much as I rooted for Beyah and Samson.
In true Hoover form, the ending offered a twist I was not expecting. Clearly, Samson had skeletons in his closet, but a rap sheet that long was not at the top of my list. I loved it, and I cheered for him.
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover would be the perfect book for someone just getting into Colleen Hoover.
Other books of hers offer more spice, but this is the perfect mix: it’s a quick read with minimal spice and an unexpected, yet satisfying, ending. It’s everything about Hoover that makes her spectacular, and I would recommend it to any fan of Colleen Hoover, beachy romances, or fast-paced books.
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover: Quotes
“Damaged people recognize other damaged people.”
“Home still feels like a mythical place I’ve been searching for my whole life.”
“It’s weird how your whole life can completely change in the hours between waking up and going to bed.”
“There are two different kinds of wrong. The wrong that stems from weakness and the wrong that stems from strength. You made that choice because you were strong and needed to survive. You didn’t make that choice because you were weak.”
“I know what love is, because I spent my whole life knowing what it isn’t.”
“Maybe we did grow heart bones. But what if the only way of knowing you grew a heart bone is by feeling the agony caused by the break?”
“People sometimes still drown in the shallow end.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
The girl’s name in Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover is Beyah Grim.
The main characters in Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover are Beyah and Samson.
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover has some spicy scenes, but overall, it focuses more on the emotional relationship between the characters.
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover deals with some difficult topics, including addiction, overdose, and sexual assault. It also has some spicy scenes.
Yes. Beyah and Samson do end up together in Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover.
Yes. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover does have a happy ending, as Beyah and Samson end up together and start a new life as a couple.
Yes. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover is a stand alone novel. It is not part of a series.
No. Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover does not have a sequel. It is a stand alone novel.
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Conclusion
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover is easily one of her best books. Now you know the full summary, age rating, quotes, and more to either help you decide whether to read it or assist you after you begin reading it.
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