Regretting You Book: Plot, Ending, and Reader Questions Answered

Few novels stir up as much debate among book lovers as Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You. Some readers finish it in tears, praising the raw emotion; others close the book frustrated with what they see as a predictable plot and unlikable characters.

Publication year: 2019 ·
Author: Colleen Hoover ·
Pages: 336 ·
Genre: Contemporary romance / women’s fiction ·
Film adaptation: 2025 (directed by Josh Boone) ·
Goodreads rating: 4.2 / 5 (approx.)

Six key identifiers, one pattern: the book’s metadata is consistent across major databases.

What is Regretting You the book about?

Plot summary

• The novel opens with Morgan Grant, a 35-year-old mother, and her 16-year-old daughter Clara, whose relationship is already strained because Morgan became pregnant at 17 and married Chris young (Goodreads (book database)).
• Early in the story, Chris dies in a car crash. His passenger is Morgan’s sister, Jenny, who survives (Goodreads (book database)).
• The crash uncovers a long-term affair between Chris and Jenny – and the revelation that Jenny was pregnant (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).
• Morgan initially hides the affair from Clara to protect her, while both mother and daughter navigate grief separately (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).
• Clara, meanwhile, turns to a boy named Miller – someone she has been told to stay away from (Goodreads (book database)).

Main characters: Morgan, Clara, Chris, Jonah, Miller

• Morgan Grant – The mother, who gave up her own dreams to marry young. She is protective and controlling, yet grieving.
• Clara Grant – The 16-year-old daughter, rebellious and struggling with her father’s death and her mother’s secrets.
• Chris – Morgan’s husband, killed in the crash. His affair with Jenny is the central twist.
• Jonah – Jenny’s husband, who becomes a support figure for Morgan (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).
• Miller – Clara’s love interest, a boy with a troubled reputation.

The implication: each character embodies a different response to loss – denial, rebellion, support, or betrayal – making the novel a study in how families fall apart and rebuild.

Is Chris the dad of the baby in Regretting You?

Chris and Jenny’s relationship

• Chris was having an affair with Jenny, Morgan’s sister, for some time before the crash (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).
• Jenny was pregnant at the time of the accident (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).

Paternity reveal

• It is confirmed that Chris is the biological father of Jenny’s baby (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).
• According to Bookends, the baby (Elijah) is most likely Chris’s son rather than Jonah’s (Bookends (endings site)).

What happens at the end of Regretting You?

Ending explained

• After months of tension, Morgan reveals the affair to Clara. The revelation nearly destroys their relationship (TheBookSuite (fiction blog)).
• Morgan reconnects emotionally with Jonah, Jenny’s husband, and they eventually end up together (Bookends (endings site)).
• Clara and Miller also end up together, having grown closer through their shared pain (Bookends (endings site)).
• Chris and Jenny raise the baby together – though Chris is dead, the legacy of his betrayal is handled with a fragile sense of hope.

Resolution for Morgan and Clara

• Mother and daughter reconcile after Clara learns the full truth and understands Morgan’s protective choices.
• Reviewers at Heidi Dischler (book reviewer) call the mother-daughter arc the highlight of the book.

Miller and Clara’s relationship

• Miller is the steady presence Clara needs. Their relationship is described as young, intense, and healing.

Why was Regretting You so bad?

Common criticisms

• A frequent complaint is that the plot is predictable. The affair reveal and the paternity twist are seen as obvious from early chapters (Smexy Books (book review site)).
• Some reviewers find the characters unrelatable. Morgan is controlling, Clara is bratty, and the adults seem immature (Smexy Books (book review site)).
• Pacing is another criticism: the first half moves slowly, with the accident and its aftermath taking too long to develop.
• Compared to Hoover’s other works like Verity or It Ends With Us, Regretting You is often viewed as less gripping and more of a “family drama” than a romance (Heidi Dischler (book reviewer)).

Reader reviews

• Goodreads reviews reflect the split: some readers praise the emotional depth, others call it boring or frustrating. The average rating of 4.2 hides a wide distribution.
• On Reddit, discussions often mention that the book feels like a “lighter Hoover” – less trauma porn, but also less intensity (Reddit (community forum)).

Comparison to other Colleen Hoover books

• Regretting You is among Hoover’s less “spicy” works, focusing instead on familial grief (Floweringpages (book review blog)).
• Fans who love Hoover’s darkest novels (like Verity or Too Late) may find this one too mild.

Is the book Regretting You spicy?

Romance level

• Compared to many of Hoover’s books, Regretting You has very low explicit content. It focuses more on emotional intimacy than physical scenes.
• Reviewers note that the romance subplots (Morgan/Jonah, Clara/Miller) are built on grief and connection, not sexual tension.

Steaminess compared to other Hoover books

• Hoover’s Ugly Love and November 9 are significantly spicier. Regretting You sits at the milder end of her catalog.
• For readers asking “is it spicy?” – the answer is no. The book is PG-13 at most.

Confirmed facts and what remains unclear

“I knew when I wrote Regretting You that I wanted to explore the complicated relationship between a mother and daughter who are forced to see each other in a new light after tragedy.”

Colleen Hoover, author interview (via Goodreads (book database))

“Morgan is the adult heroine of the piece, but she also makes terrible choices. That tension – wanting to root for her while being frustrated – is what makes the book work.”

Smexy Books review (Smexy Books (book review site))

“I honestly couldn’t relate to any character. Morgan was annoying, Clara was whiny, and the affair twist felt forced just to create drama.”

Reader comment on Reddit (Reddit (community forum))

“If you go in expecting a typical Colleen Hoover romance, you’ll be confused. This is grief fiction, through and through.”

Beth Martin Books review (Beth Martin Books (book review blog))

For readers debating whether to pick up Regretting You, the verdict depends entirely on what you want from a Hoover novel. If you crave twisty thrillers or steamy encounters, look elsewhere. If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt family drama about grief, forgiveness, and learning to love again after a devastating betrayal, this book delivers exactly that. The polarized reviews aren’t a sign of a bad book – they’re a sign of a book that knows what it is and doesn’t apologize for it.

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