
In "Nine Days," a hockey captain discovers a girl's suicide goodbye notebook, sparking an unexpected connection. This raw romance tackles mental health controversies, dividing readers with its portrayal of how nine days - and one person - might change someone's darkest decision.
Joelina Falk is the author of Nine Days and a rising voice in contemporary romance known for blending emotional depth with hockey-themed love stories. Born in Germany in 2002, Falk writes romance novels that tackle complex themes like mental health, trauma, and healing, wrapped in compelling sports settings.
Nine Days, the first installment in her Unfrozen Four series, follows Lily Reyes as she battles depression and Colin, a hockey player who finds her diary and has just nine days to convince her that life is worth living. The book features brother's best friend tropes and mental health representation that resonates deeply with readers.
Falk has authored multiple successful series including the Unfrozen Four quartet (Eight Weeks, Seven Months, and Six Years), the Tartarus Club series (A Taste of Light and A Taste of Darkness), and NY Sweethearts. Her works have garnered over 75,000 ratings on Goodreads, with Nine Days remaining her most popular release. The Unfrozen Four series is expanding to audiobook format throughout 2025.
Nine Days by Joelina Falk follows Lily Reyes, a 20-year-old college student battling depression who accidentally leaves behind her goodbye notebook. Colin Carter, the captain of St. Trewery's hockey team, discovers it and asks for nine days to show her that life is worth living. The contemporary romance explores mental health, healing, and finding hope through human connection as their relationship deepens over those transformative nine days.
Joelina Falk is a German romance author born on April 5, 2002. She writes contemporary and dark romances that don't shy away from emotional depth and difficult themes. Nine Days, published in February 2022, launched her Unfrozen Four series, which currently includes four novels centered around hockey romance. She has also written the Tartarus Club series and NY Sweethearts series, with her work gaining significant popularity on platforms like Goodreads.
Nine Days is ideal for readers who enjoy emotionally intense contemporary romance with mental health representation. The book appeals to fans of hockey romance, slow-burn relationships, and stories about healing through connection. However, it contains triggering content related to depression, suicide ideation, and childhood trauma, so it's best suited for mature readers seeking raw, realistic portrayals of mental health struggles alongside hopeful romance narratives.
Nine Days offers a powerful exploration of depression and recovery wrapped in a compelling romance. Readers praise its raw authenticity in depicting mental health struggles, the protective hero dynamic, and the emotional depth between Lily and Colin. The book balances heavy themes with moments of hope, tenderness, and healing. With strong ratings on Goodreads and a devoted fanbase, it's worth reading for those seeking emotionally resonant stories that handle difficult subjects with sensitivity and care.
The story centers on Colin Carter's nine-day challenge to convince Lily Reyes that life is worth living after discovering her suicide preparation notebook. Each day, Colin takes Lily on outings and creates moments of joy, connection, and vulnerability. This time-limited framework builds urgency and emotional stakes as their relationship evolves from strangers to intimate companions, forcing both characters to confront their pain, fears, and growing feelings for each other.
Nine Days features Lily Heaven Reyes, a former figure skater struggling with depression, and Colin Carter, the hockey team captain who becomes her protector and love interest. Supporting characters include Aaron Marsh, Lily's twin brother and Colin's best friend, who is protective yet dealing with his own family issues. Winter Varley serves as Lily's dramatic best friend whose complicated relationship with Aaron adds tension to the group dynamic, creating an interconnected web of relationships.
The "unalive journey 101" notebook is Lily's personal journal containing her thoughts, feelings, and farewell letters to loved ones as she prepares for her planned death. When Colin discovers this notebook at the hockey arena, it becomes the catalyst that sets the entire story in motion. The notebook provides intimate access to Lily's inner struggles and serves as both a symbol of her despair and a bridge to potential healing through Colin's intervention.
Nine Days offers a raw, realistic depiction of depression through Lily's daily struggles, panic attacks, and feelings of worthlessness. The narrative avoids clichés by showing how mental health impacts all of Lily's relationships and includes professional help like therapy and medication alongside personal support. Depression is central to the plot rather than a subplot, with the story sensitively addressing Lily's planned suicide and emotional preparation while emphasizing that healing requires understanding, patience, and comprehensive support systems.
Figure skating represents Lily's former identity and joy before depression took hold, serving as a powerful metaphor for recovery and reclaiming life. Her return to the ice symbolizes hope and overcoming fear, with her performance of a difficult Lutz jump marking a pivotal turning point in her healing journey. Skating also connects Lily to other characters, including her brother Aaron and Colin's sister Eira, highlighting themes of support, resilience, and the possibility of rediscovering lost passions.
Nine Days features several impactful quotes that capture its themes.
"Beauty is also within the darkness. It's within misery and solitude, even if it's masked" explores finding meaning in suffering.
"You're living on a floating rock filled with water and you're expecting life to make sense" addresses life's inherent absurdity and uncertainty.
"The true art in life is to see beyond the pain" emphasizes perspective and hope, encouraging readers to find light even in difficult circumstances.
Yes, Nine Days contains significant triggering content that readers should be aware of before reading. The book deals extensively with depression, suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and childhood trauma. Joelina Falk provides a complete list of trigger warnings on her official website at www.joelinafalk.com/nine-days. Due to the sensitive nature of these themes, the book is recommended for mature readers who can handle raw mental health content and emotional intensity.
The romance between Lily and Colin evolves from resistance and misunderstanding to deep emotional and physical intimacy over their nine days together. Colin respects Lily's boundaries while gently encouraging vulnerability, creating trust through consistent presence and acts of kindness. Despite Lily's plan to die, feelings of attraction and care develop organically, leading to moments of tenderness that complicate their arrangement. The time constraint adds urgency and emotional stakes, making their evolving bond central to Lily's journey toward choosing life.
저자의 목소리로 책을 느껴보세요
지식을 흥미롭고 예시가 풍부한 인사이트로 전환
핵심 아이디어를 빠르게 캡처하여 신속하게 학습
재미있고 매력적인 방식으로 책을 즐기세요
existence feels like "fucking hell."
"Dear whoever reads this... I want to die."
"one final day to drown in self-sorrow."
"You shouldn't have been born, Lily!"
Lily she "tastes like mine"
Nine Days의 핵심 아이디어를 이해하기 쉬운 포인트로 분해하여 혁신적인 팀이 어떻게 창조하고, 협력하고, 성장하는지 이해합니다.
Nine Days을 빠른 기억 단서로 압축하여 솔직함, 팀워크, 창의적 회복력의 핵심 원칙을 강조합니다.

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Imagine making the decision to end your life, only to have a stranger discover your suicide plan and make an unexpected proposition: give them nine days to change your mind. This is the reality facing Lily Heaven Reyes, whose name carries a cruel irony given that her existence feels like "fucking hell." After 5,840 days of suffering, she's meticulously planned her exit from this world, documenting her final thoughts in a mint green notebook. When hockey star Colin Carter accidentally finds this "goodbye book" at the university ice rink, he makes a split-second decision that will alter both their lives. Rather than reporting Lily to counselors, he approaches her directly with a counter-offer-fourteen days to show her life's beauty. They negotiate down to nine days, with Lily maintaining her right to "one final day to drown in self-sorrow." What begins as Colin's desperate attempt to save a stranger evolves into something neither anticipated, creating both urgency and intimacy as Colin races against time while Lily struggles with unexpected feelings that complicate her carefully planned departure.