Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us came out in 2016 but wasn’t very well known until it became a TikTok sensation in 2021. The book gained popularity from this platform during the pandemic when young readers started sharing it with the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeReadIt on the ‘BookTok’ community.
What is It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover about?
Here’s the blurb from the back:
Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
Should I read It Ends With Us?
I must mention a couple of trigger warnings. It Ends With Us covers themes of homelessness and domestic violence. Although, I have to say that if I had known that this book covered these themes, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to read it. I generally avoid anything that might make me feel too heavy-hearted. So, I am glad that the blurb on the back didn’t mention this at all and I got to read it without any preconceived notions. It sounded very much like it would be another ‘chick-lit’ romance novel, but it was much more than that. Its so well-written that I got sucked right into it without it feeling too overwhelming.
Here’s what the blurb doesn’t mention:
Lily reminisces her past through her journal entries from when she was 15 years old. Her father was abusive towards her mother. Her mother still stayed with him right up until he died. Lily hated her father for the type of man he was and judged her mother for never leaving him.
I’m not giving away the ending, but the rest of this review might be a bit of a spoiler if you’re planning on reading this book. So, proceed with caution (or stop reading this and read the actual book). In her present, Lily has an amazing relationship with Ryle. They do, however, get into a couple of fights that resulted in ‘accidents’ over the course of their relationship that leave Lily comparing Ryle with her father. Lily gains new perspective and an understanding for her mother towards the end.
After Ryle’s third jealous outburst, Lily finds out she’s pregnant and has to make a difficult choice about the future of her relationship.
Final Thoughts
I absolutely had to write a review as soon as I finished reading (and processing) this book. Colleen Hoover portrays Lily’s emotions extremely well and really gets the reader to the turmoil of being in the situation that Lily is facing. The thought processes are so natural as well as 15-year-old Lily’s journal entries.
This is not your typical romance. I am absolutely recommending It Ends With Us to everyone I know! The next Colleen Hoover novel on my list is Verity. I hear it’s an excellent thriller. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
The Review
It Ends With Us has both romance and heartbreak. Colleen Hoover has woven an exceptional tale filled with complex emotions. This book is eye-opening to serious issues that we wouldn't normally think about. It is an excellent read.
PROS
- Realistic characters
- Deeply moving
CONS
- Covers hard-hitting issues
Amazon
Google Book (eBook)
Walmart
