It Ends With Us Book - Everything You Need to Know
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With the movie adaption released in cinemas in August 2024, many of you will be wondering whether the book is worth a read. Here is everything you need to know about It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.
You can buy a copy on Amazon here.
What is it about?
It Ends With Us follows main character Lily Bloom; a young adult who grew up with an abusive father and later finds herself in a toxic relationship with Ryle Kincaid. The story follows their relationship, and ultimately shows how the cycle of abuse can be broken.
Official synopsis:
“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 where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems 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.
What Did I Think?
I first read It Ends With Us a few years ago and I really liked it. While some reviewers have accused the author of turning a hideous situation into a story to be enjoyed, I instead found it to be a striking and powerful read. It’s unfathomable to many why a young woman who was abused as a child would then enter an abusive romantic relationship as an adult, and this book explores the intricacies of that.
Colleen Hoover is widely known as a romance author, but this book is reported to be very different to the rest of her catalogue. I’ve actually attempted to read several of her books since loving It Ends With Us, but I wasn’t able to get into any of them, which proves my point really. Even if you haven’t previously enjoyed or felt drawn to any of Colleen Hoover’s books, you might still enjoy this one!
Although this book is hard hitting and vulnerable, which might make it difficult for some to read, it also retains the whimsy of a good romance book. It’s fun to watch Lily start up her own floristry business, and there’s a romance to root for too!
What are some of the best quotes from It Ends With Us?
“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.“
“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person's character aren't the mistakes we make. It's how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”
“Just because someone hurts you doesn't mean you can simply stop loving them.”
“As hard as this choice is, we break the pattern before the pattern breaks us.“
“I feel like everyone fakes who they really are, when deep down we're all equal amounts of screwed up. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.”
“Preventing your heart from forgiving someone you love is actually a hell of a lot harder than simply forgiving them.”
“All humans make mistakes. What determines our character is whether we turn those mistakes into excuses or lessons.”
“Just because we didn’t end up on the same wave, doesn’t mean we aren’t still a part of the same ocean.“
“Our eyes, locked together, speak more naked truths than our mouths ever have.“
“I love it when the night sky makes me feel insignificant”
What about the sequel? Should I read that too?
The sequel to It Ends With Us, similarly named It Starts With Us, published in 2020 - six years after the original. It follows Lily as she navigates life after her abusive relationship with Kyle - I won’t spoil anything for you, but it follows the romance that many of us were rooting for in the first book!
It Starts With Us is definitely a very different vibe to the first book. It’s much shorter, and feels a lot less serious. For me it was a comforting sign that things can get better after abuse, even happily ever after romance stories.
Here is the blurb:
“Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil co-parenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.”
You can buy a copy of It Ends With Us for yourself here…
And a copy of It Starts With Us here!
Have you read the books? If you have, leave a comment and let me know what you thought.