Our Thoughts On "It Ends With Us"
Spoiler free
I have to admit I was nervous going into it due to all of the hype surrounding it and the author but I can safely say it was one of the best books I read in 2022.
While I’m yet to read “It Starts With Us” I can safely say it will be one of my favourite reads of this year.
If you are interested in reading this series. Please read content warnings as they do contain some difficult themes throughout.
Full review
Review submitted by Chloe Booth- Dobson
Check out Chloe over on Instagram – @a_thousand_little_lands
Potential spoilers
TW/CW: Abuse (Physical, Sexual, Emotional), Rape, Toxic Relationships, Death, Gun Violence (These books have so many so please do your research)
Synopsis:
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. When she feels a spark with the gorgeous Ryle Kincaid, everything in her 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. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s 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.
The sequel It Starts With Us follows the story of second chance love after a broken relationship and finding your family regardless of blood and fighting to protect them.
It Ends With Us
At this point I feel like everyone has read this one as it’s definitely Hoover’s most popular book. Don’t get me wrong there’s serious reason for it. The storyline is messy, this definitely is not a romance book. However, the representation and discussion of domestic abuse is definitely something I feel is important for us to see in books. Lily and Ryle have that cute beginning but everything isn’t as magical as Lily wanted it to be in the end.
Told through dual timelines with her present and past romances playing out I really enjoyed seeing the comparison there and Lily’s memories. This book is quite disturbing and will definitely tear you apart. It had me sobbing on multiple occasions and the sadness I felt for Lily was intense but a book that can make me feel so many things is definitely a good one!
It Starts With Us
After reading It Ends With Us I definitely felt like I needed Lily to get her happy ending. Starting just 30 minutes after the ending of the first book, this beautiful sequel focuses on Lily and Atlas’s second chance romance and their relationship is just adorable.
The whole book really shows the reality of a life following abuse and how even when she finally gets that happily-ever-after the thoughts and worries will always be there. I loved seeing Lily really come into her strong independent personality and she seeing her surviving and thriving by the end of the book made me so happy.
I really enjoyed both of the POVs in this book and loved the focus on family units and doing everything you can to protect the people you love. I did cry at this book but more for the characters happiness than the sadness of the first book. This is definitely a book to put you back together after being pulled apart by the first one.
Overall thoughts:
I feel like although there’s been a lot of hate for this series but I think it is definitely needed in today’s society. Until I read this series I had never really been exposed to the narrative of abuse as detailed as this and I really feel like it opened my eyes.
Although Colleen Hoover said she wasn’t going to write a sequel I’m so glad that she did because seeing the struggle and worries of Lily’s life despite no longer being with Ryle is something I feel is very important. Especially for the people who sympathised with Ryle in book 1. But I also loved that Lily stood her ground and continued with her life! Honestly, I’ve enjoyed every Colleen Hoover book I’ve read but this is a series that I’ll definitely keep going back to!
buy them here*
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