Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

2 reviews

amissabellator's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, and Stalking

This story builds up and then follows an incredibly tense and detailed toxic

and ultimately abusive

relationship. The book also includes graphic depictions of sexual assault and domestic abuse, so be wary. Following the tropes of many romance novels, it includes depictions of sex and pregnancy - including following two prominent characters throughout their pregnancies. A character also acts very jealously and possessively, even accusing their partner of infidelity on multiple occasions

and acts violently because of it

. A separate, but important, plotline follows the main character as she recounts her past with a previous high school lover, Atlas, who was homeless at the time.

Both characters graphically recount the domestic abuse suffered by their parents and themselves.

One of the main characters is also subtly implied to be suffering from a mental illness as the result of a traumatic childhood event involving gun violence (graphically described), and said illness is suspected to be the cause of current emotional dysfunction. A minor character follows the stereotypical trope of the gay best friend (and only exists in a single chapter).

ichthusangel's review

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.75

After waiting for 2 weeks to sort out my thoughts, here’s finally, my review.

It Ends With Us, written by #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Colleen Hoover is a pathetic rendition of a story that could’ve been much more. I can’t even call it a shadow of the book could’ve been for it is insulting to the shadow which outlines us completely.

• The book starts with the protagonist, Lily Bloom, contemplating about suicide for some reason. I mean, thinking of death is one thing, but suicide? How does it relate to this book? I’m lost there.

[Does America not have guards in apartment complexes who prohibit strangers from entering? In my country, the entry of outsiders needs to be notified to the guards along with the time they’ll be visiting, they interrogate the visitor, call the person they’re meeting to get them, but I think is US you can show up on any building’s terrace? WOW there US, what a wonderful way to let crimes happen and glorify the police when they catch the culprits when most of them are SHIT.] 

Also her name? Cho Chang of CoHo Universe.

• One of the main characters, Ryle Kincaid, a resident neurosurgeon with a wealthy sibling, who sees her and simply talks of his naked truths with her. I mean, what is this? A bully x sweet new girl high school story where the bully falls for the girl at first sight and blabbers on uninhibitedly? I get the itch to be truthful, however, despite that itch, we’ve been fed and excreted lies for so long that it’s hard to not lie, and with a stranger? No one would be honest with a stranger.

• Oh, this is really a high school bully x sweet new girl fic. The doc doesn’t do relationships and prefers one night stands, while Lily has never had a one night stand and favours relationships but she’s ready to have her first one night stand because Ryle is, oh so hot. And Ryle is so enamoured, that he needed to be in a relationship with her after knowing for merely a few months, like, oh man, that’s the power of love. No dude, it’s just making the story work. Falling in love is very different from being in a relationship which requires time & more efforts then buying bouquets and fucking when you can. 

• Someone needs to arrest Ryle for wearing hospital scrubs outside the surgery room. Man! That’s fucking unhygienic and contagious! (One can easily deduce that Colleen got hots for a doctor but has no fucking idea of how they function outside their workplace. Like, c’mon, you’re a top rated author, you’ve been honoured by NYT but you put in no efforts into doing the bare minimum character construction?)

• Lily, after years, opens her Ellen Diaries. She wrote of her problems, addressing them to Ellen. She was this private when she was younger, but she’s opening up to a stranger about a lot of it, just because he’s what? Hot, honest, rich and asked for her naked truth? (Soulmates? *eye rolls* Soulmates don’t come in front of each other and form an instant connection. Work needs to be put into each & every relationship regardless of their nature.) Also how am I supposed to take this book seriously when Ellen is her absentee therapist?

• At one point, Lily’s heteronormative and mentions Ellen as such before correcting herself and I’m just— why was it needed? Her books are RW leaning, but I guess her fanbase isn't so she'll add an unnecessary queer or POC side character for diversity brownie points. FUCK OFF. 

• Her dad abused her mom, but she stayed and took it all in because she loved him. And okay, I can understand that. But this had so much more potential. Her mother could be from a poor background who had nothing to support herself with, she’s an immigrant with no documents, who gained citizenship only by marrying her father etc., but of course, no issue actually matters to Hoover if it isn’t directly related to the book. Like if you're gonna write shitty romance, at least make the tragic backstory more tragic???

• See, around the world, there are millions struggling for a job, even meagre jobs, and Boston isn’t an exception to it, however, instead of hiring some broke college student, there’s a rich woman working for free, and oh! what a coincidence! she’s Ryle’s wealthy sister! AND, her only friend💀

• Lily becomes a florist, and guess what? Her business is extremely successful! Ryle and her have started going out! Ryle’s doing well with his career! His sister & also Lily’s employee Alyssa is a great person & a wonderful friend! Her relationship with her mother is bettering! Alyssa, after years of not being able to have a baby, miraculously, gets pregnant! They're rich Americans but don't even discuss adoption, amazing!

• Lily, after she starts dating Ryle, comes across her high school love, Atlas, who’s like, the perfect person. He was homeless (and now he’s doing big, BIG) when she saw him, but he is a perfect man, he wants Lily to be happy & safe, and let’s her know at the correct moment, that she’s still his favourite person. He does not confuse or manipulate her to love him. After a point, it seems like, perhaps unknowingly, Hoover made Ryle the bad guy while Atlas was the angel. 

• Back then, he confirmed she was a minor (he wasn't) and then they fucked.

• Such a fickle relationship shackled between limited time but they get married hurriedly with their families in Vegas. *eye rolls* Oh, how beautiful is their love.

• Her mother & Ryle’s sister are wonderful people who support her through rough times. I mean, black & white, right? Like of course Ryle’s fucking sister will have no qualms asking Lily to disrupt their priorly 'perfect family,' huh? Because apparently Lily and her mother are the only stupid ones, and everyone else is logical and understanding, like even Atlas’s friends who’re strangers to her. 

• For a woman who’s pregnant with a baby of her husband who raped her, her problems are significantly less. She’s successful and doesn’t need to depend on Ryle’s money. She has support of many, and Ryle, except for his anger outbursts, is an understanding guy. He gives her space and everything she wants. And that maybe why he suffers no consequences of abuse & trauma apart from divorce. FUCK RYLE AND FUCK ATLAS AND FUCK COHO!

• And oh, (spoiler) the book has a happy ending. An amiable relationship with Ryle post divorce, and a fairytale ending with Atlas, because of course that’s very practical, right? 

• “You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore,” because yeah, it is a fairytale. Atlas & her’s relationship will never be strained, right? Atlas is the 'perfect guy' right? *eye rolls as the curtains go down*

I gained NOTHING from this book. I wish I could go back to stop myself from wasting my time, but unfortunately, it cannot be undone. The life of the character’s was too easy, even for characters with upsetting pasts, after a point of time, their lives were too easy. The characters were so bland, the relationships were so underdeveloped, the writing was so shitty. Please go on AO3, pick a fandom & sort according to kudos, you will find much, much, much better work.

Writing books about such a topic has so much more potential than whatever garbage this was. The struggles were written in a very passive way and it never touched my heart. Not once. 

One line I loved in the book (and I loved only this one line), was Ryle saying “The more I’m around death, the more it just becomes a part of life.”  (imagine the quality of this book if this trivial line is my favourite)

The 0.75 star is only because it (very poorly and inadequately) talks of domestic abuse otherwise it gets a 0 from me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia