Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - It Ends with Us

Vowed to read 1 CoHo book in ifs entirety to affirm the suspicion that it wasn't for me. Worst thing I've ever read. Predictable and problematic with an air of trying desperately to "educate" readers. Also the mc is a florist who is called lily bloom.... eye roll. Mentioning the ridiculousness of that name in the book doesn't make it less ridiculous that its in the book. Nah. Nope. Not for me. Do not get the hype at all.

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bristolreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Lily is a young woman who has grown up in an abusive household where her father regularly would beat her mother and the book starts with the death of her father, for which Lily feels no grief. After the funeral, she meets Ryle who is a charismatic neurosurgeon and they have an instant attraction but he is opposed to commitment and therefore the relationship does not progress.

Later, Lily achieves her dream of setting up her own floristry business and becomes friends with a rich friend Alyssa, who she later discovers is Ryle's sister, thus her relationship with his restarts. This progresses to a serious relationship, resulting in the couple moving in together and later getting married. However, during this time there are frequent episodes of Ryle getting angry and assaulting Lily, echoing the behavior of her father during her childhood. Whilst the relationship is blossoming, Lily recalls her first true love who was a boy named Atlas, who she met when he was homeless and living in an abandoned house next to her when she was 15. The flashbacks feature how the support she provided to his of food, clothing and eventually a warm place to sleep developed romantically, but was cut short when Atlas had to move in with his Uncle in a different state. Atlas was also the only person who knew of the abuse Lily's father inflicted and was even the recipient of the abuse when he was attacked by

Atlas reappears in Lily's life as a restaurant owner and he instant she is living with and urges Lily to leave her husband, which she eventually does but when she finally leaves, she discovers she is pregnant. Atlas initially provides a safe lace for Lily to live, however she eventually returns to the house she lived in with Ryle and the relationship restarts.

When the baby Emma is born, Lily finally sees that she needs to break the cycle of abuse of the women in the family as 'It ends with us' , so leaves Ryle for good. In the epilogue Lily has the baby and is separated from Ryle. She again bumps into Atlas and can see that finally they can be together.

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cheruphim's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

(Reposted from Goodreads)
Finally, I read a Colleen Hoover book.

It Ends With Us is one of those books you hear a lot about, but don't actually -know- what it is about. It centers around a female protagonist named Lily Bloom (the most Fiction Book Female name ever) and her trials and tribulations in Boston, Massachusetts, as she falls for a guy named Ryle Kincaid (also the most Fiction Book Male name ever). Ryle is smart, dashing, and rich, but there's more to him than meets the eye, and more of his inner darkness bubbles to the surface when her childhood crush, Atlas (...no words) enters the picture. What happens is a riveting tale of love, hate, and the oft-mentioned but seldom discussed world of domestic abuse.

Make no mistake, this book involves domestic abuse, specifically of the spousal variety. It was written from Hoover's own personal experiences with it, and I think it is important to keep that in mind when reading this. I think due to the popularity of Hoover's books and her work in general, many walk into this not realizing it's a book about spousal abuse. I do hate how it gets marketed as something airy and romantic, especially towards women and around Valentine's Day. It's not as grim as other books on domestic abuse, something I've seen cited as a flaw in this book, but I think it works in this case. In abusive relationships, it's hard to get a pulse on what you're supposed to actually feel, and the relationship between Ryle and Lily reflects how it can go from 'fun and sexy night' to 'oh god, he hit me. He really hit me', and trying to balance that radical extreme. Much like depression, an abusive relationship isn't grim 100% of the time, and many have a hard time leaving one BECAUSE of the fun and lighthearted moments in between episodes and because they genuinely care about their partner. There is also attempted rape shown twice in this book, so please be advised when reading this book.

I think the relationship between Ryle and Lily is the most well done in this book, as well as the strained relationship between Lily and her mother and the dynamic Ryle's sister Alyssa brings to the table as both his sister and Lily's best friend. It shows how quickly things can change as well as the very real and complicated feelings Lily has for Ryle.

Everything else, on the other hand, feels kind of flat. I didn't really like Atlas, to be honest, because he didn't feel 'real' to me. Out of everyone in this book he felt like a manic pixie dream boy, showing up to be Lily's confidant and 'will-they,won't-they' lover. Unlike Ryle he has few flaws, other than he.. cares about Lily, and was once homeless? He's there just to be the 'right' boyfriend for Lily, and while, yes she deserves someone who cares about her and won't abuse her, that seems to be all there is to his personality. I wish there was more to him other than being the 'dreamy boyfriend that's there to help you escape an abusive relationship' fantasy. He was homeless at one point! I had brushes with poverty in my lifetime, along with family that has had brushes with poverty, and that does change you in a way. It makes you paranoid about your finances, or overindulgent and selfish, but for Atlas it didn't seem to affect him much as an adult other than being a sad part of his backstory. I wish the book expounded more on that, and well, at least gave him some sort of flaw.

Also while I love how real and candid this book feels about domestic abuse, it does falls on some domestic abuse tropes in media. Lily's father is cruel and abusive.. and that's it. He beats and sexually assaults her mom, and even breaks Atlas' nose for being intimate with his daughter. I'm not going to lie, I wish the book revealed more about him. For a nuanced take on domestic abuse, Lily's father is nothing more than a caricature on the abusive husband trope, and I wish there was more to him. Like did he have an anger management problem or undiagnosed mental illness? Did he himself have abusive parents growing up? We learn about Ryle and his issues, but is there nothing to be said about Lily's father? And how did beating a homeless teenager to a pulp get overlooked so easily, even if he was a powerful figure in a small town in Maine? His death is a huge catalyst to the start of this book and where Lily winds up, and I would have much rather learned more about him than some of the other material brought up in this book.

I also want to bring up something else: this book was written in 2016. I say that because a sizeable chunk of this book is Lily being a teenager and writing in her diary to Ellen Degeneres. This was long before the stories of Degeneres' cruelty towards her staff came out in 2020, and was also at the peak of her popularity. It gets overbearing at times, and the mantra 'just keep swimming' from Finding Nemo's Dory feels like something from a corny Disney mom, but I want to bring that up because I've seen reviews where people asked how Hoover could idolize Ellen like that after all she did. Well, it was written in 2016, and much of the talk surrounding her abusive behavior was limited to the Los Angeles/Hollywood film scene before it all came to light. I kind of like the touch of a kid writing to a talk show celebrity, even if the Ellen worship makes you cringe now. It also adds a sort of black humor irony to it now, seeing as how Lily was surrounded by domestic abuse, and one of her means of escape was indulging in a show that was.. also hosted by an abusive person.

Another thing I saw criticism of this book for was the ending, in which Lily breaks up with Ryle shortly after the birth of their daughter, Emerson. Many criticized it because it didn't involve Lily calling the cops or doing something drastic to exact 'revenge' on Ryle, but to me it made sense. She still loved Ryle somewhere deep down, and while she loathed him for literally being abusive, I can see why she didn't want to get law enforcement involved. Cops can be unpredicatable in domestic situations, as well as perpetrators of domestic violence in itself, and I can see why she did what she did. It felt realistic in a way, and I liked that extra touch.

This book also suffers from mid-late 2010s 'quirky' young adult writing, but, seeing as how it does come from that time period, I'll let that slide a little bit. I'm not a big fan of that writing style, but again, it did come out in 2016, so I'm not going to harp on that too much.

In conclusion, I think this book has merits, and the hate/love that this book gets is overblown, and more feels like a reaction to Colleen Hoover's mega-status rather than the book itself. It has emotional candidness that can be appreciated, regardless of where you come from, and even in its YA-esque writing style, Ellen stannery, and archetypical characters, there's something to be appreciated in this book. If you're curious to see what the fuss is about, I recommend it to the ones intrigued. Just keep in mind that it IS a book about abuse, and not strictly a romance book. (less)

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daybreakreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I have not read any other Colleen Hoover books and wasn’t sure what to expect with this because I also don’t read romance and thought it was going to be some sort of potential “50 Shades of Grey” sort of thing. I was pleasantly surprised at being wrong.

I had alarm bells going off immediately with the abusive character, but I love the depth the author eventually added to *all* of the characters, including the abusive one. When you find out the reasons why he is the way he is, it’s hard to not feel some level of sympathy for him, regardless of the fact that he’s just words on paper. Imagine him as a real human that charms you and makes you feel loved, and the story makes even more sense.

I personally would not recommend this one to anyone who is *currently* struggling with *any* mental illness issues, regardless of what they are, because it’s an in-depth look at flawed thought patterns across multiple characters and how they led to and enabled violence. That said, I was able to make it through it okay despite a prior PTSD diagnosis (among other things) related to something similar, and I really value and appreciate this for what it is. You’re an adult who can choose to do what you would like, but as someone who’s been there and managed to get better, I’d strongly and compassionately advise against it. That goes for anyone even with anxiety or depression who isn’t necessarily at risk for DV. Just my thoughts; keep it on your TBR to look forward to for when you’re doing better :)

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enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

"Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern."

My first CoHo book and it was a DOOZY, but I loved it! My family has a history of domestic violence survival and this book felt like a celebration to other survivors and their loved ones. The amount of strength Lily and others like her must find within themselves is awe-inspiring.

Hoover wrote a raw, grounded and realistic portrayal of an all-too-common situation. Watching Lily’s personal growth, especially when she is in conflict with herself, and wracking with the morally grey areas life forces us to face, are two elements which make this story uniquely captivating. This book is guaranteed to stay with you. This book was emotional, empowering, devastating, and left me conflicted at times. But all of these things are what make life beautiful. Without the tough times, the great ones are a little less shiny. I can't wait for the movie adaptation of this book!

When I tell you, this book grabbed hold of me and didn’t let go, I MEAN it! This is not some lovey-dovey romance book where they run off into the sunset together and live happily ever after. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick it up! Instead, this is a grounded, authentic story which brings new meaning to the phrase “every rose has its thorns.”

"15 seconds. That's all it takes to completely change everything about a person. 15 seconds that we'll never get back."

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