Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

95 reviews

gottabemely's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

johannslauren15's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was literally everything I wanted to read and more. (Also I was coming into this book expecting this to be a "romance" as it is presented out to be). I think this might have been one of the best books I have ever read with such a strong, emotional, and important message. All I got to say is that there is reason that this book is so raved about and talked about on TikTok so much. I would say this book's importance is heavily effective for women and girls especially. I honestly would almost recommend this book to anyone as long as you have some tissues and you read the trigger warnings, if you can handle this then I would say just read the damn thing, you won't regret any of this book, not for one second!

If you read the book and the Author's note you know how heartbreaking this is, but how this is so important to not let anyone take advantage of you for any reason. I think this touched me a lot literally because of past experiences seeing how your mind can look at one person who goes through this and ask "Why don't they just leave?" While your still lying their confused of who this person is and what they stand for. But in that exact same breath you'll allow this for yourself. I think I felt a lot of what Lily felt with or for her mom as I did, honestly I was hoping things would change and they would become the bigger and stronger person, you know they can be but know nothing will be able to change the way they feel or will respond to the situations. I just hope Colleen Hoover knows how much this book impacted me and changed the way I view others or myself. This book also gave me hope within the Author's Note when she describes maintaining the good memories with her father while still understanding the abuse.

Content Warnings

laner's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

sophshelves's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

ruimin_piao's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book it's just: wow. I don't have any words.

Content Warnings

sandrae04's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

shashaybooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

5 million stars. This book has a lot of hype, and it is worth every single drop of it.

"I'll keep pretending to swim, when really all I'm doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water."

This book completely consumed me. I was wrapped up in it, cocooned in its tension, love, anger and devastation. This is the kind of story that grips you and pulls you in and the next thing you know, you face is wet with tears and you're taking deep breaths to calm yourself down.

This book deals with an issue that is bigger than its characters and their story. So intricately and so empathetically, that it is hard not to lose yourself in Lily's head and her emotions.

If you're here to decide whether you want to pick this up. Trust me, do it. And do it now. Stop looking at more content. Go into this book blind and it's just all the more impactful.

To say I am now a Colleen Hoover fan, is an understatement.

⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️

Without going into too much details, I am not a stranger to domestic abuse. Lily's relationship with her parents, abuse and all, mirrors my own relationships with my parents so similarly, it's uncanny. Reading this, I felt so seen and I felt unspeakable emotions being put into words and I was just

absolutely consumed.

The author's note at the end tore me apart too. It takes so much courage to be able to write something so personal to her own experience. Having to dig up the painful past and relive it, to put it into a story into the pages of a book...she is truly so brave.

I must say, the entire book flew by me in a blur. I was just reading and falling in love, and getting angry, sad and confused; all the feelings Lily was feeling. And then, I reached the end.

Everything suddenly felt sharper.

The entire purpose and essence of the book became starkly obvious. It was about breaking a cycle of abuse. Abusive behaviour is a never-ending generational cycle, and I know that first-hand. Suddenly, the title of the book made perfect sense and I've never been hit so hard by an ending before.

This entire book is about Lily getting into an abusive relationship, continuing the cycle, and the pain and torture of ending the cycle with her own daughter.

I feel like I'm on a precarious edge, like I'm going to cry any moment. This is how sensitive the book has made me and how deep it hit. I'm still a little unstable and so many things are running through my mind right now.

I know people wait until they're more articulate and stable to write a review, but I don't. I want to record down my mess of a brain after I finish reading a good book. The train of thoughts, the onslaught of emotions that I feel, I want to remember it.

Of course, we have to talk about Ryle.

I loved him. As Lily fell for him, I did too. He was caring, kind and compassionate and most of all, he loved Lily. Lily could see it and I could too. When he pushed her, he was so apologetic and hurt that I wanted to forgive him too. And yet, I am the one who thinks I'll be able to leave a man at the first sign of abuse. Clearly, it is not that simple.

I thought if someone I loved were to do that to me and he was so apologetic about it afterwards, I'd forgive him in a heartbeat.

Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet.

I always thought I would break the cycle of abuse in my family, but clearly, I am giving myself too much credit. And this I know now, because of this book.

I am again reminded of how reading can help me learn so much about myself. And this book definitely did that.

The moment when Lily's mom tells her that she knew she paused during the eulogy on purpose and that she was proud of Lily for doing that, for standing up for her. The waterfalls.

“The day you gave your father's eulogy? I know you didn't freeze up, Lily. You stood at that podium and refused to say a single good thing about that man. It was the proudest I have ever been of you. You were the only one in my life who ever stood up for me. You were strong when I was scared." A tear falls from her eye when she says, "Be that girl, Lily. Brave and bold.”

That was definitely the scene that hit me the hardest.

Another one was when Lily just delivered, and in that moment, she recalled all her memories she had with her father and no matter how little the bad times were, they always overrode the good. In that moment, she made the courageous, bravest and most excruciating decision to leave Ryle, even when there was quite a promising chance that he would change for the better.

She was brave enough not to take that risk.

And I am so proud of her.

The ending was so adorable and I am so glad she ended up with Atlas. After all that happened, she deserved this and so much more.