Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

218 reviews

purplediva1's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-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

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

issyd23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

1.0

THIS BOOK IS CAMP!!! 1🌸

I feel bad for hating/ridiculing this book b/c the content is heavy and the Note from the author is genuinely moving…but:

• the protagonist is a florist
• the onesie party
• THE ELLEN DEGENERES DIARIES 😭

Would it kill Colleen Hoover to give a character a normal name?

• lily blooming bloom
• Ryle Kincaid 
• Atlas corrigan 
• Dory!?

Okay. Since we’re on the subject… the first guy I ever had sex with was homeless.

Ellen, I am confident that the next sentence I am about to write has never been written or spoken aloud before.

When he was wiping that cow shit on me, it was quite possibly the most turned-on I have ever been.

Now go get my baby and take her away from here so I can have some sex with my filthy rich husband.

TLDR: my Colleen Hoover curiosity ends with this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Stalking

fabigz0308's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

annapolly14's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

0.25

THE PROBLEM WITH COLLEEN HOOVER: A RANT REVIEW

the title ive given this is incredibly misleading (much like coho's books, but more on that later): ms hoover has so many problems i genuinely could not be bothered to keep track, so this rant is going to probably be shorter than it should be.

i have read one of colleen's books, it ends with us. this is widely recognised as one of her best so i really don't intend on reading any more if this is what a career high looks like. however, i have also read the incredibly detailed wikipedia pages on three others -- which i feel were probably better written than the books themselves -- so i unfortunately do consider myself an authority on the topic of coho.

so; it ends with us.

this book was one of the worst pieces of literature i have ever had the displeasure of reading.
i want to applaud colleen on her truly brave character names: lily blossom bloom? ryle? atlas? jane austen is shaking in her boots, charles dickens is running for the hills. ms hoover said hold my white claw. the names do not improve in her other books, so i would like to pause for a moment to look at my top 5:

5. ryle - surname is not bad, but ryle? seriously?
4. ledger - idk this guys surname, but being named after a logbook is rough
3. ben - not bad when you think it's short for benjamin, but it is not. ben is short for benton.
2. chastin & caulder - literally could not decide what i hated more, so a tie! yay!
1. top spot has gotta go to lbb. truly heinous.

anyway, back to it. it ends with us starts when flower floral flora first meets ryle after her dad's funeral. ryle is a neurosurgeon with anger issues and reduce reuse recycle is obviously an aspiring florist who is obsessed with some sort of plastic?? idk.

so stop drop roll has this journal where she writes to ellen, yes, degeneres, in a clear attempt by coho to show that she doesn't hate gay people -- though this did feel more like a hate crime than if she just called me a slur to my face. miss florist also divides her ellen time by talking about this homeless kid called atlas (who is a predator but that's not even the most problematic part of this book) and the abusive relationship her parents have. atlas is homeless to show that coho also doesn't hate poor people, and even though they stink and are creepy they are not the worst people in this book!

ryle and father son holy-spirit are together on a roof and he's like i want to sleep with you and she's like i don't do casual sex. then they keep meeting and the same thing occurs until he knocks on 29 doors and begs her to sleep with him. they don't sleep together, but a few days later hickory dickory dock goes to a party at ryle's sister's (who is rich but is still an employee) house with her token gay friend who is in the book for 2 pages and is never mentioned again. she and ryle finally get together blah blah blah the relationship turns out to be abusive, alpha beta omega reconnects with atlas and is assaulted by ryle, she finds out she's pregnant and she leaves ryle but still lets him see the baby who is called dory because of ellen. i am also going to gloss over the fact that colleen makes an attempt to excuse his behaviour by giving him childhood trauma -- bestie, we all got trauma but none of us beat our wives; actually ryle's sister has the same trauma, if only a little less, and is still the most well-adjusted character in the book.

a big issue i have with this book apart from the obvious is that it ignores every regular circumstance of women in these situations. most women in abusive relationships do not have the benefit of having lots of friends, a good support system or a lot of money, if any at all. coho based this shit off of her parents so i genuinely don't understand how she is so out of touch. it feels like she is selling a story she does not have a right to tell, and still doesn't do it justice.

the writing itself is just terrible -- its giving wattpad x dumpster. does colleen know what a metaphor is? if so can she prove it? the sex scenes are just kind of funny and written like the author has learnt about sex through fanfic; kind of worrying for a mother of 3. there are quotes specially designed to be taken out of context and spread like plague, which are just cringe, but are sure to be plastered over some 14 year old's tumblr. hoover writes like her audience can't read, which, considering my next point, is probably what keeps her in business.

she markets these books as romances. they come with no content warnings, and due to the free promo she gets all over tiktok, they are being directed at kids. her books are not for kids! (also psa: you should not be recommending coho's books to anyone under 18; don't say it is dependent on maturity level, because this is not mature it's just trauma porn.) i can't help but wonder if hoover writes like she does because she knows her audience is younger than it should be. the whole colouring book fiasco kinda just proves this point. young people are gonna grow up with these books and think yes this is what i want in my life, despite how questionable every single character is.
atlas' hero arc is going to make 15 year olds think that they should be dating legal adults, which is just gross when you realise colleen is probably nearing 50 years old and has a son accused of sexual assault -- she's writing about predators and abusers for a young audience but has no empathy for victims when the impact is negative towards her. also why would any mother in their right mind allow their abuser and near-rapist to see their child? if they abuse one person why is abusing a smaller, more defenseless person any less plausible?

in conclusion, literally don't read this. you are better off without it. i read it two weeks ago and i am still angry. i want colleen hoover to pay me reparations for the time i wasted reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Rape

daisymagnolia's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

0.25

I read this book in one day. I’m not sure why. I think part of me just wanted it done and out of the way. So many people have raved about this book, saying how fantastic it is. I disagree. I also found it extremely triggering, as I grew up in a home with domestic violence. I don’t feel like this book will save any lives or free anyone from domestic violence, so I have to ask, what is the point of it? It really just felt like the author used this novel as a self counselling session, and if I’d known how truly pointless it was, I wouldn’t have read it. The Naked truth is that it’s a terrible book, on so many levels! I do not recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Minor: Cancer, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Sexual violence

margothere's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Blood, Sexism, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

haylierae's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cursing, Infertility, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Violence

lpats82's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Homelessness

amissabellator's review against another edition

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).

seforana's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness