Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - It Ends with Us

I know this book has a lot of die hard fans, and that this review will undoubtedly piss some people off, but that's okay. This review isn't for fans of It Ends With Us, it's for people who haven't read it yet, so they can be prepared.

First of all, let me give you some trigger warnings since the author refuses to. This book touches on subjects like domestic abuse, sexual abuse, suicide, death, including violent death. If you insist on reading it for yourself, please be safe.

The main reason I read it in the first place was to prepare for the movie adaptation, specifically so I'd be able to go into watching it with all of the relevant information about the source material, as I am planning on doing a series of reviews on book adaptations in 2024.

I didn't expect to like this book, but I didn't expect to hate it SO much.

The worst part - beyond the juvenile writing, the MC's name, the Ellen of it, the justification of abuse, the main love interest not only being completely unlikeable from the start, but also being an obvious sociopath... - the worst part was how close Lily seemed to be to the point all of the time before ignoring it completely?

The first time

Ryle physically hurts her, Lily tells him if it happens again, that'll be it. She immediately corrects him when he tries to gaslight her into thinking she fell down the stairs the second time, even in her internal monologue, Lily is trying to remind herself that she's trying to justify it even though he just hurt her

. Like, how can you be so self-aware and yet....

As a survivor, the way this book handled abuse was downright shameful. I know some people praise it for it's raw honesty or some nonsense like that.. but it's not honest, it's a farce that wants to appeal to every pick me girl who thought she could fix him. This book says "look, you CAN fix him, just keep swimming trying!"

This book is marketed as a romance novel, but it's really a horror story, gaslighting the reader as it continuously tries to explain itself rather than condemn its own actions.

The end of this book feels like a last minute retcon, like at the very end someone pointed out to the author that this relationship is problematic as hell and as a result

she decided to end the relationship to avoid the criticism. It felt like the last chapters were going in one direction and then took a sharp turn to another, but not in a plot twist sort of way, more in like a "whoops, forgot where I was going with that" sort of way. I'm glad the end result was Lily leaving Ryle, but it felt rushed and almost like an afterthought

.

If you're looking for a romance novel, this is not it. Honestly, if you're looking for any novel, I don't recommend this. Save yourself the frustration. At the end of the day - none of the characters are particularly interesting, anyway

Content Warnings

skxk929kd's review

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

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

4.75

the way that lily acts towards ryle when he claims he would change made me extremely mad, like leave him permanently!! but overall it was a rollercoaster of emotions and made me EXTREMELY tense during some parts and those are the kind of books that i LOVE. it displays acts of physical abuse from spouses/partners and also tells you options on what to do. i love how this book displays what some women/men have to go through. according to me overall, i give this book a perfect 5 according to the storyline and pace! (took me 3 nights to read it whole because of how the book had me CLINGING) but according to my emotions, a 4.75 because of how often i cried (not joking.)

Content Warnings

mangofraiche's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

2.5

Content Warnings

bethanymrjmr23's review

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emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

I love the book but I feel sorry for Ryle because he got his child and then Lily said she wanted a divorce I love and hate the book

Content Warnings

krod97's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

Content Warnings

jjyork's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

Content Warnings

samantha_06x's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0

definitely a heavy read so make sure you're mentally capable to read about domestic abuse and rape before you read this. I went in thinking it would be a love triangle and got hit by a ton of bricks.
I didnt want to like this cause coho is a bad person but it was very good (i read it secondhand)
I dont think it romanticises abuse clearly you read a different book if you think this??

I do think coho shouldnt be supported but if you must, borrow this from a library <3

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