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brittandwaffles's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide
mmariericker's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Also, her writing style is kind of clunky. I get how people think they’re page-turners — they’re short chapters and easy to read — but I don’t understand the hype.
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Gun violence and Infertility
chacha113's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
moraina's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
That being said, I unfortunately can’t say I’m a big fan of her writing style. Much of it made me cringe and I just found it repetitive. It honestly read a bit like fanfiction at some parts.
Overall, I think this can be a good read with important takeaways for the reader, and may even work for a young adult audience that is mature and supervised. I just wouldn’t say it’s a literary masterpiece.
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Rape
Minor: Suicide, Infertility, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Majorcdoubet's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Infertility, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying
sunshineinabag's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence and Suicide
Minor: Infertility
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: It Ends with Us #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: August 2, 2016
T H R E E • W O R D S
Gritty • Emotional • Powerful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Lily has had to work hard in order to get where she is today, leaving her small town and upbringing tainted by a toxic environment behind for big city life. Ryle is a brilliant neurosurgeon, with a dose of arrogance, a very busy schedule, and a firm no dating rule. After a chance encounter one night, Lily cannot get Ryle off her mind, despite them having very little in common. When life throws them together a second time, they cannot ignore the chemistry, and it all seems too good to be true.
As Lily starts to question Ryle's behaviour, her first love, Atlas, a boy she's never forgotten helping as a teenager walks back into her life threatening absolutely everything.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'll start out my saying, that I personally wouldn't classify this as a romance novel. For me it's more of a dark contemporary fiction that explores various forms of love. It isn't light nor is it fluffy. What it is, is difficult to read and a realistic portrait of the heartbreaking reality faced by many in abusive relationships. It's a portrayal of how hard it is to break the cycle. Of how despite the violence and abuse, love can still exist. Of how easy it is for people to judge when they are on the outside looking in. The novel is beautiful and it is ugly, and it shines a light that abusive relationships are not black and white. I appreciated the author's note detailing the reason why she wrote this book and her deep personal connection to the content.
Colleen's writing is really good. She drew me into the story from the very beginning and I didn't want to stop reading. The characters were captivating, whether they were good or bad, and for me that's the power of great character development. I appreciated the letters Lily wrote to Ellen. To me this felt like a type of journal in which Lily shared her deepest secrets and desires, and gave insight into her past that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I also really liked the floral shop backdrop. And I loved how Lily grew to understand and have empathy for her mother. I also appreciated Alysa and Marshall as key support for Lily.
In my opinion, Colleen Hoover has done something important with this book. If nothing else than to show people they are not alone.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• CoHo devotees
• readers who enjoyed Love and Other Words
⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, child death, grief, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, sexual violence, gun violence, alcohol, alcoholism, drug use, cursing, sexual content, rape, toxic relationship, mental illness, PTSD, homelessness, suicide, infertility, pregnancy, gaslighting, child abuse, injury/injury detail, blood, suicidal thoughts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things."
"Plants reward you based on the amount of love you show them. If you’re cruel to them or neglect them, they give you nothing. But if you care for them and love them the right way, they reward you with gifts in the form of vegetables or fruits or flowers."
"Most plants do need a lot of care to survive. But some things, like trees, are strong enough to do it by just relying on themselves and nobody else."
"Maybe love isn't something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flowers, in and out, just like the people in our lives."
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Suicide, and Blood
Minor: Child death and Grief
PTSD, homelessnessckonz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide
livruther's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Gaslighting, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Vomit
maryaidon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
I feel really conflicted about this book and it took me a few days after finishing it to process my thoughts. In one sense, this book lived up to the hype. I read this book because of BookTok and I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened next and got swept up in the story. I fell for Ryle (and his scrubs) and loved his story with Lily in the beginning.
However, all that being said, this book needed to come with a massive trigger warning. Despite all of the publicity for this book, I did not see any content warnings. This book was heavy and was not the cute romance book I was lead to believe it was. It tackles some very heavy topics and is quite descriptive when describing the events that occur. I understand the rationale for needing to form a relationship with the characters first, but this was uncomfortable to read in parts.
The author’s note helped me put this book into context and I admire Colleen for the strength it took her to write this book, but I wish that an author’s note was included in the beginning to forewarn the reader. The distressing topics covered is why I have rated it 3.5 stars.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship