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crystal83087's review against another edition
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Confinement, Medical content, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Cursing, Blood, and Emotional abuse
roo_coniam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Drug use, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Alcohol, Vomit, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide, Sexual violence, Rape, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, and Sexual harassment
hiraeth_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i must say it wasn't as atrocious plot-wise and i felt like the whole domestic abuse topic was presented in a more reflective way. every time someone brought sth up, it was immediately put into context.
as CoHo said herself, there wasn't any continuation of the story planned and she only wrote this bc 'it ends with us' blew up on tiktok again and that's exactly how it comes across. the whole point is to have more atlas and lily content and that's what it is, not more but also not less.
it wasn't complex, it wasn't as dramatic as usual, there were a few funny moments followed up immediately by the most cringeworthy shit i've read in a while (but shouldn't surprise me with CoHo). the characters were flat as usual and generally i liked the idea of getting both lily's and atlas' point of view but i couldn't imagine i would agree with ryle one time bc when he called atlas pathetic or sth like that i felt that. i haven't read a character that's so much wrapped around their own hero complex and tbh besides that his only personality trait is that he loves lily. which is cute but like... you know. and that's not so say that they aren't cute together or that atlas' character is bad, it's just a lot and CoHo could've shortened it to a 10 page summary with maybe some key scenes and that would've done the job.
glad i didn't spent any money on this or her.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Gaslighting
ellie_murdock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Child abuse
_rae6021's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Cursing
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying
Abuse retelling snot as graphic as first book. 3 chapters of soft smut give or take a bit.lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"It Starts with Us" picks up almost immediately following the end of "It Ends with Us". Lily and her ex-husband Ryle have been separated for a while, but they have come together to create a great coparenting system for their daughter. Although there is no chance of reconciliation, they are living in relatively good harmony. Lily is happy and ready to move on with her life when she bumps into Atlas on the street, and she enthusiastically agrees to go on a date with him. The timing seems perfect, and everything seems to FINALLY be falling into place for Lily and Atlas. The only thing that could come between them now is Ryle.
This story alternates between Lily's and Atlas's perspectives, which was a great treat for those who adored Atlas in "It Ends with Us". Atlas is such a good guy, and after such a difficult life, it was really nice to see him have some wins and finally get a real shot with Lily. I do think he suffers from being too perfect, but in the most ideal world, it was fun to see "the perfect man".
In "It Ends with Us", Lily becomes best friends with Ryle's sister, and I was curious to see how their friendship was affected when it came out that Ryle is abusive. I was pleased to see that the two girls remained friends and Ryle's sister stood by Ryle and Lily's sides. She acknowledged her brother was wrong and out of line in his treatment towards Lily, but she supported him getting better and getting to spend time with his daughter. She also supported Lily and was nothing short of a best friend for her.
I do not think you have to read "It Ends with Us" before you pick this up, but you will definitely have a better appreciation for the characters if you do. The only thing that would have made this better for me is if the book was solely Atlas's perspective. I appreciated seeing Lily's character grow and stand up for herself, but I wanted this book to finally see Atlas's side of the story. I think we still could have gotten an update about Lily through Atlas's point of view.
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
kshertz's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Sexual content, and Homophobia
erica_reads_things's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
All in all it was okay to read but pretty clearly just written to give fans more of Atlas and Lilly.
Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, and Alcohol
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, and Sexual assault
m_h_t's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
But overall it was too cheesy for me, and too much of a happily ever after.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting