Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

21 reviews

tessiedavis's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction

eabh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

3.0

A sweet, predictable, cheesy follow up to IEWU. I liked the story line in this one. Lots of make you smile moments! I wish the characters and relationships were more complex/ developed. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction

murcias_bookshelf's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

< spoiler> 

I was really excited for the book to come out to see if lily and atlas got their happy ending which they did and that was the part i really enjoyed another reason i liked this book is because it was more lighthearted and wholesome .

However i felt the books plot lacked depth in some places and that it was more character driven then plot driven which isn’t necessarily bad but i just felt like it didn’t give the same wow factor as it ends with us so overall i give the book 4 stars ps , they finally reached the shore together 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, and Domestic abuse

_rae6021's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

• 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

Overall alright read, not as good as the first one. Was quite long winded and seemed at a loss for storyline at times it seemed like they were just tryna keep the book going when it didn’t need to.

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Content Warnings

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.

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

Title: It Starts With Us
Author: Colleen Hoover
Seires It Ends with Us #2
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: October 18, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Bingeable • Satisfying • Predictable

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have settled into a civil co-parenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.

💭 T H O U G H T S

This novels picks up right where the epilogue of It Ends With Us left off. It Starts With Us is a second-chance romance with dual POVs this time from Lily and Atlas' perspectives.

What I like:
• learning more about Atlas. Maybe this is what I really wanted in the first book. I just really appreciated Atlas' character, and the portrayal of the impact of childhood trauma in our adult lives.
• Marshall & Alyssa's support. It would have been easy enough for them to leave Lily high and dry, but they don't. They are the support she needed. They tell it like it is.
• the family theme. This novel is a beautiful portrait of how family isn't always blood, and that families come in many shapes and sizes.
• the brother side story. The addition of this part of the story just felt necessary to me.
• the tree analogy. When I got to the book title reference it was truly a special moment. Probably my favourite moment of the entire book.

What I didn't like:
• the repetition. This book recaps quite a bit of what happens in It Ends With Us, which isn't what I was expecting at all.
• Lily and Atlas' relationship took a back seat. One one hand I wanted so much more of them together, and less about their lives separately, but I also understand the healing process each is going through and know why the main focus wasn't on the romance.

Overall, It Starts with Us is a solid follow-up written for the fans. Colleen Hoover gave fans what they wanted, and yet it still left a lot to be desired. I appreciated how the narrative shows how Ryle still had so much power over Lily even after their divorce. And I do think I enjoyed the evolution of the plot in this one a tad more. It's a story of being a domestic abuse surviour, of motherhood, of healing.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the second chance romance trope
• readers who love books with strong female friendship
• CoHo devotees

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Sometimes people think if they love a broken person enough, they can be what finally repairs them, but the problem with that is the other person just ends up broken, too."

"But even monsters can't survive without a heart beating inside their chest." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cursing

neglect

sammymilfort's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

denisejochems's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

What an exciting, hopeful story. Couldn’t lay it down

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

maisiepamela's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

 I loved this book!! It was really fast paced and was easy and nice to read. I liked this more than it ends with us because I loved the characters more, lily and Atlas are so sweet! I thought that the ending was perfect and both of them deserved their happy ending. I feel like somethings happened a bit fast and were skimmed over like ryles time with Emerson ect. But lily and atlas. My gosh. They are so cute together and I loved their non-toxic relationship! They each had their problems and I think Colleen wrote abuse in a way that can be understood by people who haven’t experienced it. This book was all I wanted it to be! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction

ravaiya_cruz's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

moonbin's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape