Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

20 reviews

hmw98's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-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

4.25

Loved the book but was disappointed in the plot a tad bit, wasn’t as event packed as the last! Also the ending was a bit of a bummer as I expected more from Coho! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

mssmith3088's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

Complicated relationship to domestic abuse. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Rape, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Pregnancy

skycrosby23's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring relaxing 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

This is one of the many books I had enjoyed.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Sexual violence

ellie_murdock's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Child 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.

---

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.

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-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

4.0

I read "It Ends with Us" earlier this year and was blown away by how much I enjoyed the story. I knew I wanted more, especially from Atlas, so I quickly added "It Starts with Us" to my TBR.
"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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

monika_witt's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

hannibanani29's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Sexual violence

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

---

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

vinnyvee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol and Sexual violence