Reviews

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

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avastras1's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

The exploration of abuse, especially after making Ryle so charismatic and successful, was a difficult but important read. I am so proud of Lily for leaving him and ending the cycle of abuse for her daughter. I almost don’t want to read the sequel because I want to believe her and Atlas get to live and love together and find their way back to one another. And I don’t want her story to have any more downs. What a heart wrenching and beautiful read about what it means to be in an abusive relationship and the complexities of leaving.

Content Warnings

bulesssiii's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

alihashemah's review against another edition

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5.0

Well balanced start; though I was skeptical at first. Once the story gets into flow, it's a non-stop emotional rollercoaster. You can't read this without being triggered and reflective. The style and simplicity of the writing is amazing, I have definitely learnt a few lessons on good writing.

spifflobster's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

morganaverena's review against another edition

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4.0

A very solid 4.5 ★
“And as hard as this choice is, we break the pattern before the pattern breaks us.”

My first Colleen Hoover and oh my god...
This book was so hard to digest that I don't even know what to write in this review. Absolutely well written, had amazing pacing, and with excellent and real characters - with flaws and imperfections.
Also, apparently, this book is advertised as romance - and I think this is not good advertising for an abusive relationship story, nevertheless, the story and its important subject matters are really touching.

Spoiler

I love the relationship that Lily and Atlas share, and how it grew from a deep and meaningful friendship into something more. The moment when Lily says "plants reward you based off of how you treat them, like human relationships." and Atlas responds with "if they are mistreated they might end up homeless and incapable of anything meaningful." and then she shows him the tree in her backyard... That metaphor broke me.

that was the moment I saw this book was going to hit me hard.

Spoiler

It was very hard for me to read about Ryle's abuses. How he went from a really lovable and handsome partner - having had a great relationship so far and things were moving forward - to a really despicable and cruel stranger. The book escalated very quickly when the first abuse happened, they were happy and laughing and suddenly they weren't. What made me even sadder was to discover through the author's notes that this was exactly one of the things that happened to her mother. The whole story from Lily's perspective felt so real, so many women go through this... and to know this extra piece of information really hit me.
Still in the subject of the first time it happened, one thing I've noticed is that I had to re-hear again so I was sure I understood what was happening. Ryle seemed such a sweetheart, and I find it a very interesting choice of a character for the author to put in this book, to show us that abuse can come from anywhere, mostly from the people we trust and love the most.

and this was when I realized this book was WAAAAY deeper then I had imagined.

Spoiler

By the time of the third abuse, with the almost raping happening, I really got sick and felt dizzy... if I weren't reading through the audiobook, I'm not sure if I could go on with the story as fast as I did. It's hard to digest, but so important for us women to not only understand this happens but also understand who's in the middle of the situation... as Lily said, is so hard to be able to understand when you're not living it, it's so easy to judge and misconstrue when we are not inside the circle of abuse.

The naked truth is: this book is heavy, but so important in so many topics. It will make you think of matters we often try to not think about because it is so uncomfortable, but we need to.
I highly recommend it.
Can't wait to read the second one!

"Maybe love isn't something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flows, in and out, just like the people in our lives. -- Just because we didn't end up on the same wave, doesn't mean we aren't apart of the same ocean."