Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Volver a empezar by Colleen Hoover

42 reviews

issyd23's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

Surprisingly enjoyable after detesting the first book 3🌸 

NB I picked up this book expecting to hate & make fun of it, but ended up liking the story. I found it really satisfying & empowering to see Lily call out Ryle’s abusive behaviour & get a second chance of love with Atlas. There are still Ellen DeGeneres diaries but thankfully not as much as book 1 + the inclusion of Atlas’ perspective was a good addition. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Violence, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

jessamess's review against another edition

1.0

I swore I would never read another one of her books again, but I decided to read it because I had to know what this book was actually like since it’s gotten so much praise on Booktok. Funnily enough it’s very clearly written purely because of the popularity of It Ends With Us on Tiktok. First and foremost, this book is full of regurgitated passages from It Ends With Us, and flashbacks to scenes we had in the first book. So much of this book is repeated content and that alone makes it completely unnecessary. Second, I spent so much time skimming this that I don’t even know if I can say I truly read it. It was just the same nagging storytelling of any other CoHo book. The woman is sad and damaged and a man comes along to fix her by doing the bare minimum that a partner should do. At least It Ends With Us had some kind of emotional storyline. It Starts With Us takes the same story from the first book and tries to make it a “new” perspective. I get that abuse is a cycle and I get that it’s not easy to break out of it, but if you want to write about that, do it. Don’t make these romance books about a man being the hero to the story, make them stories about the reality of living in a cycle of abuse. No part of abuse is romantic, even if a man swoops in to “save you”. 
TLDR: It Starts With Us is so much of the same story we hear in It Ends With Us that it’s not even worth opening the book. A relationship isn’t going to save you from abuse or break the cycle. Atlas is not the hero here.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

homelessness, child abandonment, vandalism

mandapanda08's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol

kaynic22's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Sexual content, Violence, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

meowpie's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

It was okay. It felt like this book was written just to give fans the Lily / Atlas happy ending but the book was relatively bland. Bland.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

sldibened's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Alcohol, Sexual content, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship

passionatereader78's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

I like this better than the first book. I still don't feel that this series is a romance; however Colleen wrote a beautiful story of hope and love after dealing with domestic violence. I hope this series inspires anyone in this situation to leave if they can.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Abandonment

jadyn_grace's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Abandonment, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Rape, Gaslighting, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Addiction

roo_coniam's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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