Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - It Ends with Us

I generally dont respect Colleen Hoover but this was actually quite good. Generally I think shes a better storyteller than she is a writer and having real people and events to base her character off of gave her writing a real boost. She is good at writing emotions which has probably done a lot to make her as big as she is. However, the Ellen plotline was quite silly and so was the concept of having a character called Lily Bloom who is a florist. And don´t even get me started on how much of a stupid name Ryke Meadows is. I also think its morally dubious that shes marketing this book to young teenagers but thats another conversation that has nothing to do with the quality of the book itself. But overall I did really enjoy it

Content Warnings

marionlundqvist's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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ashleighf's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-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

4.5

I had put off reading this book for a long time because I had heard very mixed reviews on tik tok - many loved it but many said it was over-hyped. I personally loved it and am sad I didn't read it sooner.

I really liked how the story line of domestic abuse broke up a typical romance book, it gave me a lot to think about throughout

. The main character Lily was very lovable and I ended up reading most of the book in one day! I would recommend this book to anyone about 16+ (it has some pretty adult themes throughout), it really made me more self-aware about these topics.

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bristolreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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

Lily is a young woman who has grown up in an abusive household where her father regularly would beat her mother and the book starts with the death of her father, for which Lily feels no grief. After the funeral, she meets Ryle who is a charismatic neurosurgeon and they have an instant attraction but he is opposed to commitment and therefore the relationship does not progress.

Later, Lily achieves her dream of setting up her own floristry business and becomes friends with a rich friend Alyssa, who she later discovers is Ryle's sister, thus her relationship with his restarts. This progresses to a serious relationship, resulting in the couple moving in together and later getting married. However, during this time there are frequent episodes of Ryle getting angry and assaulting Lily, echoing the behavior of her father during her childhood. Whilst the relationship is blossoming, Lily recalls her first true love who was a boy named Atlas, who she met when he was homeless and living in an abandoned house next to her when she was 15. The flashbacks feature how the support she provided to his of food, clothing and eventually a warm place to sleep developed romantically, but was cut short when Atlas had to move in with his Uncle in a different state. Atlas was also the only person who knew of the abuse Lily's father inflicted and was even the recipient of the abuse when he was attacked by

Atlas reappears in Lily's life as a restaurant owner and he instant she is living with and urges Lily to leave her husband, which she eventually does but when she finally leaves, she discovers she is pregnant. Atlas initially provides a safe lace for Lily to live, however she eventually returns to the house she lived in with Ryle and the relationship restarts.

When the baby Emma is born, Lily finally sees that she needs to break the cycle of abuse of the women in the family as 'It ends with us' , so leaves Ryle for good. In the epilogue Lily has the baby and is separated from Ryle. She again bumps into Atlas and can see that finally they can be together.

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cjfooks's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.25

This was my introduction to Coleen Hoover and honestly I don’t know why she gets so much shit - I absolutely loved this.

If I had to give an elevator pitch - I would say it was the story of a complicated relationship between the main character (a young woman with past trauma) and a neurosurgeon with emotional issues ; alongside uncovering the complicated story of the main character’s first love with a homeless boy.

At the start, it definitely feels in points like ‘The Neurosurgeon Who Loved Me’ style romance/erotica. But I really feel as though this falls into a drama/romance/thriller category.

I think one of the things I don’t love about straight romance/dramas is that they can be quite predictable, unrealistic and cheesy. Although there are small elements of that in here (especially the cheesiness), I actually think it’s very eye-opening and realistic.

A common theme throughout is domestic violence and I personally feel like it does a great job at showing all the good, the bad and the ugly, fully encompassing the grey areas instead of seeing it in black and white.

There were moments of this book I felt elated and good about life, and others quite the opposite.

Would I recommend it? Yes - i don’t think it or Coleen deserve all the shit it book gets (and this is coming from someone going into it assuming I wasn’t going to enjoy it).

Content Warnings

nixicat1's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

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

1.0

I understand why this book is so polarising and why some people connect with it. Although I agree with the intention to provide more lived experience of domestic and intimate partner violence, the failure of execution was too hard to overcome for me. The writing and characterisations are cliche and simplistic. There is a stunning lack of research or logical reasoning applied to the world building or plot progression. Although a bit of creative license is necessary to any fiction, I found it impossible to believe in these characters or the world they inhabit.

Content Warnings

nworba's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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

This book was complicated for me. It did a great job of getting you to love the characters and in the very smallest way, understand what someone might go through

when they face physical abuse

I was uncomfortable with the book but also couldn't put it down.

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