Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - It Ends with Us

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

3151 reviews

maecave15's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was a little slow at first, but by the end I was hooked. No, not because I am glamorizing abuse or not recognizing this story for what it is; a look into an abusive relationship and how complex it really can be. I'll circle back to this in a bit.

My thoughts about the story itself (with some spoilers):
I never really liked Ryle because he seems arrogant and pushy. It felt off to me that their relationship progressed SO quickly to the point of getting married six months in. "Technically" they knew each other for a year, but that was random meetings with weeks and months between so I don't think that really counts.

That scene in which Lily tells Atlas that she has known/been with Ryle for a year is such BS, and I wish she hadn't said it that way (it's a small thing but it still bothers me).

Overall though her story with Ryle was compelling, especially as I have never been in this situation. I am really proud of her for the decisions she made in regards to her relationship with Ryle and how they will co-parent their daughter. I also liked that there was time before she saw Atlas again and decided she is ready to try again on love.

Bigger spoiler here - I DO NOT like that she gave her daughter a middle name that means a lot to Atlas, as she is not Atlas's daughter and has no connection to him. It just feels off, especially because she is named after her uncle, Ryle's and Alyssa's deceased brother.
That last scene where she runs back to Atlas was also a little weird for me. I know the questions she asks him tie back in to the beginning of the book and now it helps her decide to start things up with Atlas, but it seemed silly to me. What really bugged me here, at first, was when Atlas said, "You can stop swimming Lily. We finally reached the shore." I thought it felt premature, but then I realized that they both made it out of bad situations and are doing decently well. They are in good places separately which means that maybe they can come together and be really good.

Okay, back to the complexities of an abusive relationship:
There is actually a lot more nuance to these relationships and it is not as easy as just leaving the abuser. A part of this is the Paradox of Abusive Relationships: the abused have to make sense of the paradox that the presumed source of intimacy is also the source of pain. Often the abuse is downplayed in the mind of the abused and they stay in the relationship (this is not a detailed description here, just a most basic summary).

There are whole courses on Intimate Partner Violence where you can learn about the cycles of abuse, the types of abuse (physical, emotional, etc), the signs to look out for, reasons why, etc.

I appreciate that Colleen Hoover is highlighting these relationships by way of telling her parent's story.

In the end, I enjoyed this book and will be reading the follow up book.

Content Warnings

ukponge's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Content Warnings

chaymay's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes

3.75

giving this a lower rating than normal because it genuinely was difficult to read at points.

I didn’t realize this book had domestic violence and rape in it until I saw the controversy around Blake in the movie and her response to the questions of how she intends to deal with survivors that try to open up to her. If you’ve been through something traumatic this could be a bit hard to read, but it’s still a good book.

Content Warnings

hardcover_hazel's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

“It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.”

This book contains abuse and more - please check the trigger warnings before reading or watching the movie 💕 it’s not an easy girls-night-out movie.

I was in a relationship that my therapist has deemed abusive in the past (emotionally not physically) but there are similarities between the two. It definitely brought up feelings as I was reading and I cried a lot over the past version of me. (I’ve done a TON of healing since this relationship, but memories and feelings can be replayed. I cried over past me, I cried for Lily, I cried for others who’ve experienced this).

I appreciate the awareness brought towards abusive relationships in this book and I know Colleen wanted to shed light on those who would always question why they don’t leave their abuser.
However, there’s also a form of romanticising abuse in this book.

The characters didn’t feel like they had a ton of substance, but I did enjoy the story overall.

Content Warnings

mard3ytv's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Now, I went i to the book blind. It took me like a solid month and a half to even get past the first chapter. Once I got going I finished it. It was a good read, I really did enjoy Atlas and Lilly’s relationship. Just the two of them as characters really captures your heart. This is a book with spicy scenes. I would give it maybe about 2/5 if that on spice 🌶️ don’t read it if that’s what you are looking for.

As a woman that wrote in journals a lot as a kid, it felt pretty authentic.

I am SOO relieved that they do not get back together. As much as I wanted that “happy ever after” fade to black ending. I’m so glad it ended the way it did.

That being said, I am kid of intrigued on how this was adapted for the movie.

Content Warnings