documentno_is 's review for:

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

2.75

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Okay, this one was complicated for me. I think given my expectation that this would be one of the worst books I'd ever read in comparison what I actually got was ... okay. 

I had heard criticisms and mutterings of this book for "glorifying abuse" or picturing unhealthy relationships and like... yeah? After reading it was definitely a realistic depiction of the complexities of the good and evil in people and I appreciate the careful lens with which it treated both abusers and those who suffer from it.

So in the end:
Pros:
- great plot structure, never felt too bored or disinterested except maybe the letters, i really blew through this one
- complex depictions of the cyclical nature of abuse
- Atlas
Cons:
- terrible line level craft, felt like reading a hallmark movie 
- ellen degeneres
- kind of a repeat of the first one, but the dialogue was cringe and forced
-

idk her not even considering not keeping the baby... was a watchword for me

- shitty half-baked liberal politics

can you believe i had sex with... a HOMELESS guy? wtf? I know there was this entire subplot of humanizing him a victim of his circumstances and the narrator is clearly this privileged woman but the wording was so naive and frustrating.