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A review by staceyanne_reads
It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Thank fuck that's over.
Final eye roll count: 11
Audible groan count: 2*
I didnt hate the first one of these, I quite liked that it was marketed as a romance and then turned out to be an essay on generational trauma and cycles of abuse, because I think that's kind of a powerful metaphor for how it feels to be a victim/survivor of these types of relationships. This, did not give me that.
In spite of the extensive back stories our two protagonists have I still feel like everyone was super two dimensional, and Atlas character was so picture perfect flawless that I found him utterly unbelievable, and actually ended up wanting to see him fail at something, which of course he never did, because he's perfect. Around the 50% mark I actually wanted to see them not end up together.
Ryle(still a stupid fucking name)'s character is diminished to pantomime evil villain, and secondary characters are entirely unimportant. Even the kids, Josh and Emerson, who are the catalysts for the majority of the events in this novel, barely have any nuance. I will say I found Sutton to be a little more interesting as an antagonist, but even that wanted more exploration.
All in all, I'm just glad I can take this off my shelf and never have to think about it again.
* I will admit, one audible, and public, groan was due to the audiobook having only a short gap in the narration between sections and I mistakenly thought the Finding Nemo quote was part of a *poignant* moment, not the following part. My mistake, still a fairly cringe-worthy pop culture reference to have to keep returning to.
Final eye roll count: 11
Audible groan count: 2*
I didnt hate the first one of these, I quite liked that it was marketed as a romance and then turned out to be an essay on generational trauma and cycles of abuse, because I think that's kind of a powerful metaphor for how it feels to be a victim/survivor of these types of relationships. This, did not give me that.
In spite of the extensive back stories our two protagonists have I still feel like everyone was super two dimensional, and Atlas character was so picture perfect flawless that I found him utterly unbelievable, and actually ended up wanting to see him fail at something, which of course he never did, because he's perfect. Around the 50% mark I actually wanted to see them not end up together.
Ryle(still a stupid fucking name)'s character is diminished to pantomime evil villain, and secondary characters are entirely unimportant. Even the kids, Josh and Emerson, who are the catalysts for the majority of the events in this novel, barely have any nuance. I will say I found Sutton to be a little more interesting as an antagonist, but even that wanted more exploration.
All in all, I'm just glad I can take this off my shelf and never have to think about it again.
* I will admit, one audible, and public, groan was due to the audiobook having only a short gap in the narration between sections and I mistakenly thought the Finding Nemo quote was part of a *poignant* moment, not the following part. My mistake, still a fairly cringe-worthy pop culture reference to have to keep returning to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Addiction