A review by elianacox
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I want to preface this by saying I didn't know what I was getting myself into with this book. It's marketed as a contemporary romance, but it doesn't sit that way with me. The
domestic abuse
plot really sprung onto me. While I'm not sure if that's considered a spoiler (make sure to check trigger warnings to which I didn't), I had no idea that was the primary tone of the novel. 

I did become skeptical of the book's intentions, and where the story was headed, when we started reading Lily's journals. As a reader, I know I am suppose to root for one of them (Atlas or Ryle) and it's unclear at the beginning who you are suppose to be "falling" for.

My only issue with the book comes from the glossing over of Lily's decision regarding
her pregnancy
. I realize that with the way Hoover wanted to write this particular story, Lily needed to have
a child
.
She wanted to tell the story of a victim of abuse, who had preconceived notions as a child that women are weak for not leaving their abusers, to then turn into that woman
. She also wanted the novel to reflect her mother's own story,
that of which included her mom having 2 children with her abuser before she divorced him and left
. However, I am upset that
abortion was never brought up. I am well aware that not everyone would get one. I know that for some people it isn't an option they would ever choose. But to not include a single sentence, by either her own inner thoughts or by another character (including her own doctor), about her options is a political cop-out. Unless Hoover is pro-life and I just don't know it (to which that would explain why she didn't bring it up), I think it is wrong to not include a single sentence of Lily's options
.

Putting that aside, I think it's a good story. It wasn't a story that at times I agreed with, but I acknowledge the fact that this does happen to people. For some people, it is their reality to have
children from their abusers
and by no means is it my place to judge those women who choose
motherhood
. I appreciated the viewpoint into someone's life who said that if they were ever
in an abusive relationship that they would leave, but then almost unexpectedly finds themselves in one despite everything
. I think it can be hard for some readers to grasp that. To grasp that you can tell yourself one thing, but until it happens and you are forced into that situation, you really don't know and you don't understand.

There are other reviews that have been posted saying that they didn't appreciate the emotional manipulation that they felt while reading. All I can say is that whenever I felt heartbroken over the scenes that took place in the novel, I told myself that this is a sad reality.
Domestic violence affects 1 in 4 woman and to say that Hoover took too many creative liberties into making the reader "feel all the feels", I counteract and say that she's just writing the sad reality that does happen and that many women face
.
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