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quixoticreads 's review for:
It Ends with Us
by Colleen Hoover
The Laughing Listener
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Olivia Song
Length: 11 hours & 11 minutes *Make a wish!*
Story Rating: 5 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 5 Stars
At the ripe old age of 27 I think I know myself fairly well, but sometimes it feels like there are two versions of me. Half of my brain is devoted to darkly fantastical things like vampires, futuristic science-fiction, werewolves, zombies, dragons, action, adventure, magic… And then there’s this other half. It’s the half that’s seen You’ve Got Mail a BILLION times, has a secret affinity for the Hallmark channel, and downloads free romance novels from BookBub on a regular basis.
via GIPHY
It’s rare that these two versions of myself come together, and most of the time they polarize like two magnets. The only exception to this rule (so far) has been watching Pride and Prejudice and Zombies where I sat in a movie theater for two hours in perfect harmony with myself. But that girly side is what made me pick up this book in the first place. After reading the very vague description, I had every intention of ignoring this. It sounded like all the other two-perfect-men-love-me-what-am-I-going-to-do romances and I was not interested. When a tidal wave of five-star reviews rolled across my Goodreads page, however, my interest was peaked. I decided to go for it.
Me and my girly half signed up for a contemporary romance, but what I got was so much more. That’s the most important thing to take away from this review.
It’s nothing like you think it will be, it’s more.
THE REHASH
I’ve decided you don’t get a rehash for this one. The less you know the better. Don’t even look at the blurb, just go read it.
THE GOOD
I just… I have no words for everything this book is. This is going to stay with me for daaaaaaaaaaaays. For life.
Random question time. Have you guys ever watched the movie The Cabin In the Woods that was written (in part) by Joss Whedon? I know this is weird, but bear with me a second. When that movie first came out, I avoided it because it’s a horror movie and me + horror movies just don’t get along. Fast forward a few years and one of my best friends is urging me to see it. I reply with “no, it’s a scary movie,” because that should be explanation enough. She promises that I’ll love it and, since she’s the best, I reluctantly agree. What starts off as a clichéd horror movie slowly transforms into something completely different and brilliant. It’s now one of my favorite movies ever.
This book was exactly like that feeling.
It starts off as a contemporary romance just as expected, but slowly transforms into something incredibly meaningful, giving me a new important perspective that I didn’t even realize I was missing. This is a genius move on Hoover’s part, for reasons I can’t get into without giving away the plot. And Olivia Song’s performance is absolutely perfect, delivering the spectrum of emotions in such perfect clarity that I felt them in my heart.
Right now I’m bursting at the seams to gush, but I’m holding myself back. Suffice it to say, I loved everything about this.
THE UGLY
Umm hello, didn’t you just hear me? I said I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!
via GIPHY
FINAL WORD
Trust me on this one. Trust me. Go read this book.
P.S. Do yourself a favor and stick around for the author’s note. It’s probably the most beautiful author’s note that I’ve ever read.