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A review by diaryofdifference
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Oh, Colleen Hoover! You only went and did it again with “It Ends With Us”. Took my heart, squeezed it gently, and then proceeded to shatter it into a thousand pieces. And I love you for it!
“It Ends With Us” is not a light-hearted romance novel. It’s a dark romance tale, with a domestic abuse theme, but it’s ultimately a story about a woman breaking the cycle and being free.
Lily is a floral designer and a survivor of domestic abuse. During her childhood, her father was abusive and her mother never left. Now, she falls in love with Ryle, and after a few blissful months, discovers that Ryle has a dark side to him. The story follows Lily dealing with everything and reuniting with her old love, Atlas, who will help her get free and break the cycle.
During the first half of the book, we read a few chapters of young Lily and Atlas and understand their story better. He was homeless and Lily helped him during the difficult period. He was also aware of the abuse Lily suffered from her father.
“He pulls back to look down at me and when he sees my tears, he brings his hands up to my cheeks. “In the future… if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again… fall in love with me.”
The story is raw, emotional and feels very real. We saw a beautiful love story between Lily and Atlas, until time and circumstances, and Lily’s father pulled them apart. We were also part a beautiful love story between Lily and Ryle, before he started showing his true colours and all the reg flags. It’s very well shown how quickly a situation can escalate, and see Lily’s fears, doubts and dilemmas. It’s very easy for her to take the blame and think she caused it all, but the reality is very different!
“Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen.”
I was always team Atlas, but I was warming up to Ryle in the beginning before everything kicked off. That’s how good Colleen’s writing is. I will need to grab the second book, “It Starts With Us” soon and find out how the story continues. I cannot help but recommend this book, because for all the sadness it brings, it also brings happiness, healing and one woman standing up to abuse and breaking the cycle.
“You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore.”
Side note: Yes, I did see the movie. No, it didn’t do justice to the book. Yes, I will see a sequel if it comes, but I doubt it, with all the drama surrounding it. 🙂
“It Ends With Us” is not a light-hearted romance novel. It’s a dark romance tale, with a domestic abuse theme, but it’s ultimately a story about a woman breaking the cycle and being free.
Lily is a floral designer and a survivor of domestic abuse. During her childhood, her father was abusive and her mother never left. Now, she falls in love with Ryle, and after a few blissful months, discovers that Ryle has a dark side to him. The story follows Lily dealing with everything and reuniting with her old love, Atlas, who will help her get free and break the cycle.
During the first half of the book, we read a few chapters of young Lily and Atlas and understand their story better. He was homeless and Lily helped him during the difficult period. He was also aware of the abuse Lily suffered from her father.
“He pulls back to look down at me and when he sees my tears, he brings his hands up to my cheeks. “In the future… if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again… fall in love with me.”
The story is raw, emotional and feels very real. We saw a beautiful love story between Lily and Atlas, until time and circumstances, and Lily’s father pulled them apart. We were also part a beautiful love story between Lily and Ryle, before he started showing his true colours and all the reg flags. It’s very well shown how quickly a situation can escalate, and see Lily’s fears, doubts and dilemmas. It’s very easy for her to take the blame and think she caused it all, but the reality is very different!
“Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen.”
I was always team Atlas, but I was warming up to Ryle in the beginning before everything kicked off. That’s how good Colleen’s writing is. I will need to grab the second book, “It Starts With Us” soon and find out how the story continues. I cannot help but recommend this book, because for all the sadness it brings, it also brings happiness, healing and one woman standing up to abuse and breaking the cycle.
“You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore.”
Side note: Yes, I did see the movie. No, it didn’t do justice to the book. Yes, I will see a sequel if it comes, but I doubt it, with all the drama surrounding it. 🙂