Book Review: It Ends With Us

~ aentee @ read at midnight

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4-star

Title: It Ends With Us

Author: Colleen Hoover

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Series? No

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I read this book as a part of the #ReadThemAllThon – specifically, it was for the Cascade Badge (Book Likely To Make You Cry). It certainly did not disappoint me in that regards, I teared up a couple of times reading this book. They ranged from tears of frustration, to tears of relief, to pure tears of joy. This short novel packs some sucker punches within its pages, it made me glad I did not give up on Colleen Hoover after reading Maybe Someday.

It Ends With Us

“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”

The main characters in this book are magnetic and memorable – especially once I got over how ridiculous some of the names were (e.g. Lily Bloom and Atlas Corrigan). I especially love Lily with her fire, her drive, and her compassionate heart. Even her quirks, such has her teenager letter to Ellen Degeneres, became endearing to me – after all, it’s exactly the kind of awkward behaviour I engaged in during my own adolescent years. I loved viewing the story entirely from Lily’s point of view, so that the readers can feel and falter through life in the exact same ways she did.

“Maybe love isn’t something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flows, in and out, just like the people in our lives”

There were two main male characters in this book. Blessedly, it was not a love triangle, as I am severely allergic to those. Atlas and Ryle appeared at completely different stages in Lily’s life, and as individuals they remain distinct from one another. Lily knew her heart at all points in the novel, so I did not consider this a love triangle. Instead, it’s a complex dynamic, layered upon Lily’s personal history and her past interactions with both men – I found their story incredibly compelling.

This book touched upon multiple tough issues, and I think it largely dealt with them with gravitas and respect. The main theme the book dealt with was domestic abuse, and I felt it handled the matter very well. Victim blaming is unfortunately a huge part of how society views domestic abuse – ‘Why didn’t she just leave him?’ is a question that perpetually pops up in conversations about these sort of crime. I am glad to see the book shed light on this aspect.

“Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them. It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.”

Colleen Hoover’s Author Notes at the end of the book shed even more light on her personal experiences with it – and I recommend that you only read the Author’s Notes once you have finished the novel, as it definitely contains spoilers! Some of the scenes were difficult to stomach, so I would warn readers who can potentially be triggered by attempted rape and domestic violence.

I loved the direction this book took, it was similar to The Girl Who Fell – but executed with a lot more poise and expertise. Colleen Hoover dared to take readers on an unexpected and painful path, but I felt the story could not have headed in any other route. By the time my tears were shed, I had long accepted that this was a fitting ending to the novel. I also liked that there were foreshadowing in early parts of the book, so I had braced myself for this conclusion from the beginning (did not hurt any less, though).

Although Colleen Hoover is excellent at drawing out emotions and keeping her readers engage, I still find her writing style choppy at times. Primarily, this is because her characters tend to revert to cliche when they speak, especially in romantic scenes. By the end of the book, I wanted to roll my eyes a little every time someone mentioned the phrases ‘be bold, be brave’, or ‘just keep swimming’, or ‘I want to be you when I grow up’. Building up such wonderful, realistic characters – and then having them default to cheesy one liners really takes me out of the reading experience.

Overall, I found this book to be a memorable read, and one you definitely have to experience for yourself. I want to try out more of this author’s other work. Which would you recommend for me next?

If you’re reading this book during August, join us at the Bibliophile Academy in discussions, livetweets and taking beautiful photos of the novel. Find us on:

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Published by aentee @ read at midnight

31 thoughts on “Book Review: It Ends With Us”

    1. I didn’t like the last CoHo book I read, so this one definitely exceeded my expectations. Hope you will enjoy it, too!

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  3. Lovely review! For the author’s other works, pick up anything else by her and try it out – since all her books are so famous and so well loved. My personal favorites are November 9, Ugly Love and ofc It Ends With Us!

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  4. I’ve actually never read anything by Colleen Hoover, and everytime I see a review of her books, I’m reminded that I have to get to her someday. I’m glad that this turned out to be one of her better books!

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  7. What other CoHo books have you read? 🙂 I’m not a huge fan of CoHo, and because I tend to stay away from New Adult & Adult Fiction. 🙂 I did read, Hopeless, Maybe Someday, and a few chapters from Too Late. 🙂

    A friend of mine who’s such a big fan of CoHo, urged me to read Ten Below Zero or When It Rains, which you might like as well. 🙂 They’re quite similar to CoHo’s theme, but you might like the writing style more of those two, if you say you’re quite having a hard time with CoHo.

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    1. The only other book of hers I’ve read is Maybe Someday, because of the cheating in the main storyline. It’s something that makes me irrationally angry so I couldn’t get into it. I don’t read a lot of NA either, I mainly love Becca and Krista Ritchie’s works in that particular genre.

      Thanks for your recs ❤

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      1. Oh? You should continue on Maybe Someday! 😀 It’s definitely worth the read. 🙂 But then again, I hope you try out my other recommendations and you enjoy them. 🙂

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    1. My last CoHo read was a bit of a disappointment as well (Maybe Someday) but I think this one is quite different from her other books. So I would recommend still giving it a go if you’re intrigued!

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  11. I feel very ranty when I think about this book, but I’m going to refrain from unloading on your blog, Aentee. Unfortunately I had too many issues with this one and I couldn’t love it, which is sad because I have adored this author’s books in the past.
    But, I’m so pleased you did! I’m excited to see you read more NA/adult contemporary books. Hopefully, you’ll try out more!
    That graphic is so lovely too! ❤

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  13. I used to freaking love this author but after this book and November 9 and her marketing ploys I’m done with her. I don’t like how she uses certain things as plot twists and that author’s note at the end makes me rage a little because it totally feels like emotional manipulation. A lot of people are loving this and I can see why, her stories hook you in. I do agree with you though about the cliche things, it’s gotten worse the more books she writes. Glad you ended up liking this one 🙂

    Nereyda│ Nick & Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist

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  14. This is the first Colleen Hoover book I’ve bought (and still haven’t read any, either!), and I’m super excited to dive into it! I’ve seen so many awesome reviews about it!

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  17. Oooooh! I have really wanted to read some CoHo, but just haven’t yet. Your art is always so gorgeous. I think I will need to read this book soon.

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  18. Awesome review! I’m glad you enjoyed this book by CoHo! Your illustration you created is so pretty, love the purple colour scheme ❤ The only book I've read by CoHo is the Never Never series, so this will be my second read by her! Looking forward to it.

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  19. I really enjoyed this review, Aentee! I am pleased to hear that the book handled the topics of the book sensitively and with respect. I feel like this will be a difficult book to read, but, a necessary book too? I liked the quote you included in the beginning – it gives me a good feeling about the book, one that recognizes that characters and people can be flawed.
    I haven’t read any CoHo books before (aside from Never Never but that was a disaster), but maybe I’ll try this one. Thanks Aentee!! ❤

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    1. This one is quite different in tone to her other books, and I personally think you’ll like this one more so yesss go for it. Whatever you think of it, it’s definitely a great book to start conversations.

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