IT ENDS WITH US by Colleen Hoover. Wow! I couldn’t put the book down! What an deeply emotional, heartbreaking and uplifting story filled with drama, romance, family, friendships and deep love. It Ends With Us tackles the difficult subject of Domestic Violence. I laughed, swooned and cried, both sad and happy tears. I couldn’t help falling for all the main characters in the story. It’s a touching story and I was wiping joyful tears as it ended. A note from the author says that this story is different from her previous books. More as realistic fiction, inspired from personal experience, not only to entertain. I highly recommend it, just caution to anyone with triggers on the subject. It had many fun and empowering moments, as well as a hopeful and positive ending, too. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did an excellent job. I truly enjoyed this story.
This book fell solidly into the “eh, it was okay” category for me. I’m not familiar with Colleen Hoover, but she appears to have quite a following. If you look around, you’ll see a LOT of 5 star reviews for this book. But it just didn’t do it for me.
First, the male lead’s name kept pulling me out of the story. Ryle. Is it pronounced “ry-lee”? Or like “kyle”? Either way, my brain went back and forth every time I read the name and completely distracted me.
We won’t even discuss the ridiculousness of Lily Bloom who wants to open a flower shop. Insert appropriate eye-roll here.
This is essentially a romance with some unhealthy parental relationships, homelessness, and domestic abuse tossed in. It’s a lot. There are a lot of coincidences throwing people together and a lot of problems telegraphed, making the author’s hand feel very heavy. And the ending was too pat by several magnitudes. Though I guess Lily makes the right decision in the end.
I don’t mind picking up a New Adult book from time to time, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to get more of Hoover’s.
This book was excruciating in every good way. I have never felt so conflicted over a character as I was over Ryle. Definitely a great read for anyone, especially empowering for men or women involved in domestic violence issues.
Wow this book. What an emotional journey. This was one of the hardest and most raw books I’ve ever read. It was so real and riveting. I couldn’t get enough of it. I couldn’t stop reading yet I didn’t want to keep reading. Such a different experience. Reading a Colleen Hoover book is like going through an eye opening journey and this one was no different and was one of the hardest but most worthwhile to battle through. This is an extremely powerful story and it’s not what most people will be expecting. It gets its power from the singular first person narrative and we experience everything through Lily’s eyes. When she falls in love, we fall in love; when her heart is broken, our heart is broken; when she gets it all wrong, so do we.
The way that Colleen Hoover writes puts you right in the situation that Lily is in head first and makes you fall in love with both Ryle and Atlas. And it’s so twisted because of the kind of guy one of them turns out to be. In between this passionate love story that’s going on with Ryle and Lily we get these sweet innocent flashbacks of a life with a sixteen year old Lily and Atlas. Atlas who is this homeless boy who finds hope and a home in Lily. And Lily who is living a nightmare of home life and seeks comfort in him. Those stories were my favorite.
So perfect! I loved these characters, loved their history and their flaws and strengths. And the ending…..I have no words. Beautiful and bittersweet in the same breath. This novel is why CoHo is my favorite author. She tells stories in such a way that it makes you fell every emotion. I highly recommend it!
★★★★ // for the first time, hoover tries to tell a story that is meant to inform and not to merely entertain. i almost gave up on this because i hated the first few chapters, but i’m glad i stuck with it. despite that almost cinematic ending, i was still left with a happy and hopeful feeling for these characters.
A veces, me da por salirme del tipo de lecturas que siempre hago; los géneros que sé son cosa segura y leo libros de un género que me gusta poco o nada, con cero expectativas por supuesto, más si es del género NA o RA y eso que ha habido un par de ocasiones en que este tipo de historias me han gustado o, al menos, no han sido tan malas. Mi historia con Colleen Hoover no es larga ni fea, empecé a ver y escuchar y leer sobre ella hace un par de años y me quedó claro que sería difícil decidirme a leer algo suyo porque:
Libros suyos = DRAMA.
Y del fuerte. Del que odio con todo mi ser. Para no hacer más larga la historia, hace unos meses decidí que iba a leer uno de sus libros, estaba entre éste que hoy reseño y Maybe someday, ganó It ends with us y además ya me estaba decidiendo por ese porque recordé que Aidee me contó de que iba Maybe someday cuando ella lo leyó y que es un dramón gigante. Así pues, leí It ends with us que es el último libro de Colleen y la mayoría de personas parecen coincidir que es su mejor libro hasta ahora.
Me alegra haberlo leído porque ya no tendré la curiosidad de si serán buenos o malos los libros de Colleen Hoover, no me ha disgustado, de hecho me sorprendió mucho que no terminara siendo un bodrio. No me parece una maravilla como muchos afirman, tampoco creo que lea otro libro suyo pronto, quizá nunca lo haga pero ¡ey! no la tendré en la lista negra. Si les gustan los libros del género New Adult estoy segura que les gustara. El nivel de inglés es bastante básico y se lee rápido. Tiene algunas escenas algo fuertes a nivel emocional, aunque no me parecen echas específicamente para hacer llorar al lector. Además, deja un mensaje positivo que, aunque pudo ser incluso mejor, aún así es algo y yo lo apruebo.
This book is amazing! I went into it completely blind and holy crap, I was not expecting that at all. It's so different than her other books. I actually teared up at the end with like never happens!
I loved how the story began and liked Lily’s voice from the onset.
Ryle and Lily share a slow-building relationship and I enjoyed the banter.
Despite what you may think, there is no love triangle or cheating.
Hoover used journal entries written by Lily to a celebrity as a young teen. I loved the references to a character they portrayed. It allowed me to understand Lily and her relationship to Atlas.
I adored Atlas and his story.
Hoover addresses a complex subject and calls out those who do not understand the whys and how. This happens every day and it is so easy to say, “I would do this” or “what is wrong with her?"
I think Hoover made a strong case for Lily’s behavior, reasoning and reactions. While Lily makes mistakes, I understood her struggle and appreciated her growth. Ultimately, I am satisfied with the outcome.
I appreciated the emotional support, and sound advice presented even if I wanted more. This is after all one of those “dirty-little-secrets”
The author’s note was raw and honest giving substance to Lily and Ryle’s story.
Oliver Song was perfect for this narration. I think she captured Lily. Her male voices were strong, and did not have that raspy hoarse tone we often hear from a female narrator.
Decaffeinated Aspects
While we learn about Ryle’s past, I did not feel like it was explored enough. I could not grasp what connection the author was trying to make between events that take place and his past. I would have gone another more proven route.
Lily’s BFF had an issue and despite loving the thread that followed it felt forced to answer a question. I just do not think it was the right one.
While this story was about Lily, I would have liked to have had seen dialogue between Ryle and his family.
I liked the ending but would have liked to hear professional counseling was involved. Although in reality, this is not always the case.
It Ends With Us contains a subject that may be a trigger for some readers. Warning: Clicking spoiler does share subject matter Deals with domestic abuse, violence against women, and shares a brutal non-sexual attack on a young man.
From the day I began reviewing books, I have come across stories that made me laugh, cry and scream and they all left their mark on me in some way or the other. However, it was not until I read ‘It Ends With Us’ by Colleen Hoover that I found a story that resonated so deep within me that every time I thought about it brought tears to my eyes. The highest rating, I have ever given to any story I have read is 5 stars and I don’t give those lightly. Now if I am to be completely honest with myself and you I have to say this book deserves more than 5 stars. If I were to rate it on a scale of 1-10 I would say it was deserving of ten stars. This is by far the best book I have read in 2016.
I have to confess that this is my first time reading a Colleen Hoover novel. I have heard about her but never got the opportunity to read her work before now. I know that was a huge mistake on my part, which I will be rectifying.
When I went into this story I had no idea that it was personal to the author. However, as the story progressed, I began to wonder if she had an intimate knowledge of the events in the story. I say this because the writing depicted just that. The emotions that permeated the story was so palpable it felt as if I was seeing it all through her eyes. Every situation within this story appeared real. This was one of the most difficult books to put down. It reeled me in from the first line and I just had to find out how it all ended. Trust me, you will never be the same after reading this book.
From the moment I was introduced to Lilly, I knew she would be a character to contend with. She is smart, strong, compassionate, selfless and determined. By the end of the story, she earned hero status in my eyes. She knew that no matter how much you love someone you had to love yourself first and foremost. It was this knowledge that helped her to regain control of her life. In the end, she made the decision that would put her on the road to healing and forgiveness. This is not the kind of story that you should rush. ‘It Ends With Us’ requires the reader to focus on the message that’s being depicted.
“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”
After reading this story my views about women who find themselves in the situation that Lilly faced changed. This story made me realise that these women are not weak. It is easy for someone on the outside of the situation to judge, but until you walk a mile in that person’s shoes you will never understand the pain, humiliation, and uncertainty that they have experienced.
Do not go into this story expecting a fairy tale romance as you will be disappointed. This is the type of story that may gut you, rip out your heart and render you a blubbering mess. It is a story of survival, sacrifice, love, healing, forgiveness and courage in the face of adversity. My recommendation to you is that you need to read this book.
Favourite quotes "Sometimes, no matter how convinced you are that your life will turn out a certain way, all that certainty can be washed away with a simple change in tide".
"Everyone deserves a second chance. Especially the people who mean the most to you".
“In the future . . . if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again . . . fall in love with me. You’re still my favorite person, Lily. Always will be.”
'Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen seconds that we’ll never get back".