I'm not sure how Olivia Song managed to do this, but she made me fall even deeper in love with Lily with her excellent narration of It Ends With Us. This past weekend, my oldest daughter and I drove to the South of France for a book fest, and she hadn't read this one yet. And CoHo was one of the authors at the fest, so we decided to listen to it on the road. Everything was OK on the way there, but I missed my cue on the way back on Sunday, and it took us a little longer than planned to get home ;)
I was already emotionally invested in the characters, and Song made me even more so. It Ends With Us took on another facet when it was so well told, and the themes slightly changed in my opinion. There is still a lot going on that I'm not going to mention at all, but standing up for yourself is something I think is very important. And Lily did this, more than once, and not necessarily in a way that was blatantly obvious. There were times when I had goosebumps, and other times when I wanted to stop the car so I could really cry! CoHo is an expert at wringing my heart and making me feel very deeply. And that is just one of the things I love about her stories.
What you should take away from this review is that no matter which format you prefer, It Ends With Us is amazing! Beautifully written, strong characters that evolve, a poignant story and a LOT of heartache. Hurry up and get started on this one, I've heard Colleen needs more tears for her new lake :)
I enjoyed this story, which examines the cycle of abuse. This is what I expect of CoHo. Characters I care about, a lot of heartbreak and heartache, stories that "go there". She can also be a little OTT at times, but I can forgive those things, because she is always able to move me. The book ended on a hopeful and happy note, but the afterword brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I was CoHoed again.
"It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us."