Description
It Ends with Us is a novel by Colleen Hoover. It is a story about two people, Lily and Ryle, who are drawn to each other, despite being from very different worlds.
Lily and Ryle have been drawn to each other since they first met at 17, but circumstances never seemed right. Several years later, Lily’s marriage is crumbling and she meets a man who seems like he might be worth a second chance. He tells her he’s reached his limits, both professionally and personally. When the opportunity arises for her to take an assignment abroad for 6 months, she’s intrigued by the idea of living overseas with this new person in her life — it could be worth a shot. She soon realizes that being with someone requires more than just “being there” and wonders if it’s too late to follow a different path.
From the Publisher
natalie –
She makes you fall in love with him, then rips your heart out and makes you wish it didn’t end that way. Amazing writing. I started out thinking it was just another romance novel, but I was COMPLETELY WRONG! This book makes you feel so many things, and makes you scream in your head at what you hope the outcome will be. I love that she helps show the women’s side of abuse to help people understand what goes through their mind and why they can’t just leave.My three favorite lines:“People spend so much time wondering why the women don’t leave. Where are all the people who wonder why the men are even abusive? Isn’t that where the only blame should be place?” ? Yaaaas“Sometimes the things that matter to you most are also the things that hurt you the most. And in order to get over that hurt, you have to sever all the extensions that keep you tethered to that pain.”“We break the pattern before the pattern breaks us.”
Amazon Customer –
“In the future . . . if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again . . . fall in love with me.”I’m going to start this review off with this statement: I didn’t cry while I was reading this book, but I did cry several days later when I was looking back on Lily’s story. That shows how emotionally charged this story is, along with the true power behind Colleen’s writing. I’m not going to give away any spoilers because you need to go into the book blind. If you want to know what happens, there are definitely some reviews out there that tell you the big twists and turns. But take my advice and don’t spoil this book for yourself. It will lose a lot if you go in knowing exactly what to expect. So seriously, don’t do it to yourself. Just let the beauty of Colleen’s writing sweep over you and sink in.“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”This is honestly not only one of the best reads of 2016, but also one of the most (if not the most) empowering. I want to give this book to every man, woman, and even teenager (it’s definitely a NA/adult read) and tell them… READ THIS NOW! Do you want to know why? Because this book carries with it a very strong message, one that shows strength and courage that many people might not have at the time, but after reading will understand and gain. I honestly don’t know if there has ever been a time when I was prouder to be reading the heroine’s story due to her choices. Ultimately though, Colleen Hoover wrote a book that everyone can take something away from. Colleen always writes such unique stories, and this one is certainly no exception. But the one thing I will say is that this is truly her best book yet.“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.”Lily’s story is one that I never wanted to stop reading. If I know that I’m going to need to read a book in multiple sittings (which was the case with this book), I usually try to find a good place to stop. One in which, nothing major is happening and nobody is facing some drastic/perilous moment. Well you see the problem with this book is the fact that there is literally NO. GOOD. STOPPING. POINT! None! There was never a part where I felt safe in letting this book sit overnight because I knew that the story and the what if’s would play endlessly in my mind. So I stayed up and read it all in one sitting because I simply couldn’t stop. Lily was someone that I connected to right from the get go. I knew as soon as the book started that I would like her, and that never once stopped while I was reading. However, I didn’t realize how much her character would affect me while I was reading. As I said before, after I was finished reading, I couldn’t have been prouder of her decisions. The strength she had throughout the story to go through what she did, but also her resolve and conviction just made me constantly cheer her on. Lily is truly one of the most admirable characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading about, and that admiration goes extraordinarily deep.“Life is a funny thing. We only get so many years to live it, so we have to do everything we can to make sure those years are as full as they can be. We shouldn’t waste time on things that might happen someday, or maybe even never.”I mentioned it briefly above, but this book has a very powerful message, and this message is actually carefully woven into the story from page 1. You obviously don’t realize it when you start reading the novel, but it’s there when you look back after finishing. And this is also why I’m going to reiterate the importance of going into the story blind, because just as unexpected and emotional it is for the reader to read and witness what Lily goes through, it is even more unexpected and emotional for Lily. This is where this book truly shines, because you as a reader feel like part of the story. There’s a very slow burn while reading, one in which we get to know characters and see the develop in the ways that we as humans get to know each other…but then Colleen rips that metaphorical rug out from under all of us, and shocks us with one revelation after another. But you know what? That’s exactly how life is sometimes…sometimes you never see things coming in a million years and you have to figure out how to deal with these radical changes you never thought would happen.“It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.”Where this book really got me though was the meaning of the title. Throughout the entire time I was reading, I kept wondering what the title meant. Because come on…this is Colleen Hoover and literally EVERYTHING has some significance (no matter how small). And when I got to the part of the story where the title finally made sense, guys let me tell you…this had an impact on me like no other. I just sat there with my book in my hands staring at the page for a solid 5 minutes. It is the perfect title for the perfect book.“Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen seconds that we’ll never get back.”I connected with this book in my own way, and for that I am extraordinarily thankful to Colleen Hoover for even writing this book. The author’s note at the end was just as powerful and amazing as the rest of the story, but it shows just how personal this story was for her to write. I applaud Colleen for writing this book and not “making things easy” for the main character or glossing over the “bad parts.” This is an incredibly realistic book that makes you realize many things and leaves an imprint on your soul. It’s important to remember that everyone must make extraordinarily difficult decisions in their life, and not everyone will agree with them. If this book even empowers one woman to take steps in making an important decision, the Colleen Hoover did her job. And I count myself lucky to have had the honor of reading this story because I am a changed person because of it!Happy reading 🙂
madison –
this was my first colleen Hoover book and wow. will absolutely be buying more books from her!!! once I got to around chapter 4 I couldn’t put it down. I was literally laughing out loud while reading. it’s been a day since I finished the book and I’m still thinking about the characters and the ending. I can’t wait for the second book. I’m not really sure how someone could rate this book so negatively, it was off putting and I almost didnt give it a try because of some of the things people were saying (with sexy scenes lol) but it wasnt anything like that at all. yes there was a little romance in this but it wasnt something that made me want to put the book down. I throughly enjoyed this book. wish I had a book club to discuss this book with because just wow!!!! will be waiting for the next one 🙂
Lisa LifeInLit –
THE STORY:Lisa: I went into this story completely blind. I do this quite a bit, honestly, and it almost always pays off. But with this book especially, I think going in blind is the way to go. If that’s not your reading style, I’ll give you just a bit of background.Lily hasn’t lived the easiest life. After graduating from college she moved to Boston where she opened her own business. Things were finally looking up for her. All of her hard work had paid off. She runs into a local neurosurgeon and immediately feels a connection with him. Ryle, especially wearing his adorable scrubs, is easy on the eyes and such a charmer. He’s also a player and only wants one-night-stands. He refuses to get into a relationship for several reasons, one of them being he just doesn’t have the time outside of being a doctor to be in a real relationship. The sparks start flying and Lily realizes she’s quite interested in Ryle… that is, until a blast from her past, Atlas, reappears, and brings up allllll kinds of confusing feelings.Becca: Yes! I 100% agree with Lisa, if you can go into this one blind then I recommend that you do! It was absolutely incredible to experience each moment and have no idea what was going to happen next!I don’t want to say too much and spoil the story for anyone. I will say that this book does span a large part of Lily’s life. We see her as a teen and also as an adult, it was very well done and I enjoyed the blend of past and present.THE CHARACTERS:Becca: Oh these characters… where do I begin?! I absolutely loved Lily! She had been through so much in her life, yet she persevered and followed her dreams. She was strong and fought for what she believed in. I loved learning about her past and being with her in the present. I felt as though I knew her, I understood and empathized with very thought and every emotion.When Lily met Ryle, I fell for him as instantaneously as she did. He was strong, confident, funny and of course sexy in scrubs 😉 Their relationship was a whirlwind that wrapped them up so quickly and I was in it with them! When things got tough for them, I felt every moment as harshly as they did.When Atlas (the blast from Lily’s past) appears it throws this whole story in a different direction. Of course, we meet him with young Lily and then again later in the book. Atlas has this smooth, quiet confidence about him. He comes from absolutely nothing and makes something out of himself. I admired and respected him and I fell for him big time!I know some of you are probably sniffing out a love triangle and freaking out. In my opinion, that is NOT what this is. Some may call it a love triangle on a technical basis, but it really is not and I urge you not to skip this one for that reason because that term is to cliched for what this book actually is.Also the secondary characters in this book, Lily’s parents and Ryle’s sister and her husband are truly imperative in this story. They are just perfect and add so much to the story.I do not think that there is another Author out there who can make me fall in love with characters quite so hard. CoHo develops her characters so well that I feel as though I know them! I had so many feels for these characters that my heart couldn’t handle it! In the past I have loved many CoHo characters (and I still do) but none made me feel what these characters did and none made me feel quite so much that I was a part of their story. Trust me when I say these are characters that you want to meet.Lisa: That’s so, so true, Becca! I agree that CoHo has an amazing ability to make us fall in love with ALL characters, even the not-so-easy-to-love ones.I’m honestly not sure I would categorize this as a love triangle. I know others have, but I disagree. (view spoiler)My favorite characters in this story were, as Becca mentioned, the secondary characters. Specifically Ryle’s sister and her husband, who are wonderful additions to this beautiful story. I also enjoyed the family dynamics and how everyone had each others’ backs when it was most important.TO SUM UP:Lisa: WOW! Just… wow! This has got to be the BEST book Colleen Hoover has written to date. The stark honesty and impacting nature of this story will punch you in the feels. Hard. I’ve never experienced an abuse story to quite this level. I was blown away by this story and left a babbling ball of nerves and tears. A book hasn’t touched me this deeply in quite some time. I also learned quite a bit from this story. We’re always so quick to judge in instances of abuse… but there’s so much more to the story than you see with the naked eye. Don’t judge. Don’t assume facts that aren’t true. And, most importantly, don’t ever think it can’t happen to you or someone you know. Such a strong story that is sure to impact every reader that opens the cover in one way or another. I’m leave completely blown away by this story, as well as hopeful, which is such a wonderful thing. Colleen, you’ve done it AGAIN!Becca: I know some of you may think that I always say this and yes I am a true CoHo fan, but this is by far her best work ever. It Ends With Us is so raw and full of emotions, but most of all it is honest. I cried… A LOT! And I am not talking a few tears or a quiet wimper… I am talking ugly crying that I couldn’t contain. The message it delivers is a powerful one and I know that this is a book that will stay with me forever. Please make sure that once you are done you read the Author note at the end, it will give you an even better view of this book afterward.Colleen Hoover, you slay me with your words. You break my heart and then put the pieces back together. You are an amazing writer and I believe you are a gift for readers like myself. Keep doing what you are doing and I will keep reading everything that you write.(Thanks to Atria Books for the review copy!)
Elena Rodriguez –
so this was my first book that ive read in probably 4 years. i only listen to harry potter at night to fall asleep lol so this was the first real adult book ive really ever read. at first i didnt like it because the first chapter seemed to drag on forever. i felt like i wasnt getting any insight into the characters and the whole plot was just kinda boring until about 1/4 of the way into the book. and then i was hooked. i finished this book in 3 days. i cried so many times because of how beautiful it was, especially lily’s love with atlas. but i also cried because of how horrible it was, the abuse with ryle but also with lily’s parents. it was just such a beautiful, sad book. i know a lot of people didnt like the journal entries where lily was writing about atlas but i LOVED THEM. the plotline with atlas was my favorite part of the book i LOVE him. his and lily’s relationship was so sweet. i cant wait to read more about them in it starts with us. overall a very good read that will have you smiling and then sobbing within minutes. RECOMMEND!!
Linda Miller –
I have never been inspired to write a book review. This is my first. I read all the critical reviews, but the subject matter of this book hit a very sensitive nerve for me. First of all, for those who thought the book was too sensual or too emotional, I must venture a guess this subject matter is something they have never lived or even thought was possible.Domestic abuse has many sides and many questions. If you have not been a victim, it might be easy to say,”Why didn’t you leave?” This book answers many questions and explores the victims and abusers viewpoints. The most prominent quotation in this book for me is, “There are no bad people, only people who do bad things.” I believe the circumstances of our childhoods shape us into the adults we become, even more than genetics. The traumas we have to survive and the way we are made to feel about ourselves stay with us.I was a survivor of my parents abuse of each other. It was not just my father, but also my mother who fought violently with each other. I was able to go to university and leave the trauma physically, but not emotionally.I married the first man who proposed so I didn’t have to go home.I withstood his verbal and physical abuse for 28 years. He stopped hurting me before my bruises and choking so as not to send me to the hospital. I stayed with him for 28 years because he was a good father and my daughters loved him.I loved him because when he was good, he was very good. Was I stupid? Was I afraid to go out on my own? Yes. My children came first. I would endure anything for their safety and happiness.This amazing book addresses both sides of abuse, from each perspective. The heartbreak of having to decide your future with a man you love with all your heart, who loves you with everything he has in him, but who also has demons he is unable to control.Please read this book. It will give you sight into this ongoing tragedy between men and women. Withhold your judgment until the end, if you have the wisdom to do so
Emma –
This book…. OHHH my gosh. This book was so heart-wrenching, yet so beautiful at the same time. Coming from someone who has experienced domestic violence in the past it really hits home. When I first bought this book I didn’t know what to except, but it wasn’t this. It was everything I could’ve hoped for and MORE. I loved the way she portrayed Lily. She was so courageous, bold, relatable and perfect in all the right ways. I cannot wait for book 2!!! Once I finished, I couldn’t stop crying for a whole hour straight. I can’t even remember turning pages because it had me hooked that good!! READ IT READ IT READ IT!*SPOILERS*]First off, some of these reviews piss me off, especially the ones that are geared toward the main character Lily.”Why did Colleen have her stay with someone who was constantly abusing her and treating her as so”?”I was so pissed she got right with Atlas right after the whole thing with Ryle happened, that would not happen in real life…”First off, if you have ever experienced domestic violence in your life you would know how hard it is to leave the situation. Second, did you even read the book? Lily clearly states her confusion with either staying or leaving. It’s not like she was staying with him because she liked the abuse?! Some of yawl’s reviews seriously get to me. Imagine falling in love with someone who was absolutely perfect in your eyes and treated you in all the ways you’d ever imagine. You then get tied down… He starts to abuse you… Does things to you that you never thought this man who loved you SO much could possibly do?!? But it happens. It’s not that easy to up in leave… If you TRULY knew what it is like to experience domestic abuse you would know that. So please stop getting mad at Lily for taking so long to leave! The whole thing about her getting with Atlas so fast after the whole dealio with Ryle ended, was PERFECT in my eyes. People are getting mad at how quickly she got back with him, but he was her safe place and FIRST true love (who matter-of-fact she never fell out of love with). I would’ve done the exact same dang thing!
Triston –
I just want to start off by saying that I am 26 years old and I’ve never picked up a book in my life. I always swore I hated reading. After all my clients and co workers were telling me to read this book I said ok it’s worth a shot. Since the day I picked up this book I haven’t been able to put it down. I think about reading it all day at work. I read it on my lunch break and any chance that I get. Today I have finished the book and I decided to leave a review because I give credit when credit is due.. this book was AMAZING! I laughed I cried I felt every emotions I never knew a book could make me feel. In my 26 years I’ve finally read a whole book and I am so happy. I already pre ordered part 2 to this book and followed the author on IG lol. Thank you Colleen Hoover for being a bad ass author!
Jess Sewell –
I am an avid ready. Lately I haven’t been reading as much as I once did due to working, raising kiddos, and taking care of the daily household things and when I did find the time to read, I usually entertained the education/self help books. I saw a co-worker reading this a few weeks ago at work and she couldn’t say enough positive things about it. I was a Twilight enthusiast back in middle school and have fond memories of reading that series and escaping from my real-life problems. I decided that life is too serious to use what little leisurely time I had available for reading on just education/self help and the take a dive back to the genre that captivated me back then. And Man. BEST. DECISION. Seriously, if you are on the fence for any reason, hope OFF and read this. Honestly, read all of Colleen Hoover’s books.
P. Ortega –
This book was something that I believe is the epitome of powerful woman doing what’s better for them and learning from others mistakes. Lily’s character was something I felt was someone I can relate to because I have seen how domestic violence can ruin a person and how hard it is to walk away from that person. It takes a lot of courage to do that, and the way this book’s plot developed was from a girl ready to accept the fate of the beaten house wife , but then she knew this isn’t what she was in Boston for . She wanted better than the future her mother already lived . In my heart of hearts , if you want a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat with the play on words but also can rip ur heart out and cry . then this is the book for you !!!!! plz read <3