"It Ends with Us" Review + Discussion

Book: It Ends with Us

Author: Colleen Hoover

My Rating: ★★★★

Synopsis: Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. 

      For those of you who don't know, Colleen Hoover is a queen in my eyes. "Ugly Love", "Maybe Someday", and "November 9" are some of my all-time favorite books. She makes me like new adult. So coming into this book, you best belief I had some highass standards.

      As to whether or not those standards were met, I'm going to be honest, not really. Like they were hella close to being met, but not all the way. I really liked it, but I didn't love it. The entire time I was reading it, it felt like something was missing. There is always that "wow" factor, that emotional factor that makes me just fucking fall heads over heels with the book. With this. I didn't feel that.

      This story is unlike anything else CoHo has ever written, and I applaud her for writing such a personal story with a great message. Domestic violence isn't something that is written about much, especially in Young Adult and New Adult. That being said, I couldn't identify with the characters or the situation, which is probably why it didn't blow me away.

      As for the romance aspect, it was kinda eh. I knew what was going to happen in the ending and honestly, I wasn't satisfied.

      That being said, I still really enjoyed the story and the writing. CoHo has some magical writing skills and continues to impress me time and time again.

IF YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK, YOU MAY PROCEED TO THE SPOILER DISCUSSION SECTION.

SPOILER DISCUSSION SECTION

      Please only read this section if you have read the book, otherwise you are in for some bigass spoilers.

      So who else would have left Ryle the second after he hit her the first time? I just cannot fathom why she would stay and allow his excuses to be alright after all the shit she saw her mom go through. My mom taught me to be an independent woman who doesn't take shit from anyone. Had Ryle hit me, I would have beat his ass and kicked him out. There is no way in hell that I would put up with that. I do not give two shits that he had a traumatic childhood and is still dealing with it: you should never ever hurt someone. 

   
      Also, who felt like the whole situation and relationship with Atlas was unhealthy and shouldn't have gone on as long as it did? And honestly, was he even swoonworthy? Not to me. I think she was at such an impressionable age and since he was the first guy to give her the time of day, she fixated on him and him on her.