It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is not a new author and this book is not a new title. Don't quote me on this but I believe that there has been a resurgence for It Ends With Us because of #booktok...?  And so because I was having a serious case of FOMO, I went out and bought a copy.  

 This might be a first for me but I'm not really quite sure how I feel about this book... Am I the only one who feels that way or is it just me...?  I know that Jessica read this book back in 2018 and she LOVED it!  I will link her review here. 

I don't know if I can say that I've loved it but I'm not quite sure that I can say that I hated it either.  I feel, dare I say, indifferent??  

I found this story to be very dark and because of that, I'm surprised that it has such a cult following behind it... It is definitely an important story that needs to be told because it deals with intimate partner violence and that is a topic that is very real for many women (and men) and it needs to be discussed, the stigma around it needs to be stripped away and the education on IPV needs to happen. 

*Update*

I would like to say that my stance has changed on this book and I understand why it's popular and why it gave Jessica the book hangover that it did. 

I must admit that I was reaching that point where I was getting at the book and I found it to be increasingly frustrating.  I understood why Lily was having doubts with leaving Ryle and I get why it was a long process.  But, we must admit that this is the hallmark of a great writer; when you feel so much about character - the good, the bad, the passion, the love, and the ugly.  

I must say that I was satisfied with the way that Hoover wrote the ending.  I thought that the message that was presented in the book was a strong one.  

But... I found about 3/4 of the book to be painfully boring.  In the beginning, it was very very mundane. I wasn't sure why Atlas didn't have more of a role in the story...?  I think what threw me was that it's marketed as Atlas being a threat to Lily and Ryle and I didn't see him to be that way... Not at ALL!  I couldn't even justify saying that he was her voice of reason.  I thought that Lily figured the situation on her own and Atlas was barely in the background.

I enjoyed reading Lily's journal entries because they did provide a lot of background and insight.

So... Would I recommend this book to my friends or patrons? Absolutely.  Did I give it 4 stars out of 5 on Goodreads? You betcha.  But for me, the greatest satisfaction and what made this book worth reading was the ending (which was a small 1/4 of the book).  And yes... we can agree to disagree on that (:

Until next time!

- Jillian

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover - Reshelved Books

OH MY GOODNESS Dewey Readers!

I just finished Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us, and I am SO in love.  I literally devoured this book in under 24 hours.  It was THAT good.   

This is my first novel by Hoover, and I picked it up while at work, thinking that I would try to do a new adult / ya crossover display for the library.  I'm trying to target the 20-30 crowd.  But it got me thinking, have I read any authors that are primarily known for NA fiction?  Not really.  I mostly read YA and women's fiction, with a few random ones in between.  Hoover's novel literally jumped off the shelf at me. Literally. So needless to say, I checked it out and took it home.    

I am so glad I did.

So, let's talk about the novel.  Lily is 23 years old.  After her father passes away, Lilly is asked to say the eulogy at his funeral.  The problem is that she doesn't have anything good to say about him. So she stands there and says nothing.  NOTHING. You see, Lily's father abused her mother throughout her entire childhood.  He only stopped beating and raping her mother when he became too sick to do so.  Her mother stayed with him the entire time.    

When Lily was 15 years old, she fell in love with a boy who was living in the abandoned house which joined backyards with Lily's home.  Like Lily, Atlas too came from an abusive household.  Except his step-father abused HIM.

Fast forward, and Lily is now living in Boston.  She's on a rooftop patio reflecting about her father's death and her wordless eulogy when a man appears.  Heavily upset, he begins to kick a chair in anger only to turn around and realize that Lily was there watching.  This man is so very handsome and he is a neurosurgeon.  Can you believe it?  A neurosurgeon!  It is many months until they meet again.  

As I'm writing this, I realize that my small summary really sucks and does NOT give this novel justice.  So I'm just going to stop.  

What absolutely amazes me about this novel, is that Hoover is able to tell a love story but she does so by showing both the good aspects of love (that keep us going back for more) and the dirty and terrible aspects of love (that hide underneath the good.)  Hoover mentions in the novel that we all have a limit of what we can take and when "incidents" happen with someone you love, that limit gets pushed back bit by bit.  This highlights the importance of paying attention to little red flags early on and staying true to your limit.  This is also something that I'm slowly learning to put into practice.  Be bold.  Be true.  It's easier said than done.  

What also amazes me is that Hoover is able to craft a character who Lily is able to both love, hate and fear at the same time, but she crafts him in such a way that the reader also is able to fall in love with him, fear him, and struggle with these feelings similar to how Lilly does.  No matter Lilly's decision, I couldn't blame her because I wasn't sure what I would have done in her situation or what I wanted her to do.  Yes, we know what we should do as a detached persona, but not what we would do or what we necessarily want to do. I realize I'm rambling, but this book just has me so excited.  I think I found my new favorite author. 

I feel a book hangover coming on.

I give this book 10 out of 5 Coffee Beans, because I can.  

~Jessica