It Ends With Us: The emotional #1 Sunday Times bestseller. Now a major film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (Lily & Atlas, 1)

Very good.book! Keeps you hooked! Loved the storyline, will.be reading that next one it starts with us! Would recommend to a friend!

"Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen seconds that we’ll never get back." I don't think I have cried so much at a book, or had such a massive bookish hangover since I read Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman) when I was 12 years old. This book was so different to what I expected it to be but so much more than I had hoped it would be and it took me 2 whole days to recover before I could even begin to attempt to write a review for this book. I started this book after getting home from work, absolutely knackered but kept awake by my excitement to start reading this book, and finished it within 4 hours (totally beat Amazon's 7 hours estimated reading time!). It then took me another hour to calm down before I could even think about going to bed and the next morning I feel totally emotionally exhausted. I couldn't put the book down, nor did I want to. I have to admit to a couple of mini breaks in order to wipe the heavy amount of tears from my eyes and prepare myself for what was coming next, but other than that I read this book in one go. CoHo has written us some amazing characters to fall in love with in the past, but I don't think I have ever been so proud of a heroine (CoHo's or anyone else's) than I was of Lily in this book. I loved her from page one and my admiration for her and her strength and conviction only grew the more I got into the book. She was real and vulnerable and she managed to find the strength to make the right choice in the hardest of situations. I honesty don't think I've admired a character more, and I feel like she is a heroine not just in this book, but for every girl and woman to look up to and be inspired by. I want to clear up one thing in this review, and it is the only thing I will say about the story line of this book. Do not be afraid of a love triangle. After reading the description it was exactly where my mind went to, but having read a lot of CoHo books before I totally trusted her, and it was the right thing to do. Yes, there are two male characters in this book, but in no way are they or a love triangle the focus of this book. The story is so much bigger than them and I really hope that people don't get scared away from this book because of an assumed love triangle. There is a very powerful message that is woven into this book, right from chapter one. It starts subtle, but as you read on you start to realise just how significant these moments are as the story comes together and gives us a raw and honest portrayal of a very realistic story. I've purposely said very little to nothing about the storyline because everyone should go into this book blind, that way you won;t expect anything. This is very important because it is totally unexpected for our heroine too. We realise at the same time as our MC the situation she has ended up in and this allows us to experience her journey with her, which makes it all the more powerful. We often hear authors telling us about how much of themselves they have poured into their books, and this book must have had gallons from CoHo, which is proved to us by the honesty of her authors note. I can honesty say that I have only cried at one other authors note before (Sweet Fall - Tillie Cole) but CoHo deserved every single one of my tears. On a final note I have to say how much I love the title and cover of this book, the reasoning for both becomes apparent as you read the book, and for the title especially has a very strong impact emotionally. "That’s what fifteen minutes can do to a person. It can destroy them. It can save them."

It Ends With Us is the story of Lily as she navigates her way through an abusive relationship. Her boyfriend, and later husband, Ryle, can be kind and funny and enigmatic, he is successful and driven, however none of that changes the fact that at his worst she is terrified of him. Growing up witness to a father who abused her mother, Lily always swore to herself she would never be such a woman, and yet now she finds herself making allowances for Ryle time and time again. Matters are only complicated further when a face from her past shows up, Atlas, her first love. What path will Lily choose for herself, and will she find the strength to break this cycle of abuse? I've put off reading this book for a while, despite all the hype around it. However, having read Verity, also by Colleen Hoover not long ago, I finally decided to give this book a try. My overall thoughts are that this book is far from perfect, indeed there were parts that really grated on my nerves, however, despite its flaws, its overall message was really strong, and resonated even more after reading the author's note at the end. As such I have to applaud Colleen for writing a story that was so close to home, and for trying to get into Lily's mindset, as her story is surely one that will resonate with many. As Colleen points out many times in the book, from the outside it seems such a simple and straightforward matter, that if you are in an abusive relationship you walk away from it. However, the reality is never so easy, and there can be so many factors in play. I particularly liked the emphasis on cycles and patterns of abuse, how Lily found herself in the same situation as her mother all those years ago, and the fact that we have glimpses into Lily's childhood helps to gain a deeper insight into her character and background. Ultimately, this story is about finding the strength to break such a cycle, and I think Colleen did a good job of showing Lily's journey to this point. My main criticism is that I felt some of the writing and characters came across as immature. Lily and Ryle, and even Alysa often acted more like teenagers as opposed to grown adults, and Lily and Ryle's relationship felt rather adolescent. Strangely enough, the teenage Lily and the actual adolescent relationship depicted between Lily and Atlas felt more mature in comparison, such that it was as if Lily had regressed later on in life. I'm sure that Colleen wants the reader to like Ryle to begin with, and yet to me he felt off from the very beginning. He was simply so intense and self-centred, and the relationship that develops between Lily and Ryle felt superficial such that I was never really invested in it to begin with. To be honest their relationship felt a bit too Fifty Shades of Grey, with Ryle too much a Christian Grey type character. As such I often found myself irritated at the chapters that focused on Lily and Ryle's developing relationship and when they're all loved up, as the tone just wasn't really for me, and to be honest was a bit cringey. In contrast the chapters we have that focus on Lily as a teenager and her relationship with Atlas I loved. As well as showing the impact that her parents' relationship has on her growing up, we have this touching and sweet relationship that develops between Atlas and Lily. Atlas' personal story is also a really sad one, with important subjects such as homelessness explored, and I loved his resilience and how these two were always there supporting each other through all their trials. I did like though that later on Atlas doesn't necessarily rescue Lily like some knight in shining armour; he is there when she needs him certainly, but she has to rescue herself. I loved that Alysa was there for Lily as a friend, despite the fact she was Ryle's sister. There was also a touching scene towards the end between Lily and her mother that I particularly appreciated. Overall there were parts of this book that I adored (namely anything to do with Lily and Atlas) and parts that were very powerful and impactful. Unfortunately, elements of the writing and character development did for me personally affect my enjoyment of the story, and I would have likely rated it higher had the overall tone been more mature than it was.

**TW** Domestic ab*se, r*pe, manipulation, s*icide, homelessness, child neglect, death, substance ab*se This book contains a lot of sensitive themes, if a sensitive reader, this book may not be suited for you. Where to begin? This book was powerful in its own way. The character development of Lily was amazing and she definitely showed what it was like to come out on the brighter side. Her relationship with Ryle though, that was clearly toxic from the start with many red flags to view. But she loved him and it can be difficult to see past the love you have for someone. There were scenes where he was kind and gentle with her but coming into the middle of the book, and onwards, his behavior started to change and his attitude towards Lily was not at all kind and gentle. Reading the interactions they have together really makes you think long and hard about the type of people they are. Yes, they cared for each other, but they had to think of themselves too. Lily's mother gave some great advice towards the end of the book and I love that. Speaking of Lily's mother, their relationship had some great development as we got further and further into the book. Their bond grew stronger as they found some common ground. Lily's mother gently pushed her daughter to make the decision that kept her safe. Of course, if anyone has been on TikTok or Instagram, then you know there is another love interest mentioned in this book and his name is Atlas. Dear, sweet Atlas. Always compassionate Atlas. Our first encounters with him are mostly through Lily's journals and we learn an awful lot about his character. At such a young age, Lily showed strong compassion and determination when it came to Atlas, and giving him what felt like a home, and he never once took advantage of her. Their connection with Ellen DeGeneres was beautiful and the continuing messages of 'Just Keep Swimming' was enough to put a sop smile on my face while reading. The ending of this book was beautiful. I loved that there was a positive and that everything seemed to start to slot itself in place. It truly showed the development of Lily's character. And, as her mother said, Lily is definitely brave and bold. This book deals with many issues that people face in real life and it truly gets you thinking about your own life and values. Many people have advertised this book as a romance, but I see it differently, it's a book of life. Of a difficult life that does have a brighter outcome. Even when everything may feel wrong, it can get better. I do highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading more of Colleen Hoover's books in the near future.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: Domestic abuse (physical/emotional), Attempted rape, Child death, Potential PTSD “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.” ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ➡️ I have not ever cried this much at a book. I don’t know what I was expecting when I read this, but it sure as hell wasn’t this, this is not a romance novel. I can’t even fathom putting my thoughts about this book on paper, because I am still crying an hour later. They are now happy tears, but they were sad tears. What a story. I had planned to read this book this month anyway, but I pushed it forward after being selected for the 100 person Tandem Readalong for the sequel, starting after release day. I’m glad I did read it sooner. Sometimes do you ever feel like you just need a good cry, but not for any reason in particular? Maybe your just overtired. Overworked. Okay that was me, and this book released my pent up ness through the tears I shed. Perfect book, perfect timing. This was a really hard read, but an impressive one. There were a lot of incredible quotes and life lessons that could be taken from this. I please urge anyone who hasn’t read this to check the content warnings carefully, because it can be an extremely uncomfortable read at times. The character development was spot on. I love Ryle (to start with), I loved Atlas, I loved Lily and I loved Allysa. None of the characters could have been better built. You’ve got the attractive but troubled neurosurgeon, the once troubled “ex”, an MC who is repeating her mothers experience and a best friend who is perfect in every way! Go and buy the book. I think that’s all I can say.

I just finished It Ends with Us and wow… this book took me through so many emotions. I got so attached to the characters that I kept thinking about them even when I wasn’t reading. The story was heartbreaking, emotional, and beautifully written.

The 2000s have seen a wave of books quite successful, mostly well-written and in which the main character is a young lady. The plots in these works deal, almost always with said young lady and her very troubled relationship with men. Think of "Gone girl", "The Girl on a Train", the Sally Rooney's opuses and now Colleen Hoover's books, only to name only a few of the most successful ones. And yes, all these books are written also by young ladies. "It Ends with Us" belongs by and large to that category of short-ish tales crowded with middle-class and screamingly urbanite characters, all well-educated, well-spoken and professional; permanently busy - at work and also with worthy hobbies (or "causes") -, and all very good or very bad - yet seldom human - whose stories make for a good read. "It Ends..." is quite short, almost a novella, but has been bloated into a "normal-sized" book by means of a large font and smaller pages - it happens a lot these days. As I said above, the book makes for a good read, at times actually gripping, but it never becomes a major, never mind transcendental, experience. It fails to leave in the reader the unequivocal flavor of really good literature due to several reasons. First, to these eyes is that there are way too many coincidences for such a short book - there're only coincidences in the plot. Without spoiling anything: the main character, our heroine, has a love story at a young age. It ends abruptly and when she has a new boyfriend they go to dinner and the chef of the restaurant is her previous lover; a character opens a business and someone comes looking for a job, and this someone happens to be the sister of a key character we've been introduced two pages before. And so forth. At some point, the reader has the sensation of being in a parallel (and impossible) universe, it's all way too neat and schematic. Also, the book has too much dialogue (and phone texting - the sign of these times), so much that at parts the text seems like a draft for a movie screenplay and the reader does't have time to enjoy the parts of good prose. It doesn't help that the characters are always in motion, (even while talking to each other): coming or going, buying, eating, cleaning an apartment and shopping; there's little time for pause or reflection. Again without spoiling anything, the core of the book deals with domestic abuse and this is, by far, the best part. The scenes that deal with the violence are very well written, some of the best in recent publishing about that horrific plague, and all told in a very well-handled first-person voice. In conclusion, a very short book that can be read in one sit. A pleasant and easy read? Without a doubt. Worthy, transcendent literature? Not in the least.

I finished this read last night and I have had to wait 12 hours before I am able to write this review. I truly do not think I can put into words the emotions I felt (and still feel) while reading this book. I am totally blown away, to say I loved this book would be an understatement. I loved Lily, what a strong caring and loving woman. I loved how she loved Atlas, I loved how she cared about him when no one else did. I loved Atlas and at times I didn't want to because I was looking for someone to blame for what happened, but Atlas was not that person, he was an inspiration and a good friend/lover? I loved Ryle at the beginning when we first met him, I loved what he achieved and who he was and he made my heart skip a beat every time he spoke to Lily. I loved Ryle in the middle of the read, he gave all that he had and more to Lily, I have no doubt he truly, truly loved Lily. I loved Ryle at the end of this story, I didn't want to, I wanted to hate him, I wanted something bad to happen to him?? Shouldn't I? But I didn't hate him I still loved him after everything, I wanted things to be good for him & Lily, I wanted a HEA..........there is no doubt in my mind that the correct decision was made by Lily, so why does my heart hurt so bad? Colleen Hoover is and always will be my no.1 author and this book is no exception, beautifully written with all the feels and more. We are only 1 week into 2017 and I can honestly say this is my favourite read for 2017 and this will not change, nothing can compete against this read. This story was written from the heart and the authors note at the end proves this, my heart goes out to you and all women who find themselves in this dark place, may you all find your Atlas xxx Just keep swimming❤❤

I put off reading this book for ages, it was in my house on the TBR pile but we all know that the TBR pile is like a big black hole!!! As soon as It Starts With Us was announced though, I preordered that and decided to wait and read them together. I am so happy with that decision and I can tell you that I devoured this in a day and was so happy that I could immediately start on It Starts With Us. This story actually touched so close to home, I grew up in an abusive home and all I can say is that it wasn’t pretty, unlike this story though, my monster was my mother, the one person that should be protecting us. (Absolutely not looking for sympathy I’m just sharing that I can understand the fear that this book portrayed) With that said though, I absolutely loved this book, there were so many moments that just broke my heart while I read it, but equally there were so many moments that filled me with so much love, joy and hope. This following quote sent chills through my body. My mother went through it, I went through it I’ll be damned if I let my daughter go through it. I kiss her on the forehead and make her a promise. It stops here, with me and you, It ends with us!!! I have been there and had to make that same choice for the exact same reason, someone needs to break the cycle of abuse. Atlas and Lily both live a life of abuse, both different kinds of abuse, but abuse nonetheless. As teenagers this pair were each other’s hope, each other’s rock and each other’s home, sadly of course things never turn out how we think it will and they are definitely in for a time of disappointment. I think this storyline was told so well and after reading the authors notes at the end I can understand why. Obviously the book wasn’t all about Lily and Atlas, we got to meet Alyssa and Marshall who were the sweetest couple ever. Of course we then meet Ryle, Alyssa’s brother, there is a lot more to this guy than meets the eye, which is all I can say without spoiling too much. Absolutely brilliant read that I wholeheartedly recommend.

"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." Wow. Just wow. This was such a powerful and emotional book for me! When I first heard about this one, it was through Goodreads and all of the hype it was getting. For the first few months, all I saw for this one was 5 star reviews. Everywhere I looked on this one there was a five star review and enthusiastic reviews. I think by this point I had read Never, Never and I was just kind of like well there's a lot of hype/5 star reviews and I liked her other books so why not? I think I tried reading it soon after I bought it and after I got to 8%, I just couldn't go on so I put it down. 3 months later I finally decided I would try this on again and hopefully it would get me out of my slump. The first few days were a struggle for me. Like I usually do in slumps, I spent them rereading unnecessary passages many times and getting distracted. But after those first few days, I was still using my finger to keep track of where I was but I slowly went out of doing that and back to regular reading. Unfortunately, through reviews on GR I got spoilers as to the overall book and I immediately hated the character involved in it and screamed for the MC to not get into a relationship with him. The beginning was a little rough to me because I felt that while I liked the content of them and Atlas, it was harder for me to switch between the letters to Lily's POV but I think I ended up getting over this and really liking them because I loved Atlas as a character. Because of the spoilers, I think I was kind of biased towards Atlas but I really loved how sweet he was and their relationship (except for the scene on the couch!). After I got through the rough patch and my slump, I really started to enjoy this book and start to fly through it. I even stayed up until 2 A.M. to finish this one and read over 40% in the same day! Besides the sexy scenes, this one was an amazing ride. I found it really easy to get invested in Lily's story. The story begins on a rooftop with Ryle and Lily's first meeting. Then, about a year later, they meet again when his sister Alyssa comes into Lily's shop asking for a job. Side note: I love Alyssa as a character. She was such a good friend and I'm so glad she and her husband moved past their struggle! They then begin to see each other more often and Ryle even comes to her shop and apartment begging her because he can't get her out of his mind. They eventually begin a relationship (SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!!!) that is great for a while, until Ryle's dark side shows up. I was kind of mad at Lily because she chose to stay with him even after seeing the signs but towards the end of this one, Lily speaks about this and the way Hoover writes really makes you feel for those in abusive relationships and the struggles (both internally and externally) that they have to deal with. Ryle keeps trying to win her back but Lily finally says she isn't gonna stand for it anymore. Just when she says this and stays with Atlas, she finds out she is pregnant with (her husband) Ryle's baby. Ryle again keeps trying to win her back but Lily refuses to stand for it and handles the situation really well. She asks Ryle for a divorce but allows him to be in his child's life and even help build the nursery. Although Lily can never be at the same spot in their relationship that they were in before, she chooses to rise above and make a new kind of relationship. The story ends with Lily having had her baby and walking to take her to give to Ryle for the day. On her way there she sees Atlas but doesn't talk long. In the end, she runs back to him to tell him her little girl's middle name (which is Dory, BTW. I'm not a huge fan of it but whatever.). And Hoover seems to leave it off with an open end about their relationship, to which I was screaming, "JUST GET TOGETHER!!!" {END SPOILERS!} This one was a really emotional ride for me and such a profound and compelling novel. I really felt for the characters and got so involved in the novel. I was gonna knock off a star for the sexy scenes but the end made me push it back to 5. There really is no other way to rate this one for me.

!!! Spoi Olabilir!!! Yazar 2.kitabi çıkaracağını duyurduğu ve amazonda İngilizce versiyonu çok uygun bir fiyatta olduğu için hemen aldım. Türkçe basımını daha önce okumuştum. Ama kapak tasarımı ve kitabın adı açısından beni üzdü. (çünkü 2.kitabin adını da ilk kitapta kullandılar)

Cover: Wie alle Original-Cover der Autorin, passt auch dieses einfach nur perfekt zum Inhalt. Eine kaputte Lilie, die die Protagonistin wiederspiegelt und vielleicht sogar symbolisieren soll. Denn Lily Bloom hat nicht nur einen besonders „blumigen“ Namen, sie liebt Blumen. Aber auch die „Zerstörung“ der Blume kann Lily Gefühle symbolisieren oder einfach den Schmerz und das Zerbrechen darstellen, was genauso gut passen würde. Außerdem gefallen mir die Farben unheimlich gut. Der Titel ist ein Zitat aus dem Buch. Handlung: Ich würde empfehlen sich einfach der Geschichte blind hinzugeben, ohne zu wissen worum es geht. Deshalb lest entweder gleich meine „Meinung“ oder bleibt dran, ich versuche nur SEHR wenig preiszugeben. Lily hat eine schwere Vergangenheit mit sich zu tragen als sie auf Ryle trifft. Ryle ein charmanter Neurochirurg, reich, ein wenig arrogant und dennoch mit richtig großem Herz. Ryle war bisher noch nie in einer festen Beziehung und zog nur von einem One Night Stand zum anderen, aber mit Lily will er es endlich wagen. Alles scheint wunderbar zu laufen, Ryles & Lilys Karriere, ihre Beziehung, bis Atlas auftaucht. Atlas der zu Lilys Vergangenheit gehört, Atlas ihre erste große Liebe. Sie dachte sie könnte die Vergangenheit ruhen lassen, doch es scheint als wäre die Vergangenheit ihre Zukunft. Ist ihre Liebe zu Ryle groß genug um ALLES zu überstehen? Meinung: Ich weiß nicht was ich sagen soll. Die Geschichte als schön zu bezeichnen wäre falsch. Denn es war schrecklich, es hat mir das Herz immer wieder gebrochen. Wie viel Leid kann ein Mensch eigentlich ertragen? Ungefähr ab der Hälfte musste ich wahrscheinlich alle paar Seiten weinen. Ich musste mich so oft zusammen reißen und habe dennoch an einer Stelle richtig losheulen müssen. Auch mit dem Ende hätte ich nie gerechnet. Es war wirklich schwere Kost und brachte mich trotzdem oft zum Lachen. Wie immer bei Hoover waren die Charaktere real, zum Greifen und mitfiebern. Ich weiß gar nicht wie viele „Hotte“ Book- Boyfriends diese Frau noch erschaffen kann, denn langsam kann ich mich nicht entscheiden. Der „Schmerz“ der Charaktere war wirklich bis unter die Haut zu spüren, so real, so authentisch. Lily war eine unglaublich starke junge Frau, immer bereit für sich und andere einzustehen, hilfsbereit und ehrgeizig. Doch das „Thema“ des Buches (was ich nicht verraten werde) war unglaublich. So viel Tiefe und Realität, so viel Ehrlichkeit der Autorin. Das „Thema“ das hier im Fokus steht musste Hoover nämlich selbst erleben, was sie dann im Autorenvermerk genauer schildert, weshalb das Buch etwas ganz Besondres für sie ist. Sogar einige Szenen sind aus dem echten Leben. Ich habe oft über Menschen nachgedacht, die so etwas durchmachen und warum sie nicht einfach einen Schlussstrich ziehen, konnte sie nicht verstehen, nicht nachvollziehen. Aber jetzt fühle ich mich als hätte ich es selbst erlebt und musste mit Schrecken feststellen, dass ich wahrscheinlich anders gehandelt hätte. Hoovers Schreibstil ist wie immer etwas poetisch, so dass ich mir VIELES vermerkt habe! Ein wirklich einfaches englisch, gegen Ende habe ich gar nicht gemerkt, dass ich auf Englisch lese! Fazit: Wieder ein Meisterwerk von Hoover, dass einen Emotional immer wieder zerstört und einem das Messer in das Herz rammt. Aber dennoch wieder spannende Charaktere bereit hält, die nicht nur interessant und witzig sind, sondern dazu noch real und taff. Man wird Teil großer Gefühle und tiefster ehrlicher Liebe, gepriesen mit einem kleinen Schuss prickelnder Liebesszenen. Auch wenn auf vielen Seiten wieder Hoovers unglaublicher Humor punkten kann, behandelt das Buch ein wirklich ernstes Thema. Nicht nur das, es macht den Leser zu einem Teil der Geschichte und der Vergangenheit der Autorin. Sterne kann man hier nicht genug vergeben, denn es ist so viel mehr als nur ein gutes Buch!

Good book. Well written. Good story