Product It Ends With Us

I was nervous about purchasing "It Ends With Us," Colleen Hoover's most popular book on BookTok. I was concerned that how I felt about this book would influence how I judged other books I discovered through TikTok in the future. I was even more nervous about writing a review for it because "It Ends With Us" raised the bar not only for all other new adult fiction books, but for all fiction books in general. I now understand why this book and its characters have a cult following.

Lily Bloom, a 23-year-old college graduate, is in the midst of starting a new, simple life in Boston when she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. They eventually fall in love after a series of unusual encounters. Bloom's relationship with Kincaid, however, becomes complicated when she runs into her first love, Atlas Corrigan, with whom she had lost contact years before. I found the storyline to be slow-paced when describing Bloom's previous relationship with Corrigan because I was preoccupied with Bloom's current relationship with Kincaid.

Lily Bloom, a 23-year-old college graduate, is in the midst of starting a new, simple life in Boston when she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. They eventually fall in love after a series of unusual encounters. Bloom's relationship with Kincaid, however, becomes complicated when she runs into her first love, Atlas Corrigan, with whom she had lost contact years before. I found the storyline to be slow-paced when describing Bloom's previous relationship with Corrigan because I was preoccupied with Bloom's current relationship with Kincaid.

In interviews and in the book's author's note, Hoover explained that many of the events in the book were inspired by true events in her and her mother's lives. She wanted to demonstrate how morally ambiguous domestic abuse can appear when true, romantic love is at stake. I believe Hoover wrote this book specifically to introduce this viewpoint into the new adult genre. According to Georgia's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 38.6% of women experience intimate partner violence for the first time between the ages of 18 and 24. As a woman in this age group whose friends are all women in this age group, I feel compelled to recommend this book to others.

As a word of caution, I would look up the trigger warnings for this book before purchasing it, as there was one point in the book when I wondered if I would have to put it down. Despite the sensitive subject matter, Hoover wrote heartbreaking scenes with such ease that the story flowed well enough that I didn't need a break. When reading books with a lot of emotional turmoil, I often need a lot of details to fully understand every crevice in the protagonist's mind. Hoover, on the other hand, was able to earn my love — and deep trust — for the characters throughout the book and alongside the protagonist without relying on extreme specifics. The book had a lot of highs and lows.

While "It Ends With Us" is not a romance story, it is a love story. It's a love story about choosing oneself over someone one deeply loves; it's about choosing to end a cycle of violence that harms more people than it helps. This book taught me how women in domestic violence situations may feel torn between someone for whom they made a vow and their own personal well-being and safety. Domestic violence is more nuanced and complex than most people realize. I'm sorry to say that, like Bloom, I fell in love with the abuser while reading this book. I made excuses for him and told myself, "Just give him another chance."

I attempted to get more information on the upcoming sequel, "It Starts With Us," which is set to be released in October 2022, through an Instagram interaction with Hoover. I requested that Hoover not "be mean to [Corrigan] in the new book." "Neverrer," she said. Fans speculated about the new book because of the typo and extra letters in her response. "It Starts With Us" will most likely focus on the aftermath of domestic violence and the rebuilding of the three main characters' relationships.

I put the book down after finishing it because I felt compelled to run to Bema and scream. The ending is both beautiful and necessary — I cannot recommend this book highly enough.