THE TIKTOK SENSATION ‘A brave and heartbreaking novel that digs its claws into you and doesn’t let go, long after you’ve finished it’ Anna Todd, author of the After series ‘A glorious and touching read, a forever keeper’ USA Today ‘Will break your heart while filling you with hope’ Sarah Pekkanen, Perfect Neighbors SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST. Lily hasn’t … SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST.
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, 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.
With this bold and deeply personal novel, It Ends With Us is a heart-wrenching story and an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.
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I loved this book! A perfect beach read!
Gah! This one left me with a loooong book hangover. I won’t say much because I hate spoilers, but oh my gosh read this book.
This is likely to end up being one of my favorite books. The choice to write in first person definitely draws the reader in from the first page, as does the sparkling characterization and snappy dialogue. But more importantly, this story made me stop and think about many things on many levels.
It contains two separate but equally important themes: domestic abuse and homelessness. As a person with a personal history in an abusive environment, I can attest to the very accurate portrayal of a child in such a situation, the ways that one can learn to live around a situation, and the way that colors one’s take on relationships. Aimee’s journey is compelling, wrenching, and ultimately heartbreaking yet hopeful. As for the homelessness, I loved the way that particular story line is handled, and how the author really makes you stop and think about the biases you have when it comes to that situation.
Now, this all sounds very heavy, and much of it is, however, Aimee’s journal entries (written as a young teen with a fangirl crush on Ellen DeGeneres) are both warm and funny, and filled with wonderful, thought-provoking moments. And watching Aimee and Ryle fall in love is also quite wonderful—until it isn’t.
The most amazing part of all is how the author makes you care for Aimee’s “present day” love interest Ryle, even as he begins to show signs of abusive behavior. He is far from stereo-typical, and you can actually empathize with the difficult decisions Aimee will need to make regarding him and their child-to-be.
Of course, everyone will love Atlas (her first love) and be rooting for Aimee’s HEA to include him.
I highly recommend this book to all readers. And while it isn’t, strictly speaking, a romance, it falls in the category of books like Me Before You, with its strong romantic story line. It’s not only a story of Aimee’s personal growth, but also a love story, if not technically following the genre rules for “romance.”
I’m lost. Ruined. A mess.
When I first started reading It Ends With Us, it was merely out of curiosity since most of my GR and FB friends had been babbling about the sheer excellence of Colleen Hoover. Of course, we’re talking about THE COLLEEN HOOVER so I’m game to any books she’ll release. I’ve always loved her books and I’m a big fan of CoHo, so yeah, definitely, IEWU deserves a spot in my shelf.
Until I finished reading the book. My first reaction was: How can something so beautiful be so painful at the same time? It took me days to finally come up with a review. I thought if I get to read other books right after IEWU, the feeling of restlessness and extreme pain won’t be as hurtful as before.
I was mistaken.
Clearly, until now, I’m still swimming… swimming like Dory.. swimming in my own tears. Like Celine Dion said, “it’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to me now….” the feels, the jealousy, the pain, the abuse, the trauma… everything. Cuts like a knife, pierces like a dagger. I thought I could empathize with Lily Rose Bloom, but the struggles, abuse, torment and suffering she endured was indescribable and unbelievable. I realize I couldn’t and didn’t want to put my feet in her shoes.
Ryle, Ryle, Ryle… I was sympathetic with him in the beginning, until I saw his other side. Man, my heart was ripped out of my chest. I started to hate Ryle and didn’t want to change my opinion of him.
And Atlas… my dear Atlas. The moment I learned of his homeless situation, he already held a soft spot in my heart. When he made cupcakes for Lily, I grew more in love with him. I thought I could only love him in the past tense, in the journal, in Lily’s memory of her teens. Eight years later, I love him even more.
The ending was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better end. I liked that Lily won’t be swimming anymore.
What gutted my heart afterwards was when I read Colleen’s side of the story. Oh my. I cried for her. I cried for Atlas. I cried for all the women who had to experience what Lily had. I cried for Colleen’s mom. I cried for Dory.. and I cried for myself. (because I just couldn’t stop the tears flowing from my eyes).
I love you Colleen.
Colleen Hoover does it again. A haunting story that stays with you for days. This is not an easy book to love, I got really invested with the characters. Do yourself a favor and read this book. If you have been, or witnessed an abusive relationship, this book will put you through the wringer, but also may be cathartic.
Because of my personal history, it’s going to be very hard to be objective when it comes to this review. So, please bear with me.
This book was so emotional on so many levels for me. Having my own personal history with domestic abuse, there are parts that obviously resonated more with me than would the average reader. Just know, if you’re like me and have your own personal experience with this, the author has done a wonderful job at narrating the plethora of emotions and feelings and excuses and just everything that come with a situation like that. I don’t think, even living through it, I could have done any better. I was touched at so many parts in the story, and it was written so well and so thoughtfully that I could hardly put it down in spite of the difficult subject matter.
The other parts of the story, the sadness of Atlas’s situation, the devastation of Ryle’s own history, everything was written carefully and poignantly and the tale was woven in such amazing words and thoughts and feelings, as I’ve come to expect from this author. In the end, everything was as I hope it would and could be. But it wasn’t all tied up in a pretty bow that’s unbelievable. It was real and hard and dramatic, but it got where it needs to be. And that’s my philosophy on life…I don’t regret the things I’ve been through because everything I’ve lived through has brought me to the place I am in life and made me into the person I am, and that in itself is beautiful. Lily’s journey shows us that and will touch many other lives by reading it.
“I’m just going to keep pretending to be okay. I’ll keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.”
I’m not sure I am emotionally stable enough to review this book. So many feels! So I’m going to keep it short…READ IT! Don’t hesitate, don’t think about it, just go now and read this story! You can thank me later!
This book was probably in my top 5 favorites of colleens!! Its an emotional rollercoaster ride. I related soooo much to this book at times it killed me but it was just such a good read! I loved the letters to Ellen
This book really got to me, it is really addictive. I have tried to read this before I had dnf it a bit. When I picked it back up though I got into it really great, and I highly recommend this book.
I am the type to typically indulge in fantasy novels–I find books to be my escape from reality and thus don’t really like reading realistic fiction so to speak. However, It Ends With Us was truly enlightening in that it showed me the perspective of a woman who is going through a really unfortunate situation. I love how rounded the characters are and how unexpectedly realistic everything is. I highly recommend this novel if you are looking for a sobering read with a good romantic touch.
This book was such an amazing read. I loved every moment of it, even the moments that weren’t the best because those are the moments that made the story what it was. I wanted nothing more than to see Lily and Ryle have happiness but this book just makes you realize you can’t always have what you want. Lily tried to make it work but I’m so happy that she chose to do what she did because she deserved better, she was worth more than she was given. I wanted Ryle to change sooo bad because as much as I should have disliked his character, I just couldn’t. Ryle had a piece of my heart from the start and even in the end I felt sorry, not for him, but that he didn’t get the help he truly needed to be a better man before things went wrong. Atlas was a struggling, gentle, loving and kind boy who grew up into a strong, gentle, loving and kind man. I fell in love with Atlas from the very first moment and I wanted him to have the happiness and future he deserved. He kept swimming and in the end it was all worth it. I wanted him and Lily to be together. I wanted him to feel he deserved Lily. They had a history and love that couldn’t be denied even after years apart. I had a huge smile on my face when he said he was ready, I wanted Lily to say right then and there I chose you, but I’m glad Lily handled one situation before jumping into another. I appreciated and respected her character more for the way she went about things. This story was touching…this story was heartfelt…..this story was real.
This book makes you question everything. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s main topic is domestic violence and the role it plays in some people’s lives. What I really like is that it was not romanticized in this novel. It was raw and gritty and very real. I knew this was a 5 star book when it had me crying. A must read for women of dating age and up.