Does it ends with us have a happy ending?

I agree with you - this book bothered me. I understand that it's based on CH's parents and is true to her experience, but in my opinion that didn't actually contribute toward any deeper insight on the subject or greater empathetic thoughtfulness in the writing. It felt shallow - it wasn't less composed of tropes and stock characters than the average CR just because it hard darker subject matter. In particular, it really bothered me that it was written like a soapy plot twist that Ryle "turns" abusive. Yes, I know IRL it comes as a surprise when charismatic, charming people turn out to be master manipulators, but I think - possibly because she's too close to her subjects - she waffled too much between wanting to show the warning signs leading up to the first physical blow and wanting her fictional novel to have this shocking moment.

That leads me in a way to my other big complaint, which is that I feel like this book should not have tried to be a romance and should not have been marketed as a romance. There are certain prerequisites/features of the genre that didn't serve the story well. For one, the romance POV is usually either first-person or a very tight third-person, where nearly all of the exposition is limited to exactly what the character is feeling/thinking/saying/doing in that moment. When CH does that here, you get what I was describing earlier, moments that read like alarming red flags but Lily doesn't see them that way. In general fiction, that's okay, you as the reader know something the character doesn't. But when Ryle's "turn" is shocking to Lily, if you're supposed to be in her POV, it should be shocking to you as well. So are the warning signs that come before... romanticized? And if it's actually a third option, where yes, you're in Lily's head seeing what she sees but also yes, as a reader you bring your worldly knowledge to the table to see Ryle's earlier behavior as frequently sketchy, then I don't think that successfully comes across, given the number of readers on GR who seemed to view the turn to physical violence as a conventional plot twist.

And then the fact that all of this basically wound up being a red herring for Lily's second-chance romance with another guy... I just, again, think it was a bad choice to contort this abuse storyline into a romance. Like "Yay she divorced him and can re-kindle with this other guy! HEA!" is such a superficial, fairytale conclusion to this story that was really trying to get you with how powerful and thought-provoking it was. Really don't think the book pulled off what it was trying to do.

Aloha everyone!

Today I’ve got a book review for you, which I haven’t done in a while. But last night I finally read “IT ENDS WITH US” by Colleen Hoover.

SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST

“It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover

Summary:  “Lily never really had it easy in life, but that doesn’t stop her from working for the life she wants and deserves. She comes from a small town in Maine but moved to Boston after graduating College and starts her own business. One night she meets Ryle Kincaid a stubborn, slightly arrogant but sensitive neurosurgeon who has a soft spot for Lily and everything suddenly seems too good to be true. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.
As her new relationship starts overwhelming her, Atlas Corrigan comes back to her mind – her first true love. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.”

This novel contains graphic scenes and very sensitive subject matter. It’s a very personal novel from the Author Colleen Hoover

There won’t be any spoilers in this review, because you just have to read it yourself!

This was the first book I’ve ever read from Colleen Hoover, but it definitely won’t be the last! I got this book as a birthday present and last night I finally found the time to read it. I finished this book within 5 hours, I simply was not able to set it aside.

While reading this book, I experienced so many different emotions. I laughed, sometimes I smiled during romantic scenes. I was shocked, I felt my heart wrench. I was angry at what was happening, I wanted to scream at the characters and talk some sense into them. I was upset and heartbroken. And I felt relief. This book was an emotional rollercoaster and I admit, I shed a few tears.

I can’t say too much about the plot and the 3 Characters (Lily, Ryle and Atlas) but what I can tell you is, who my favorite character in this book was: Alyssa, Ryle’s brother. That girl was a REAL friend. I really don’t know if Lily would have gotten through this without her. She was always honest with her and encouraged her to finally stand up for herself. You go Alyssa!

This book really made me think. The subject of this book is very sensitive (so please do not read it if you can’t handle sensitive subjects, since this book describes it graphically) and it really got me thinking. How would I act if I was Lily? Like I said, sometimes I wanted to scream, drag her out of the book and talk some sense into her. But the more I read, the more I realized…. I get it. I get why she did the things she did, why she acted that way. It’s always easy to say “I would do it completely different, she has to stand up for herself”, but I honestly believe that you don’t feel that way once you are in that difficult situation yourself. So it scared me a bit when I started to understand her actions. Because I started to think, that I probably would have done the same. At least at first.

“Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen.”

This book definitely does not have the classic happy ending, but what was most important to me, it has some sort of happy ending for the protagonist. It’s not perfect, which makes it more real to me. Because life isn’t perfect, you don’t get a fairytale happy ending where everyone is happy and has a perfect life in the end. That’s what made this book so realistic to me. It has a sort of happy ending, but things don’t end up being perfect for everyone. Not everyone got what they wanted, but what they deserved.

So I really “enjoyed” this book. I feel weird to use the word “enjoy” when I talk about a book with a sensitive subject. Also, once you have read this book, 2 things will make much more sense to you.

1: The Book Cover. After I finished the book, I looked at the Cover and then it clicked. It made so much sense in regard to the book itself. Seriously, whoever chose the cover: GOOD JOB! it’s the perfect cover!

2: The title. I swear, when I first read the title and the summary I was SO SURE that I knew what the title meant. But I was wrong. Sooooo wrong. Once I read the last 3 chapters, I understood the title. And it was way deeper than what I thought it meant. Once again, very well chosen. It’s the perfect title.

Overall I really loved this book. To me it was perfect and it described the topic ( I won’t say what it is, read it yourself) really well and what it can do to people. Colleen Hoover’s writing style is perfect in my opinion. The book is written in Lily’s POV, but while reading it felt like it was from MY POV. Like I was Lily. Which is why this book broke my heart even more. I felt like I was Lily and experienced all these things, and that really hurt sometimes. There were so many amazing moments in this book, but also so many heartwrenching moments filled with so many different emotions!

So, this Book gets 10 out of 10 Stars. It was mindblowing. That’s all I have to say. I can only recommend this. But get some tissued before you start reading. And chocolate, cake, vodka. Whatever lifts your mood. I chose cake.

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you have read this book, let me know how you liked it!!

Au Revoir

Do Ryle and Lily end up together in it ends with us?

Does it starts with us have a happy ending?

What happens at the end of it ends with us?

Does us end with sad?