You guys are always telling me this author writes vaguely shitty romance novels and is unbelievably overhyped... and yet this masterpiece exists? I call bullshit because this was masterful. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. 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. I have to say that this book would make a seriously amazing movie. I could picture every scene so clearly as I read. This is also such an incredibly relevant story for many people -- whether they've personally been through what happened to Lily or they know of someone who has -- so I really do hope that one day this makes it to the big screen. It’s a running joke with my friends/family/co-workers that I have a robot heart. And for the majority of the time it’s true. I generally experience two emotions – happiness and annoyance. But even a robot like me can be manipulated into having a feeling/crying the ugly tears like a Kardashian once in a blue moon (*cough Me Before You cough*). This time, though? It was like a flashing neon sign . . . .

If being with Tate for a few short months can make that pain bearable enough for you to answer with maybe, imagine what a lifetime with her could do for you." Sometimes not speaking says more than all the words in the world. Sometimes my silence is saying, I don't know how to speak to you. I don't know what you're thinking. Talk to me. Tell me everything you've ever said. All the words. Starting form the very first one.”

Toys

Just because someone hurts you doesn't mean you can simply stop loving them. It's not a person's actions that hurt the most. It's the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.” Lily grows up in an abusive household. After watching her mother suffer for years at the hand of her father, she tells herself that she'll never allow any man to treat her that way. She grows into a strong and independent woman, leaving behind the horrors of her childhood...Or so she thinks. A bonus scene that falls somewhere on the timeline before the epilogue in the novel, but should be read only after finishing the story. It includes mature content, it can be read online here I didn't need to say much more, he knows my obsession with your words and I found myself grateful. Grateful that he knew your books make me cry and grateful that you inadvertently allowed me to grieve. And that's what I did. I read your book and I grieved. I cried when Lily cried. I cried when Ryle cried. And even when no one was crying, I still cried simply because I needed to and I could and no one thought twice about it because i was reading and that's what i do when i read. It was my outlet, my excuse for the tears that wouldn't go away, the tears that kept falling despite my desperate protest.

i don’t get why this book had to exist. it just feels like she is monetizing off the weird success it ends with us got on booktok, and it definitely reads like a cash grab as well. I knew I would love it as soon as I read the synopsis, but I was not ready to be bombarded with these intense emotions. And it's interesting to see how these complicated feelings were expressed by all parties involved in this story. All were valid. And it makes you think what your own reaction would've been like. this will be the last Colleen Hoover book i'll ever read (and i already didn't even want to read this one, i was asked to) It ends with us was about Lily and her journey to end the cycle of abuse. It starts with Us is about Lily and Atlas navigating life after ending their own cycles. Another thing that I found to be really damaging about this book is the audience. There is this #coquette aesthetic on tiktok that I am sure you are aware of. I really to like the look of it etc. But it is a theme among this aesthetic to read books like "It Ends With Us" and "Lolita". I believe both of these texts are greatly misinterpreted, especially considering that it is often young girls who are reading these books from the ages of 11-15. Ignoring Lolita as that is a different topic, I am nearly certain that these girls buy books like “It Ends With Us” purely for the cover. It's pink. And it fits the aesthetic.

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. if someone points a gun at me and says "i won't kill you if you read a Colleen Hoover book", i'll be like "well, guess today's the day i die then" Colleen and me don't vibe, never have, never will, and i honestly don't understand what y'all see in her books but who am i to judge your reading tastes - hope you're all having fun and enjoying life. Theo making fun of Atlas was funny, I actually loved that because THE KEEP SWIMMING LINE WAS CORNY AS SHIT I DON’T CARE Great review! I was definitely planning on reading this at some point but now I’ve read your review I really want to read it ASAP!

I’m not going to talk about the actual story at all, but I will speak a bit about the characters. Lily. Speaking of strength, Lily may be the strongest heroine that I’ve read about. Your strength is really tested when you are put in a hard situation where your choices are impossible. I loved Lily so much. I was proud of Lily and the choices she made. I want to be Lily when I grow up. She wanted something she shouldn't want. I wanted something I couldn't have. She had a decision to make ... one that would change her life. So did I. She made a decision that was right for her and for her life at that particular time. a sequel, which is an outright romance, being written to a book (marketed as a romance which is so gross) about domestic abuse really throws me off. I find it fitting that I write this review as a letter to you the way Lily would write to Ellen. Don't ask me why, I really don't know. What I do know is that I haven't been on Goodreads in nearly six months and it's entirely your fault that i'm here now. So, if i stumble upon a poor review on one of my books and end up in the fetal position on my kitchen floor surrounded by Ding Dong wrappers, well, I'm blaming it on you. I've even given my husband instructions to bill you for the psychiatry bill if that happens. There are times I am angry and times I am sad. And then I'm both. And it's the worst, because there is a war raging inside me, and the winner side keeps changing. How is it possible to switch from denial to sorrow to fury to acceptance in a heartbeat?it's also a win for the LGBT community because CoHo made Kenna question her sexuality for an entire half sentence!!! On Friday I had a hysterectomy. It wasn't the worst day of my life, but it certainly wasn't the best. One chapter of my life--quite possibly the best chapter--ended. The surgery itself took twenty minutes. Twenty minutes. Can you believe that? Twenty minutes to take out the uterus that carried my three beautiful babies for a total of twenty eight months. Twenty minutes to change my life. Don't feel bad for me, that's not what I want. The offending organ had to come out, I knew this. But it didn't make it any easier. It didn't make the finality of the situation any easier. In all honesty, for a couple of minutes I didn't just feel like a chapter was ending, more like an entire flipping book. Maybe my life isn't made up of chapters, maybe it's part of a duet, or a trilogy? Either way, part of my story was over.

Corbin is Tate’s older brother. He’s a great character and I love how he’s written as a brother. He’s a great brother to Tate. He’s protective and has high standards for the man that will become Tate’s boyfriend – whoever it is. I have not much more to say about him except for the fact that I am very happy to see his character written this way. The other side characters were great additions to the novel and all had their distinct personalities. Dillon was a despicable man, and I despised him the most in this novel. Ian is a character not seen much in the book but he was a good friend to Miles and was kind and considerate, as far I could tell from this novel. t Ledger also hate her for killing his best friend? he gets over that pretty fast and actually betrays the trust of the child's guardians by showing Kenna pictures of her child, which was totally not his place to do. he's known those people for his entire life, he practically co-raises that kid but throws it all away for a woman he barely knows and who killed his best friend? make it make any kind of sense I think this is one of the only books I have ever read that actually seems to understand that abuse is a mortal sin. The wild thing is, aside from his moments of extreme rage, Rylin never appears to be that bad of a guy. He apologizes every time. He continuously seems to account for Lily’s feelings. But his actions against her are enough. There is no question in the narrative on whether she was being unempathetic: Lily was right to leave, no matter how he treated her in the aftermath. And I think that means a lot to me, how his character is nuanced but also irredeemable for Lily.my favorite thing about these books are the writing and characters. without even really noticing it, i found myself relating to Kenna (mc) and the emotions she went through. her growth and self forgiveness was the best thing to read through out the novel. she proves people make bad decisions but that doesn’t mean they are bad people. she shows that in her selflessness and fight. We all have a limit. What we're willing to put up with before we break."When was the last time a book just completely slayed me, cutting me so deep and evoking such strong emotions? It feels like my heart has been filled, then broken, filled, then broken. In the end, I'm stunned by what I read. the typical let’s invite my gay best friend as my date to make ryle jealous only for the gay best friend to never reappear again. i smell plot device. i swore i’d never read another coho book, but it ends with us was the only one i could somewhat stomach so i decided to read it starts with us to see how it was.