It Ends with Us

I've finally pinpointed why I dislike Colleen Hoover's writing. All of her female characters are pick me girls and all of her male characters are dude bro Chads. Her characters are narcissistic and fat phobic. It's just not it for me. That being said, I liked Atlas and I liked that she ended the cycle of abuse. Side note: anyone who still idolizes Ellen is a walking red flag. Might as well describe Ryle as looking like Chris Pratt. I think I've given her books the old college try and I'm good.

Writing was too cringe for me but the second half kind of saved it for me but not enough for it to be a book I enjoyed reading. All I wanted was to finish it and find out how the book ends. Good thing was that I did know this was not a romance book - like the kind of romance you'd expect when people say something is a romance book.

This is the kind of book that deals with some potentially triggering things, so do make sure to check TW and CW before reading this book. I liked that this book dealt with this topic and I understand that this book is not supposed to make you feel cosy and warm inside but I feel like it's supposed to make you reflect and make you uncomfortable as a reader because the characters are not perfect and don't make all the right decisions.

I just wish I was into the writing style because that ruined it all for me. The characters were so embarrassingly cringe and certain phrases and italics were used in such an overly excessive way that annoyed me so much. Some repetitions are fine but it was way too much for me. Also, this book is a bit problematic - classified as romantic, romanticising and normalising stuff that shouldn't be romanticised or normalised. A ton of red flags in this one.

Going in I didn't know what to expect. I joined an adult summer reading challenge and we needed to read a book with a love triangle (not something I typically pick up) but this book is amazing! Gives a perfect insight into what it's like to date a narcissist, what it's like to be in a toxic relationship and why women rarely leave the first time they're abused

Ugh I'm a sobbing mess at the end of this but it was so good. This was my first Colleen Hoover book and what an emotional roller coaster it was!

This is about domestic abuse so definitely on the heavier side and should be taken into consideration before reading it, but its also about love, friendship and family.

That was a lot to process. I didn't love the beginning of this book. Everything moved really fast and it felt a bit forced. That quickly changed as I kept reading. WOW. I want to address some trigger warnings for rape and physical abuse because I was not expecting such dark scenes from this.

This book has a lot to unpack. The characters themselves as well as their relationships with one another are so complex. The theme of there not being bad people but people who do bad things really stood out

ok honestly this was not as bad as I thought it would be?? Like don't get me wrong I didn't LOVE it and I don't really understand the popularity of it, but I had read takes like ~~glorifying abuse~~ and I think it's...not that bad. I think it's coming from a well-meaning place and trying to depict the complex situations of why people might stay in abusive situations etc. It's still like...pretty clunky and not...the best...but...whatever. I don't think it's actively harmful and I thought Colleen's afterword about growing up a survivor of DV was moving.

There are also a lot of super wild plot-irrelevant choices here, such as opening a flower shop for people who hate flowers, which I was thrilled to discuss on the podcast.

https://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-213-it-ends-with-us/

Honestly I was hating on this book - it gave me Christian Grey, Edward Cullen bordering-on-abuse vibes but then it redeemed itself by the girl leaving the guy!! Yes, thank you!!

In saying that though, it still started off pretty cliche, with the girl getting a lot of help in running her flower shop for free so I can't say it was good enough for a 4 stars.

Well I finally broke down and read my first Colleen Hoover book. I went in with low expectations and thank goodness, because there's a lot of issues with this book.

The main character of Lily is a Mary Sue. She's loved by all the guys, including the one that says he never wants a relationship or long-term commitment, but magically does with her because she's ~~different~~. She opens up a flower shop with no concept and barely any experience but she's amazing at it because of course she is.

I didn't like the main love interest of Ryle from the beginning. He was arrogant and bossy, but I guess that's the typical romance trope. I was not on board with their romance from the beginning, so when there is conflict later in the book, I find myself having a hard time caring.

I did find the story of her and Atlas intriguing, although the way it's worked into the book is kinda dumb. This story is told via writing letters to Ellen, which I'm sure is to hammer home the “just keep swimming” line but it's just soooo forced. Also, there are times it doesn't feel like a 15-year-old is writing these letters, which took me out of it too. I wish there would have been a better way to deliver this backstory.

When I first started the book, a few chapters in, I wrote: “This Ryle guy is such a jerk and I'm probably supposed to think he's a bad boy and like him. Also it's really suspicious how the sister just shows up and offers help and immediately everything is perfect. I hope we get an explanation for all of this and it's not just lazy writing.”

But sadly it was just lazy writing.

This book wasn't all bad. I appreciate how it tried to tackle abuse from a victim's perspective. I did find Atlas's story interesting (much more than Ryle's). I liked how Lily had actual growth in the novel. I don't know if I would have read this book if it wasn't amazingly popular for some reason. And I'd only recommend it to anyone who wants to see what all the the hype is about. Apparently this is not the worst Colleen Hoover book, so that's good.

... And now I'm off to read It Starts With Us because I like torturing myself, apparently. 

I don't have too much to say about this book. I enjoyed it. I loved the tales of Atlas and Lily when they were teenagers; they were beautiful and made me feel something. I did not feel anything for Ryle even before his bad side reared it's ugly head. I know Booktok goes feral for this book and I'm not too sure why because it did not impact me that way, but that's okay. I would give this 3.5 stars but I rounded up.

I never thought I would fall for the TikTok hype, but here I am, 2:45 at night with tears on my face. I finished the book within 6 hours. Took a short break to eat, to watch some tv, but that was it. I've never cried as much while reading a book. Ever. I just have to give it 5 stars, because this book made me feel things.

Not a huge fan of romance novels or love stories but i gave this a try because of all the hype and praise surrounding it, and i don't regret my decision at all. It's been a long while since a novel has made me feel so many emotions at once.
The way the novel is structured and the way Lily's story is told to us is really great. I'm seriously in love with it all, in love with Lily and in love with Atlas.
It gripped me until the end, and by the end of it i was an emotional mess.

The novel is more than just a simple love story. It's so real and raw, while also being cute and cheesy. And thats what makes this such a good read. I loved it a lot, so much so that I might give it a reread soon ;)