It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Title: It Ends with Us
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Released: August 2, 2016
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384

First initial reaction upon finishing It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover:

But what else did I expect when it comes to Colleen?

(ALTHOUGH I DO RECOMMEND GOING IN BLIND. I DID AND IT WAS WORTH IT)

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. 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.

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.

“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”

In all honesty, I can see the maturity and intensity that Colleen brought to us in her writing with this novel. This book is so important and everyone needs to read it right now. It has such a strong theme that gave me so much to think about! I personally have never been in this situation, but everything about this book made me feel like I was feeling everything in the pit of my own stomach. I felt like this was happening to me. My heart was breaking and I was shaking because I was so scared and just…sad.

I wish cutting my feelings off for the person who hurt me was as easy as I used to think it would be. Preventing your heart from forgiving someone you love is actually a hell of a lot harder than simply forgiving them.

I am not going to talk too much about the characters or the story because I really encourage everyone to read this going in blind and not knowing a single thing. But it is worth it. Colleen not only brings us a heartwarming and heartbreaking story, but she shows gives readers a lot to think about. There are some tough themes in this novel and it makes it that much more important to read.

I am going to say that I loved Lily. She had so much drive, she was independent and strong and inspiring. She did what she felt was right no matter what even if it was scary. I admire her strength. I think a lot of people will. How she handled her situations with our two boys was smart. This book is very much about her empowering journey and even though I rooted for her from the very beginning, I do have to admit I was heartbroken by the outcome. I am very much a hopeless romantic and would have loved a better end, but I am very much #TeamLily! I found myself literally screaming “YES YOU GO GIRL” a few times!

Yes, I fell in love with Ryle the same way Lily did. Yes, I fell in love with Atlas the same way that Lily did. I couldn’t help it. I am a hopeless romantic! 

This story was so raw, bold, powerful, and HEAVY. 

Thank you, Colleen.

Thank you for being brave and bold.

 

Now Go! 

until next time,

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