Review: It Ends with Us

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It Ends with Us is a thought provoking piece of magnificence! It's raw, real and at times emotionally overwhelming. It Ends with Us is heavy, with topics including abuse, rape, betrayal and love. I questioned things I thought I knew and cried when everything in Lilly's life seemed to be falling apart. All of the characters, even down to the minor characters were well developed and integral to the storyline. When considering a rating for a book it takes quite a bit to earn five stars and requires the author make me feel as though I were experiencing the protagonist's conflicts personally. Hoover was able to pull it off flawlessly with one of her best pieces yet.

Lilly makes her way to Boston, where she meets Ryle Kincaid. He's smart, driven, definitely good looking but has no interest in anything beyond a fling. Lilly has no interest in anything casual, but the two of them can't seem to stay away from one another. As their friendship progresses and Lilly finds herself becoming the exception to Ryle's rule, she runs into Atlas Corrigan whom she's loved since she was a teenager. Atlas is steady and everything she thought she wanted before starting a new relationship. His presence in her life threatens what's she's building with Ryle but things have a way of working out how they're supposed to even when we can't imagine the possibility. The most important topics discussed are also spoilers so you will just have to take my word for it that this book is it. You won't be disappointed.

***Spoilers***
I'm not going to lie, I'm one of those girls. I look at women in an abusive relationship and wonder how they could possibly be so weak to allow that type of thing to continue. I can't understand how you could love a man who is capable of hurting you, but they don't love that man. They love the man they fell in love with, the man he is the other 99% of the time and It Ends with Us has somehow shed a light on domestic abuse that I never thought I would see. I questioned beliefs that I never knew needed questioning and found a new respect for the women that are able to withstand the pain and break the cycle. Hoover pulled back the curtain for her readers and wrote this book based on her mother's life, and I admire her for that. It can't be easy to allow strangers a glimpse of something so private, but she did and she did it very well.

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