It Starts with Us: the highly anticipated sequel to IT ENDS WITH US

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I finished it ends with us a few months ago, and i kinda liked it especially the ending because it was the best decision. I didnt like lily’s personality in the beginning because it was weak, but when the ending came i felt relieved because it felt like she had progressed and made me feel like she is stronger now. The ending was good and it should’ve stopped right there, i liked it because it left us to imagine what will happen next. also. every time tiktok is mentioned in a book, an angel loses its wings. you're telling me lily knows about tiktok and gen z but she doesn't know that ellen is a horrible person? ok This book is amazing. Just like the first one. I was considering it to be a solid four-star. Until the last chapter. Wonderful! my theory still stands: colleen hoover, ironically, cannot write a good romance. i believe every single one of her books has these terrible, wild plot twists to cover up the fact that she cannot. lily and atlas had zero chemistry apart from them talking about how miserable they were when they first met and how they were each other’s saving grace.

Starts with Us on Apple Books ‎It Starts with Us on Apple Books

lily and atlas didn’t really have a foundation of their relationship (which is ironic because atlas talks about ryle and lily’s relationship this way as well) other than the fact that they both had a bad childhood. lily puts atlas on this pedestal because he was there for her at her most vulnerable. It ends with us - A must-read, it is so good. Broken men are not any girl's responsibility to fix or tolerate or live with. I like the way how Colleen has written such a sensitive topic which is personal to her into a really good book. I appreciate her for this. I also realized it's okay to leave men who can't be fixed. Unique among sequels, the story didn’t feel dragged out: “It Starts With Us” has enough action and driving themes to make it its own individual story. While not a standalone, the plotlines reflected in this novel feel fresh and separated from “It Ends With Us,” developing the story in a tasteful way.

Initially toying the line between respecting her ex-husband, Ryle, and his position in her life and wanting to move on in her love life, Lily eventually sees what she deserves in a romantic relationship and takes the steps to having a better life, following her divorce at the end of “It Ends With Us.” I’ll admit; the discussion around abuse in this book wasn’t AS bad as in ‘It Ends With Us’, but it still felt pretty one dimensional and pissed me off at times. I can’t for the life of me understand why this series is hailed as one about ending the cycle of abuse, since the cycle of abuse in the books doesn’t even end! i hated everything about lily’s personality when it came to ryle and what he did to her and i felt like she was being too nice to him.

It Starts with Us - Wikipedia

The novel begins where It Ends with Us left off, after the novel’s protagonists Lily Kincaid and Atlas Corrigan run into each other on the street, and Lily tells Atlas she and Ryle are now divorced. Told in chapters that alternate between Atlas’s and Lily’s perspectives, the novel begins with Atlas nervously hoping Lily will text him soon like she said she would. This hope keeps him uplifted as he handles the reality that someone broke into his restaurant, Bib’s, and vandalized it with a misspelled profanity. Meanwhile, Lily is incredibly busy at Lily Bloom’s, her flower shop, and is confused about what to do about Atlas, knowing a romance with Atlas will infuriate her jealous and abusive ex-husband, Ryle, with whom she shares jointed custody of their infant daughter Emerson. speaking of: stop writing her letters for the love of god i literally don’t know if my heart is cold and dead but we get it atlas, you love her and can’t live without her and she saved you. you don’t have to say it a hundred times!! what a waste of paper!!! give us some new content king!

i like to think ive matured and i wont be reading collen hoover from here on out, i repect the collen hoover fan though, more power to you Not to mention the fact that Lily’s closest friends are Ryle’s sister and his best friend; it is close to impossible to heal from abuse when you are still in such close proximity to your abuser. The way Allysa and Marshall talk about Ryle as if he’s a little kid who just gets mean sometimes, instead of the violent wife beater and attempted rapist that he is, is so strange…. Maybe I’m the weird one, but if someone I “love like a brother” were to push their partner down the stairs and bite them so hard they bled, I simply wouldn’t love them like a brother anymore!

Starts with Us, It Ends with Us Collection - Goodreads It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us Collection - Goodreads

I don't dislike It Starts with Us per se, but it does feel more like a long and unnecessary epilogue to It Ends with Us rather than the separate, worthwhile story it should've been. Curiosity is the antidote to contempt. And just like contempt, it can be cultivated, on purpose, in a million ways, in every medium. We just need to get to work.” Y’all can say anything nasty about Ryle and I would completely agree, but you also have to admit that this guy is nothing but ✨ consistent ✨ in his abusive behavior. My face was this 😐 emoji the whole time, except when it came to Ryle, cause at least that guy gave me some emotions.. his texts to Lily even made me laugh… Lily, sweetie I’m sorry but your ex-husband humor is immaculate 🤡🏃🏻‍♀️ Ryle kept me on my toes, cause I never knew what else would come out of his mouth or what would happen at the mercy of his fist. What an unpredictable king. 😌 Despite minor flaws such as how unrealistic the characters *coughs* Alyssa *coughs* can be, It Ends with Us was fun to read and I admire how Hoover interweaves serious themes and personal experiences throughout the book. It gave It Ends with Us a more grounded take which I could relate to at times. Am I the only person in this entire universe wanting Colleen Hoover to write an amazing queer rep romance?!International and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller, women's fiction and paranormal romance.