Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - It Ends with Us

Género: Romántica Contemporáneo. Insta-love a Relación tóxica.

Narrador: 1ra persona. Lectura rápida.

Nivel de inglés: Básico. Vocabulario simple.

Estrellitas: ⭐

Content Warnings

ap3837's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Title: It Ends with Us
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: It Ends with Us #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: August 2, 2016

T H R E E • W O R D S

Gritty • Emotional • Powerful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Lily has had to work hard in order to get where she is today, leaving her small town and upbringing tainted by a toxic environment behind for big city life. Ryle is a brilliant neurosurgeon, with a dose of arrogance, a very busy schedule, and a firm no dating rule. After a chance encounter one night, Lily cannot get Ryle off her mind, despite them having very little in common. When life throws them together a second time, they cannot ignore the chemistry, and it all seems too good to be true.

As Lily starts to question Ryle's behaviour, her first love, Atlas, a boy she's never forgotten helping as a teenager walks back into her life threatening absolutely everything.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'll start out my saying, that I personally wouldn't classify this as a romance novel. For me it's more of a dark contemporary fiction that explores various forms of love. It isn't light nor is it fluffy. What it is, is difficult to read and a realistic portrait of the heartbreaking reality faced by many in abusive relationships. It's a portrayal of how hard it is to break the cycle. Of how despite the violence and abuse, love can still exist. Of how easy it is for people to judge when they are on the outside looking in. The novel is beautiful and it is ugly, and it shines a light that abusive relationships are not black and white. I appreciated the author's note detailing the reason why she wrote this book and her deep personal connection to the content.

Colleen's writing is really good. She drew me into the story from the very beginning and I didn't want to stop reading. The characters were captivating, whether they were good or bad, and for me that's the power of great character development. I appreciated the letters Lily wrote to Ellen. To me this felt like a type of journal in which Lily shared her deepest secrets and desires, and gave insight into her past that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I also really liked the floral shop backdrop. And I loved how Lily grew to understand and have empathy for her mother. I also appreciated Alysa and Marshall as key support for Lily.

In my opinion, Colleen Hoover has done something important with this book. If nothing else than to show people they are not alone.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• CoHo devotees
• readers who enjoyed Love and Other Words

⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, child death, grief, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, physical abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence, sexual violence, gun violence, alcohol, alcoholism, drug use, cursing, sexual content, rape, toxic relationship, mental illness, PTSD, homelessness, suicide, infertility, pregnancy, gaslighting, child abuse, injury/injury detail, blood, suicidal thoughts

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things."

"Plants reward you based on the amount of love you show them. If you’re cruel to them or neglect them, they give you nothing. But if you care for them and love them the right way, they reward you with gifts in the form of vegetables or fruits or flowers."

"Most plants do need a lot of care to survive. But some things, like trees, are strong enough to do it by just relying on themselves and nobody else."

"Maybe love isn't something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flowers, in and out, just like the people in our lives."

Content Warnings

lesliezule's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I’m giving the 0.5 for atlas in the epilogue. This book is mentally and emotionally manipulative and I don’t think the story captures the actual danger of the relationship lily was in. For that, I don’t like the book or the way it is written

Content Warnings

jaane's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Spoiler

SPOILER ALERT.

I have a lot of expectations about this book because of all the hype and reviews but I must say I'm kind of disappointed.

The first few chapters are good. I love Lily and Ryle's relationship. They're in love and passionate about each other until that time Ryle hit Lily. That was the time I'm like "Oh h3ll no you did not just do that!" After that I have the feeling that it will not end well and yes it definitely did not, at least to me.

I know Lily have experienced this in the past with her parents and she should've known better. She should've known this is what happened to her mother when her father beat her. But no. Love is sometimes an illusion and it makes you look on the brighter side. Like how he is just drunk that's why he did it. And like all the sweet sorry and sex can fix it which definitely did not.

I am actually speechless and I don't know what to say. To think it happened again and again until she realizes "I'm done. This is it." However, she still considers there might be a chance Ryle will change. Well it might be different when you actually experienced it. I just didn't like this abusing things which hurts to read. It just felt wrong and uncomfortable.

I know Lily just tries her best to make her marriage work. I guess with this mindset, you will always try to endure what's happening just to see the beautiful sunshine at the end of the tunnel which turns out to be storm. At the end I'm just glad she was able to open up to her mother about it that helps her made a decision. I'm glad she chose the best for her and her baby.

Atlas is a very hardworking and resilient guy. If only circumstances are different, then Lily's life would've been better but I guess it's also good it ends like how it does since it gives a lesson. I'm just excited to read the next book hoping it will be a better outcome for Lily and Atlas.

What struck me most is the Note from the Author. It's heartfelt. I'm glad I don't skip pages and read ahead since it would have been a bummer. I didn't even know the story is based on Colleen Hoover's experience! I admire her for writing this story. That's admirable and brave.

Overall, the book is okay for me. I'm not sure I enjoy reading it. It's painful, uncomfortable and hard to read at the end parts but the first parts are beautiful.

Content Warnings

umarshahzad's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Spoiler

it baffles me how CoHo comes out with a banger every single time. From the start we are gripped with Lily Bloom’s life as she attempts suicide but when she sees a man name RYLE she sees all good in him. But constantly we see throughout the book how he abuses her, and then apologises for it. He is a violent character and this mirrors towards the author’s mother who and to go through the same trauma with Colleen’s father. It also deals with a lot of heavy and violent themes such as gaslighting, trauma, sexual violence and abuse. Ryle is the primary antagonist and we often see him and his flaws which make up for him being so violent towards Lily. We also have Lil’s childhood friend/boyfriend Atlas who is Lily’s hope towards the future but they drift apart after she moved to Boston. She is married with Ryle but often reminisces about her time with Atlas showing us how she is a character that often reflects on her good times. A huge motif throughout It Ends With Us is the form of abuse. We see it in the book with Lily’s father raping her mother, and we see it being symmetrical towards Lily and Ryle’s toxic relationship. Other than that I rated this a 5.5 stars and it definitely is an emotional book.

Content Warnings

mbcaity's review

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Spoiler

I see how this can help someone cope, but it was poorly written. It was a lot of cliches and there was a very unneeded emphasis on the “positive” attributes Ryle had

Content Warnings

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