Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

459 reviews

himrsa's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence

cj_underw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Atlas deserved better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer and Panic attacks/disorders

literarylily's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Reading this long after it's release and when the majority of the controversy has died down really benefitted me here. This book was a victim of terrible marketing, in that the publishers went down the route of pitching it as a romance, and do not mention anywhere in the blurb or in content warnings that the focus of the book is domestic violence. Had I not known that going in I probably would have been just as angry as some of her long time fans were! Although one small sticking point on the backlash... the cover does not scream romcom to me like some people say. Pink =/= romance... and having crushed flowers on the cover is very evocative of violence to me. I would not have assumed it was a romance by the cover alone. 

The book itself is an intense, uncomfortable read. From the beginning of Ryle and Lily's encounters, the red flags were flying and I could feel the tension building. I'm not sure how much of it I would have picked up on going in blind, but knowing what I did I never warmed to Ryle as his love-bombing and erratic nature set me on edge. 

Having the sections about Atlas worked as a good contrast, showing the gentle and quiet love he and Lily had for each other. And of course the parallels between Lily and her mother over time.

I am fortunate enough to not be able to say from firsthand experience if this was an accurate portrayal of DV, but from what I have heard from loved ones that do, it is eerily similar. It's important to remember everyone's experience with it will be different, as will the outcomes at the end. 

The reason this doesn't get five stars from me is that I felt the book was a bit underdeveloped in some ways. There are characters in Lily's life that seem to flit in when convenient and disappear for hundreds of pages, for example Kate in her childhood and Devin and Lucy in her adulthood. It would have been good to have them a little more involved and see more reactions to events from people more on the outskirts of her life. 

I also felt like some odd choices were made

(yes one of them was the manure scene)

, namely this strange obsession with Ellen Degeneres

(I couldn't help but laugh at the use of Dory as a middle name)

and all of the letters being written to her.  The letters also felt awkward, and not truly the voice of a teenager. 

I think a bit of a let down for me was also the ending. I know some people criticise the lack of consequences for Ryle, but that is not the part I take issue with. In fact it is a reflection of Hoover's parent's relationship and the lack of consequences her father faced (explained in the author's noted), and in real life many abusers don't ever face a consequence for the actions, even if they are reported.

What I didn't like was that Lily and Atlas only get back together by chance at the end. I'm guessing the fact that they only ever meet by chance (except for when Lily calls him for help) is supposed to be symbolic that fate was bringing them together, but it would have been nice to see Lily take more agency around her love life and actively find Atlas when she was ready.

Overall this was a very compelling read, slow to start but impossible to look away from by the end. I found myself so intensely rooting for Lily and hoping she gets the ending she deserves. By no means a perfect book, but a deeply personal one for Hoover that I do think is worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

sarrexxa's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

LOVED IT, my first book ever for colleen hoover and the first in english just perfect ❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol

sweater_swetha's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol

dajehm_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

jenareynolds's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

bookworm_43's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tense!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sush1ri's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

4.25

i understand that there are polarizing thoughts of this book and CoHo in general. since the movie comes out in three days, i decided to give this a read and i ended up really liking this book. there were definitely some things, like names (a few of them), that made me cringe but my focus was on the overall message and story of the book. i’m an emotional person that cries very easily but my eyes didn’t well up once. though i was shook and had strong opinions on what was going on, i think some of the situations resonated with me too much that i felt almost numb to it or read it as matter-of-factly. 

some notes on common critiques for It Ends With Us: yes, things were cringe and that’s one of the reasons i didn’t give this book 5 stars, as well as the writing itself not being the best, age gap in teen years, and some bland descriptions. however, i didn’t allow this too take too much away from the important point of the story

i thought the Ellen Degeneres journals were necessary. it adds to her youth and i loved reading her backstory through these notes. my favorite movie as a toddler was Finding Nemo, so i adore the reference. do i like Ellen Degeneres? no, but Hoover wrote this 10 years ago and she at least gave Lily an outlet and i don’t think we should take away from that.

i genuinely liked this read and i don’t agree that this specific book (i dont know about her others because this was my first CoHo book) glorifies abuse. i believe the author portrays DV well and appreciate that she notes that every DV relationship is different (and to know she based it off of her parents relationship gives it a little more credibility.) it sheds light onto the *very real* hardships, confusion, and desperation that comes with DV and trauma that many people go through behind the scenes. readers need to ensure they read TWs before going into this book because it can be heavy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death