Welcome, book friends!
To listen to my real-time reaction to this book and movie, you can check out the full episode on The Bookmarks ‘n Blankets Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or listen below.
I’d love to know your thoughts on the book if you’ve read it, or the movie if you’ve watched it. I invite you to hop over to my Instagram or X (aka Twitter), where you can leave a comment.
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Colleen Hoover is one of the most popular authors in the book world—beloved by many, criticized by others, and nearly impossible to ignore. With her books dominating bestseller lists and It Ends With Us getting a highly anticipated movie adaptation, I decided it was finally time to see what all the hype (and controversy) was about.
I went into It Ends With Us knowing little beyond its massive popularity, and I took a real-time approach—reading the book first, then immediately diving into the movie. Did it live up to the buzz? Did the adaptation do the story justice? And most importantly, do I now consider myself a CoHo fan? Let’s find out.
My Reaction to Reading My First Colleen Hoover Book
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (Book #1)
Format: Tandem: Audiobook – Narrator: Olivia Song and Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Spice: Rated R – Open-Door Scenes
GR Rating: 4.12 (Winner for Readers’ Favorite Romance 2016)
My GR Rating: 2
Read more on GoodReads
GR Description: 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.
My Review:
This was my first time reading a Colleen Hoover book, and to be honest, I never planned to. But with all the hype surrounding the movie adaptation, I decided to give it a shot and read the book first before watching the film. Surprisingly, I ended up preferring the movie, which was PG-13, while I would personally rate the book as R.
Before picking up this book, I did a lot of research and knew what I was getting into. This is not my usual type of read, nor something I would have chosen on my own. While I can see how this story might resonate with women who have experienced abuse, I also understand the criticism—especially concerns about younger readers and how the book could be seen as romanticizing toxic relationships. I find myself agreeing more with the critics than the fans.
I went into It Ends With Us knowing it was a hugely popular book, but after reading it, I still don’t understand the hype. While the second half was better than the first, I was still bored at times, as the entire story revolves around Lily’s abusive relationship. It’s an important topic, and I appreciated the discussion on the cycle of abuse, but overall, I found this book emotionally draining, frustrating, and, at times, very problematic.
Let’s start with the positives. I really liked Lily’s relationship with her sister-in-law, Allysa—she was one of the few characters I actually enjoyed. I also appreciated the conversation Lily had with her mother toward the end, where she finally understood why her mom made certain choices in the past. And I have to give credit where it’s due—the big explosive scene of abuse was brutal, heartbreaking, and felt painfully real. It made me angry, and I can see how this book would be deeply affecting for survivors of abuse.
That said, I had a lot of problems with this book. The writing was simple and immersive, but the story itself felt repetitive and drawn out. The themes of abuse and trauma were important, but at times, it felt like the book was romanticizing red flags rather than offering a meaningful critique of them. Ryle is a violent, manipulative man from the start, and yet the narrative tries to justify his actions with his past trauma—something he weaponizes to control and guilt-trip Lily. I found this deeply concerning. Trauma does not excuse abuse, and while the book does address the difficulty of leaving an abusive relationship, it also presents Lily’s only escape as another man (Atlas), which is not the reality for many survivors.
Atlas was my favorite character, but his backstory felt underdeveloped. I wanted more depth to his character rather than him simply being the “better man” alternative to Ryle. And his past relationship with Lily—where he was an adult sleeping with a minor—was another major red flag that was brushed aside. On top of that, some scenes just didn’t make sense. It felt like forced drama rather than natural storytelling.
And then there’s the ending. One aspect felt particularly unsettling, and the book seems to leave the door open for Ryle’s redemption, which, in my opinion, shouldn’t have been an option. Hoover’s note at the end explains that she based the story on her parents’ relationship, which I respect, but I still feel that It Ends With Us fails to fully challenge the dangerous patterns it presents. Given Hoover’s massive platform and the young audience that idolizes her books, this one deserves more critical scrutiny than it gets.
To be honest, I didn’t enjoy this book. I almost DNF’d multiple times because it was difficult to get through, and I had to be in the right mindset to read it. This is not a lighthearted romcom—in fact, I wouldn’t even categorize it as a romance. To me, it’s contemporary fiction or women’s lit with romantic elements. The excessive cursing, explicit spicy scenes, and graphic abusive scenes also weren’t for me, and I appreciated that the movie toned down those aspects.
It’s emotionally heavy, exhausting, and at times, outright infuriating. If you do decide to read it, be aware that it contains graphic domestic violence, attempted rape, suicide, depression, and alcohol abuse. While I appreciated the discussion on the cycle of abuse, the book ultimately left me frustrated rather than enlightened. That said, I will be reading the sequel, It Starts With Us, because I’m curious to see what happens next—though I’m keeping my expectations low.
Overall, I had a lot of issues with this book and wouldn’t recommend it.
If you want to listen to all of my thoughts and get my real-time reactions to this book and movie, listen to the episode above.