It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover Published by Atria Books on August 2nd 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Purchase @ AMAZON or BN
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Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
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.
With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters, It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.
Q&A Review by Liezel and Angie
How does “The End of Us” compare to the previous books written by CoHo?
Liezel: I’m going to be honest …don’t shoot me… I HAVE NOT read every book by Coho like Micah or Angie have but from what I have read so far, I can say that this book was both the same and also different.
The same in the sense that CoHo’s writing is just as superb. They way she is able to convey these raw emotions is astounding. I couldn’t help but get swept away… Its different too because these characters are older than her others. I was able to relate more on the issues they were having.
Angie: I’m a huge CoHo fan and I think out of both of my co-bloggers I’m her biggest cheerleader. I’ve read everything from her very first book, Slammed to now her latest, It Ends with Us. This book was her best book to date!
Now I know some might disagree and say Hopeless was or Ugly Love or Maybe Someday, you get my drift. But to me It Ends with Us is one of her most personal books I’ve ever read and the one that destroyed me completely. I’m crying writing this right now that’s how emotionally invested I am in IEWU. It Ends with Us will change people. It will change how they perceive their lives, their best friends lives, a stranger’s life, their neighbors lives. It will open their eyes to what happens behind closed doors that so many keep hidden because they are too ashamed to admit the truth to themselves or anyone else.
All of Coho’s characters are in one way or another impressionable. Question is…which one did you appreciate or can you identify with the most?
Liezel: Lily for so many reasons. The first being ..she was a mother who would literally do anything for her child. She was admirable simply because she had a good head on her shoulders. Smart. She took all those experiences from the past and used them to make logical choices not just for herself but for her child.
Angie: Hands down, no questions asked-Lily. I hate to even say that. Lily was me as a kid. Lily was my sister as a kid. Lily was me as an adult. I wish I had the strength Lily had when she made a very heart wrenching decision. It took me 6 yrs. I wish I was Lily. She is everything a woman wish they could be. She’s strong, stronger than anyone can imagine. She is the perfect embodiment that every woman will look up to.
There are so many memorable quotes in this book? Which one is your favorite?
Liezel:
“In the future…if by some miracle you even find yourself in the position to fall in love again…fall in love with me.”
Loved this because they are words of both yearning and of hope.
Angie:
“I know exactly what you mean, Lily. But the last thing you want to do is lose sight of your limit. Please don’t allow that to happen.”
I could have chosen so many other quotes I have highlighted but to me, this one meant more to me than all those combined. Never lose sight.
Care to share some of the emotions you were experiencing while reading this book?
Liezel: At first, I felt stressed. I rarely enjoy stories that involve cheating or love triangles. Just from reading the synopsis this is what I thought I was walking into…but I assure you, it isn’t. Realizing this, I then felt relief then sadness.
The couple had it all… friendship, respect, love, passion…everything that you thought would make a relationship long-lasting but even with all those things it was difficult to accept that even as perfect as they were is still wasn’t enough. I felt heartbroken for them. Then hope for the other.
Angie: Oh Liezel! This question. We’re about honest reviews so here we go. From the very first pages I didn’t think I could continue. It bought up so many emotions that I thought for the first time in history this book was going to be my first DNF by Colleen. Not because her writing wasn’t great but because of the emotions I buried and was being uncovered page by page. My heart hurt so much for Lily. I knew what she felt. What she was going through. I felt like I was there with her. I stuck with it though and I started to feel love. My heart rejoiced for her then it cried. Then it rejoiced again just to shatter all over again. I text Liezel and told her how much I hated someone so much. She didn’t reply. I was angry not at her him. I knew why Lily done what she did. Then my already shattered heart burst into a million flames. I was livid. I was crying so hard. The past came back ten fold. I was angry for Lily for me. I hurt for her for me. I text Liezel telling her I couldn’t continue. It was too much. Way too much. I put my kindle down. I tried not to think about it. I tried not to read it again but my stupid mind wouldn’t shut up. I picked it up and kept crying until the end. My heart was happy for Lily but at then I was so emotionally drained by the end of this book that it’s going to be awhile before I can read anything else.
Why would you recommend this book?
Liezel: ….because it’s written by Colleen Hoover! The emotions that she able to evoke from every single one of her stories has always been phenomenal. This book isn’t an exception. You can never go wrong with her. She is a best seller for a reason and this book goes to show that she has staying power on that list. Read this one and fall in love…over and over again.
Angie: I have to warn you before I say yes that It Ends with Us will emotionally destroy you. At least it did me. Now saying that, this book will change lives. It will save women. So many women. I know Colleen knew what she was doing when she wrote it but I really don’t think she realizes the impact she’ll have on the female population once it releases. It Ends with Us is life changing. Go into this book blind. You shouldn’t even be reading this q&a right now.
In summary YES I recommend this book to everyone! It Ends with Us will be the first book my daughter reads when she’s 14. Thank you, Colleen, and thank you V for sharing this with me, with us.
The Verdict:
About Colleen Hoover
Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels and five novellas. Hoover’s novels fall into the New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance categories.
Hoover published her first novel, Slammed, in January 2012. Since then, all her eligible works have become New York Times best sellers.
Colleen Hoover is published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Colleen also has several self-published titles.
In 2013, Colleen’s third novel, Hopeless, was the first self-published novel to reach #1 on The New York Times, where it remained for several weeks. Hopeless went on to become one of the top 20 bestselling ebooks of 2013.
In 2015, Colleen’s novel CONFESS won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. That was followed up in 2016 with her latest title, It Ends With Us, also winning the Choice Award for Best Romance.
Her novel CONFESS has been filmed as a series by Awestruck and is due to release this spring on go90. Katie Leclerc and Ryan Cooper star in the series.
Ugly Love is slated to begin filming in late 2017.
Colleen founded The Bookworm Box, a charity subscription service and bookstore, with her family in 2015. The Bookworm Box is a subscription service that provides readers with an exciting opportunity to receive signed novels in the mail each month from authors all over the world. All profits from the subscription service are donated to various charities each month. To date, The Bookworm Box has donated over $850,000 to help those in need.
Colleen’s next release is WITHOUT MERIT, a contemporary romance novel due to release through Atria Books in October, 2017.
Colleen’s current work-in-progress is an exciting revisit to a previous novel, not yet announced, due to release in early 2018.
