Book Review: It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover Strikes Again
This book nearly ended me. 3.25 stars. SPOILER WARNING AHEAD.
DISCLAIMER: This review was originally published on my now-defunct website in 2023. Now that the film has been released, some of my thoughts about the ‘upcoming’ film may be out of date.
The Review
After reading this book, I was left conflicted.
I wanted to rate this 3 stars for how Colleen Hoover handled language, but I also wanted to rate this 3.5 stars because of some scenes, nearly bumping it to a 4 at some points. I decided on a 3.25 rating as it reflects how conflicted I feel over the book (and external circumstances surrounding the book).
Unfortunately, I already knew the book’s plot because of BookTok. However, if I didn’t already know what was going to happen, I feel that I would have been tricked into thinking this was a Romance book – the first half certainly seems so. It gave me Wattpad vibes, without the bad grammar and the random Author’s notes sprinkled in here and there. The language used is nothing to marvel at. It’s simplistic and tells a lot instead of showing. I’m not a fan of such writing styles, but it’s Hoover’s style that makes her books so easily accessible to people.
Personally, I felt that the characters were bland. They were only made interesting by their life experiences. In this case, these characters became alive only through Hoover’s inspiration from her personal experiences. Without these backstories, I can’t tell you much about these characters' personalities. However, from a business standpoint, these characters did fit archetypes familiar to any Young Adult romance novel – the rich best friend, the handsome love interest, the shy, gentle love interest, the token gay guy… the world felt familiar, which is probably a reason why people are so drawn to Hoover’s books.
I thought the pacing of the book was a bit questionable. On one hand, I’m glad that Hoover included the best and worst points of Lily and Ryle’s relationship because it really sends home how domestic abuse can be so difficult to navigate – the good days are the best and the best days are the worst. On the other hand, everything felt a bit clunky with the time skips. I guess it’s because the book is only 35 chapters, but the romance felt too quick to be believable. I also felt that though the Ellen diaries were crucial to the plot, they were kind of awkwardly sandwiched between the main romance plot.
The ending was also a bit jarring. I liked how bittersweet it was, the fact that Lily and Ryle divorced but were engaged in a good co-parenting relationship, both moving on with their lives. However, it felt so weird when Atlas and Lily randomly meet on the street and Lily decides that it is finally a good time to pursue him. The way the story ends with a kiss between them felt very jarring with not enough build-up, especially since Atlas and Lily have interacted a grand total of three times (including a week(?) long stay) before their relationship became a thing. I feel that the ending would have been better if it were more ambiguous and less outrightly romantic.
I felt that both were at fault for the way the relationship turned out, with Ryle taking 90% and Lily taking 10%. What I don’t get is that if both of you are married and trust each other, why didn’t Lily tell Ryle about Atlas? Ryle’s anger management problems and childhood trauma should have been topics the couple discussed before getting married in the first place. On a semi-unrelated note, I would also like to know how Ryle’s parents reacted to their divorce, but I don’t recall it being covered even though his mother was at Lily’s baby shower. I can see how Lily’s actions could appear suspicious to Ryle, but that definitely does not excuse his violent bursts of rage.
Regarding Ryle’s character, Hoover did a good job of giving it such nuance that at some moments, it’s difficult to hate him (i.e. when he changes himself for Lily). However, the act of Alyssa forcing him to explain his trauma after he abused Lily toes the dangerous territory of excusing his abuse. I know that this was not Hoover’s intention but #deathoftheauthor, so I’m not too sure how others interpreted this. I think the most important part of this nuance is to help readers understand why some people may stay in an abusive relationship, and this complexity is most clearly explained by Lily’s mother, a survivor of such a relationship herself. It’s a bit iffy that the book was marketed as a romance book, which may lead readers to excuse Ryle’s actions.
Despite some of my complaints, some parts of the book really, really, captured the essence of some abusive relationships (I don’t want to generalise because every domestic abuse situation is different). I thought that the confusion and the way Lily tries to put some blame on herself after Ryle hurts her was well-described, one of the few instances I appreciated Hoover’s simplistic writing – the mixture of emotions was not caught up in fluffy language, making these scenes feel so real.
My favourite scene was right after Lily had given birth and she made the decision to divorce Ryle. Some quotes really hit hard and got Ryle (and the readers) to think:
"‘Daddy? My boyfriend hit me.’ What would you say to her, Ryle?”
“What if she came to you and said, ‘Daddy? My husband pushed me down the stairs. He said it was an accident. What should I do?’”
“What if she came to you and said, ‘My husband tried to rape me, Daddy. He held me down while I begged him to stop. But he swears he’ll never do it again. What should I do, Daddy?’”
Even though this scene made me go ‘wow’ and the fact that Ryle takes accountability for his actions is great, I’m glad Lily didn’t go back to him – lashing out in violence is never an excuse. She did what was best for her child, she managed to break the cycle. While he accepts accountability, he was given so many chances to change and though there’s evidence that he tried, it seems that he has deep-rooted issues that can only be resolved through therapy (which he goes for, but it seems that he isn’t at that level of self-restraint yet).
My interpretation of Ryle’s first instance of abuse (the part where he hurts Lily because she laughs at him for dropping a tray of hot casserole) is because of the significance he plays on his hands. It was his unsteady 6-year-old hands that killed his elder brother by accident, and it seems that he dedicated the rest of his life to having the most steady hands in the world (i.e. neurosurgeon). I just wanted to share my interpretation, though this trauma does not justify his actions at all.
Honestly, if I didn’t already know the story before diving into it, Ryle’s initial character would have already been a red flag. To me, someone who is only into one-night stands is a sign of other deep-rooted issues, maybe not anger management but perhaps commitment issues or a lack of respect for people.
Other aspects of the book that were kinda sus were the fact that Lily lost her virginity to Atlas when she was 15 or 16 and he was about 19. That’s kind of predatory behaviour, even if he is clearly the “good” option in the novel. I also found it kind of weird when Lily said something about how she never stopped loving Atlas (this was after she had already split up with Ryle) but the idea of her already going through a committed relationship with Ryle was quite questionable on her end. I don’t think Hoover intended it that way, but this line gave me iffy vibes. I also thought that Atlas not being truthful about his relationship status and the fact that he didn’t come clean about finding Lily was unnecessary drama. Lying about his relationship status was especially weird with a piss explanation, in my opinion.
I also found the Ellen Degeneres quirk kind of annoying. It was cute at first, but the fact that there were so many references to her was a bit random. With all the Ellen allegations that came out in 2022 (?)This aspect of the book (2016) didn’t really age well, which isn’t a fault on Hoover’s behalf but something interesting to note.
All in all, this was a book I have very mixed feelings about. I don’t have much prior experience with Hoover’s books except reading Without Merit but I have a feeling that this is one of her better books. I heard that there’s a sequel that just came out and that there’s a movie coming this year. Personally, I don’t know if I will read the sequel but I hope that it covers the aftermath of the abuse and how Lily struggles to love again.
I’m concerned about the movie because knowing how Hollywood works, it may accidentally romanticise the relationship between Lily and Ryle. This fear comes from the book’s marketing history and the fact that the characters in the book are conventionally attractive. At its core, It Ends with Us is not a romance, and I hope the movie adheres to this authenticity lest easily impressionable audiences excuse Ryle’s actions just because he is attractive.
Thanks for reading!
Bonus Section: Quotes that Made Me Cringe
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About the Author
Rachel resides in Singapore and is currently in her second year of university. She’s majoring in Literature and minoring in Creative Writing. When she’s not worrying about her assignments, she likes to read and do photography.
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