Book Club: It Ends With Us

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Colleen Hoover is a #1 New York Time Bestselling Author renowned for emotional reads that produce copious amounts of tears. I haven’t read nearly as many of her books as I would like, and I would like to read them all, but this one sounded too good to resist.

It Ends With Us is hard hitting and an emotional read, it will resonate with anyone who has been touched by a similar situation. I think this is a must read for all women from about 15 years of age. It is insightful and powerful, empowering and enlightening and utterly heartbreaking.

I finished the book through a haze of tears, tears that I was expecting after finishing last night with 20 pages to go and knowing the end was going to hurt. I then continued to the Note from the Author (which must be read AFTER the book for spoilerific reasons) and the tears just kept coming. Let me just say that It Ends With Us is a very personal story to Colleen Hoover and I think it shows.

Funnily enough, as I sit here writing this, I just saw a post go across Colleen Hoover’s Facebook page saying that the best way to read a Colleen Hoover novel is to go in blind, now I can’t write a review that allows you to go in completely blind but I will try to leave as much of the story out as I can.

Lily Bloom hasn’t always had it easy but she worked hard for what she wanted and took her chances with a move from her small hometown in Maine to the bright lights of Boston. Her biggest issue with living in Boston is living in an apartment, which means no garden. She has graduated college and works for the biggest marketing firm in Boston but her dream has always been to be a florist.

An inheritance gives her the means to follow her dream and open a florist, which she wants to be unique. Her choice of career change is brave and bold, and her store has to reflect that… and it does.

This book was emotional and powerful on many levels and I’m struggling with how to convey all of that without actually giving too much away.

it ends with us

There was a perfect quote in the first chapter of the book, that I won’t direct quote because I read an uncorrected proof, but basically it says that there are no bad people, just people who sometimes do bad things. I think this is perfect, and it is something that we all need to remember in our lives. It starts to get tricky when you have to draw a line in the sand about what constitutes sometimes, and what happens when sometimes crosses that line.

People do bad things, it doesn’t make them bad people but where does doing bad things in a relationship turn into a bad relationship. I think this is something that people in relationships often struggle with, and people outside of those relationships don’t understand.

Hoover brings a better understanding to these relationships and paints an empathetic picture of the people in these relationships, and draws on the strength of these women rather than the often misconstrued belief that they are weak.

The heart of this novel is love and romance.

Lily and Ryle meet by chance on a Boston rooftop one night, a night that sees them both escaping a bad day for some fresh air. Their meeting is fraught with the electricity of two souls connecting and then cut short by a fateful phone call summoning Ryle back to work. He walks out of her life after a short while getting to know one another and sharing truths they don’t usually share with other people.

A chance encounter brings them back together months later and the sparks ignite, sparks they both fight because they want very different things but where the heart is concerned the fight is often futile.

All of the change in Lily’s life has her thinking of her childhood, which leads to reading old journals and remembering an old flame. Imagine her surprise when she runs into him at a restaurant one night….

It Ends With Us is powerful and emotional, looking at family and relationships in-depth; exploring the complex layers of relationships and the beliefs that are formed by our childhoods. Well worth the read, definitely worth the tears and one that I will be recommending to everyone!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster 25 of our Beauty and Lace club members will be reading and reviewing It Ends With Us so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.

30 thoughts on “Book Club: It Ends With Us

  1. Thank you to Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read the novel “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover.

    I found this novel to be very moving, heart wrenching and not for the faint hearted.

    The main character Lily Bloom hasn’t always had an easy life and works hard for what she wants. When Lily was growing up she kept a journal of letters she wrote to Ellen DeGeneres as a way to deal with issues in her life. After growing up in small town Maine and graduating from college she moves to Boston where she finally gets to start her own dream, a floral business. Lily finds herself on a rooftop one night where she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, both of them are there to get some fresh air and come to terms with the bad day that each of them have had. After this chance meeting they both go their own separate ways. Months later another chance encounter brings them back together and a spark is ignited and Lily’s life seems to change forever.

    Lily continually has thoughts of her childhood, and she starts reading her old journals and emotions and memories of her childhood and her childhood flame Atlas are reignited. As we go through the ups and downs with Lily and Ryle’s relationship we find out it is not all perfect. Is a chance meeting with Atlas in a restaurant the change of things to come?

    To find out what really happens in “It Ends with Us” I would highly recommend that you read this emotional and powerful novel, I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

  2. It Ends With Us is a title that hints at a certain sense of finality or ending. But in reality this novel is only the beginning. This bold book from New York Times bestseller, Colleen Hoover is an important one that slowly reveals itself to be a rather hard lesson in love, told by an excellent storyteller with a deft hand and a sensitive heart.

    The cover of this book reminds me of Charlotte Woods’s The Natural Way Of Things. Both books are works of fiction but they are also so raw and honest that they often feel as though they could be real stories. They also deal with some difficult subjects that are hard to discuss or raise, so hopefully this gets readers talking about them.

    Colleen Hoover has offered us a story about an engaging young woman named Lily. At the beginning of the story she is reeling from the recent death of her father. It’s a bittersweet moment for her because their relationship had been a rather fraught one. At the same time she also meets a handsome neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid. The two connect and he literally sweeps her off of her feet. But the honeymoon doesn’t last forever because Lily also has to process some stuff to do with a previous relationship. It is material that will make her reassess things and challenge what she previously thought. It’s also something we can all learn from.

    This novel is a bold one from Colleen Hoover and a very personal story. In her author’s note (which you should only read after finishing the book) she reveals her true connection to this tale. This intense book will tug at your heartstrings and thrust you onto an emotional rollercoaster that will take you through every emotion on the spectrum of feelings. To reveal anything more would ruin things but suffice to say the naked truth is that this is one excellent book full of depth, pathos and grit.

  3. This is a book that will leave an impression. It tells a love story, but so much more. It tells of relationships, and growing and learning from experiences
    The book focuses on Lily and her interactions. It flits back from the present to lily’s teens, with Ellen DeGeneres playing a role in this.
    It is very readable: right from the start you realise that Lily is one very strong willed woman who dances to her own tune. A strong yet vulnerable woman.
    It is an easy to read book, that covers some dark issues. In the final chapters, the book title finally makes sense. I will be seeking out more of Colleen Hoover’s work

  4. I love Colleen Hoover. I think shes a wonderful writer and that is why I jumped up and down with excitement when ‘It ends with Us” came up for review. I eagerly awaited my copy and when it arrived I wanted to dive straight in but had to wait until later that night.
    I loved reading about Lily and following her through her life. The things that happen in our lives shape us all and I guess we can either decide to take the road where we blossom from all that is thrown our way or we crumple. I love that Lily blossomed and was able to find the positive in any negative.
    Often we decide what we think others think of us and many times we are wrong. This was one of the lessons that Lily learnt in her lifetime.
    We all handle things in our own way and in a way that we are able to cope with. Lily learns that sometimes to love someone is not always enough and in other cases to love someone is enough to make you want to ensure there is change.

    This is a wonderful story of a very caring young lady who over time shows her strength.
    As you read this book you will fall in love with Lily just as I did. I laughed with her, I cried with her and I wished I could change things for her. But life is not all perfect.

    I 100% adored this book and Im so very thrilled that I was on this trial team.
    Thank you Beauty and Lace and thank you Colleen Hoover for yet another wonderful Journey.

  5. Thank you to Beauty and Lace for selecting this book. Colleen Hoover is an amazing author who has written a book that is painful in many ways, courageous and very moving.

    Lily the main character is 23 ponders her past after her Dads’ death. She is going out with Ryle Kincaid a good looking arrogant neurosurgeon.

    Her first love and soul mate Atlas Corrigan reappears making things more than a little difficult. I enjoyed reading this book so much it made me laugh and cry to see what a strong character Lily is.

    It is a great book with a satisfactory ending and I would recommend it to anyone.

  6. It Ends with Us

    I found this book to be amazing! Highly emotionally charged but simply amazing. I didn’t want to put it down but when I did I was exhausted from all the emotion!

    Lily’s story just drew me right in, what I loved about it most is that It wasn’t plain and simple there were grey areas. While reading this you really come to realize how you can relate to her in one way or another so It makes the story feel so much more personal

    I loved it, anyone in doubt as to whether they should try it just do it! You wont regret a thing

    1. A lot of books now have book club questions in the back of them. If I can put my hand on my copy I will check this one.
      Otherwise the publisher or author website may have some.

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