I keep telling myself I'm not going to read any Colleen Hoover books...and then I read more Colleen Hoover books. To be fair, It Ends With Us was one of my favorite books from last year, so I was really hoping with this one. but unfortunately, it did not hold much of a candle.
Synopsis: Following soon after It Ends With Us, It Starts With Us represents the end of her previous relationship with toxic and abusive Ryle, and the beginning of her new one with childhood partner Atlas, as well as life as a new mother. Ryle is determined to not let Lily and his family slip away, so Lily must learn to find balance with the tumultuous Ryle as the father of her child and her abuser, while wanting to heal and move on with her life while rekindling old love.
Plot: This just didn't need to exist in such a long form. I think an added-on few chapters in a reprinting would have been fine, but I don't think this storyline needed an entire novel. So much of this story was exact reprints from book one as Atlas reads through Lily's journal, which we already read. I just don't understand that choice since many readers will read these in order, making this repetitive. It was written well enough, the emotions Hoover writes are perfect and extremely thoughtful in their execution and I know many readers will love following these characters again. My favorite parts were absolutely reading about Lily's healing which was so comforting and again well done. It just feels like this book was never one that Hoover was planning on writing and only threw one together based on the success of the other.
Characters: The characters were completely fine. They're the same ones we know and love/hate, with an emphasis on Atlas. In the first novel, Atlas was never my favorite. The reason I loved book one so much is because of the important take on the relationship between Lily and Ryle. I think that is what makes that book so special, which makes this feels like a grab to show a happy ending that I didn't need. Ryle is still in this novel and in a vital way–with tackling how to proceed following abuse and with a family–but he was definitely a side character to make room for the relationship forming again between Atlas and Lily, which again, I never really cared for. It is fine enough, and Atlas is a really sweet character, but personally, I find their relationship tainted because of the creepiness and age-gap inappropriateness of their childhood romance.
I'll probably pick up another Colleen Hoover soon...I simply cannot help myself. She knows her audience well and I just continually will want to see what all the hype is about. This one though, disappointing in comparison to my love for It Ends With Us.
3.5/5 stars.
TW: abusive relationship.
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