Since its release in August of 2016, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover has become an immensely popular novel, particularly on TikTok. It is currently Hoover’s most sold book having sold millions of copies. The story follows Lily Bloom and her relationship with Ryle Kincaid. The story quickly turns dark when Ryle begins to physically abuse Lily, a painful reflection of her own mother and father’s relationship. I read the book after seeing so much craze about it on social media, having no idea what the plot was other than that it was sad. Upon reading the book in its entirety I can firmly say that It Ends with Us isn’t worth the hype.

My biggest complaint in regards to the book was its convenience. When Lily is opening up her flower store, an extremely wealthy woman just happens to want to work for her company that has no proof of future success. The plot thickens when we find out that the brother of this random wealthy woman is Ryle, the man that Lily has previously met on a rooftop. I understand that sometimes convenience is necessary to move plots along, but it is not necessary on this level. For a book that is handling such mature topics, I would expect the writing style to reflect that. 

The second major plotline in this book is about Lily’s childhood relationship with Altas, a young boy experiencing homelessness. Most of their story is told in the form of letters written, but never sent, to Ellen. Yes, the TV host. I didn’t like this at all. It was just very weird to me, not in a quirky way, but an unnecessary way. I’m generally not a big fan of diary-like tropes, and I feel that there could have been better ways to talk about Lily’s childhood. Later in the book Lily ends up running into Atlas while she is still in a relationship with Ryle. This allows Atlas to perfectly play the role of protector. I don’t think that Atlas was necessary to the plot at all. A romantic story took away from what the book was really trying to tell its readers and felt like a ploy to appeal to a wider audience. 

I will admit, this book wasn’t all bad. The story was gut-wrenching and highlighted a devastating topic that isn’t talked about. I fully understand the appeal of this book, I just expected more. I plan to read more books written by Colleen Hoover. Maybe she will redeem herself for me, but as of now, I am disappointed.