It Ends With Us: The emotional #1 Sunday Times bestseller (Lily & Atlas, 1)
£4.30£9.50 (-55%)
THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY GLOBAL BESTSELLER. SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOVIE.
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 where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems 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, It Ends With Us is a heart-wrenching story and an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster UK, Paperback Original edition (2 Aug. 2016) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 384 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1471156265 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1471156267 |
| Dimensions | 13 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm |
by Carmel Drumm
Obviously it was no secret that domestic violence is a huge topic in this book. I didn’t know what to expect after reading some controversy online over this topic in the book. As a Social Care Worker, I’ve studied the reality of domestic violence and was interested to see how it was portrayed in the book. I believe Colleen represented the delicate subject very well and I don’t believe she “romanticised domestic violence”.
Lily Bloom falls in love with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything seems too good to be true. As a reader I was absolutely rooting for these two and was loving the hot shot doctor vibes…. Until very quickly we see another side to Ryle, that turns all emotions I had previously on it’s head… I am now mad as hell…. Can’t believe this has happened to Lily. We see Lily and Ryle struggle with the toxicity of their relationship. It’s clear to see they both love each other, but in these circumstances, love isn’t enough…. Love cannot make everything else okay. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
We see the abuser as a monster but we also see him feel empathy and regret. we see the abused mad, hurt and forgiving and rationalising the behaviour. The reader experiences the complex toxic relationship and the reality of domestic violence as the abused returns to their abuser.
“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”
by Carmel Drumm
It Ends With Us is the story of Lily as she navigates her way through an abusive relationship. Her boyfriend, and later husband, Ryle, can be kind and funny and enigmatic, he is successful and driven, however none of that changes the fact that at his worst she is terrified of him. Growing up witness to a father who abused her mother, Lily always swore to herself she would never be such a woman, and yet now she finds herself making allowances for Ryle time and time again. Matters are only complicated further when a face from her past shows up, Atlas, her first love. What path will Lily choose for herself, and will she find the strength to break this cycle of abuse?
I’ve put off reading this book for a while, despite all the hype around it. However, having read Verity, also by Colleen Hoover not long ago, I finally decided to give this book a try. My overall thoughts are that this book is far from perfect, indeed there were parts that really grated on my nerves, however, despite its flaws, its overall message was really strong, and resonated even more after reading the author’s note at the end. As such I have to applaud Colleen for writing a story that was so close to home, and for trying to get into Lily’s mindset, as her story is surely one that will resonate with many.
As Colleen points out many times in the book, from the outside it seems such a simple and straightforward matter, that if you are in an abusive relationship you walk away from it. However, the reality is never so easy, and there can be so many factors in play. I particularly liked the emphasis on cycles and patterns of abuse, how Lily found herself in the same situation as her mother all those years ago, and the fact that we have glimpses into Lily’s childhood helps to gain a deeper insight into her character and background. Ultimately, this story is about finding the strength to break such a cycle, and I think Colleen did a good job of showing Lily’s journey to this point.
My main criticism is that I felt some of the writing and characters came across as immature. Lily and Ryle, and even Alysa often acted more like teenagers as opposed to grown adults, and Lily and Ryle’s relationship felt rather adolescent. Strangely enough, the teenage Lily and the actual adolescent relationship depicted between Lily and Atlas felt more mature in comparison, such that it was as if Lily had regressed later on in life.
I’m sure that Colleen wants the reader to like Ryle to begin with, and yet to me he felt off from the very beginning. He was simply so intense and self-centred, and the relationship that develops between Lily and Ryle felt superficial such that I was never really invested in it to begin with. To be honest their relationship felt a bit too Fifty Shades of Grey, with Ryle too much a Christian Grey type character. As such I often found myself irritated at the chapters that focused on Lily and Ryle’s developing relationship and when they’re all loved up, as the tone just wasn’t really for me, and to be honest was a bit cringey.
In contrast the chapters we have that focus on Lily as a teenager and her relationship with Atlas I loved. As well as showing the impact that her parents’ relationship has on her growing up, we have this touching and sweet relationship that develops between Atlas and Lily. Atlas’ personal story is also a really sad one, with important subjects such as homelessness explored, and I loved his resilience and how these two were always there supporting each other through all their trials. I did like though that later on Atlas doesn’t necessarily rescue Lily like some knight in shining armour; he is there when she needs him certainly, but she has to rescue herself.
I loved that Alysa was there for Lily as a friend, despite the fact she was Ryle’s sister. There was also a touching scene towards the end between Lily and her mother that I particularly appreciated.
Overall there were parts of this book that I adored (namely anything to do with Lily and Atlas) and parts that were very powerful and impactful. Unfortunately, elements of the writing and character development did for me personally affect my enjoyment of the story, and I would have likely rated it higher had the overall tone been more mature than it was.
by little bookworm
So – after reading Verity by this author and being wowed – I decided to select another one of her books that I’ve seen wonderful reviews for on bookstagram- but a year later I finally get to read this – so glad I did too! 2 days on holiday and sobbing like a baby – I finished this amazing read. I wasn’t expecting it to affect me like this either!
So – this is the story of a woman called Lily who turns out to.be the most amazing and strong woman to face a number of challenges and unexpected trauma too. Lily’s childhood growing up was tough but she meets Atlas – a few years older than her and homeless and finding shelter in an abandoned house in her backyard. They go to school together and the empathy she has for this stranger is amazing- especially as she tries her best to give him hope that his life will get better. The relationship, friendship they build never dies, even with the years spent apart.
Lily moves on after he moves to Boston to live with his uncle and then joins the Marines. Years go by, Lily begins a new relationship with Ryle, a young handsome neurosurgeon- all is perfect – well that’s what it seems until One night, while out to dinner, she sees Atlas for the first time in years.
As her relationship moves on with Ryle, and she thinks she’s for the life she always wanted with her flower business growing, and just when everything seems perfect – things with Ryle start to take a turn for the worst. Will she stay strong and do what she needs to do? I j guess you’ll have to read it to find out ! First book for ages that has made me cry and smile!