Book Review: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

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I didn’t expect to pick up a romance novel that day. Honestly, I was just scrolling through a list of bestselling books, craving something light, something sweet — a break from the busy day. But It Ends with Us kept appearing, almost whispering, “Read me. I have something to say.” I decided to read some of the reviews and the reviews hinted at a romance, yes, but also something deeper. And that curiosity crept in my heart like a quiet nudge in my chest, is what led me to turn the first page.

From the beginning, I was mesmerized.

We meet Lily Bloom, a determined, soft-hearted yet fiery woman navigating life in Boston after her father’s death. She’s trying to build a new life, opening her dream flower shop, and letting go of a past that still tugs at her heart. Then enters Ryle Kincaid, a brilliant, successful, and extremely handsome neurosurgeon with a no-dating rule that quickly unravels the moment he meets Lily.

Their chemistry? Electric. The banter? Addictive. I was smiling, sighing, flipping pages late into the night because, finally, here was a love that felt intense, real, and raw.

But then… the story changed.

And that’s where the brilliance of this book lies. It lures you in with what seems like a typical romantic arc, and then — like life often does, it surprises you. It challenges you.
Without giving away too much, Colleen Hoover does something extraordinary. She pulls back the curtain on what love really means. It’s not just the feeling of butterflies or stolen glances or that perfect first kisses. It’s the choices we make when things get hard. The lines we draw. The promises we break and remake. The pain we carry.

Hoover writes it with such empathy, such aching honesty, that I often had to pause just to breathe. I found myself asking, What would I do in Lily’s shoes? Would I stay? Would I go? Could I love and still choose myself?

Then there’s Atlas Corrigan — Lily’s first love. His presence in the story is quiet, steady, healing. I would say that if Ryle is fire, Atlas is water. And when the past and present collide, Lily is forced to confront everything she thought she knew about love, strength, and sacrifice.

What moved me the most? The journal entries. They’re letters Lily wrote to Ellen DeGeneres as a teenager, pouring out her thoughts and feelings like secrets to a trusted friend. Through them, we meet a younger Lily. A girl who experienced love in its purest form with Atlas. A girl who also saw things in her home that no child should ever see. These entries broke me. They made the characters come alive, and they reminded me that behind every adult is a child who once hoped for something better.

Reading this book was an emotional journey. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. I fell in love. And in the end, I felt proud, proud of Lily, proud of women like her, and proud of stories like this being told.

The title It Ends with Us isn’t just poetic — it’s powerful. It’s about ending cycles, choosing different paths, and reclaiming your voice, even when it shakes.

This isn’t just a romance. It’s a story of bravery. Of self-worth. Of knowing that sometimes, walking away from someone you love doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means you’re choosing to protect the most important person in your life: you.

If you’ve ever loved someone who hurt you... if you’ve ever watched someone stay in a relationship that chipped away at who they were... if you’ve ever had to choose between love and survival, this book will speak to you.

And even if you haven’t, you’ll finish the last page with a new sense of compassion, of understanding.

So yes, I picked it up expecting a romance. But what I got was something much more: a story that stayed with me long after I closed the book. A story that reminded me that love, at its best, doesn’t break you — it builds you.

And sometimes, the bravest love story… is the one where you finally choose yourself.