It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is an undeniably popular book. A simple Google search shows that 95% of Google users recommend the book, and it has earned a coveted rating of 4.4 on Goodreads.com.

So, what makes this book so great?

It Ends With Us explores themes many of us are afraid to talk about. There are graphic scenes that depict rape and violence. There are also scenes that depict nostalgia and remembering your first love.

It’s an easy book to get into: it starts with a hook, and each chapter follows up with some twist that makes the book impossible to put down.

The characters are relatable; even with a storyline that seems unlikely, the narrator tells the story in a way that makes you understand and appreciate what the main character is going through (complicated marriages and first loves, for example).

The ending comes full circle — the last words (no spoilers here, I promise) are, “It ends with us.” This references a string of events and details threaded throughout the novel, making it an ending well worth the read. 

The book begins with the main character, Lily, dealing with remorse and grief from her father’s passing. On the night of her father’s funeral, Lily is sitting on a rooftop when a mysterious man appears, Ryle Kincaid. He seems to be very upset and distraught. They begin to talk and play a game of “naked truth”. As time passes, Lily continues to run into Ryle, though he is very mischievous. She cannot get her mind past this guy and how she feels about him. Lily then follows her dreams of opening a flower shop, where she meets Ryle’s sister.

The story then delves into Lily asking Ryle to come to lunch with her and her mother. This event leads to remeeting Atlas, Lily’s first love. As she runs into Atlas, this begins to affect her relationship with Ryle. While her friendship with Atlas grows, so does her relationship with Ryle.

Ryle is still skeptical of Atlas from the dinner with Lily and her mom. Ryle thinks there is something going on with Lily and Atlas. Lily, from a young age, kept journals of her life and about Atlas. She begins to read them night by night. Soon enough, Ryle asks Lily to move in with him. While they begin the moving process, Lily packs up all her journals and brings them to her new home. While their relationship is going great, Ryle believes there are unresolved feelings between Atlas and Lily, and soon becomes violent towards Lily. 

As the story continues, Lily soon finds out she is pregnant with Ryle’s baby. After months of working on her pregnancy alone, Lily finally has her baby and decides what she wants to do with her relationship and how she will continue. The end of the book reveals a huge twist.

Together, we rate this book an 8.5/10.

It Ends With Us is very interesting and a book you won’t be able to put down. It’s an amazing read. We would recommend this book to any hopeless romantics who love love stories with crazy plot twists. The story itself is very beautiful, but there are parts that could’ve been improved or provided a better understanding.