It Ends With Us

It Ends With Us has been trending everywhere, when I picked it up I assumed it would be another over rated and over hyped novel. However, it is safe to say I could not have been more wrong, this book deserves all the recognition it has been given. As Lily meets Ryle, their relationship begins to bloom, the two of them connect in ways they never imagined. However, when Atlas, Lily's first love falls back into her life, things become extremely messy and overwhelming. 

 For Lily, she never had an easy childhood. She grew up with an abusive father and promised herself she would never allow a man like him to come into her life yet it seems that it is too late. The novel focuses a lot on abuse and the reality of living with domestic abuse. The fear and the anxiety yet also how easy it can be to turn a blind eye on the one you love. I won't lie, it can be a tough read at points but it is beyond worth the read.Throughout the novel we are shown Lily's life now with Ryle and Lily's life in the past, with Atlas. In her past, Lily wrote her diary entries to Ellen Degeneres her inspiration. Despite the fact Ellen was never actually shown these letters, when Lily had no one to turn to, Ellen was her only friend. Lily decides to open up her past and read her letters, she wrote them throughout her relationship with Atlas therefore, not only do we get to hear more about Lily's life, we hear about Atlas's story. His story is a special one. One I am also not going to tell you. I am keeping this spoiler free but I can confidently say that I am team Atlas!As for Ryle, he also has not had it easy. My feelings towards him were up and down. One moment I loved him the next I hated him. Colleen Hoover created a character that was able to not only manipulate other characters but also the readers. 

Based on Atlas's story, it is evident that Colleen Hoover has developed a character to be a symbol of hope.  Hope that one make it out of the darkest, loneliest days ever imaginable and still become successful. As difficult it was learning about his upbringing, it was so heart warming to soon discover his success. Through Atlas, we can learn and discover that hard times are not forever, bad days do not last. Eventually, you will discover that if you truly want a happy, successful life for yourself, if you work towards that you will be rewarded. Rome was not built in a day, the same way as achieving your dreams does not happen overnight. It could take years of trying. Years of failure. Years of wanting to give up. Eventually, there will come a time where you have reached your success and have an understanding of why you went through everything in which you did. The constant use of the famous quote 'just keep swimming' within the novel emphasises this. 

It Ends With Us is contained with an overwhelming amount of emotion. It reminds us of how fragile, dangerous yet special love can be. Colleen Hoover has wrote a novel filled with so much love yet so much hurt. So much heartache yet so much happiness. Each character has their own special story and love is what keeps them together, ironically, love is also what tears them apart. All in all, the novel was a strong five star rating. To end, I will leave you with a quote from the book itself 'Life is a funny thing. We only get so many years to live it so we have to do everything we can do to make sure those years are as full as they can be.'