Wow. Okay, first of all, I have to say that I have no idea how I've gone most of my life never having heard of Colleen Hoover. She is already one of my favorite authors, and I've only read about five books by her (only five?!) and all in the last month.

Each book of Hoover's is drastically different, and I love that about all of them. I'll be honest, some of the continuation books (series, sequels, etc.) get a bit repetitive when it comes to how characters interact in the intimate ways, but that's to almost be expected. Between books, though, when it's new characters, new plots, and new atmospheres altogether, the interactions are fresh and alive and each character has such strong character development and voice you can't help but be pulled in.

"It Ends With Us" starts off mesmerizing. There's a magic in how the characters meet, want different things, yet are still pulled to one another in an almost "I can't stand to be apart from you" kind of way. It seems like a romantic love story from the start, with hints of dark pasts that trickle in.

For example, Lily grew up watching her father abuse her mother.

And her best friend in high school lived in an abandoned house behind her home, because his mother kicked him out and he had nowhere to go.

And the only person Lily felt she could confide in was Ellen Degeneres, whom she wrote to in her journals until it became too painful to do so.
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Hoover weaves intricate details from the past into the present as Lily navigates a new town, the loss of her father (although she questions if it really was much of a loss at all), and a new love life. She battles with her own judgments of people in abusive relationships before she comes to realize that it isn't as black and white as she imagined throughout all the years of growing up around her parents.

Lily is forced to decide between love and her own safety, as many people are in the world. Hoover makes this book insightful, allowing readers to follow Lily as she looks inward and processes all of what happens to her in the most raw and honest account I've ever read. She reflects on abusive relationships and how society often blames the woman (or the abusee) for not leaving, but rarely chooses to place all of the blame on the abuser themselves.
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I couldn't put this book down. I couldn't turn away from it. I was torn the entire time between wanting the characters to end up together because readers fall for them the same way they fall for each other, and wanting the female protagonist to be strong and bold enough to get out of the tragic situation she found herself in.

Light-hearted at times, I found this quote, which I feel captures the unique essence of the book quite well:

"I can't even explain what this moment is like. A grown man in a onesie, standing up in a booth at a bar, yelling to whoever will listen that he's gonna be a dad. He pulls her up and they're both standing in the booth now. He kisses her and it's the sweetest thing I've ever seen" - Hoover
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To anyone who reads this book, or has struggled through emotional, mental, or physical abuse, all I can say is that Colleen Hoover honors the true and raw experiences with her own personal knowledge, and she leaves readers with four pieces of advice:
1. Just keep swimming.
2. Life will get better.
3. You deserve more.
4. You have the power to stop the cycle.