It Starts with Us: A Novel (It Ends with Us)

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover absolutely delivered. 💛 This book felt like a warm, healing exhale after It Ends With Us. Getting Atlas’s POV was everything I didn’t know I needed—soft, protective, and so deeply emotional. Watching Lily finally get the love, safety, and peace she deserves was incredibly satisfying and emotional in the best way. The story didn’t rely on chaos or shock value; instead, it focused on growth, healing, and choosing better—for yourself and for your kids. It was hopeful without being unrealistic and tender without being boring. I smiled, teared up, and closed the book feeling complete. If you loved It Ends With Us, this one is a must-read. It’s proof that sometimes the most powerful love stories are about second chances and choosing yourself.

It Starts with Us was a beautifully written and heartwarming sequel to It Ends with Us. This was one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. Atlas and Lily deserved their happy ending and getting to read that was absolutely everything I wanted and more. Again this book picks up immediately after the ending of It Ends with Us, so I would highly recommend just reading that book first. I also suggest checking the content and trigger warnings before reading. It is dual POVs of Atlas and Lily and has a second chance romance and the found family trope. The premise of this book was definitely a lot lighter than the first book, as it focused more on accepting and fighting for love and family. The writing was amazing and just easy to read; I also loved the short chapters. The discussions regarding abuse, finding support and being a survivor was so powerful as well. While, there were some difficult and heartbreaking moments throughout the story, those moments were beautifully written and carefully handled. One of the most important parts of this book for me was that the author did not try or even insinuate a redemption for Ryle (Lily’s abusive ex-husband). He definitely did not deserve forgiveness and what he kept putting Lily through was heartbreaking, but I do understand how difficult that situation can be when a child is involved. So I just loved how strong and brave Lily was to stand up and do what was best for her daughter and herself. The romance between Atlas and Lily was incredible. I actually liked how they took their time and didn’t immediately jump into a relationship. All the history, banter, chemistry and spice between them was amazing. They both deserved their happily ever after especially with everything they went through, so being able to read that was so heartwarming. Atlas was honestly the most lovable, patient, understanding and considerate hero I have ever read. His letters and love for Lily was just everything anyone could hope for. He’s definitely the reason I loved this book as much as I did. All the side characters in this book were incredible. I loved the support and friendship Lilly had with Allysa (Ryle’s sister) and her husband, Marshall. Atlas bond with Theo (his friend’s teenage kid) and his half brother, Josh was amazing as well. There was no third act conflict or drama at the end, which I absolutely appreciated. Both Atlas’ and Lily fought enough for their happiness, so it was just nice to see them in love and with their family. Overall, just an absolutely beautiful and heartfelt read.

‘It Starts With Us' is the sequel book for Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel “It Ends With Us’. This book begins immediately after It ends with us when lily was dragged through a divorce and domestic abuse from her partner Riley. “It Ends With Us" is a must-read before moving on to "It Starts With Us’. ‘It Starts With Us’ is a more uplifting read than it ends with us. Lily Bloom and Atlas Corrigan have a second chance at their childhood love but not without many struggles and situations they have to tread carefully. To me, this novel, unlike many I have read, didn't feel like it was drugged and unnecessary. The plot lines transitioned very seamlessly throughout the two books not leaving unanswered questions between one and the other. Though it is the sequel, it ends with us. It has its very own unique plot and doesn’t feel repetitive. Taking you through many new character paths and revealing more about each character. The portrayal by Colleen Hoover of a divorced family dynamic and co-parenting situations is very accurate in the sense I have gone through this with my own family. Lily is trying to pursue this relationship with Atlas but still trying to respect her ex-husband Ryle. In time as the book progresses Lily Bloom realizes she deserves the love that Atlas gives her. Once she realizes she deserves this love Atlas and Lily work to rekindle the love they felt for each other as kids. There are different repercussions to this love forming again. The love that is portrayed through the two characters is genuine and child-like in a way making it easy to fall in love with it. Though this book travels through a lot of people's instances of love there are always instances of hatred. Throughout the book, there are instances where it is hard to tell who is right and who is wrong, or what is right and what is wrong. She never makes the antagonist truly the antagonist; she makes them ready to feel empathy towards them because it may not be their fault it’s happening. They may just be stuck in a cycle. “It starts with us giving us more of the background of Atlas Corrigan's life than we got in. It ends with us where it was mainly only Lily's point of view. ‘It Ends With Us’ takes you through the emotional roller coaster of domestic abuse happening and there being someone in that situation that has the resources to break out. “It Starts With Us’ is a story of rekindling love and hope for recovery from her earlier abuse. This book is proving that not every love is unconditional. They can be toxic and unhealthy, but there are those once-in-a-lifetime loves like Atlas and Lilys. Relationships are flawed and nothing comes easy. “It Starts With Us” is a beautiful and comforting read. The novel gently sorts through the aftermath of complications in “It Ends With Us”. This sequel demonstrates the sense that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a chance to have happiness even in fearful situations.``It starts with us” successfully brings forth lilies and atlases story at their second chance at true love. (This is for an English class )

I have been with Colleen since the beginning in January of 2012. I was a stay at home mom at that point in my life and had recently rediscovered my love of reading. I read the blurb of Slammed on Amazon and bought the book immediately. I fell in love with her writing, and from that point on, I was an instant fan. I found her on social media, I bought the sequel to Slammed, Hopeless, and everything since. I joined her fan groups on Facebook (Fellow CoHort and WEBLICH) because, I, like many others, wanted a place to express how much I love her writing and meet others who did as well. I was lucky enough to meet her at a book signing in 2014 (she was exactly how she describes herself to be, RBF and all, lol) The most beautiful thing about Colleen, is her ability to perfectly capture every human emotion. I know she says she isn't emotional, so maybe this is why it's so easy for her to write emotion so well. I was in an abusive relationship for 10 years. Unlike Ryle, he showed his colors early on, however I related to Lily's need to excuse his poor behavior, and believe he would change. The abuse rarely got physical, it was more verbal , gaslighting, and other forms of mental abuse. But, let me tell you, when it comes to physical abuse, once is too much. My ex's family often excuses and defends his poor behavior. The fact that Lily had Alyssa and Marshall on her side, was so beautiful. I often think if my ex's family would stand up to him and stop enabling him, maybe he too would have a chance to be a descent human being. However, my ex's family is the reason he is such a broken man. Ryle had a great family, but had something extremely traumatic happen to him at a young age that unfortunately formed the person he became. It doesn't excuse his behavior by any means, but I believe Ryle does have a chance to become a decent human being someday. Your support system is everything. As I read this book, I thought if only I had an Atlas to show me how a man should treat a woman, maybe I would have not put up with the abuse for so long. Luckily, I found my Atlas, but AFTER my divorce. I at least know I will never put up with that kind of abuse ever again. I know Colleen never intended to write this book, but I am so glad she did. I needed Lily and Atlas to get their happy ending. I needed to see that Lily, Atlas, and Emerson may live happily ever after, because life is so full of drama and complications, it feels good to read that sometimes, everything does work out. This book was everything you are looking for as a fan of It Ends With Us. I don't think anyone needs a review to encourage them to buy this book, but I had to share my thoughts because it meant that much to me. Thank you for another amazing novel, Colleen. Keep em' coming!!!

Top tier definitely recommend

📚BOOK REVIEW📚 It Ends With Us & It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover IEWU Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 ISWU Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction Tropes: -domestic abuse -best friend’s brother -dual timeline -childhood friends -strong heroine -“breaking the cycle” -found family -diary entries ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I want to start by saying that for some reason these books are classified as romances in some places, but I personally do not agree with that. I think these fit more as contemporary fiction/women’s fiction with a romantic storyline. I also think that if you go into reading these with the expectation of them not being romances, you’ll like them more. There were things I liked about these, and things I disliked. The way they are written really make you feel for Lily and emphasize with the situation she is in. It really showcases how your entire life can become intertwined with someone, which makes removing them from your life difficult. It was a little disappointing to not see her “found family” step in and intervene a little more though. There were a couple interactions between Lily and her other friends that seemed weirdly unrealistic (she mentions Devon and her “weren’t really friends” but they’re comfortable enough that he can just reach into her dress and fix her bra? Like bruh). Also, Ryle blowing up a photo of Lily and hanging it in his sister’s apartment is such a weird red flag 🚩🚩 Also, I have a love/hate relationship with using diary entries to explain someone’s past. Sometimes it can feel a bit lazy/boring (which, in this case, it did). It Starts With Us was pretty average. I was interested in seeing what happened between Lily and Atlas but overall the book fell a little flat for me. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it just felt slow to me. I did enjoy seeing the relationship between Atlas and his brother form though. Overall, if you view these as contemporary fiction (which I did), they’re an okay read. Definitely check online for the TWs/CWs before starting.

Thank you, Colleen Hoover, for giving Lily and Atlas their happily ever after. I truly appreciate it because they are my favorite couple in one of the books. They have now found a place in my top five couples, a list I love to revisit. This story is one of forgiveness and healing. I am so glad that Lily was given the freedom to love who she chooses. There were moments in the book when it seemed touch and go. I imagined various scenarios where Ryle lost control and hurt Lily, but thankfully, it didn't escalate to that. Ryle's issues stem from what was revealed in 'It Ends With Us': he shot his brother with a loaded gun as a child, an event that undoubtedly scarred his psyche. Whether he received help or not, or whether he pretended to be helped or was not encouraged to overcome his issues, remains unclear. Then there's Lily, who grew up in an abusive household and knew she had the strength to walk away if she ever met someone like her father. I am relieved she recognized that abuse is not love. Regardless of Ryle's actions, he always tried to blame her or thought an apology would suffice. I've heard it said that 'sorry' is a word for sorry people, but I don't believe that applies to Ryle. He had a sister who adored him and loving parents, so perhaps the trauma of accidentally killing his brother left him with unresolved anger. Lily, seeking and obtaining a divorce, still faces anger from her ex, who blames Atlas for their breakup rather than acknowledging his own abusive behavior as the cause. Then there's Atlas, dubbed the 'Greek Adonis' by Alyssa, who was abused by his mother—a twist, as I initially believed it was his stepfather. The revelation that Atlas's mother had another child adds yet another layer to his story.

This was a good sequel to the first book. I enjoyed the new characters and the plot, and also the ending. I don't usually read romance novels, but this one was a page turner.

Good

Good quality

great book

I read "It ends with us" in a couple of days and absolutely loved it. I immediately ordered this one after. It's such an easy read!

It Start With Us: By Colleen Hoover I read Collen Hoover 5 to 6 novels and I was not a huge fan of her still reading this one .It’s a sequel to It End With Us .But this novel author clearly give pictures of domestic violence and how it’s affecting the children .I prefer novels which give pleasure to read and valuable message to the society .what’s happening in the society despite of time and situation, an exemplary author can convey to the readers as novels short stories etc. It’s the story of Atlas a chef and Lily the florist .Lily is a single parent with having a daughter who is turning one .Lily and her ex-husband Ryle settled into a civil parenting system ,she is not comfortable leaving her daughter Emerson with Ryle because of the assaulting and abusing she got for him. Bumping to her childhood friend after 2 years make the turning point in the story. Slowly their relation changes and Lily is afraid of how Ryle react to this and the trauma she is going through is almost everywhere we can see in the society but we call in different names . When we are mad ,sad, grumpy we need a hug ,a shoulder to cry or a soothing voice to boost us up all humans in the world need and author pictured Atlas in such way all of us need a partner like that in some point of our life.It can be a friend or a husband anything to trust on . Atlas friends in the story tells a lot about the values of friendship. Story goes in a way which tell everything through Lily and Atlas Past of Atlas how difficult it was with his step father and how his mom behaved to him when he was 15 ,these characters made each of us to think .Any kids have highest hope about their family when it gets scattered the outcome will be beyond words. These relations affect them very badly .The impact will be lifelong .12 years Atlas did not know about his brother once they met they are going to start and new life. Tiny seedling with 2 branches 2 brothers. Lily with the support from her sister in law talking her past with Ryle and getting over it with strong rules and beginning a new life with her daughter and Atlas .Everything ends in a sad note in one side but again life starts with a new ray of hope …. A new nest of 2 brothers and a family for Atlas and Lily ……