October 17, 2022 by Aditi Singh ’24
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
Book Content Warning: This book contains mature content. For content warnings, visit this link.
The romance book It Ends With Us by Collen Hoover has been a TikTok sensation for quite some time now, but I never really looked into it until recently. Although I love to read, romance isn’t my cup of tea (as you are about to find out), but I was curious about this book. I borrowed the book from my friend and finally decided to see what the hype was all about.
Horrible decision. This book is quite literally the worst book I have ever read. I will admit, I seem to be in the minority here. Millions of people love the book (I literally have no idea why). Yes, the book handles some serious and important topics, such as domestic abuse. I won’t argue that it doesn’t convey its message clearly, but that is about all the book does right. Hoover delivers a beautiful message, but her attempt at romance falls flat. Very terribly flat.
Let me explain; the main character, Lily, has two love interests. First is Ryle, the “perfect”, rich, smart, and attractive guy (and eventual antagonist). Second, highly beloved by fans (literally why), is Atlas, the sweet childhood friend. The problem for me is that I never really liked Atlas. Hoover tried to paint him as the perfect guy, but I never got the appeal. The backstory of Lily and Atlas is cute, but I just can’t see why readers loved him so much. He is literally the most average romance book guy ever. Ryle was quite obviously the bad guy the further I got into the book, so at least I understood his character, but Atlas? Nothing. I try to make myself see him as Lily’s savior, but he really isn’t. After all Lily has been through, the poor girl just needs a break.
Other than my issue with Atlas, I just didn’t find the plot engaging. Hoover tried taking the average romance book and adding a meaningful message to it (and failed). I admire the thought behind It Ends With Us but the execution was way off. Atlas (I know, I’m going back to Atlas, but I really don’t like this guy) was a worthless character in her message of breaking the cycle of domestic abuse. If Hoover truly wanted to deliver a compelling message, she could have done so without Atlas; after all, Lily makes her decisions and handles her situations alone, without him (we love an independent girlboss).
Basically, this was a bad book. The “romance” was mediocre at best and completely unnecessary. Both the guys in this book sucked. Ryle messed up Lily’s life and Atlas just stood on the sidelines. Lily would have been so much better off alone. I will give Hoover this though: in the end, Lily is well on track to turn her dreams into reality. The title of the book finally makes sense and beautifully delivers her message. To be clear, that was the only good thing. Unless you are a hopeless romantic (like, really really hopeless), save yourself time and read something else.