It Ends with Us

     It Ends with Us literally destroyed me. And not in a good way.  

Rating: ★★★★★

Read Time: 1 Day

Feelings: Heartbroken, Exciting, Empathetic

   Brief synopsis: 

    This novel tells of the, what I consider tragic, love story between Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid. They meet on a rooftop one night and share very intimate details of their lives, "naked truths", with one another. Ryle is very charming, witty and an ambitious neurosurgeon. Lily is a beautiful business woman who just moved to Boston and dreams of starting her own flower shop. They seem like the perfect, effortless match after only a few hours interaction, but they part ways after that night.

    Months go by before they run into each again, reigniting their attraction and interest. Ryle is a one-night-stand-man, however, he is absolutely in love with Lily. Lily is searching for her "Holy Grail" and has doubts about dating Ryle, but she can't deny she is also in love with him. After a "test run," they begin officially dating and it's perfect. They just get each other.

    During all of this, Lily can't help but reminisce on her first love, Atlas. She helped him at his lowest; when he was homeless and had nobody. Atlas also helped comfort and protect her while she lived with her mother and abusive father. Eventually, Atlas had an opportunity to live with his uncle in Boston. He told her all those years ago, "everything is better in Boston," and, together, they dreamt of what paradise it would be. But, he said he would always come back for her. She couldn't help but wonder why he never came back and if he was still in Boston.

    Either way, she was now perfectly happy with Ryle and that's who she wanted to be with. They often went on double dates with Lily's best friend/Ryle's sister, Alyssa, and her husband, met each others' families, and ran off to get married in Las Vegas. Life was paradise.

    It was... until, one night, Ryle lost his temper and pushed Lily down. It brought her back to how her dad acted and she was ready to leave him. She convinced herself he was nothing like her dad. He was a compassionate person and the whole incident was just an accident. Until it wasn't. 

    Lily had a run in with Atlas at a restaurant in Boston while she was eating lunch with Ryle and her mother. He was waiting tables. She was so stunned, but Ryle and her mother had no idea. Ryle and Lily returned to the restaurant after their incident and Atlas saw the cut on her eye. He knew immediately what had happened.

    All through the book is a wave of emotions between Lily and Ryle. You feel empathy and sadness for Ryle and want to cheer him on, however, the pattern continues. It gets so bad one night, Atlas is the only person Lily feels safe calling.

    Lily stays at Atlas's house for a few nights and the unclosed feelings come bubbling back up. For both of them. Unfortunately, Lily finds out she's pregnant with Ryle's baby, making it a hundred times more difficult to leave. She knows he would be a great father, but she's terrified of him.

    The entire book redefines the perception of women in abusive relationships/households and tears you apart inside of what could've been. What could have been if she had found Atlas earlier. What could have been if Ryle hadn't had such a traumatic childhood. What could've been if she had walked away earlier instead of trusting he would change. 

My review:

    I loved Ryle. He was a great person to everyone, but he was a broken person. And it showed in the way he loved. People always say "you hurt the people you love the most" and it's clearly defined in this story. Ryle was down-to-earth and real, but his temper was also very real and changed my view of him. However, there was always this sliver of hope that he could be better. That he could heal. Their relationship without the abuse was perfect. Just as Lily described it to be.

    Lily was so strong. I empathized with her greatly. I would've believed it was just a one-time thing as well. Ryle was so convincing and it was extremely out of character for him to push her down. The first time. It became clear that he regretted everything he did to her, but I applaud her for leaving in the end. I had wished for her sake she could have met Atlas earlier and lived a happy life with him, never even meeting Ryle. Her emotions when she finds out she's pregnant is devastating. You truly feel sorry for her and how blindsided she was. She is so gracious in the way she handles everything and I absolutely love her character.

    Atlas was such a big part of Lily's life growing up. They had such a natural bond. I hope there is a sequel in which they end up together. He is perfect for her, without the abuse. I would pray to god anyways since I didn't see it coming with Ryle. He really made something of himself and that was all due to Lily. He really makes you question whether or not Ryle was ever right for Lily in the first place. But she couldn't wait for him and he couldn't wait for her because that's how life works: it keeps moving. 

    The book really put into perspective for me what some women go through when in an abusive relationship, especially when it never started that way at all. You initially never see the worst in someone you love. You choose to see the good because that's what you fell in love with. "There are no bad people. Just people who do bad things." 

    I will absolutely be re-reading this book. It would be nice to see Ryle as the character he was before we knew he was abusive. It would also remind me of why Lily's mom chose to stay in her abusive relationship before her husband passed away. Like Lily, I saw her mom as a weak woman who just wouldn't leave. Why wouldn't she leave? Well, we see now. It's much more difficult then we could ever imagine. Your limits keep getting pushed further and further away until you have none. All because of love.

Colleen Hoover, you are a literary genius.