It Starts With Us

Hi everyone, told you I would be back soon with another post.

Two weeks ago my parcel arrived containing It Starts With Us, Colleen Hoovers newest book. If you remember you will know this is the sequel to her popular book It Ends With Us. Well last night I finished the book.

So I thought it was only fair to share my thoughts with you.  

As always SPOILERS ARE INCLUDED👀 (it never gets old) 

So let's start!

About the Book:

This book perfectly picks up from the epilogue from It Ends With Us. Lily is walking with her daughter Emerson when she bumps into Atlas Corrigan. She hasn't seen him in 2 years and during this time she has entered into a coparenting agreement with her ex-husband Ryle. Excited Lily agrees to go on a date with Atlas but is anxious about Ryle's reaction. Although they are separated he is still a part of her life and she knows dating Atlas will inevitably cause issues. The book switches POV's of Atlas and Lily and reveals his past and her current experience finding love again. Lily is the happiest she has been in a long while but Ryle's anger and jealously is a constant worry in the back of Lily's mind. This is Atlas and Lily's story and their chance  finally love and continue from where they left off.

Thoughts:

This book has received a lot of negative feedback. However I liked it. I liked how the book started straight from the epilogue from it Ends With Us. I wanted to know if Lily and Atlas got the second chance they both deserved. the ending of it Ends With Us left me wanting more and Colleen Hoover gave us more. I

It Starts With Us shows the everlasting affect abuse and violence can have on a person. Hoover does only shows Lily's experience but also introduces side characters who have experienced neglect. Atlas discovers he has a brother called Josh that his mother kept from him and when he takes him in he realises just how difficult his life has been. Atlas becomes protective over Josh and will do anything for his safety and wellbeing. They develop a strong sibling bond and become their own family just the two of them.  

I think Lily's bravery and confidence developed a lot throughout this book. She wasn't afraid to stand up to Ryle when she needed to and she was always truthful with Atlas about the pain Ryle still causes. She was very reluctant at first to put Ryle in his place. But with the right support network she does.  Colleen Hoover emphasises that Ryle Kincaid is an abuser and there is no excuse for his actions and I love that Lily realises this too. The book also highlights throughout that these people don't change and think they are superior to others. 

We finally get to experience Lily and Atlas together. Colleen Hoover wrote their story in a meaningful way but were those letters necessary 🙄 I thought we were done with the Ellen letters/ journals but obviously not. Although the letters Atlas wrote were nice I just couldn't be bothered reading them. They were too long and i just wanted to skip right through. Also another little thing is Colleen wrote in acknowledgement a lot about Tik Tok. So if the first book didn't blow up would this book even exist? I don't think so. I think it was kinda forced but it was still good.

Overall, I think it's clear I liked this book. The ending of it Ends With Us left me wanting more and Colleen Hoover gave us more. If you are team Atlas I recommend you read this.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐