![]() First edition cover | |
Author | Colleen Hoover |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Romance |
Set in | Boston, Massachusetts |
Publisher | Atria Books |
Publication date | August 2, 2016 |
Publication place | New York |
Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pages | 376 |
ISBN | 978-1-5011-1036-8 (First edition) |
OCLC | 928481387 |
813/.6 | |
LC Class | PS3608.O623 I84 2016 |
Followed by | It Starts with Us |
It Ends with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. Based on the relationship between her mother and father, Hoover described it as "the hardest book I've ever written". It explores themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse.
As of 2019, the novel had sold over one million copies worldwide and been translated into over twenty languages. In 2021, the novel experienced a resurgence in popularity through TikTok and topped sales lists for 2022 and 2023. A sequel titled It Starts with Us was published in October 2022. A film adaptation was released in August 2024, with a screenplay by Christy Hall. It was directed by Justin Baldoni, with Blake Lively, Baldoni, and Brandon Sklenar in leading roles.
23-year-old college graduate Lily Bloom moves to Boston with hopes of opening her own floral shop. She grew up in a broken family – her late father, Andrew, would physically abuse her mother, Jenny, leading Lily to resent him, as well as resenting her mother for staying with him. She has recently given a eulogy at Andrew's funeral in her hometown of Plethora, Maine, during which she announced she would list five things she loved the most about him, then stood in silence for several seconds before walking off.
Reading through her old childhood diaries, Lily remembers her first love, Atlas Corrigan, who left to join the military but promised to return to her. She later meets Ryle Kincaid, a charming, ambitious 30-year-old neurosurgeon. They are mutually attracted, but do not pursue a relationship as Lily is seeking commitment while Ryle is only interested in a string of casual affairs. However, once Lily successfully starts her business, they continue to meet and eventually begin a relationship.
One night, Lily laughs when Ryle accidentally drops a casserole, and he angrily slaps her before frantically apologizing. Lily is reminded of her childhood; while horrified, she decides they are different from her parents and accepts his apologies, but warns him that she will leave if he hurts her again.
While dining at a restaurant with Ryle, she discovers that Atlas is the owner and head chef there and reconnects with him, making Ryle instantly jealous despite her insistence that Atlas is only a friend. Noticing Lily's bruised eye and Ryle's bandaged hand, Atlas suspects Ryle may be abusing her. He corners her in the bathroom and begs her to leave Ryle. Ryle discovers them and the men fight violently. The next day Atlas shows up at the flower shop and Lily tells him she couldn’t be happier. He leaves but gives her his phone number.
One night, Lily and Ryle impulsively get married in Vegas, and have a stable marriage until he finds Atlas' number and pushes her down the stairs. He then confesses that he accidentally shot and killed his brother Emerson as a child, resulting in unresolved trauma that manifests in bouts of uncontrollable rage. Lily forgives him, but he later finds and reads her childhood diaries; believing she is having an affair with Atlas, he attempts to rape her, knocking her unconscious when she tries to defend herself.
Lily wakes up, escapes the house, and calls Atlas. He takes her to the hospital, where she discovers she is pregnant with Ryle's child, which she opts to keep a secret from him. She stays with Atlas for a few days while Ryle leaves for a fellowship in England, and eventually moves back home while Ryle is still out of the country. Atlas admits he still has feelings for Lily, but has suppressed them because of her marriage to Ryle. Finally understanding what her mother went through, Lily confides in Jenny about the abuse. Jenny implores Lily to leave Ryle and not make the same mistakes she did.
When Ryle returns, Lily forms a tentative truce with him and allows him to help her through the final few months of her pregnancy, but remains emotionally distant from him. Lily later gives birth to a daughter, whom she names after Ryle's late brother. After giving birth, Lily realizes she does not want her daughter to grow up witnessing Ryle's aggressive outbursts, and tells him she wants a divorce. He tearfully begs her to reconsider, but finally understands her perspective and agrees to separate after she asks him how he would react if their daughter told him she was being abused by her partner. Lily hopes she has finally ended the cycle of abuse in her family, telling her daughter, "It ends with us."
In the epilogue, Lily, who is co-parenting with Ryle, finds Atlas and tells him that she is ready to restart her relationship with him.
It Ends with Us was published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. [1] Based on the relationship between her mother and father, [2] Hoover described it as "the hardest book I've ever written". [3] It explores themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse. However, the book is ultimately still billed as a "romance novel". The book's publisher described it as a story about "a workaholic with a too-good-to-be-true romance who can't stop thinking about her first love". [4]
On April 18, 2023, a special "collector's edition" of the book was published. It features a Q&A between Hoover and her mother and comes in hardcover with a foil embossed jacket, foil stamped binding and newly designed endpapers that wrap around the front and back covers. [5] [4]
In 2023, Hoover announced the planned release of a coloring book based on It Ends With Us. She later decided to cancel the project following backlash from readers, stating, "The coloring book was developed with Lily's strength in mind, but I can absolutely see how this was tone-deaf." [6] Atria Books later confirmed via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that they would not proceed with the publication of the coloring book. [7]
In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote, "The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty" and concluded that the novel "powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors". [8] Romantic Times stated: "It Ends with Us is a perfect example of the author's writing chops and her ability to weave together uplifting, romantic and somber plotlines. No matter your level of fandom, readers will love and respect protagonist Lily and learn something from her struggles." [9]
As of 2019, the novel had sold more than one million copies worldwide and been translated into more than twenty languages. [10]
In 2021, the novel – and Hoover's works overall – experienced a surge in popularity due to attention from the #BookTok community on TikTok. [11] [12] In January 2022, It Ends with Us debuted at number 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. [13] It was number 1 on the Publishers Weekly adult list and number 1 overall in the first six months of 2022, selling a total of 925,221 units. [14] It was also number 1 on the Publisher Weekly annual list, selling a total of 2,729,007 copies. [15] It was the best-selling novel of 2023 too, with a total of 1,292,733 copies. [16] It Ends With Us has more than one billion tags on TikTok. [17]
Following the film adaptation's trailer release, the novel returned to number one on Amazon. [4] On August 11, 2024, two days after the film's release, the novel returned to number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. [18]
The novel won the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. [19]
In February 2022, it was announced that Atria Books would publish a sequel to It Ends with Us in October 2022. [20] The follow-up, titled It Starts with Us , was published on October 18, 2022. [21] [22] The sequel continues from where It Ends with Us ended and centers on the relationship between Lily and Atlas. [23]
In July 2019, Justin Baldoni optioned the novel for a film adaptation, produced through his Wayfarer Entertainment company. [10] In January 2023, Blake Lively was cast in the role of Lily Bloom. Baldoni, who plays Ryle Kincaid, directed the film and Christy Hall adapted the script. [24] [25] In April 2023, Brandon Sklenar was cast to play the role of Atlas. [26] Filming began in Hoboken, New Jersey, on May 5, 2023. [27] The film was theatrically released on August 9, 2024. [28] The film received mixed reviews from critics, [29] [30] but was a box-office success, grossing $349.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $25 million. [31] [32] [33]
Blake Ellender Lively is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of talent manager Elaine Lively and actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project Sandman (1998). She had her breakthrough role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and its 2008 sequel. Lively achieved recognition for her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama television series Gossip Girl (2007–2012).
Justin Louis Baldoni is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for portraying Rafael Solano on The CW satirical romantic dramedy Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) as well as directing the films Five Feet Apart (2019), Clouds (2020) and It Ends with Us (2024).
Dreamland (2000) is a teen novel by the American author Sarah Dessen.
Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson, known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series Just William (2010). Following a supporting role in the period drama series Downton Abbey (2012–2015), her breakthrough was the title role in the fantasy film Cinderella (2015).
New adult (NA) fiction is a developing genre of fiction with protagonists in the 18–29 age bracket. St. Martin's Press first coined the term in 2009, when they held a special call for "fiction similar to young adult fiction (YA) that can be published and marketed as adult—a sort of an 'older YA' or 'new adult'". New adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, and negotiating education and career choices. The genre has gained popularity rapidly over the last few years, particularly through books by self-published bestselling authors such as Jennifer L. Armentrout, Cora Carmack, Colleen Hoover, Anna Todd, and Jamie McGuire.
Margaret Colleen Hoover is an American author who writes primarily novels in the romance and young adult fiction genres. She is best known for her 2016 romance novel, It Ends with Us. Many of her works were self-published, before they were picked up by a publishing house. As of October 2022, Hoover has sold approximately 20 million books. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
Mckenna Grace is an American actress and singer. Born in Grapevine, Texas, she began acting professionally at age five and relocated to Los Angeles, California, as a child. Her earliest roles included Jasmine Bernstein in the Disney XD sitcom Crash & Bernstein (2012–2014) and Faith Newman in the soap opera The Young and the Restless (2013–2015). After several small roles, she starred as a child prodigy in Gifted (2017), a breakthrough for which she received a nomination for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.
Atria Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster. The publishing group launched as Atria Books in 2002. The Atria Publishing Group was later created internally at Simon & Schuster to house a number of imprints including Atria Books, Atria Trade Paperbacks, Atria Books Espanol, Atria Unbound, Washington Square Press, Emily Bestler Books, Atria/Beyond Words, Cash Money Content, Howard Books, Marble Arch Press, Strebor Books, 37 Ink, Keywords Press and Enliven Books. Atria is also known for creating innovative imprints and co-publishing deals with African-American writers as well as known for experimenting with digital or non-traditional print formats and authors.
Gabrielle Jeannette Hanna is an American internet personality, singer-songwriter, author, actress and YouTuber. She rose to prominence on the video platforms Vine and YouTube before releasing her debut single, "Out Loud", in 2017. Her debut extended play, 2WayMirror, was released on May 31, 2019, and her second EP, Bad Karma, was released on May 15, 2020. Her debut album, Trauma Queen, was released on July 22, 2022.
Borderlands is a 2024 American science fiction action comedy film co-written and directed by Eli Roth, based on the video game series developed by Gearbox Software. It stars Cate Blanchett as Lillith, an outlaw who forms an alliance with a team of misfits to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe. The ensemble cast also features Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Gina Gershon, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Chloe Gong is a New Zealand writer of young adult fiction. Her 2020 debut novel, These Violent Delights, was a New York Times best seller.
Lily Ebert was a British writer and Holocaust survivor, who in her later life became notable for her memoir, and social media videos and media appearances documenting her life as a survivor of the genocide.
BookTok is a subcommunity on the app TikTok that focuses on books and literature. Creators make videos reviewing, discussing, and joking about the books they read. These books range in genre, but many creators tend to focus on young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, and romance. The community is cited with impacting the publishing industry and book sales. The creators in this community are also known as BookTokers.
It Starts with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on October 18, 2022. It is the sequel to her 2016 best-selling novel It Ends with Us. The novel continues from where It Ends with Us ended and centers on the relationship between Lily and Atlas. It alternates chapters between the first-person narration of Lily and Atlas. The sequel was first announced in February 2022. It became Simon & Schuster's most pre-ordered book of all time. Hoover wrote the novel as a "thank you" to fans of the first novel.
The Atlas Six is a fantasy novel by author Olivie Blake. It is the first of a trilogy and follows six powerful young magic users who have the chance to join the secretive Alexandrian Society. The novel was originally self-published via Kindle in early 2020 before it was acquired by Tor Books after a seven-way auction. It was republished by Tor in 2021, followed by a revised edition in March 2022. The second book of the trilogy, The Atlas Paradox, was released in October 2022, and the third book of the trilogy, The Atlas Complex, was released in January 2024.
All Your Perfects is a 2018 romance novel written by Colleen Hoover that follows the story of the couple Graham and Quinn. It is Colleen Hoover's 16th book and can be read as a standalone.
This is a list of bestselling novels in the United States in the 2020s, as determined by Publishers Weekly. The list features the most popular novels of each year from 2020 through to 2029.
It Ends with Us is a 2024 American romantic drama film directed by Justin Baldoni from a screenplay by Christy Hall, based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover. The film stars Blake Lively alongside Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate, and Hasan Minhaj.
Daddio is a 2023 American drama film produced, written and directed by Christy Hall. It stars Dakota Johnson as a young woman returning home to Midtown Manhattan from JFK International Airport by cab after a trip, who unexpectedly ends up conversing with her taxi driver.
"Strangers" is a song written, produced, and recorded by American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain for her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022). The last track on the record, it was released as its second single through her own record label, Daughters of Cain, on April 7, 2022. Influenced by grunge, it received praise from music critics for its affecting lines and hair rock guitar solo. On "Strangers", she follows the narrative of the concept album centered on fictional characters and concludes it with a cannibalistic climax.