Published on October 18, 2022, a long time anticipated sequel for book lovers around the world for Colleen Hoover’s hit novel “It Ends With Us.”

“It Ends With Us” came out on August 2, 2016, Colleen Hoover became a TikTok sensation in late 2021 with her classical contemporary romance novels. Hoover brings awareness to things such as domestic violence as it is mentioned in the first book of this now duology. 

Throughout the first novel our main character, Lily Bloom is going through a violent relationship with her boyfriend/husband Ryle. Ryle, a successful neurosurgeon (and with a troubled past) never worries about court, seeing he could afford better lawyers than Lily, a flower shop owner.

Enter her childhood lover Altas who was homeless when he was 18 and Lily 16. Lily sheltered him in her room during the cold nights and tended to him when he was sick. Altas and Lily began a relationship which was eventually discovered by her father. After being discovered, Altas disappeared and hadn’t returned to her life until recently.

“It Starts With Us” picks right back up at the conclusion of “It Ends with Us”, Lily now having a daughter with her now ex-husband Ryle. Struggling through co-parenting and trying to accept new love, Lily juggles it all throughout this new installment. Altas is now the owner of two restaurants and trying to wiggle his way back into Lily’s life the way he used to. 

Tensions are high for Ryle, with his anger issues and jealousy problems, he’s not ready to accept that his divorce is real with Lily. Ryle is holding out hope for his estranged marriage with Lily. Lily is focused on her daughter Emerson, not trying to fix her broken relationship with her baby’s father and ex-husband. 

“It Starts With Us” swiftly climbed the charts of top books on sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The book is a little more than 300 pages and book lovers across the world are raving about the book. One book lover said, “I really liked the balance of seriousness and light heartedness.” Another said, “AT LAST!!! I’ve not been so excited for a book release in a LONG time and honestly lived up to the expectation.” 

The new installment of “It Ends With Us” has big shoes to fill, not to mention millions of people have been waiting for its release. Being in the “It Ends With Us” shadow, Colleen Hoover had a lot of people anticipating the new installment. As a book advocate I enjoy Colleen Hoover as a writer and she did not disappoint. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance.