Colleen Hoover, the renowned queen of romance novels, made her return this fall with the highly anticipated novel It Starts With Us. However, I found that the novel fell short of delivering all that was so special about It Ends With Us. Before continuing, I feel the need to give a disclaimer that I am not the biggest fan of typical romance novels. Despite enjoying the themes that many romance novels contain, books in which the entire plot revolves around one couple and has typical, Hallmark expectability are not my favorites, which was why I liked It Ends With Us so much. While it was no doubt a story about relationships, it was so much more than just that.
It Ends With Us dealt with the cycle of abuse, generational trauma, self discovery and finally realizing one’s worth. It told the story of so many women in situations of domestic abuse and the ways in which physical abuse quickly becomes emotional abuse. Hoover’s portrayal of love’s complexities, when the person who you believed loved you turns out to be the one who hurts you, was beautiful. And I felt that her sequel lacked that depth and beauty.
It Starts With Us definitely did give justice to Atlas’ character in ways that I thought the first book failed to. I always felt his character was cheated out of a satisfactory ending. This was amended in the sequel as we see Atlas being fully fleshed out, and actually receive his own point of view in alternating chapters. I also found Atlas’ long lost brother to be a pleasant component that offered a deeper look into the ways that parents who are not fully healed themselves give their children wounds.
I appreciated the way that this book explored Lilly’s new balancing act between divorcee, mother, and girlfriend. This balance is one that is difficult for many women to feel successful in and adjust to, especially when domestic abuse was the grounds for said divorce. I thought this aspect was very needed as it grounded the novel in some sense of reality that It Starts With Us needed.
But, despite those two qualities of the novel, It Starts With Us just lacked something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it is simply my age difference between when I read the two novels, as I read It Ends With Us when I wasn’t even 18, and I read the sequel at 19. In those two ages of my life, I have gained experiences that possibly altered the way I approach novels. So, if you are seeking out a satisfying romance novel to tie up the loose ends to Hoover’s famous novel, absolutely go out and read this book. However, if you are seeking a novel that is on the same emotional level as It Ends WIth Us – don’t.