Readers and non-readers have all heard of Colleen Hoover’s novel “It Ends with Us” in some way or another. Despite its 2016 release, Book Tok has popularized it within the last year and it has hit almost every reader’s book list. The popularity of this book has even allowed it to get its own movie adaptation within the next year or so. As someone who read the novel in a single day, I understand the hype.
The novel follows the character Lily Bloom through her journey of opening her own floral shop alongside falling in love with a neurosurgeon named Ryle. Just as her life is seeming to be perfect, she experiences things she never thought would happen to her and she must look back on the experiences and people of her past to help her figure out what to do. She turns back on her first love, Atlas to guide her through what needs to be done. Well-written and truly heartbreaking, this book will grasp the hearts of both readers and non-readers. But the most exciting part of it all is that the author just announced a sequel to the novel.
The novel was released in 2016, so a sequel to the novel was unexpected but exciting. Author Colleen Hoover stated that it’s a sequel with prequel-like aspects. The title “It Starts with Us” depicts a story most likely based on Lily and Atlas, the beloved boy who did not have enough screen time within the first novel. As many individuals argue that “It Ends with Us” is not particularly a romance novel and more so based on the journey and experiences of Lily, many believe the sequel will be classified a romance and focus more on Atlas. This is what readers have been asking for; more scenes with the golden retriever boy Atlas, and more backstory on him and Lily. This desperate want for more, will likely make “It Starts with Us” the biggest book release of 2022.
What makes Colleen Hoover’s novels so intriguing are the book covers that tie so well into the story. “It Ends with Us” features a cover of pink lilies that are broken and wilting. This is a play on –words with the main character Lily’s name. After reading the novel, it makes sense why the lilies on the cover are broken. With background knowledge on Collen Hoover’s expressive book covers, the image of “It Starts with Us” was completely heartwarming for many. It features daffodils, a flower with the meaning of new beginnings and rebirth. The flowers are floating in water, towards the shore with the sun shining in the background. In the first novel, the phrase “Just keep swimming” is quoted multiple times between Lily and Atlas, as well as Lily stating at the end of the book that she finally reached the shore. The promising cover of the new novel depicts just that, leaving readers excited for the character who has gone through so much.
With only the title and the book cover being released, it’s enough to know that this novel will fly off the shelves faster than any other novel this year. The release date of October 18th is still quite far, but fans of the first novel are already marking the date in their calendars and counting down how long it will be until this second novel is in their hands.