It Starts With Us by: Colleen Hoover

 

Goodreads Blurb:

Before It Ends with Us, it started with Atlas. Colleen Hoover tells fan favorite Atlas’s side of the story and shares what comes next in this long-anticipated sequel to the “glorious and touching” (USA TODAY) #1 New York Times bestseller It Ends with Us.

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.

Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off. Revealing more about Atlas’s past and following Lily as she embraces a second chance at true love while navigating a jealous ex-husband, it proves that “no one delivers an emotional read like Colleen Hoover” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author).

Review Time: 

It’s not as bad as booktok says it is 🤷🏻‍♀️

I started this around 8:30 and finished around 11:30. It wasn’t that bad. Everyone is saying it’s the worst sequel or super disappointing. I didn’t find it too disappointing when I finished it. It seems like a very safe way to wrap this story up. You know coho is going to give everyone their HEA, but it’s not an awful journey there.

If you read book 1, you know Ryle’s temperament. Nothing about book 2 was surprising, even Atlas’s twist. It was predictable from the first phone call he blocked. I’m more upset that we didn’t get to know new characters more than what she gave us.

My biggest disappointment was how rushed the ending was. There were steps between the last chapter and the epilogue that I would’ve loved to have read, but she cut it short. Idk. I’m not mad about it, but I’ve come to understand her writing the older I get and see how it can be problematic. I’m still going to read everything she publishes, but this book isn’t nearly as blah as they’re making it out to be on social media. It’s like everyone thinks CoHo is beneath them now 🙄
4.5/5 🌟
3.5/5 🌶️ (couple of scenes, nothing too crazy)

To purchase a copy of It Starts With Us, Click Here.