The Perfect Start: A review of Colleen Hoover’s new book “It Starts With Us”

When Colleen Hoover announced she was writing a sequel to her award-winning book “It Ends With Us,” I spammed the refresh button on her website to be the first to preorder it three months in advance. After the book arrived, I spent the next six hours in my bed, immersed in the chaotic love life of Lily Bloom. 

All I hoped for in this sequel was for Lily and her daughter to finally find peace and happiness after the heartbreaking ending of “It Ends With Us” and its promising epilogue. Thankfully, the book did just that.

“It Starts With Us” begins with Lily reconnecting with her first love Atlas — exactly where the last book took off, only this time it’s told from Atlas’ view as well as Lily’s. Luckily, Lily’s abusive ex-husband and love interest from the last book Ryle is barely a side character, allowing the book to highlight Lily moving on from the situation. Ryle’s absence made the book improve significantly and finally allowed Lily and Atlas’ relationship to flourish.

With more letters to Ellen, traumatic childhood memories and happy moments from the flower shop, it is the fairytale ending to Lily’s story. After spending the majority of her life surrounded by people who hurt her, I’m glad Lily is finally able to feel safe.

The release of “It Starts With Us” was anxiously awaited by all of BookTok — a community of book lovers on TikTok. I knew I had to finish it before I could even look at my phone in order to avoid spoilers.

Like any typical Colleen Hoover book, “It Ends With Us” leaves the reader an emotional wreck. There are twists and turns at every page in order to keep the reader interested, no matter how morally wrong they may be. “It Starts With Us” is completely different — leaving me and BookTok happy, in contrast to Hoover’s normal endings. 
Some may argue it’s boring compared to the thrill of her other books — an opinion I strongly disagree with. Lacking the shock value, it might be harder for the reader to stay interested throughout all 320 pages of the book. But after being so emotionally invested in these characters’ lives, nothing about them could be boring.