REVIEW: It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

In It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover, Lily’s love life seems to have always been fraught with problems–particularly with her ex-husband Ryle. But the one relationship she wishes she’d had a chance to explore further was during her mid-teens with Atlas Corrigan. Their lives at the time sadly mirrored each other in ways no other teen likely would have understood which formed a tight bond between them that seemed unbreakable. While that connection never really severed, Lily has only run into Atlas once over the years. Unfortunately, it was at the lowest point in her marriage to Ryle. But like always, she and Atlas clicked while he came to her rescue, leaving both of them longing for a time when their stars would align and they could stay in touch for good.

“My life is complicated.” I don’t intend for it to come out like a warning, but it does.
“I want to help you uncomplicate it.”
“I’m scared your presence is going to complicate it even more.”
He raises an eyebrow. “I’ll complicate *your* life or *Ryle’s* life?”

A year or so after Lily’s divorce to Ryle, she and Atlas literally collide on the sidewalks of Boston. Knowing that they might never again have a chance like this to see where their remaining feelings for each other might take them, Atlas asks Lily out. From then on, it’s like no time has passed. They care for each other as much as, if not more than, they did in their teens. But the complication of Ryle’s temper and jealousy paired up with a revelation in Atlas’s personal life has the couple scrambling to hold on to the precious relationship they’ve rebuilt. They know they can beat the odds. They’ve done it before. And this time, there will be no letting go or turning back.

“I’ve loved you for years and years and years, Lily. You know that.”
“I’ve loved you for just as long.”
Atlas nods. “I know you have. No one on this earth loves me like you do.”

For a book that was written to appease fans who clamored for more of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us was a pleasant surprise. Still angsty and complicated, the overall tone of this sequel was much lighter than book one while still maintaining the emotional depth Colleen Hoover is known for.

‘Sometimes the hardest decisions a person can make will most likely lead to the best outcomes.’

Content Warning: View Spoiler »Domestic abuse, gaslighting, child abuse & neglect. « Hide Spoiler

Told from both Lily’s *and* Atlas’s POVs this time, we got to see the next tumultuous chapter in the couple’s lives as they reconnected and tried to give a relationship a go. Because this is a continuation of exactly where book one left off, you definitely want to read that first. It paves the way for so much of what happens in It Starts with Us. While there are references to what took place in It Ends with Us–and there’s even some of Lily’s Ellen journal entries in their entirety here–it would be tough to truly understand Lily and Atlas’s childhoods, their connection, how Lily found herself years later falling in love with Ryle and the progression of their story without reading book one.

Even though It Ends with Us left things off at a good place (finally) for Lily and Atlas, leaving their future open to the reader’s imagination, it was so nice to actually get CoHo’s take on what *she* saw happening for them. This did still explore some darker issues (see the CW if you are sensitive to certain subjects) but it was so much more hopeful to me than book one was. It almost felt like a super extended bonus epilogue–which, admittedly, epilogues are something I love to read in any book. So even though a sequel wasn’t specifically *needed* to explain Atlas and Lily’s journey, it was very much appreciated by this reader to get CoHo’s thoughtful words while she sent them off on their very own tender HEA.

QOTD: Have you read any followup books/novellas unexpectedly released about any of your favorite characters before?

Book Info:

Publication: Published October 18th 2022 | by Atria Books | It Ends with Us #2

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).