If you are interested in young adult romance, or just romance in general, then you must have heard of Colleen Hoover – and if you haven’t, then I have to ask:

Do you live under a rock?

If it turns out that you do in fact live under a rock, and have never heard of Colleen Hoover, then I have to get straight into this review by stating four simple words: Go. Read. Her. Series.

Although Hoover gets a lot of criticism for her work, “It Ends With Us” is a wonderful and thrilling story of female strength in the face of domestic abuse. Showing that, in cases such as these, it is so easy to be blinded by the good of what is presented.

I do, though, want to preface this with a content warning. Hoover delves into material that could possibly trigger many who find themselves uncomfortable with stories involving male on female abuse and descriptions of sexual violence.

“It Ends With Us” presents the story of Lily Bloom, a young adult who recently moved to the city of Boston in hopes to seek out a life for herself. One fateful night she meets a strapping young neurosurgeon who she can not seem to get away from.

As she moves through the trials of her young life ― after the entrance of an old friend ― she realizes that appearances are not always as they seem.

Throughout the story, Hoover opens up to persevering against generational trauma and breaking the cycle of abuse. Not only does she do this in a way that creates a unique experience in regards to the main character, but also presents it in a way that does not show Lily as a meek girl who needs to be saved by someone else.

It also exhibits the unmistakable way that children affect situations with domestic violence, and how each circumstance is almost never the exact same. Hoover showcases what can happen when one is unable to exit such a situation, and when one is able to. 

Hoover presents the duality of love and how our childhood traumas can affect us in the future. While she does this however, she also shows the reader that it is possible to become something more.

While this is not Hoover’s only remarkable book, I found this book called to me the most, and I felt personally connected with the main character in more ways than just our name. Colleen Hoover does a remarkable job at not only creating realistic situations, but creating characters that have real depth seen in everyday lives.

“It Ends With Us” is a beautiful commentary on the strength of women and the power in perseverance of trauma.