It Starts with Us: A Novel

To say I love this book as an understatement!! I was so sad when it was over because I wanted more more more!! I love this story and hope there is more to come! The characters are one of my favorites even the jerk lol Colleen Hoover hardly ever disappoints and I would have to say this is 1 of my top favorite books (the first books is too)

Did this book REALLY needed to be written? No. But okay, not the biggest fan of the last few books from CoHo but I tried this one, what is one more right? And don't get me wrong it had so much potential, so many chances to be a 5/5 but nope, you get on the edge just to turn around and walk back to start again and again. The only reason this is a 3 it's because of Theo, few things Atlas said and of course Josh.

It was good, not necessarily needed, but good read none the less. So much more I want divulged but clearly author went down the cut and paste simple beautiful wrapping then actually giving us more detail.

such a good book!! love this series! can’t wait to read more of her work

This book spends way too much time recapping the past and reiterating the difficulties of leaving an abusive relationship. The actual plot line could’ve been summarized in 2 chapters. The rest was fluff.

Omg it’s like a 13 year old’s idea of adult romantic relationships. Good Lord. I’m ashamed that I even started this second one but the whole abuse angle made the first book seem a bit less shallow - at least I thought that at first! Now I realize my perception was giving the author WAY more credit - spoiler alert, the main character’s naivety, immaturity, superficiality, etc, isn’t a result of her background! That’s just the character! And this time you get to hear a 13 year old’s idea of what a grown man thinks, too!

If you read the first book, It Ends With Us, you have to read the this sequel! The story comes full circle and all the pieces you were left wondering about in the previous story were wrapped up with satisfying endings.

I think it was meh.
It was a filler story that would only please the fans that read "It Ends with us" a long time ago.
1/3 of the story is filled with copy-paste paragraphs from the first story.
It re-uses the abuse trope that we've found in the first book, but now with a twist to the domestic violence towards children.
The twist/ struggle of Atlas in the story was obvious from the beginning.
And the twist for Lily was forgotten as soon as it pleased the author. Suddenly there are no bumps for her, in the road to Atlas.
I still appreciated that the characters take real decisions, but in this story i started seeing the "dumb" decisions that are associated with CoHo and the entire Romance genre. Decisions like 'oh, i can't see X person, because Y would not understand and i care about his feelings.'
Then they say stuff like i'm divorced, i don't care.

Also what was the point of making such a big deal with Ryle if his story ended so abrupted?
I think CoHo had a deadline with the book and didn't know how to end it.

LE: I remembered about stuff that is supposed to be relevant (mentioning Gen Z, TikTok, etc.) This stuff won't be relevant if you read this book in 10 years time.

The Sweetest filled with Faith, hope, and love, lots of love ♥️ what a cute read. ?

Great read 10 out of 10 highly recommend!! Loved it

I gave the first book in this series a 5/5. It was mesmerizing and superbly written, with an important message and insight into human complexity that was delicately and compassionately handled.

This book fell short for me. It was quite repetitious and stale, without much new to say. Whereas the first book was tightly woven, without any gratuitous or unnecessary elements, this one was the opposite.

I did appreciate the introduction of Atlas's younger brother as an additional story element Astrid which added interest and depth to both the plot and to Atlas's is character development.
It did nothing, however to add to the development of his relationship with Lily, which I thought was a huge lost opportunity.

The suspense around Ryles' dormant anger and violent behavior at first functioned like a hidden and unexploded landmine just waiting to go off at any moment. I thought that it was initially a good choice which turned out to be very poorly executed. The author drew it out until its initial power diminished into something that was merely irritating.

This might've been a good book if it were half as long, and the author had just tightened up all the elements without including so much unnecessary filler. It's such a shame. She had so much to say in her first book about these characters, and very little to say in this one.

Quand ça commence à être chaud, le chapitre change. Franchement pas d'intrigue, je ne comprends pas l'engouement pour cet auteur.

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!! Atlas is now one of my top book boyfriends!!!

The story is beautiful at the end, I felt as if I was there.

I liked “It ends with us” but this one? No! It’s just sweet sugar on raspberry jelly with honey lol. Atlas is gay if he is have a character like this . It’s just too much sweetness and sugarness! In real life Atlas doesn’t exist ! And Lilly with o! What he will think about? Oooo what should I say ? lol ! She wasn’t that stupid at first novel. I understand that author wanted to make money, but she forgot to write. It’s shallow and lot of cliches and yak !

I was terrified to listen to this book as I fell in love with the first one and didn’t want to be disappointed. This book was AMAZING! The narrators did an amazing job, I could feel the sadness and happiness through their voices. I can’t wait to buy the paper copy and add it to my bookshelf of favorite books ?✨?

Me hubiera encantado tener más, tener la propuesta, tener más tiempo de momentos felices, pero me encanto cada segundo que si tuvimos. Que linda segunda parte.

book is quite understandable, quite a a a a a

Great book. I really enjoyed Lilly and Atlas' story in both books. The only thing I didn't care for was the narration. When the woman does Atlas' or Rile's voice, it's kind of annoying. Other than that, it's great. I hope we get more of their story with another book.

I read it all to see atlas and lilys happy ending but it just wasn’t as good as the first and very anticlimactic, I also didn’t like the whole Josh plot line…. It’s a good feel good book tho.

Loved it loved it loved it. This author is amazing.

Easily led into understanding how these characters are connected. Kept my interest the entire time, while enjoying the narration! Looking forward to the whole audio book series!

It legitimately sounds like both narrators are eating a cough drop. The sound of the saliva shifting in their mouths while they speak was gross. I should’ve just read it. ?

Perfect! Loved it so much! My heart is filled with pure happiness!

Dare I say, I think I liked this one more than It Ends With Us. It was a wonderful ending to an extremely sad beginning, which is what all of us deserve in a situation like this. I loved the new characters and the introductions to new topics that deserve to be discussed. I’d be disappointed if this one didn’t make the big screen, as well. ?

I enjoyed the sequel and loved hearing Atlas’ point of view. Also, loved learning more about Atlas’ background.

Everything you would hope for in a sequel and more. Don't forget to read "It Ends With Us" first.

How many different ways can they say they love each other?

I loved the flow and especially hearing from Atlas! Perfect completion of the series.

Great follow up to “it ends with us”
Much lighter and feel good story
True rom com.
Love the ending for atlas and Lilly