Colleen Hoover is a well known young adult romance author, her books have been trending for over a year now. Her first well known book, “It Ends with Us” started trending last year because of the great reviews. After this book got great feedback, more people started to read Colleen Hoover’s books. A lot of people started to ask for a sequel for “It Ends with Us” and a couple months later, “It Starts with Us” came out. I have read both books and I have good things to say about both. 

            This book had a powerful message behind Lily’s story. It is a hard telling truth of the reality of the after effect of an abusive relationship. “It Ends with Us”  was about Lily and her journey to end the cycle of abuse…”It Starts with Us” was about Lily and Atlas navigating life after ending her own cycles. Colleen told this story well and also connected the characters in a great, interesting way. Especially since Lily has a daughter with Ryle, there is a connection between her and her child. I also love how brave Lily is. She stands her ground and doesn’t allow herself to be stepped over anymore.  This book also shows that abusers don’t “change” and even if they do, the cycle should be broken forever. I also love how she allows herself to love somebody else and to acknowledge how she should be treated. 

             The audience is older teen and adult girls. A lot of my friends have also read this book and agreed that it is a good storyline. Colleen Hoover does a great job of creating her books to make you feel like you are not reading. I never wanted to put it down because it was interesting. Another character that I absolutely loved was Atlas. He stood by Lily for years and still did even after everything happened. He showed her how much he cared for her and created that sense of protectiveness. 

          I smiled when I read the ending because it was what Lily truly deserved. There was not as much conflict in this book then the first one. Although, it still had an upbeat story that you wanted to keep reading. It made me so happy with how Lily was overcoming her fears with Ryle and accepting that life isn’t always perfect. No matter what happens, you still need to keep your head up and moving forward. 

          Colleen Hoover also does an amazing job with inspiring others who have been through similar situations. She shines a light through a dark reality and it gives people hope. I recommend this book for an audience who loves to read romance and has already read “It Ends with Us.” If you have not read that yet, I would recommend doing so. 

4.5 Stars