"Maybe love isn't something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flows, in and out, just like the people in our lives. -- Just because we didn't end up on the same wave, doesn't mean we aren't apart of the same ocean."

Colleen Hoover is my favorite author, and this is without a doubt my favorite book from her. I finished reading this book months ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this story and these characters. This story is so incredibly important and moving and emotional, and this book feels so raw and real. I love that each one of these characters has flaws, some bigger than others, but all of them feel so realistic and have so many layers to them. In this book we follow Lily Bloom, a young girl living in Boston where she meets a Neurosurgeon Ryle on the roof of a building one night. They share a lot of "naked truths" as they call it where they share some brutally honest secrets about each other, and I easily fell in love with both of these characters and their chemistry right away. Lily wants to own a flower shop and create her own business and she comes from an abusive home, where her Father abused her Mother.

"No one is exclusively bad, nor is anyone exclusively good. Some are just forced to work harder at suppressing the bad."

As we follow Lily and Ryle's love story, we get flashbacks of Lily's teenage-hood when she fell in love with a homeless boy named Atlas. Lily starts all of her diaries with "Dear Ellen" and writes her diaries to Ellen DeGeneres which I thought was super awesome. Atlas is one of my all time favorite male characters, he's so sweet and humble, and innocent and he deserves all the best in the world. I am in love with his character. The flashback chapters kind of reminded me of Eleanor & Park with the way Lily and Atlas would ride the bus to school together, and Lily is a red head just like Eleanor. I thought Lily was so sweet for taking care of Atlas, who was secretly staying in a vacant house next door. Their relationship started out so innocently and grew into one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read.

I love how their relationship grew so gradually. It started by inviting him over to take a shower before her parents got home, just to help him out since he was homeless. Then, he started staying to watch Ellen with her after school everyday, and then she took care of him when he had the flu, and those scenes were so sad but also so sweet. I love how he would watch her plant and she would tell him how "plants reward you based off of how you treat them, like human relationships." Then Atlas was upset because he agrees "if they are mistreated they might end up homeless and incapable of anything meaningful." But then she shows him the tree in the backyard that grew all on its own and says "some people are strong enough to survive without anyone's help and grow all on their own" and it was such a beautiful metaphor I was crying. I loved how she took him into her room at night to sleep on the floor instead of the cold empty house. That was sad when she realized he didn't even have blankets or anything, he was just laying on a towel on the floor. ): Then they watch Finding Nemo and "just keep swimming" became their new life motto. I also love when he made her cookies and surprised her by showing her he can cook. Then when he gave her the tools from the vacant house even though he has nothing, it melted my heart. He's so fucking sweet and generous. Their relationship started as a friendship and slowly grew into something more and it was so pure and beautiful. I love how he tried to help her when she would cry about her Mom being abused and he was always there for her. And that awful night when Lily saw her Mom getting raped and Atlas had to physically stop Lily from using the knife on her Dad. That was so sad and intense. I was sad when he said he was moving to Boston with his Uncle but happy for him at the same time to finally have a home. I loved the way Atlas talked about Boston, like he was so proud to be from Boston and he always said it was the greatest place in the world and Lily noticed he still has a slight Boston accent. Then, of course that night when Lily and Atlas finally had sex and Lily's Dad hears them and comes crashing through the door, wielding a bat and nearly killing Atlas. ): Those scenes were so fucking sad and it reminded me of Forbidden to be honest. I can't believe that was the last time they saw each other in nine years.

I love all the first chapters with Ryle's character. His sister Alyssa and her husband Marshall are two of my all time favorite side characters. They were just so funny and entertaining. I love how Lily always talks about Ryle wearing his scrubs as a doctor and having the "steadiest hands in Boston". I also love how passionate Ryle is about being a doctor and he's so driven and goal-oriented.

That bar scene when Alyssa finally tells them she's pregnant was so cute! I was shocked to find out that Ryle and Alyssa had an older brother, who Ryle accidentally killed. Now Ryle has crazy black outs because of it and anger issues. As I was reading the scene where Ryle first hits Lily, I was completely shocked. I re-read the part over and over making sure I was reading it right, and my mouth was hanging open. I did not expect this book to dive into topics about abuse like this at all. I was shocked because I had fallen in love with Ryle's character and as soon as he slammed her into the wall, I was stunned. I didn't think he was capable of it to be honest and I can't believe he would do that after all Lily has been through with her Dad doing the same shit to her Mom. I was also surprised by how genuine his apology seemed and for a minute I honestly believed he wouldn't do it again either. When Atlas and Lily finally crossed paths again at the restaurant I was screeching with excitement. That scene when Atlas see's them and he looks from Ryle's hand to Lily's eye and puts two and two together was so intense. Ryle has the fucking nerve to say: "This is the homeless boy you pity-fucked?" And I nearly lost my shit. I was like AW HELL NO. I love how Atlas was so protective of her in that scene and he threw Ryle out of the restaurant and told her to leave him, it was so sweet. Then the next day when Atlas came to apologize and give her a gift and he gave her an Ellen DeGeneres signed book with the personal message: "Lily, Atlas says just keep swimming. - Ellen DeGeneres" like oh my god alskdjlaksa my heart nearly died in that moment. If I wasn't already in love with Atlas's character I definitely was by that point. I was kind of surprised that Lily agreed to marry Ryle on a whim in Vegas, especially because he had already hit her once at that point. That scene when Ryle pushed Lily down the stairs made my stomach turn. Especially when he claimed she fell and she kept mentioning how he sounded more like a doctor instead of a husband. Ryle just gets jealous so quickly and starts calling her a whore for no reason at all and it's really sad. I couldn't breathe while I was reading that scene where Ryle is asking her to read the newspaper with Atlas's article about why he named his restaurant BIBS (better in Boston) and Atlas said it's a tribute to someone he loves and cares a lot about. But then Ryle got so incredibly mad at her and he headbutted her and I couldn't believe it. I was crying so hard because Lily didn't know who to call and Ryle has gone full blown crazy and Alyssa went into labor earlier that night and had the baby so there was no one to call except Atlas. That was so sweet how Atlas instantly knew it was her and dropped everything to come get her. Then when Lily found out at the hospital that she was pregnant with Atlas sitting right next to her I was like alskdlakjsla NO. That scene was written so well, I love how the doctors just casually mentioned how they can't run x-ray tests on pregnant women and she was like what??? I love how subtle it was, I stopped in my tracks and re-read that part because I thought I read it wrong and then I was so shocked. I love how Atlas doesn't judge her at all and he lets her stay at his house for as long as she needs, and it's kind of a full circle with the way he used to depend on her for shelter and now she depends on him, it's so sweet it makes my heart hurt. I love how they watch Ellen episodes together just like they used to and he cooks for her and writes "just keep swimming" at the bottom of their notes. Atlas is so fucking sweet, every scene he was in I was swooning for days. When Lily finally sat down and wrote another diary entry to Ellen as an adult, I started crying again. She confessed she was in love with a man who physically hurts her and it was so depressing and sad, but beautiful at the same time. That was so sad when she confessed to her Mom and to Alyssa that she was pregnant but also that Ryle was abusive and she didn't know what to do. I respected Alyssa so much more when she said: "As your best friend, if you ever take him back I will never speak to you again" and I think it's really sweet that she has that kind of support. And when she finally has a deep discussion with her Mom about what it's like to be with someone who hurts you constantly. That scene at the end when Lily gives birth o the baby then decides she wants a divorce from Ryle minutes later was so intense and powerful. I was crying when Ryle realized he would never want his baby daughter to be with a man who hurts her and he finally realizes how terrible he's been to Lily. Then Lily just tells him that it happened to her Mom and it happened to her and it would not happen to her daughter because "it ends with us" and it was so powerful and I love that the book is titled that. I love that they name the baby after Ryle's older brother, Emerson and Dory is her middle name because of the finding nemo thing. Then, finally nine months after the baby is born Atlas and Lily run into each other and they are just so fucking cute and they make me so giddy. Then it ends with: "You can stop swimming now Lily. We finally reached the shore." And then I cried for like 10 days because aslkjdlakjskla they are so cute and Atlas is so cute and MY HEART.

This book was so raw and heartbreaking and it was completely different from all of Colleen Hoover's other books. This book was absolutely incredible and one of the saddest books I've ever read, but also one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. This book deals with intense themes like: drug use, abuse, rape, death, all of it, and yet it finds the silver lining in the sadness. Atlas is quite possibly my favorite male character in existence, I just love and adore him so much, I can't say it enough. This book has affected me on a personal level and an emotional level in a way that few books ever have. The writing style is paced so nicely and I loved how it flowed so easily between the flashback chapters and the present chapters. This book has stolen my heart and I don't really have the words to describe how incredible this book is. It's unlike anything I've ever read before and it has two insanely beautiful story lines going on at the same time that collide in the most amazing way possible. This book is going to speak volumes to young women everywhere and I love the message that this book gives. It's so powerful and honest and I'm so proud of Colleen Hoover for taking on a topic like this. This book is phenomenal and I can't say enough positive things about it. I already want to re-read it and I read it three days ago.

"Imagine all the people you meet in your life. There are so many. They come in like waves, trickling in and out with the tide. Some waves are much bigger than others. Sometimes the waves bring with them things from deep in the bottom of the sea and they leave those things tossed onto the shore. Imprints against the grains of sand that prove the waves had once been there, long after the tide recedes. That was what Atlas was telling me when he said I love you. He was letting me know I was the biggest wave he'd ever come across. And I brought so much with me that my impressions would always be there, even when the tide rolled out."


REVIEW BEFORE RELEASE DAY: (written in May 2016)
I was provided an ARC from the publishers.
Oh my god, I finished this book late last night and I can't put into words how much this book has moved me. Colleen Hoover is my favorite author and I absolutely love all of her books but this book is easily my all time favorite book from Colleen. This book is exceptional and heartbreaking and it's so incredibly raw and real. I haven't cried this much while reading a book in a long, long time. This book is so important and I love the message it sends. Not only is this one of the best books I've read this year, it's one of the best books I've ever read in my life. It's only been a day since I've finished it but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since and I know this book will be on my mind for so long. This is unlike any of Colleen's other books and she said herself that this is her most personal book to date and it really shows. I could feel the emotions jumping off the page. I sat on my couch and finished this book in one sitting because I could not put it down unless I knew how it ended, and I'm glad I did because this is the kind of book that deserves to be devoured in one sitting. I also feel like this book is even better when you go into it knowing absolutely nothing like I did, because every little plot twist is extremely shocking and amazing. I will post my full review closer to the release date but, my god Colleen this book is phenomenal.

Also, I created a playlist for this book of songs that I think go really well with the book, check it out here: http://8tracks.com/itsgabbyg/it-ends-with-us-book-playlist