‘It Starts With Us’ by Colleen Hoover – Book Review

A story of hope, growth, and love

TikTok’s Book section, or #BookTok as they call it, did something no CoHort (fans of Colleen Hoover books), could have imagined. I am grateful to the entire community for this. The author finally released the sequel to Lily and Atlas’ story, It Starts With Us, 2022, after being discouraged by fans’ petitions. It’s something that no one expected six years ago.

It Ends with Us, the first of the two novels went viral on BookTok. This was the official announcement that the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author had made it and gone global.

The first book was written by Lily with her newborn baby. Now, six years later, fans can finally see the conclusion to the sequel, It Starts With Us.

It Ends With Us is a documentary that tells the story of Lily Bloom. Atlas Corrigan, a 17-year-old homeless boy Lily assisted when she was 15, was Atlas Corrigan.

Although Atlas and Lily parted ways as children, Lily didn’t let Atlas go from her heart. Although she fell in love with Ryle, Atlas’ time with her always prefigured her new relationship. Ryle had a temper for some time, and it was often directed at Lily.

Because of the domestic abuse, Lily witnessed her father perform on her mother as an infant, an older and wiser Lily decides that Emerson will be free from Ryle’s abusive husband Ryle. Nearly a year later, Lily meets Atlas, her first and perhaps only love.

It Starts With Us is a collection of 37 chapters that tells the story of Lily and Atlas’s love story and how fate and circumstance eventually brought them together. It was published on October 18th. I read it all night, just like any CoHort.

Colleen’s style of writing and her ability to create the perfect book boyfriends are what I adore. This story is not typical CoHo writing. There are no unexpected plot twists that will shock you to the core. You won’t be shocked by any shocking betrayal.

It’s a simple story. The story is simple. Lily loves Atlas, but she worries about Ryle’s single-parenting relationship. Ryle is able to channel a lot of his misdirected personal issues onto Lily, as she is the only one that he can intimidate until it’s too late. Atlas is a huge fan of Lily, and he knows nothing more about her than Atlas.

Atlas is there to support Lily as she makes her decisions throughout the novel. Ryle becomes more and more annoying by the day, and Atlas, the delightful “Greek God Adonis”, has readers falling in love with every word he says.

Atlas Corrigan will surely be the first to discuss “Men Written By Women” because Colleen Hoover ensured that he had no flaws. His character is fine, but this is what I find most frustrating about Colleen. How can one find Atlas in real life?! We are certain that there is no such thing as boys like him!

Literally, each character in this book was amazing. Alyssa, Ryle’s sister, and Marshall were both great support for Lily. Marshall consoled Lily when Lily needed someone to listen. Atlas’ friends were wonderful and I love that Josh and Theo are his children. My heart belongs to Josh and Theo. I wish that there was a universe in which Josh and Theo could grow up, go to college, and stay friends for the rest of their lives.

Theo’s one-liners take the cake in this story. “I Wish For You to Be My Fish” will be remembered as THE quote in this novel. The author mentioned six years ago that Lily had ended with It Ends With Us. Lily was not able to go through the same fate in her new story.

It Starts with Us tells the story of Lily and Atlas’s beginnings. Although we don’t know where they’ll be going, Atlas Corrigan is our guide. From the butterflies, Lily felt when she was with Atlas to the swooning that Ryle experienced every time he appeared, all the way to the charming Smooth-talker himself.

It Starts with Us can be described as a light book that contains a few moments of intense content. Atlas Corrigan is a Golden Retriever boy who will melt readers’ hearts and go down in history as one of the greatest book boyfriends.

Lily is a strong character. This is why you will be afraid to watch her fear Ryle’s anger when she confronts her. I hope domestic violence victims find comfort in Lily’s story. Colleen Hoover is a wonderful writer who discusses important issues with each of her stories. It Starts with Us is a wonderful novel that’s well worth reading.