The best Colleen Hoover books to start with, according to her fans
Colleen Hoover is the author of several bestselling novels, including Reminders of Him and the psychological thriller Verity.
It Ends With Us
It Ends with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. Based on the relationship between her mother and father, Hoover described it as "the hardest book I've ever written".
As of 2019, the novel had sold over one million copies worldwide and been translated into over twenty languages. A sequel titled It Starts with Us was published in October 2022.
College graduate Lily Bloom moves to Boston with hopes of opening her own floral shop. Her recently deceased father was abusive towards her mother, who kept the abuse a secret, leading Lily to resent both of them.
She reads through her old childhood diaries and remembers her first love Atlas Corrigan, who left but promised to return to her.
While wrestling with her feelings, she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. The two share "naked truths" and admit their mutual attraction to each other, but separate as Lily wants a serious relationship while Ryle is only interested in pursuing a casual fling.
However, when Lily successfully starts her business, they continue to meet, and start a relationship.
One night, Lily laughs when Ryle accidentally drops a casserole, and he angrily pushes her to the ground before frantically apologizing. Lily is reminded of her father's own abusive behavior; while horrified, she decides they are different from her parents and accepts his apologies, but warns him that she will leave if he hurts her again.
Lily and Ryle go to a restaurant, where their waiter is Atlas, who reconnects with Lily. Ryle is worried that there is romantic tension between them, but Lily reassures him that Atlas is only a friend.
Suspecting that Ryle may be abusing Lily after noticing her injuries, Atlas secretly gives her his phone number.
Lily and Ryle eventually get married, and have a stable marriage until he eventually finds Atlas' number and assaults Lily. He then confesses that he accidentally shot and killed his brother Emerson as a child, resulting in trauma that causes him to have rage-filled episodes.
Lily reconciles with him, but Ryle assaults her again after finding her childhood diaries, believing that she is having an affair with Atlas.
Lily escapes the house and calls Atlas. He takes her to the hospital, where she discovers she is pregnant with Ryle's child, which she opts to keep a secret from him. She stays with Atlas for several months while Ryle leaves the country for a fellowship.
Atlas admits he still has feelings for her but has suppressed them because of Ryle. Finally understanding what her mother went through, Lily confides in her about the abuse.
When Ryle returns, Lily forms a tentative truce with him and allows him to help her through the final few months of her pregnancy, but remains emotionally distant from him.
Lily later gives birth to a daughter, whom she names after Ryle's late brother. After giving birth, Lily realizes she does not want her daughter to grow up witnessing Ryle's aggressive outbursts, and tells him she wants a divorce.
When he begs her to reconsider, she asks him how he would react if his daughter told him she was being abused by her boyfriend. Though devastated, he understands her perspective, and agrees to separate.
Lily hopes that her decision has ended the cycle of abuse in her family, telling her daughter, "It ends with us."
In the epilogue, Lily is co-parenting with Ryle. She finds Atlas and tells him that she is ready to restart her relationship with him.
In 2021, the novel–and Hoover's works overall–experienced a surge in popularity due to attention from the #BookTok community on TikTok. In January 2022, It Ends with Us debuted at #1 on The New York Times best sellers list.
It was #1 on the Publishers Weekly adult list and #1 overall in the first six months of 2022, selling a total of 925,221 units.
In July 2019, Justin Baldoni had optioned the novel for a film adaptation, produced through his Wayfarer Entertainment company. In October 2021, the first draft screenplay was completed.
In January 2023, Blake Lively was cast in the role of Lily Bloom. Baldoni, who will play Ryle Kincaid, is set to direct and Christy Hall will adapt the script.
Who is Colleen Hoover?
Colleen Hoover (born December 11, 1979) is an American author who primarily writes novels in the romance and young adult fiction genres. She is best known for her 2016 romance novel It Ends with Us.
Many of her works were self-published before being picked up by a publishing house. Hoover sold about 20 million books as of October 2022.
Hoover was born on December 11, 1979, in Sulphur Springs, Texas, to Vannoy Fite and Eddie Fennell. She grew up in Saltillo, Texas, and graduated from Saltillo High School in 1998.
She married Heath Hoover in 2000, and they have three sons. Hoover graduated from Texas A&M-Commerce with a degree in social work. She worked various social work and teaching jobs until starting her career as an author.
Hoover's novel It Ends with Us was published in 2016. Hoover described it as "the hardest book I've ever written." The novel concerns domestic violence and, according to Hoover, was written to advocate for domestic violence victims.
The story was inspired by Hoover's experience as a child growing up in a household with domestic violence which carried through her adult life. The book's main character, Lily, experiences domestic violence at a young age witnessing her father's abuse towards her mother on top of experiencing it firsthand, then ends up in a violent relationship as an adult.
In 2021, Hoover experienced a surge in popularity due to attention from the #BookTok community on TikTok. As a result, in January 2022 It Ends with Us was #1 on The New York Times best sellers list.
As of 2019, the novel had sold over a million copies worldwide and been translated into over twenty languages.
A sequel to It Ends with Us titled It Starts with Us was published on October 18, 2022, and published by Atria Books. Simon & Schuster released the details of the extensive marketing campaign for the novel, which became the publisher’s most pre-ordered book of all time.
In October 2022, Simon & Schuster UK acquired two standalone novels by Hoover, to be published in 2024 and 2026.
As of October 2022, Hoover has sold more than 20 million books. Reflecting on Hoover's success in 2022 in particular, Alexandra Alter of The New York Times wrote, "To say she’s currently the best-selling novelist in the United States, to even compare her to other successful authors who have landed several books on the best seller lists, fails to capture the size and loyalty of her audience."