It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover: Book Review
Many readers preferred the first book in this series, whereas I preferred the sequel; and you'll find out why! I'll be going through the pros and cons of this book with no major spoilers ahead.
Pros of It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
Atlas Corrigan
So, in the first book, It Ends With Us, the adult version of Atlas is kind of overlooked in my opinion, but the sequel makes up for that oversight. He's considerate, caring, understanding, gentle, protective, and everything Lily needs in her life. He understands that her life is a bit more complicated now than it used to be given that she's a mom with a daughter under the age of one, but what seems to be their biggest obstacle isn't her toddler, it's her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid. Atlas takes the high road with Ryle, despite how awful he is to Lily and Atlas, showing how he's the true gentleman and bigger person. Atlas also takes initiative in his own life, taking on a large responsibility practically overnight, knowing it could derail his life but deciding for the greater good of someone else, he makes it work no matter how hard he has to try.
Lily's Attitude
The first book for the most part left me with the impression that Lily wasn't a strong personality and that she was constantly making excuses for her abusive husband, which is understandable from a victim of domestic abuse. However, Lily seems to really find her voice in the sequel, taking back some of the power that Ryle stripped her of in the first book. She learns to stand up for herself, her daughter and Atlas, and I just loved to see her grow like she did.
HEA
Finally, Lily gets her HEA (Happily Ever After) and the book closes very neatly, all ends being tied up. There aren't any plans for a third book that I'm aware of, but I can't imagine there'd be any room for a third as everyone got their happily ever after - mostly everyone - that there isn't much of a story anymore. That being said, I'm glad after such strife, the characters got their moment of bliss rather than making this romance into a tragedy.
Cons of It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
Alyssa, Marshall and Lily's Relationship
As much as I liked Alyssa and Marshall, it always struck me as strange how Lily remained so close with them after what Ryle did to her. I understand siblings aren't identical in personality, but still it was just so beyond me how Lily remained best friends with the woman who's brother abused her repeatedly. Lily's and Alyssa's children would be cousins, so it's understandable for them to be amicable but I just can't wrap my mind around how Lily was constantly at Alyssa's apartment, Alyssa continued working for her, and they carried on as if nothing happened; then at random moments, they'd bring it up and skirt around the issue that remained, that being so close to Alyssa brought Lily into close proximity with her abuser, Ryle, all over again. Plus, Alyssa makes an admission to doing something in the past, that just blows me away; it was unnecessary and totally changed her character, making readers see her in a different light.
And so, all in all I really did enjoy this book (maybe because I bought it with PC Optimum points LOL) and it was a very cute read, plus the cover is beautiful. I'd recommend this to someone who doesn't read often just to get them back in the flow of reading regularly for pleasure, because CoHo books are meant for just that; people who don't make a habit of reading. I read this as a filler book, in between Gabriel's Inferno (550-ish pages) and Crossing The Ice (350-ish pages) because it was quick, easy and sweet.
Have you read It Starts With Us? Do you want to? Let's have a conversation!
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A presto,
Melissa
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