I’ve read It Ends with Us years ago and that book made me bawl my eyes out, because it was such an honest and realistic story about a women finally ending the circle of abuse in her family. IEWU had a purpose and meaning. Whereas, It Starts With Us reads like every other second-chance romance between two past lovers that shared a connection in their childhood. Reading Lily and Atlas romance gave me n o t h i n g. This was dryer than any cactus in the dept of the Sahara. Their interactions made me yawn, I’m sorry but Atlas was better as a side character in IEWU. Atlas is (maybe) the most unproblematic Colleen Hoover Hero, but imo that also makes him the most boring one.

This seems to start up about 18 months or so after Emerson’s birth and Rile & Lily are divorced. I’m disappointed to learn that Lily didn’t speak about her abuse and therefore she doesn’t have total/ solo parenting rights but I think I sorta get where her head is on this. After the unexpected death of her Father, Layken reluctantly moves across the country with her Mother for a fresh start. But when Layken meets her new, handsome, slam poetry-loving neighbour, Will Cooper, the move doesn't seem that bad after all. But how will their blossoming romance handle a dark secret..? The only thing these stories have in common is their starting point. Each author showcased in this anthology was featured in The Bookworm Box in 2020. Each author has graciously donated their story so that 100% of profits from this anthology will be going to the various charities The Bookworm Box is able to support because of you, the readers.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

if it ends with us was about lily, why did colleen hoover work so hard to try and make atlas into a sexy hero? the only thing i could give it ends with us merit for was the message of breaking the cycle (even that is up for debate). this did not need a sequel at all. But you’ll surely find the last book in the series, i.e. “This Girl”, an impressive icing on the top of a tremendously tasty cake.

In the final instalment of the maybe someday series, we meet Maggie - an old flame of both Warren and Ridge in high school, who's recently had a terminal illness diagnosis. Sydney grows suspicious of the care, and interest Ridge is paying to Maggie as she attempts to live life to the fullest while she still can. But is he just being a good friend? Each author has graciously donated their story so that 100% of profits from this anthology will be going to the various charities The Bookworm Box is able to support because of you, the readers.

Ugly Love

For her fan base, Hoover has also made available a novella for free called Finding Cinderella. How unusual for an author to provide a “thank you “ to their fans for continued support. This is the beauty of internet marketing and social media. Even tough Finding Cinderella is a sequel of sorts, it can stand alone too as its own work. Hopeless If you don’t care much about the dates, you may start with the top 3 books by Colleen Hoover: “It Ends With Us”, “Ugly Love”, and “Verity”.

The two are drawn to each other, even when they try to resist, and as secrets are revealed, their bond is intensified. Change in both of them is paramount and both characters hope to heal their emotional scars and live with less boundaries in their young lives. In the companion book Losing Hope, Colleen take the story further, but this time from the perspective of Dean, the troubled youth with secrets to reveal.Not to mention the fact that Lily’s closest friends are Ryle’s sister and his best friend; it is close to impossible to heal from abuse when you are still in such close proximity to your abuser. The way Allysa and Marshall talk about Ryle as if he’s a little kid who just gets mean sometimes, instead of the violent wife beater and attempted rapist that he is, is so strange…. Maybe I’m the weird one, but if someone I “love like a brother” were to push their partner down the stairs and bite them so hard they bled, I simply wouldn’t love them like a brother anymore! After suffering a traumatic hospitalisation, Layla is whisked away by her partner, Leeds, to the B&B where they first met in a bid to help heal her emotional wounds and aid her recovery. But when Layla's behaviour inexplicably alters, Leeds is comforted by B&B guest Willow and is forced to make some tough decisions. Friends since childhood and falling in love at the tender age of fourteen, Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash share a lifetime of memories. Until one morning, they wake as strangers with any memory of their relationship mysteriously gone. As they discover why and how this has happened, the whole existence of their relationship is in danger. As of today, only the first novel from the series has been released. And it’s one of the top books by Colleen Hoover. alternatively titled: a bland man does the bare minimum and people eat it up like he’s an austen character.