Rather than trying to sugarcoat my thoughts, I'm just going to be completely honest. I was 100 percent team Ryle from the very first time we met him. Just like Lily, I fell in love with every word and every gesture that rolled off of his body. I. WAS. HOOKED. It also didn't help that I kept fantasizing Doctor Mike as Ryle Kincaid. *heart eyes emoji* I loved his ambition. His personality. His confidence. To be honest, I think I might've loved Ryle even more than Lily did but that's another story for another day. That more than likely explains why I took the second half of this book like a blow to the gut. I wish cutting my feelings off for the person who hurt me was as easy as I used to think it would be. Preventing your heart from forgiving someone you love is actually a hell of a lot harder than simply forgiving them.'

As she gets to know him, she starts falling for him and it gets harder and harder to leave. Even when he pushes her down the stairs or pulls her hair with the intent to hurt, she can't just leave because by that point she loves that man. Her heart makes excuses for him and she forgives him again and again. Lily's story is one that I never wanted to stop reading. If I know that I'm going to need to read a book in multiple sittings (which was the case with this book), I usually try to find a good place to stop. One in which, nothing major is happening and nobody is facing some drastic/perilous moment. Well you see the problem with this book is the fact that there is literally NO. GOOD. STOPPING. POINT! None! There was never a part where I felt safe in letting this book sit overnight because I knew that the story and the what if's would play endlessly in my mind. So I stayed up and read it all in one sitting because I simply couldn't stop. Lily was someone that I connected to right from the get go. I knew as soon as the book started that I would like her, and that never once stopped while I was reading. However, I didn't realize how much her character would affect me while I was reading. As I said before, after I was finished reading, I couldn't have been prouder of her decisions. The strength she had throughout the story to go through what she did, but also her resolve and conviction just made me constantly cheer her on. Lily is truly one of the most admirable characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading about, and that admiration goes extraordinarily deep. Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true. With a delicate foiled cover, exclusive board and sprayed edge design, as well as an exclusive interview with Colleen and her mother, don't miss this beautiful collector's edition. And it's hard to read because as a bystander I just wanted to help Lily and tell her that she didn't have to forgive him and that she deserved better than that. But that's how the story goes.. She forgave him and told him that if he ever did that again that she would know it wasn't an accident and she would leave him!As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. It Ends With Us was beautifully complicated. It was hot and cold. Up and down. Good and bad. Beautiful and ugly... I'm still trying to figure out how I really feel about it all because I'm genuinely torn on how I want to perceive this storyline. I loved it but in all honesty, I really do think I hate it as well. Not the "I-hate-you-Colleen-Hoover-stop-writing-books-and-find-a-different-career" type of hate but rather "I-hate-you-Colleen-Hoover-for-making-me-hate-everything-that-I-came-to-love" kind of hate because it pretty much summarizes all my thoughts and feelings about It Ends With Us in one sentence. With this bold and deeply personal novel, It Ends With Us is a heart-wrenching story and an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

I have the upmost respect for Lily. She is definitely one of my favorite female characters that Colleen has ever created because she did what a lot of us would've struggled to do in the end: walk away. Lily was such a strong character and I admire her so much for having the strength to stand up for herself. There were numerous times towards the end of the book where I knew I probably would've gave in and forgave Ryle for his actions but Lily was inflexible. She was in a tough position but she put her foot down and demanded better for herself. In the end, no matter if I ship Ryle/Lily or Atlas/Lily, I'm glad that Lily was able to find peace for her and Emmy. Obviously the book wasn’t all about Lily and Atlas, we got to meet Alyssa and Marshall who were the sweetest couple ever. Your authors note was just about as heart breaking as the story. I’m with you when you said you wanting to delete and start again. That you fell in love with Ryle. It was heartbreaking so read what he was doing. I felt the pain for both of them. But I think you were right in writing their story the way you did. The more these things are talked about, the more someone who hasn’t been in that position and start to understand, the more help there will be from normal everyday friends and family for people who end up in Lily’s position. And hopefully over time we can all help to break the cycle of things like this. The author's note was even more heart breaking than the entire book. Colleen tells us a little bit about her and her mother's experience with domestic abuse. The there's also the fact that he tells straight away that he doesn't want a relationship and is only looking for a one night stand but then ends up pressuring her and manipulating her into having sex with him. He begs her for it because he says he can't concentrate at his job so he just wants to get it over with so that he can get her out of his head.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan-her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. With that said though, I absolutely loved this book, there were so many moments that just broke my heart while I read it, but equally there were so many moments that filled me with so much love, joy and hope. The first incident where he pushed her and hurt her was heartbreaking and I got so sad because she forgave him. Even after seeing her father do that to her mother, she still forgave him. As the story progresses, we start to see little things here and there that makes us, or at least made me, see why she loved him. I think this storyline was told so well and after reading the authors notes at the end I can understand why.

She says "My father regretted the way he treated my mother his entire life. Mistreating her was the worst mistake he had ever made and he said he would grow old and die still madly in love with her."With a delicate foiled cover, exclusive board and sprayed edge design, as well as an exclusive interview with Colleen and her mother, don't miss this beautiful collector's edition. Climbing out of the very deep, dark hole of domestic violence (emotionally, physically, and psychologically) is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. It is so complex, so heartbreaking, so exhausting, and very confusing. Constantly questioning yourself, your identity, your beliefs and your values. Simultaneously holding on to the "good" while also questioning why you haven't left yet. For some this may be triggering, for others it provides some insight into this issue which is much needed. I have been there and had to make that same choice for the exact same reason, someone needs to break the cycle of abuse.