It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover *****

 It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Lily Bloom hated that her mother stayed with her abusive father. At 23, she married neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. His sister Allysa was Lily’s best friend. Unfortunately, Ryle had a temper. Lily found herself in the same situation as her mother. Stay or go?

When Lily was 15, she fell in love with Atlas Corrigan. He lived in an abandoned house behind Lily in Plethora, Maine. When her violent father caught them together, he beat Atlas with a baseball bat. She went to college, and he joined the Marines. At 23, she took her inheritance to open a flower shop. Lily Blossom Bloom opened a flower shop in Boston. There she met Ryle and Allysa. She also ran into Atlas. She married Ryle and became pregnant before she realized that Ryle was abusive, like her father was. She loved the father of her child. What should she do?

This is a romance. The sex scenes are detailed and long, while the abuse scenes are truncated.

The book’s subplots have many enjoyable, but not surprising, twists. However, the book never ventures far from the question of domestic abuse. What is the impact of abuse on the abused spouse? What causes domestic abuse? What is the impact on the next generation? The author presents the cases with empathy for all parties, but in the end, she passes judgment.

This is a fast read and an exploration of dysfunctional families. The book idolizes Ellen DeGeneres and Dory from Finding Nemo.

The novel won the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance.

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