# It Ends with Us *By Colleen Hoover. Atria Books, 2 August 2016.* > I did not read the novel. The plot, publication details and background come from Wikipedia, a catalog record and publisher copy; availability comes from catalog lookups I ran. The video notes mention the book only in passing, as the background to another book. **The plot section reveals the ending.** ## 1. Book facts | | | |---|---| | Title | *It Ends with Us* | | Author | Colleen Hoover | | Publisher | Atria Books (first Atria Paperback edition) | | Published | 2 August 2016 | | ISBN | 9781501110368 (trade paperback). Page counts vary by listing: 376 in the listings I found, 384 on some retailer pages (I did not reconcile them) | | Series | *It Ends with Us*, book 1; followed by *It Starts with Us* (October 2022) | | Genre | Romance; Wikipedia notes the book explores domestic violence and emotional abuse | | Setting | Boston, Massachusetts, with flashbacks to Maine | | Language | English | **Where it came up.** One mention. Alyssa Matesic is reviewing Hoover's later novel *Woman Down*, and notes (at 2:00) that its premise, a famous author cancelled after a controversial adaptation, sounds "suspiciously" like Hoover's own situation after the *It Ends With Us* movie, and (at 6:20) that Goodreads reviewers read it the same way: - [I Read the WORST Book of 2026 So You Don't Have To](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk0mNE5cGI&t=120s), Alyssa Matesic, published 24 August 2026. Vault note: [[Video Summaries/Alyssa Matesic/I Read the WORST Book of 2026 So You Don’t Have To]] ## 2. Book resources **Free (legal).** In copyright; no legal free full text. - **Library ebook and audiobook (Libby/OverDrive).** The Los Angeles Public Library catalog lists an [ebook](https://www.overdrive.com/media/2461050) (Kindle, OverDrive and other formats) and an [audiobook](https://www.overdrive.com/media/2468938). Your own library may or may not hold them. - **Internet Archive / Open Library.** The 2016 scan [itendswithus0000hoov](https://archive.org/details/itendswithus0000hoov) is listed as print-disabled lending only, so it is not an ordinary borrow. I did not open the page. I did not check Hoopla. **Paid.** - Audible: [*It Ends with Us*, narrated by Olivia Song (ASIN B01GGKQVFU)](https://www.audible.com/pd/B01GGKQVFU), found in an Audible search; I did not check the price. - Print and Kindle: widely sold. I did not open an Amazon listing, so I have not checked price, stock or Kindle availability. **Cover:** [Open Library cover by ISBN](https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/isbn/9781501110368-L.jpg). ## 3. Author biography Colleen Hoover (born 11 December 1979, Sulphur Springs, Texas) writes mainly romance and young adult fiction. She studied social work at Texas A&M University–Commerce, self-published *Slammed* in 2012, and signed with Atria Books soon after. *Hopeless* was the first self-published novel to reach #1 on the *New York Times* list. She is best known for *It Ends with Us* (2016) and *Verity* (self-published 2018, republished by Grand Central in 2021). Wikipedia puts her sales at about 20 million books as of October 2022 and notes her 2023 *Time* 100 listing. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Hoover); her site is [colleenhoover.com](https://www.colleenhoover.com). ## 4. Author interviews and talks - Wikipedia reports that Hoover based the book on the relationship between her mother and father and called it "the hardest book I've ever written." I did not locate the original interview. - A 2023 collector's edition (hardcover, 18 April 2023) adds a Q&A between Hoover and her mother (Wikipedia; I did not read it). - I found no interview I could open. ## 5. Summary **Thesis.** A romance that tests the genre's own conventions: a heroine falls for a brilliant, charming man who is also violent, and the novel asks why people stay and what ending the cycle costs. The title is the heroine's vow to her daughter, "It ends with us." **Plot (Wikipedia, condensed; spoilers).** - Lily Bloom, 23, moves to Boston to open a flower shop. She grew up watching her father abuse her mother, and resented both. At her father's funeral she stood silent when she was meant to list five things she loved about him. - She meets Ryle Kincaid, a 30-year-old neurosurgeon who wants only casual affairs, and they begin a relationship. After he slaps her over a dropped casserole she warns him she will leave if it happens again. Her first love, Atlas Corrigan, reappears as the owner of a restaurant she visits. - After a hasty marriage Ryle pushes her down the stairs, then confesses a childhood trauma (he accidentally shot his brother) that fuels uncontrollable rage. He later reads her diaries and, furious about Atlas, assaults her again. Lily discovers she is pregnant, tells her mother about the abuse, and her mother urges her to leave. - After the birth of their daughter, Lily asks Ryle how he would feel if their daughter told him her partner abused her, and he agrees to separate. In the epilogue Lily, co-parenting with Ryle, tells Atlas she is ready to restart their relationship. **Chapter outline.** I found no chapter list. Wikipedia describes the plot only in prose. **Reception and afterlife (Wikipedia).** - Sales: over one million copies worldwide by 2019; translated into over twenty languages. - It resurged on TikTok from 2021 and topped sales lists for 2022 and 2023. - A film adaptation, released August 2024, was directed by Justin Baldoni with Blake Lively, Baldoni and Brandon Sklenar in the leading roles. - Hoover's own account: "the hardest book I've ever written." **In the video.** Matesic ties the book to *Woman Down*, whose protagonist is an author cancelled after a controversial film of her book. She says this sounds "suspiciously" like Hoover's situation after the *It Ends With Us* movie, and Goodreads reviewers she quotes say the author's note and the premise are "clearly about" Hoover and that book. That is her reading; I did not check the controversy itself, and nothing here depends on it. ## 6. Fact-check Overall verdict: **supported** for the book's publication facts; the video's remark about Hoover's own situation is unverified. | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |---|---|---| | Published 2 August 2016 by Atria; ISBN 9781501110368 | Supported | Wikipedia | | 376 pages | Supported for the first paperback | Listings I found; some retailers list 384 | | Sequel *It Starts with Us* published October 2022 | Supported | Wikipedia | | Film released August 2024 with Lively, Baldoni, Sklenar | Supported | Wikipedia | | Hoover called it "the hardest book I've ever written" | Second-hand | Wikipedia; original not opened | | *Woman Down*'s premise echoes Hoover's own situation after the film (video) | Opinion, not checked | Matesic's reading, and that of some Goodreads reviewers she quotes | ## 7. Citations and references - [Wikipedia: It Ends with Us](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ends_with_Us); [Wikipedia: Colleen Hoover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Hoover) - [Open Library: It Ends With Us](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18020194W); LAPL OverDrive records [2461050](https://www.overdrive.com/media/2461050) and [2468938](https://www.overdrive.com/media/2468938) - [Audible: It Ends with Us](https://www.audible.com/pd/B01GGKQVFU) - Video: [I Read the WORST Book of 2026 So You Don't Have To](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk0mNE5cGI) (Alyssa Matesic)