It Starts With Us
It Ends With Us, #2)
By: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Altra Books
Publication date: October 18, 2022
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:
Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.
My thoughts…
I felt like where the last book was Lily’s story, this book focuses more on Atlas. The book is written in both of their POV’s, but I just felt like Atlas was the one that had the most development throughout the book. Between finding his family, navigating life with Lily and her ex-husband, it just felt more like his story than hers.
I really liked that we got more of his background and his upbringing, as well as his family dynamic in the present. He should be someone who is a short fuse given his past, but instead it’s made him more patient and calm. I don’t want to give too much away from the story, but just know that his story is told, and in the end I felt like HE was the one that got the happily ever after.
Now, with all this being said… I didn’t feel like this story was necessary. The last book ended really well. I didn’t need their romance to be hashed out with so much of their childhood rehashed out. I also wasn’t a fan of the timeline of the story and how it was laid out. The story skipped ahead a lot in order to get to the finish line. Which made if feel more like a companion novel to the previous book, rather than being it’s own story. One minute they are starting out and then the next they are married. I just felt like we were missing chunks of time with all the skipping ahead, and I would have liked to see that.
All in all this was a good story. It started off strong for me, but quickly lost steam as the author tried to fit a years worth of content from start to finish in a few hundred pages. It felt rushed, and in the end, that detracted from the story for me and made it feel less organic.
