Colleen Hoover just released her much-anticipated sequel to the bestselling hit, It Ends With Us, with the book, It Starts With Us.
Check out my review of It Starts With Us below to see what I thought of this friends to lovers romance. Hint: It’s the best gift ever!
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It Starts With Us
by Colleen Hoover
Category: Contemporary Romance
Tags: Friends to Lovers, Single Parent, Second Chance
Series: It Ends With Us
Published October 2022
Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: ★★★★★
Boyfriend Rating: 
Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil co-parenting 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.
Colleen Hoover just gave me a gift.
She listened to her fans and readers who devoured It Ends With Us and who were so moved by that story and the characters, Lily and Atlas.
Thank you, Colleen Hoover for giving me It Starts With Us because it was the perfect ending to this epic friends to lovers story that I absolutely needed to read.
It almost goes without saying that you have to first read It Ends With Us before reading this book.
While it has some definite triggers, I found it to be such a well-written and engrossing book that I will remember for quite some time.
It ended with an implied, possible happily-ever-after but that wasn’t enough for me and other Coho fans.
Lily Bloom and Atlas Corrigan are two characters who endured so much in their youth and yet amidst those trying times, found each other and formed the rarest of connections that stay with you forever.
When they reconnected in It Ends With Us, you could see that their connection hadn’t dimmed for a second but Lily’s life had become a lot more complicated.
Two years from that point, where It Starts With Us begins, Lily’s life is no less complicated which makes even the very decision to pursue something with Atlas that overwhelming and not an easy decision.
Hoover said she purposefully wrote a lighter story for this sequel for which I’m so grateful for, and yet it did not shirk from the heaviness of the topics that were still front and center for Lily and Atlas.
Atlas is seriously a god as Alyssa would characterize him. His patience and control knew no bounds and his love for Lily took my breath away. He cemented himself as one of the best book boyfriends of 2022!
I loved everything about this book (though I maybe would have loved some better vows…).
I especially loved the added storyline with Atlas which just brought things full circle. I bawled my eyes out on page 278.
“It starts with us….”
I didn’t give enough props to Alyssa and Marshall in my review for It Ends With Us, so I rectify that now. These two people were AMAZING friends to Lily and their moments of support were truly awe-inspiring.
So thank you again, Colleen Hoover for giving us this book series. This series changed me, taught me, and will forever stick with me.
This book definitely deserves its place on my list of best romance novels of 2022 and as a nominee for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees for Best Romance. It is seriously one of the best Colleen Hoover books.
If you loved it too, check out my book list of more books like It Ends With Us!
Related Book Reviews:
- It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
- Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
- Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
- Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
Related Lists:
- Colleen Hoover Books in Order: The Ultimate Guide
- Colleen Hoover Book Series: The Ultimate Guide
- Best Colleen Hoover Books Ranked
- It Ends With Us Series by Colleen Hoover: The Ultimate Guide
- Books Like It Ends With Us You’ll Love Just as Much
- It Ends With Us Movie: What We Know Now
- The Best Romance Novels of 2022
- Best Book Boyfriends of 2022
- The Most Anticipated New Romance Book Releases Coming October 2022
- 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees for Best Romance
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