Burn It. Now!

Like many people, I’m a heavy user of TikTok, especially BookTok to get my book recommendations. A lot of subpar novels often get undeservedly overpromoted on this platform, which leads me to unfortunately have some disappointing reads. One such disappointment was It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. In wanting to see what all the fuss was about, I was subjected to one of the worst books I’ve ever read.

There were a few especially concerning elements which go unnoticed when this book is recommended to the masses. My least favourite part of the novel was the fact that the so-called “plot twist” ended up being the main male character, Ryle’s, descent into abuse. I feel this is an unacceptable way to deal with the topic of domestic violence as it is used as a cheap way to get an emotional reaction out of readers. Furthermore, the book would’ve been more successful if the unnecessary romantic subplot was removed. This often makes readers miss the point of the actual novel, ignore the conversation surrounding domestic violence, and turn it into a romance novel. The romance appears mostly in flashbacks but when Atlas, an ex from teenagerhood, returns after the female lead, Lily, has grown up, it just feels very stilted and strange to read. I feel that a lot of Colleen Hoover’s writing begins in reality, but suddenly veers off into the insane. This happened when the reader was subjected to Lily’s obsession with Ellen DeGeneres. I feel this was just bizarre - even in Ellen’s heyday, this would’ve been an odd celebrity to fixate on. But this, again, was just another highly unnecessary plot point to include.

Then, there is the emotional manipulation conducted by Colleen Hoover upon her readers. As I mentioned before, readers often mis-market this novel as a love story when the romance should really take a backseat and we should be focusing on Lily’s journey. I feel this cannot be put solely on the reader when the author herself doesn’t really contend with Ryle’s abusive traits that are present from the beginning of the novel. The first time we are introduced to him, he violently kicks a chair, and not long after he begins to beg Lily for sex, even going so far as to knock on 29 doors to find her. Hoover romanticises this, making the reader think this is Lily’s Prince Charming when in fact, it’s just stalking. It becomes alarming when young women then quote this on their TikToks, framing it as something they wish someone would do for them, without recognising that this is not acceptable behaviour. I feel the novel would’ve been far more enjoyable if the author condemned Ryle for his actions, rather than giving him a happy ending.

Because of the new trend of TikTok, often if a book makes someone cry, or is read in one sitting, it is deemed as quality. I think that the simpler the writing, the easier it is to consume the book quickly. This is a tactic used by authors to inflate readability and sell more books, as well as have readers emphasise the fact that they cried. Authors that make their money solely on emotional books often use a formula in order to achieve this and increase their marketability.

Ultimately, don’t make the same mistake I did. If a book is being hyped up, most of the time it doesn’t live up to people’s expectations. It Ends With Us is one of the only books I wish I had never wasted my time or money on. I now consider myself to be an avid Colleen Hoover hater, and I’ll never read another one of her books.

by Mischa Watson.