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It Ends With Us

Main Characters

Lily Bloom (Round Character), the narrator of the novel, is a 23-year-old college

Ryle, the handsome neurosurgeon;

Alyssa, the friendly girl that Lily works with

Atlas, the old love of Lily's that holds a strong place in her heart.

Colleen Hoover

It Ends with Us is a romance novel, fiction, and contemporary romance by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on August 2, 2016. Colleen Hoover tells a heartbreaking tale in an audacious and intensely personal book that forges fascinating new territory for her as a writer. It Ends with Us is a memorable story of love that exacts the highest price by fusing an enthralling romance with a cast of all-too-human characters.

Critical Approaches

It Ends with Us is open to criticism from any critical perspective, including the Formalism Approach, Psychological Criticism, and Reader Response Criticism. Since the main character in the story, It Ends with Us had to deal with domestic violence and other traumatic experiences that can impact her brain and her thoughts, the story undoubtedly takes a psychological approach. Since it deals with delicate subjects, the psychological tactics it uses have a significant influence on the book's readers. The Formalism Approach, on the other hand, is a critical approach that sees the text under analysis largely as a word structure that can be applied to any form of story. Finally, reader-response criticism may be observed in the article because it depicts how women experiencing domestic violence may feel conflicted about choosing between the person, they made a pledge for and their own personal safety and well-being.

 External Conflict – Man vs Man  

The narrative claims that Lily's desire to keep Ryle by her side clashes with her understanding that she ought to leave him.

Setting of the Story

The slow-burn story follows Lily Bloom, a 23-year-old college graduate, who is in the midst of starting a new, simple life in Boston when she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid.

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Summary of It Ends with Us

It Ends with Us is a 2016 romance novel by Colleen Hoover. The novel tells the story of Lily Bloom and her doomed romance with Ryle Kincaid and traces her past history growing up in an abusive home, her fall into an abusive relationship, and her escape from that relationship.

The novel opens with Lily—a young college graduate living in Boston—on a rooftop, clearing her thoughts after her father’s funeral. There, she encounters Ryle Kincaid, a resident surgeon. The couple has chemistry, but it becomes clear that both have different aims when it comes to relationships. Ryle only wants a casual fling, while Lily is looking for a relationship. The two-part ways but meet again six months later, when Lily hires Ryle’s sister, Allysa, to work at a flower shop she has recently opened. Lily and Ryle’s attraction to each other only increases the more they happen upon each other, until Ryle decides to explore a relationship with Lily, despite his earlier reluctance. Throughout this time, Lily finds herself revisiting her past and longing for closure with the death of her father, who was abusive towards her mother. To find it, she rereads old journals that she wrote when she was 15. Those journals narrate her encounter with Atlas Corrigan, a homeless, 18-year-old boy. As a teen, Lily was moved to help him when he was without a home and family, and they became close when he supported Lily through her witnessing her father abusing her mother. In the present day, Lily wonders if she isn’t also seeking closure with Atlas as well.

 The romance between Lily and Ryle appears perfect, their feelings only intensifying as they spend more time together and become embedded in each other’s lives. Lily and Allysa are now best friends, and Ryle even meets Lily’s mother. One night while having dinner with Ryle and her mother, Lily runs into Atlas. She hasn’t seen him for nine years, and although she is happy that he seems well, she feels hurt at the distance between them. In the end, she tells herself that this is the closure she had sought, especially now that she’s with Ryle. However, Lily and Ryle’s happiness comes to an end when during an evening she and Ryle are to spend together, Ryle lashes out in a rage, hurting Lily. Afterwards, Ryle is apologetic and Lily allows him to comfort her, feeling confused and hurt about the incident. Ryle swears that he isn’t like Lily’s father, who Lily has told him about. Lily threatens to leave him if it happens again and tells herself that Ryle is not like her father. They both declare their love for one another.

The next day, Lily, Ryle, Allysa, and Marshall are eating at the restaurant where Lily saw Atlas. Atlas sees Lily’s wounded eye and Ryle’s bandaged hand and comes to the correct conclusion that Ryle has assaulted Lily.

 When Atlas confronts Lily in the restroom, she defends Ryle. Furious, Atlas compares Lily to her mother, whose abuse he had witnessed years ago, when he and Lily had been close. Ryle finds them talking and Atlas attacks him, eventually throwing him out of the restaurant. Ryle asks Lily for reassurance that she isn’t being unfaithful to him with Atlas. Lily stresses to him that she only has feelings for Ryle.

 Atlas comes to Lily’s shop and apologizes to Lily for comparing her to her mother at the restaurant. He brings her a gift that he had her gotten her long ago and leaves his phone number, in case of an emergency. His visit and concern remind Lily of her attachment to Atlas years ago. For months, Atlas lived in an abandoned house with Lily providing him food, clothing, use of her home’s shower, and her bedroom floor to sleep on during winter. Cast out from his home and without a family, Atlas intended to finish high school on his own, and join the military. As Lily provides him help and companionship, their relationship changes from friendship to romance. Atlas is eventually able to contact an uncle and leaves for Boston to live with him, leaving Lily heartbroken, but happy that he has found a place to stay. Atlas returns on Lily’s sixteenth birthday, promising to find her in the future, but that night, Lily’s father finds Atlas with Lily in her room and attacks him, sending him to the hospital. Lily hadn’t heard from Atlas since then and always felt sadness that Atlas never tried to find her like he promised. However, she knows now that her future is with Ryle.

 This seems to be the case as Lily meets Ryle’s parents, and she and Ryle decide to get married. One night, Ryle finds Atlas’s number in Lily’s phone. Jealous and upset, Ryle leaves. When Lily goes after him to try to explain, Ryle pushes her down the stairs. In the aftermath, Ryle at first refuses responsibility for his actions, and simply asks Lily to tell him that she isn’t being unfaithful. Lily explains how Atlas came to her shop, and throws Ryle out of her apartment. Ryle again pleads for forgiveness, and even approaches his sister, who intercedes for Ryle. Ryle tells Lily the story of how his brother died when 6-year-old Ryle accidentally shot him. Since then, Ryle confesses, he has suffered from rages. Lily is torn between her feelings for Ryle and the resemblances between her situation, and the abusive situation between her father and mother. Lily tells him that she is willing to help Ryle, but that she needs to know when he needs help.

 After the incident, Ryle appears to be improving, but one night he again confronts Lily over her relationship with Atlas, threatening her, almost raping her, and hurting her when she tries to defend herself. Lily calls Atlas and leaves to the hospital, where she discovers that she is pregnant.

 Distraught, Lily goes to stay with Atlas for several days. Ryle finds her at her shop after, but tells her that he is leaving for England for three months. Not ready to go back to her apartment, Lily returns to Atlas’s place. Atlas admits to Lily that he did look for her after he finished his first tour, but found her happy and didn’t think his life was good enough for her then. He takes her back to her apartment, and confesses he has feelings for her. He makes clear that he understands that she is busy with her own situation now, and only hopes that someday a relationship between them can be possible.

 As time passes, Lily feels torn about telling both Allysa and her mother about her pregnancy. She feels alone and in need of their support, but she is frightened that they will convince her to take Ryle back. Allysa, however, suspects that something has happened between Lily and Ryle and confronts Lily. Relieved, Lily discusses the abuse she’s suffered, as well as her pregnancy. Despite Ryle being Allysa’s brother, Allysa urges Lily to leave him. Lily finally approaches her mother, who speaks of her own experience with abuse and how she became more tolerant of it the longer she stayed. Lily’s mother also encourages Lily to leave Ryle.

 Ryle has returned and learned about Lily’s pregnancy. He wants her forgiveness, but Lily keeps him at a distance. Eventually, she lets him participate as a father, helping her during the final months of the pregnancy. Despite accepting his help, Lily refuses to make a decision about their relationship before the birth. After Lily gives birth to a girl, she realizes that she doesn’t want her baby to grow up witnessing abuse. She decides that she will divorce Ryle to break the pattern of domestic violence. Eleven months later, she runs into Atlas and indicates that she is ready to have a relationship with him.

 Mood

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover will make you feel everything in just 376 pages. The story itself is horrible and romantic, upsetting and inspiring, depressing and lovely. It's eye-opening to realize that sometimes the people we love the most can hurt us the most.

 Theme

It Ends with Us explores generational cycles, emotional abuse, and jealousy in a wise and compelling way.

Point of View

I adored the fact that Lily is the only one whose perspective is used to tell the story. It Ends with Us is a heartbreaking novel that will make you grin, laugh, and cry because it allows you to truly experience and feel what Lily goes through.

Symbolism

The novel makes a strong connection between Lily and Atlas and plants. Lily’s early conversation with Ryle underscores her connection to flowers when she humorously points out that her name, Lily Blossom Bloom, makes her passion for flowers seem inauthentic. Lily’s attachment to plants comes from how she feels that plants reward the care that is given them. “Plants,” Lily tells Atlas, “Reward you based on the amount of love you show them” (105). Like plants, Lily rewards Atlas with her love for all the care that he showed her in the past and the care that he continues to show her during her situation with Ryle by reaching out to him at the end.

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About You

Their loveliness is a pleasant surprise,

Even after the crimson sunset fades,

I will always see beauty in your pretty eyes.

With tight hands, we move as one underneath the skies

Where the burning sun wears clouds as shades;

Their loveliness is a pleasant surprise

And although the sea is mighty, it shies,

Similar to a cat that invades and evades

I will always see beauty in your pretty eyes.

On the white sands, laying arms on your shoulders

Blushing off my face with your pleasant hugs

Their loveliness is a pleasant surprise,

I wonder if you are my astonishing prize

Through the way to everlasting peace

I will always see beauty in your pretty eyes.

We'll stroll beside the butterflies together

Two lovers attempting their crusades

Their loveliness is a pleasant surprise

I always see heaven in your pretty eyes

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Endless Tarek

In the 19th century, foreign countries gave their civil rulings in the region known as Palawan, which was encircled by foreign countries such as Spain. We cannot deny that people no longer have the freedom and right to live a normal life. They fought the Spanish invaders without any weapons, hoping for a peaceful end. The Palaw’ans, on the other hand, developed a creative way of being imaginative in a short story called Endless Tarek.

It was a long evening, dark and gloomy in a municipality called Aborlan. Aborlan is a mystical place where people celebrate occasions every month. There was once a guy called Tar-ek, a half-man and half-god who loved to care for the environment. He lives in another world called Plaridel because his father, who is a celestial in the universe, decided to allow Tar-ek live with his mom to protect his family from the greedy people in the outside world. While Yona, a pretty and innocent lady who is the same age as Tar-ek, decided to travel to Aborlan to meet her grandma and look for the best spots to document the festivals that were mentioned by her friend. One day, Tar-ek decided to go out of their world without his parents' consent because he remembered that it was the festival of Aborlan. The festival has a lot of activities, such as games, a parade that will last until night, contests, boodle fights. They also served his favorite food, puto, a Filipino steamed rice cake, traditionally made from slightly fermented rice dough. He said to himself, "I’ll be back at least until the end of the festival though; they will not know; besides, I will disguise myself."

Afterwards, he traveled from his home to the festival with his black cloak and human form, but the problem is that he didn’t notice the remaining part of his celestial form in his neck throughout the process of transforming to human form. Tar-ek went safely to the festival, as did Yona, wearing her white dress and hairband with her camera to make that day memorable and share it with her family and friends. During the festival, Yona was taking a video of the dancers while Tar-ek was grabbing his favorite food. Suddenly, they collided. Yona was stunned and froze for a moment because of the handsome face of Tar-ek, and he did the same thing. It’s just like their worlds collided, and their hearts beat slowly, and no one could slow that down. After that moment, the two greeted each other with a blush on their faces, and Yona said,

"Hi, are you new here?"

"Uhm... Yes, and I should probably go. It’s nice to meet you." He replied with shyness.

She replied with a smile, "Likewise."

The two parted happily, but Yona's eyes sparkled with excitement as she noticed something new to her eyes in Tar-ek. She hid behind the large trees and stalked him with her light footsteps, and the chase continued without him noticing. Tar-ek came to a halt after a lengthy travel since he is now back in Plaridel. Yona followed him with a questioning look, and she was captivated by the place Tar-ek stepped into. She perceived everything, even the trees and river, as sparkling and glittery. She also saw many creatures such as fairies, elves, and others. He noticed Yona and questioned her. "How did you get here? Did you follow me? You should go, or else someone will hurt you."

She responded, "I noticed something in your neck. That's why I followed you, and I was scared you'd get in trouble."

"You better go, otherwise my parents will see you," Tar-ek said again.

His parents unexpectedly arrived and gave Yona a genuine smile. Yona was requested to stay and talk about herself by his parents. Tar-ek was frightened as she consented to his parents' request.

"Do you have a partner in your world?" Yona's parents asked.

Yona responded, "I don't have any. It is for this reason that I am prioritizing my goals."

The conversation continued until Yona decided to return to the fiesta because someone might find her, but Tar-ek's parents reminded her that she is the only person who discovered their world and no one else can because of the brother of Tar-ek's father. A violent, angry, and furious Apo-rawan. Yona's father warned her that if someone finds out, his brother will murder her as soon as possible. Yona returned to the celebration and was terrified by what she knew. After a few hours, she felt bothered to say what had happened earlier and decided to tell her grandmother. Her grandmother acts fast and contacts officials from the Tagbanwa barangay. They traveled to Plaridel later that day and discovered it was real. At the same time, Apo-rawan was aware that the people were on their way. He planned a scheme to sweep them away and created a spell to make them forget what they knew about Plaridel. Following that incident, he rushed towards Tar-ek with a rage on his face. He questioned Tar-ek about who had entered the realm, but he remained silent. He did, however, recall that a lady had attended the fiesta. In the midst of his search, he comes across Yona and grabs her tightly until they reach Tar-ek and his family. When he asked, they were all terrified.

"Do you mind if I kill her in front of you for violating the rules?" Apo-rawan asked.

"If you are going to kill her, you must first go through me," Tar-ek answered.

The two fought for an hour and realized they had indeed caused havoc in their domain, but Apo-rawan is still upset because he did not kill Yona. He drew his fiery sword with an enchantment on it and flung it at her. Unfortunately, Tar-ek caught it and died as it passed directly through his heart. Apo-parents rawan's are furious with him and punish him for what he has done. He was transported to a place that no living thing could enter., They observed Tar-ek, who was rapidly fading under the full moon, at the same time. Yona said him, "Thank you for saving my life even though we aren't totally met; I will cherish you and keep you in my memory." His parents then vanish and return to their origin place.

Yona resolved to recount the story to the Tagbanwas and spread the word about what happened that they decided to call it Tarek Festival, which took place during the third week of January because that is when Yona and Tar-ek met.