My oh my! I've read Colleen's books before, so I definitely expected my feelings to get a real workout with IT ENDS WITH US, and I've also read so many reactions to this book...many that involved lots and lots of tears, so I went into it expecting to be absolutely broken...and I was! 
 I cried, but I also smiled, laughed, and just fell so fricken hard for the characters in this book! I adored Lily...not just loved, I adored her. She was kind, determined, strong, and real. She was the kind of character that I could picture myself as or picture as being my friend, and I think that was one of the strongest parts of this book. You relate to Lily, you love her, and you feel EVERYTHING she feels. You feel her love, her fear, her remorse, her inner conflicts, and you really understand what she's struggling with inside of her head. I loved all of the other characters, too...and the fact that I loved them all made my feelings just as conflicted as Lily's were! 
 Colleen Hoover does an absolutely exceptional job at making us understand what Lily feels, and that makes this is a truly hard book to read. It makes us see things that we don't always want to see, don't always want to feel, and don't even want to necessarily acknowledge. It makes us understand something that many people just brush off. It makes us understand that not every person who does bad things is a bad person, and that it's not always easy to just walk away even though you know deep down that you should. People can definitely change, but sometimes, they don't and the real strength comes in walking away and choosing to end the horrible cycle of violence. 
 Colleen has said countless times on social media (and in the author's notes of IT ENDS WITH US) that this is a very personal novel for her, and you can feel that in her writing. It's raw, it's real, and it's really hard to read through at times. It might leave you a sobby mess, full of snot and tears, but it also leaves you with hope. While IT ENDS WITH US does cover a very difficult subject matter, it handles in a very honest and hopeful way. I hope I'm not spoiling anything when I say this book does have a happy ending...not the happiest, but definitely a happy one, and I think that sense of reality makes this story even better. A perfect ending wouldn't be realistic in this situation, and when it comes to difficult subjects, unrealistic expectations are never a good thing. Instead IT ENDS WITH US forces Lily (and readers through her) to face her difficult situation head on, and to persevere and become stronger because of it. 
 I'm circling the subject of this book because I don't want to spoil it for any one, but I think even the description lets you know that this story isn't always a happy one when it says that "SOMETIMES THE ONE WHO LOVES YOU IS THE ONE WHO HURTS YOU THE MOST." IT ENDS WITH US is a hard book to read, but it's also an amazingly, beautiful book to read. It's real, raw, and just so, so bloody necessary. The characters are phenomenal, and this books does an amazing job at exploring the darker side of relationships that we don't get to see from the outside looking in. As always, I loved Colleen's writing[?]she truly is a remarkable author and has a wonderful way with words[?]and I love that in IT ENDS WITH US she's pushed herself even harder than ever before. 
 This book is just as wonderfully written as Colleen's previous books, but I love that with IT ENDS WITH US she's exploring hard subjects that are so personal to her, and are also so important! I'm a reader who reads for enjoyment, but I also love it when I read a book that I love that also pushes me to a greater understanding of the human condition, and I think that's exactly what Colleen has done here. IT ENDS WITH US is not only a beautiful story, with a happy and hopeful ending, it's also in its essence an exploration of the darker side of humanity and how we can all strive to break the patterns of darkness that surround us. All in all, this book was AMAZING and I completely, wholeheartedly recommend that you read it!