It Starts With Us is the sequel to the much loved It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. This is the first time Colleen has written a sequel to any of her novels, and at the beginning of the book she states she had never intended to do a sequel to It Ends With Us, only choosing to write one after the amount of feedback she received after the book went viral on TikTok.

I have only started reading books by Colleen Hoover this year and she soon became one of my favourite authors, in fact, I would go as far as saying that she is my all time favourite author. I only discovered Hoover after being recommended her by one of my friends. We both have similar tastes in books and she knew I would enjoy Hoover's novels. I haven't been reading her books in any particular order, and I do still have one or two more of hers to read but I have read the majority of her collection now.

Hoover's books can be found in the romance genre, however, I would not say they are your typical romance read. One reason why I soon fell in love with Hoover's writing is that her stories are not predictable, unlike most romance novels. You're not always guaranteed a happy ending either. Another reason why I enjoy reading Hoover's books is that no two books are the same. Each story is very different from the last.

If you are yet to read It Ends With Us then, for starters I'm not sure why you're reading a review of the sequel to it, but also, you are about to get some spoilers. 

It Ends With Us follow's the story of Lily Bloom as she falls in love with what turns out to be an abusive man. You follow her journey through the relationship, as well as having some flash backs to her first relationship when she was a teen. The story is gripping, with many unexpected turns, making you not want to put down the book and keep reading until the end. Overall, I would rate the book 8.5/10 - it is very good.

I was happy with how Hoover ended It End's With Us. I felt as if we had closure on each of the characters stories and our imaginations were left in control of their future. I really didn't think it was necessary for a sequel which is why I was a little surprised to hear she was releasing one.

It Starts With Us picks up when It Ends With Us left off, following the love story of Lily and Atlas. There are a couple of unexpected twist along the way in true CoHo fashion, but overall, the ending was predictable. There was nothing wrong with the novel at all, and it did give justice to all of the characters but I think because my expectations of Hoover are so high now, I was disappointed to discover It Starts With Us was just okay in comparison to her other work. 

Is it worth your time? Well, like I say, it isn't bad and I had no trouble reading it. In fact, it's probably better than most romance novels out there still. So, sure, give it a go if you stumble across it, but I would recommend you try her other novels first if you haven't already. Personally, I think if she was going to write a sequel for any of her books, it should have been Verity!

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts too! Check out my Instagram too where you can find mini reviews for all the books I have read so far this year!