It Starts With Us

I was feeling under the weather, and everything seemed bleak. So, to save myself from completely drowning in desolation, I thought it wise to take a nap. To aid me in that, I sought out a book to read. Lol. It's never worked with me, but I opted for it anyway because reading helps me get out of my head. I don't care if the sleep came or not; all I cared about was getting out of my head.

Going through my e-library, I realized I had many books I had started reading but left after a few pages. So, I scrolled through and after debating on which one to read, I settled on the sequel to 'It Ends With Us,' which is 'It Starts With Us' by Colleen Hoover.

Checking my mental capacity before diving into the book was necessary because the previous book messed with my head so much that it took me weeks to get over what I had read. I wasn't even ready to experience pain with any character. However, judging from the title of this one, I believed it was going to be less traumatic than the first one, and I could bet that a new love was definitely blooming for Lily. Taking a deep breath, I turned the pages and continued from where I had stopped.

No Spoilers

After Lily's divorce from Ryle, her abusive husband, she reconnects with Atlas, her teenage love. However, she's skeptical about going on a date with Atlas, considering how Ryle, her ex-husband, will handle the development since their child was involved. As expected, Ryle didn't take her going on a date well; he was so pissed about it and overstepped his boundaries. With the help of Lily's best friend Allyssa, who is Ryle’s sister, and Allyssa's husband Marshall, Lily gets all the support she needs to finally move on with her life without feeling a tinge of guilt about her decision to be happy.

I was elated that Atlas came back into the picture and made Lily experience the true love she deserved, which her ex-husband couldn't give her. The story with Lily and Atlas is long and emotional, and I couldn't be happier for Lily after she met Atlas again.

One thing I like so much about this book is Lily's determination to break the cycle of abuse. She witnessed her father mistreating her mother, and when her husband tried it with her not once, but twice, she knew it was time to file for divorce, saving herself from embarrassment and also sparing her daughter from experiencing the heartbreak she went through as a child witnessing her parents fight.

Lily did it because she knew her daughter, Emerson, deserved better. Emerson deserved to live in a home where love and care were the order of the day, not where toxicity, anger, and insincere apologies prevailed.

Lily is the kind of character I want to read about every day so I can be reminded that settling for an abusive partner, no matter how subtle the abuse may be, should not be anywhere in my books. After the fight, they go down on their knees, sincerity written all over them as they dish out apologies, which would be altered immediately they're riled up. It's better to take a run or probably sprint because it'll definitely happen again and again. It takes an abusive partner months in rehab to get a grip, and waiting that long just to see a pinch of change could cost one their mental sanity.

I enjoyed completing this series by Colleen Hoover. It was satisfying, and I couldn't have asked for a better ending to a story that almost began bitterly.

I strongly recommend this book. It's worth the read.

^{link to the review of the first series}

^{second image by MetaAi.}