Described by Hoover as the hardest book that she has ever written, It Ends With Us centres around Lily Bloom, a 23-year-old college graduate living in Boston. After her father’s funeral, she meets Ryle Kincaid, a dreamy resident neurosurgeon. Despite the instant chemistry, Lily and Ryle’s relationship is not plain sailing—as Ryle’s problematic temper and impulsive rages threaten to destroy all the couple has created. As a result, Lily is drawn to Atlas Corrigan: homeless wanderer and Lily’s lost love. It’s a gut-wrenching portrayal of domestic violence, generational trauma, and self-sacrifice. If you’re looking for a book that will capture your heart like Colleen Hoover‘s It Ends With Us did, here are five novels that we think pack a similar emotional punch.
This USA Today-bestselling 2017 romance novel is set in Los Angeles’ Arts District where we meet our protagonist Charlotte. A drifter, Charlotte floats in and out of jobs and relationships alike—until she meets Adam. It’s love at first sight for Charlotte, but after a passionate night together Adam’s behaviour turns erratic and he exits Charlotte’s life as quickly as he entered it. Months later Charlotte is in a relationship with Seth, an aspiring baseball player, but for some indescribable reason she cannot shake her feelings for Adam. Much like Lily, Charlotte is faced with two options: to continue on her current path or to revisit the past, which will inevitably yield life-altering consequences.
Sally Thorne’s 2017 debut novel The Hating Game is an office romcom set in the fictional publishing house Bexley & Gamin. Both executive assistants to the co-CEO’s, Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman do not hide their dislike for one another. Lucy is cheerful and optimistic while Joshua is bad-tempered and duteous—but their office rivalry reaches its peak when they both go for the same promotion. As tensions rise, true feelings are revealed; the line between love and hate has never stretched so thin. Named as one of the top 20 romance novels of 2016 by The Washington Post and recently adapted into a film starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, The Hating Game is an obvious pick for anyone craving a rollercoaster romance book like Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us.
Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End is a heartfelt, New York Times-bestselling YA novel that focuses on two teenage boys, Mateo and Rufus. It’s set in a dystopian, near-future version of New York City, where both boys have been informed that they only have 24 hours to live by the tech corporation Death-Cast. They both turn to an app, Last Friend, to meet up and share one final adventure on their last day on earth—which culminates in a heart-warming love story. This devastating LGBT romance reminds us that loss and love are inextricably linked.
Love and Other Words is by writing duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, who publish under the pen name ‘Christina Lauren.’ This number-one bestseller is a story of first love. Macy Sorensen is in training to be a paediatrian, and keeps to an ambitious routine focused on financial security and career—leaving little room for romance. But an incidental meeting with the only man she has ever loved threatens to upend the peaceful life she has created for herself, as she is confronted with both the good and the bad memories of what happened all those years ago.
Sometimes there’s no substitute for Colleen Hoover herself, but it can be hard to choose which of her 24 novels and novellas to read next. Ugly Love is a good bet if you loved It Ends With Us; its protagonist is young nurse Tate Collins who, rather unromantically, finds airline pilot Miles Archer passed out drunk in front of her apartment door. Connected by Tate’s brother Corbin and an undeniable mutual attraction, the pair start a casual relationship—an arrangement that seems to suit both parties until feelings get involved. As Tate digs deeper, Miles pulls further away and his traumatic past threatens to rear its ugly head. Like Colleen Hoover’s biggest selling book, it features a troubled love interest and doesn’t shy away from complicated emotions. Why not give Ugly Love a go, and let us know how it compares? We always love to hear from our readers on social media.
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