The moment we’ve all been waiting for, the sequel to, “It Ends With Us”, following up with Lily and Atlas! I cannot believe the day has finally come. This reminds me of when I first read, “It Ends With Us” and it was my very first Colleen Hoover book. Colleen has written her stories with love, heartfelt and heartbreaking moments, but also imbued her stories that are entirely unique to any book I’ve ever read. I was so excited to jump back into this storyline, but with the new journey of what Lily and Atlas’s story would turn to next.

In, “It Starts With Us”, it follows up when, “It Ends With Us”, ended with Lily and Atlas having just met up after a year and a half. Lily, now recently divorced and raising her daughter, Emerson a.k.a. Emmy was juggling her mommy duties as well as her flower shop. Atlas, also busy with his restaurants was focused on work, but couldn’t help thinking about Lily no matter what. Now in this story it showed that Atlas and Lily had a chance of finally being together after being apart for quite some time. One would think that after what Lily through in the last book, she’d finally be able to enjoy her new single life, and be with Atlas, but it wasn’t as simple as one would imagine. This book illustrated the obstacles that Lily and Atlas were faced with even after what many thought would lead to their new chapter. Ryle still being a constant in Lily’s life due to co parenting their daughter and Lily’s worries that Ryle still was clinging on to hope that they could get back together was a big source of Lily’s fear and worries. Ryle may have seemed to be on his best behavior, but he was still manipulative, gaslighting, and no matter what, was the man that physically and emotionally hurt Lily. 

Reading about Atlas and Lily again was like a breathe of fresh air ( yes I know that sounded cheesy, but it seemed appropriate), and I was once again fully invested in their story. Lily and Atlas have always had a strong connection, and this story shed more light on that. Seeing the flashbacks from when Lily and Atlas were teenagers as seen through reading back the journal entries that Lily wrote as a teen was not only intriguing, but also gave us a chance to deep dive into their past. Honestly while reading, I couldn’t get enough of Atlas, he was literally the best man possible, and even the smallest things he said or did had me swooning and smiling. (Sigh) pretty sure I’ve said this at a different point in my life, but I’ll say it again, ATLAS CORRIGAN IS BOYFRIEND MATERIAL/ HUBBY MATERIAL!

As much as there were sweet, romantic, and lighthearted moments between Atlas and Lily and some of the other characters, there was still the topic of Lily still being in contact with Ryle. Ryle was still technically part of Lily’s life due to them co parenting Emerson, and with that Lily always felt on edge that if she pursued a relationship with Atlas, it would set off Ryle. For Ryle, Atlas was someone he didn’t like and even mentioning him made Ryle feel angry. I felt bad for Lily because, she was trying to live her life, and yet still was worried at the potential fall out that would occur when Ryle found out about Atlas. Lily had every right to move on in her life, but for Ryle he had always believed they would get back together and be a family. Ryle was still manipulative and would gaslight Lily into feeling guilty like it was her fault and she should feel bad for certain things she said or did. NOPE! Ryle was still a walking red flag and I. WAS. NOT. LIKING. IT. Ugh Ryle really pissed me off in this book (again). Even some of the things he did and said made me angry like, “ugh Ryle go away!” Obviously Ryle was never going away, but it didn’t change the fact that he was toxic and when his behavior would steer towards anger, Lily couldn’t help, but automatically feel fear at the potential that what if he hurt her again. In addition, seeing how Lily and Atlas tried to work around Ryle and his anger was a obstacle for them. Literally Ryle in this story made me hate him even more, that man never changed, and ugh just made me wanna slap him with a lawsuit for hurting Lily and Atlas! Anyways, as I was saying, this story also shed light on the reality that Lily was faced with in that she had to deal with Ryle and his anger while trying to maintain peace in their custody agreement. By no means were things easy for Lily whenever Ryle was involved. 

This story covered a couple things from family, to love, and more. Throughout the story, we got to learn even more about Atlas and Lily, and even learn about some new characters as well. Atlas had always believed that he would forever be alone, but the day he met Lily when they were teenagers changed everything for him. Years later as we see Lily and Atlas finally getting their chance to be together, and Atlas learns a big part of his life he never knew… he had a little brother. Learning about Atlas’s brother, Josh was a surprise, but it gave Atlas a chance to be there for him. I liked seeing how Atlas tried helping Josh in whatever way possible, and it was just nice seeing that Atlas wasn’t completely alone in that he actually had another family member, a sibling. Atlas had always been a “take action” kind of man and when it came to those he loved, he always went above and beyond.

That moment when you find how the title ties into the story is always one of my favorites, but in true Colleen Hoover fashion, the title was significant and heartfelt. Before reading this book, I just assumed the story would mainly focus on Lily and Atlas’s story. With Atlas finding out about Josh (his brother) it was a part of his family he never knew existed. Once I got to the part of the story where the true meaning behind, “It Starts With Us” was revealed, I was immediately swarmed with happiness, and it got me right in the feels. Finding out the meaning behind the title was so much more significant than I initially thought, it was more than just Lily and Atlas, it was also about Atlas and Josh, the chance at starting over in a new chapter, with the ones they loved, forming their own family… starting with them.

This was truly a great story with it ending with Lily and Atlas getting their happily ever after. A story filled with sweet, heartfelt, and some sad moments all combined to illustrate the highs and lows that Lily and Atlas were faced with. Lily and Atlas had endured a lot in their pasts and even a little bit still in this story as well. I’m just happy to see that everything ended on such a beautiful note. This story expanded more on Lily and Atlas’s story, and I cannot get over how loving and kind Atlas and Lily were together. I loved the letters Atlas wrote Lily, I loved seeing Lily and Atlas together from their first date attempt, to the day they moved in together, to finally their wedding day! I LOVED IT ALL! If you’ve read the first book, “It Ends With Us”, please, please, please read this book as it ties up everything, and it’ll have you loving Lily and Atlas even more!