Trigger warning: The book discussed in the following review deals with situations and topics that may be sensitive to some readers. 

When I started reading this book I didn’t know what to expect. It was the first book I decided to read by Colleen Hoover. I discovered it while scrolling through TikTok – the best place for book recommendations. 

Romance or heartbreak? Everything in between. The book starts with the main character, Lily, standing on a rooftop after attending her abusive father’s funeral. This is where she meets the main love interest, Ryle. Two different people with two different intentions in life and each other.

Lily promised herself that she’d never end up in an abusive home like her mother did but then she meets Ryle. Their relationship starts out as everything she hoped. Ryle’s sister is her best friend and employee. She believed that he would bring no harm to her.

When their relationship was first introduced I was a fan of theirs and I wanted her with no one else but him – until he started showing signs of abuse. She then sees that she’s in the same position her mother was. 

The book also had Lily relive her past by having her read the old diaries she had addressed to Ellen DeGeneres. The diaries consist of her and an ex-lover’s relationship from when she was a teen. This was the first boy she fell in love with, Atlas. Although the diaries show a background of Lilly’s past, I wasn’t a fan of them. I was just more invested in her current life and felt that the diary entries took up the majority of the book.

Atlas shows up in her life again and it stirs up more problems in Lily’s life. I wasn’t a big fan of him throughout the book until the end.

The diaries also showed us what her mom went through with her father. It showed us why Lily resented him and didn’t want to be like her mother. Her rereading them also helped show her how bad her situation really is.

Overall, it was a good book and I think it covered the topics very well, especially with it being a tough topic. It helped bring light to these situations.