I plan to release a romance novel soon. So, I felt I must delve into the work of the leading author in that genre, Colleen Hoover. My choice was her It Ends with Us.
The novel is written in a young woman’s vernacular. That’s expected. So too are the love interests, a childhood friend now a top restaurateur in Boston and a leading neurosurgeon, both rich, handsome, and, naturally, heads-over-heels in love with the main character.
The main character’s parents, the Blooms, could not resist giving their daughter the quirky name Lily. So, Lily Bloom’s desire, true to her name, is to become a florist. That she does and, true to the romance genre, her flower shop is wildly successful.
So, we have the perfect setting of a successful young woman with two men wanting her.
However, there is a very serious theme threaded into the story: spousal abuse. Lily grew up with a mom subjected to it, and she swore she would never marry a man like her father. But the story progresses to show how such abuse may creep into a relationship little by little.
The story ends unpredictably with only bad choses available. The author confessing firsthand knowledge of growing up in an abusive environment enhances the heft of the story.
So, bottom line: It Ends with Us is a classic romance tale layered with a serious subject handled well.
