If you’re aware of publishing trends or “BookTok” (the community of readers making content about books on TikTok), then you’re also aware of Colleen Hoover. After many years of writing (and often self-publishing), Hoover became an unexpected literary phenomenon when social media users started promoting her work during the pandemic. Since then, she’s dominated best seller lists with years-old novels, none more popular than It Ends With Us. Now, her most beloved book has become a film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, releasing on August 9.
Directed by Baldoni, It Ends With Us follows Lily (Lively) as she achieves her dream of opening her own flower shop, helped by her best friend Alyssa (Jenny Slate). When Alyssa introduces Lily to her neurosurgeon brother Ryle (Baldoni), the pair fall into a whirlwind romance—one that dangerously veers into abuse. Meanwhile, Lily’s childhood sweetheart Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) reenters the picture, causing Lily to reassess her relationship with Ryle. The trailer outlines essentially the entirety of this tumultuous love triangle, punctuated by a soundtrack from Lively’s bestie Taylor Swift.
It Ends With Us is classic CoHo (as Hoover’s fans call her): traumatic, “dark” romance featuring characters who have names like “Ryle” or “Atlas” or “Tate” or “Lowen.” Hoover has said that It Ends With Us was inspired by witnessing her parents’ abusive relationship and was meant to advocate for domestic violence survivors. She has also said that the characters in the film were aged up from the book (Lily and Ryle were originally written as 20-somethings immediately post college) because she didn’t realize, when she first wrote it, that neurosurgeons had to go to school for many years before becoming practicing doctors.
“Lily resonated with an enormous amount of people, as the success of the book made clear,” Lively previously told People. “Stepping into a character who’s had such a meaningful impact is an honor to take on.” She added, “I loved Lily. And I hope that love is felt by those who care about her like I do, and also those who are getting to know her for the first time in this film.”