If there was an award for the biggest switch-up of the century, the first-place winner would HAVE to be BookTok. TikTok's bookish side and its love-hate relationship with Colleen Hoover, have been nothing short of a rollercoaster. If you’ve been on the internet anytime during these past two years, chances are you’d be familiar with the name by now.

Colleen Hoover is an American author known for her romance novels “It Ends With Us," “Ugly Love” and “November 9.” BookTok played a huge role in the commercial success of her, otherwise deemed mediocre, writing work. The vast amount of literary works produced by her would make one think that she has a relatively solid understanding of what tropes work and what doesn't, but this article begs to differ.

The Premise

To provide you with the exact context, this article has been written from the perspective of someone who has been on BookTok and the bookish side of the internet ever since Booktok was a thing ( I was around 12) and is still on the bookish side of social media.

A majority of Colleen Hoover's audience are readers looking back to go into reading as well as 10 to 15-year-olds wandering on the internet. The “coquette” and the Lolita-esque aesthetics on Instagram and Tiktok make it a predominant feature to display “It Ends With Us." The cover is pink and tends to fit the aesthetic. However, the heinous content of the book often goes unnoticed by the users of the aesthetic.

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It Ends With Us

"It Ends With Us" is a novel that aims to explore the “complex” relationship between Lily and Ryle. The problem with this book is that while the notion of covering an issue like domestic abuse is noble and thoughtful, the execution of the book is in the trenches. The amount of trigger warnings and heavy content explored in the book with no prior intimation whatsoever pushed many readers off the edge.

Colleen Hoover specifically has expressed her disdain for trigger warnings, stating that “as a fellow reader with my fair share of past experiences, I understand that there are issues some people do not want to read about. But as a writer, there are many things I don’t want revealed in the blurbs of my books.” But a book as emotionally heavy as “It Ends With Us,” absolutely needs to have trigger warnings.

Apart from the absolute lack of awareness regarding reader mentality, the lack of plotline in the book is sincerely confusing. The “turning point of the story,” never comes, and all we see is a continuous cycle of Lily’s trepidation about where she stands with Ryle, and Atlas’s saviour complex.

While Lily could be called a strong character, Colleen Hoover's internalised misogyny weaved into the pages of the book makes it difficult for me to come to a proper conclusion.

“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”

The core message of the book seems to be the perpetration of toxic masculinity. This is intensified by the conclusion of the book- “It Ends With Us,” ends with Ryle “choosing” to co-parent with Lily. The truth is co-parenting isn’t exactly a favour, especially when you’re the father of the child.

The most damaging incidents of the story include the fact that Lily had to be “saved” by another man, Atlas. This intensifies the “saviour complex” arc that Atlas seems to revel in. Most victims of domestic abuse do not simply leave because there is “another man” waiting to take them in. They leave because they reach a tipping point and have been abused for far too long.

The absolute lack of conclusion and the unnecessary side romance conquest simply add to the hate train this book receives.

Ugly Love

There is something uncannily common amongst all of Colleen Hoover's male leads. As a GoodReads user puts it, “coho male leads seek therapist first before hitting on women challenge (impossible).”

Lust at first sight, coupled with an emotionally unavailable man, Miles, and the absolute definition of a people pleaser, Tate. This book truly was ugly in the sense that not just is the cover horrendous to look at, but the way Miles treats Tate is absolutely disgusting.

People who truly enjoyed “Ugly Love” have a thing for toxic relationships- it is not too late to fix yourself. This book simply exemplifies the idea that all women should be doormats and that past trauma is a justification for your behaviour. The absolute lack of a redemption arc for Miles and the general lack of plot for the story were truly disheartening. I truly never understood how having a female character become an absolute doormat with no self-respect could ever contribute to the “plot” of the book.

What's more concerning is the ending- Miles indeed ends up “falling in love” with Tate. As stated earlier, the majority of Colleen Hoover's audience are young, developing minds and reading books like “Ugly Love,” perpetuates the idea in the them that for a love to truly bloom, it has to be ugly. They could definitely end up romanticising the idea of an emotionally unavailable man who is tormented by the demons of his past and even choose to stay in relationships like that.

This brings me to the writing style of the book, It Was Simply So Dreadfully Annoying.

No, this IS the writing style of the book. The cliched premise of the story coupled with the lacklustre execution along with the half-dimensional characters truly left nothing more to be desired.

Conclusion

If you’re a reader who’s been looking to get back into the world of books, Colleen Hoover’s books are NOT the place to start. I'll admit that I do own copies of “It Ends With Us”, “Ugly Love,” and “November 9,” and I'm certain that all of BookTook has read a book or two of hers. The issues addressed in her books are worthwhile ones but her portrayal of the characters always falls flat and there definitely are better ways to go about disturbing themes in your book.

Have fun on your reading journey!