It Ends With Us Book vs Movie Review 💐

[@raisaahmed5426]

I have to disagree about the casting of Justin as Ryle. I think for a few reasons, he’s a great choice. First of all: his acting is insane. I honestly think he acted circles around Blake - I was terrified of him at points. A moment that comes to mind is when they were at the party and he told her to shut up; he spoke in a way that made me slightly afraid of him but then I felt stupid for being afraid because he was clearly joking right (!!!). And he did the emotional scenes so well you genuinely felt sorry for him. The only time I cried watching the movie was when Lily said she’s going to name her daughter after his brother and he cried, saying “that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done”. He FEELS like a real person. Second of all: my experience of Baldoni is him being the heartthrob in Jane the Virgin. He does that charming / attractive role so well and that was so important in empathising with Lily and trusting Ryle. I honestly think he was a better casting choice for Ryle than Blake was for Lily

[@WhytheBookWins]

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you liked his performance. I didn't know he was playing Ryle and the minute he came on screen i was like, hmm that's not at all how i pictured Ryle. So i know that's superficial, but because I was distracted by him not looking how I imagined I think I didn't give him enough credit for the actual performance.

[@mariedit9935]

I know this is off topic but Justin Baldoni at least in my opinion was the opposite of charming on Jane The Virgin lmaooo got on my nerves since chapter 1 so I was very glad to see Baldoni be one of those guys that challenges toxic masculinity

[@lindaatteo409]

I agree with everything your saying

[@anacaldas1418]

Ohhh yesss, I agree 100%. He felt SO real to me, in the beginning of the movie I was completely in love with him 😭 the way he looked at her, his smirks, his body language, he was the perfect mixture of sexy and romantic. Until he starts to show who he truly is and in some scenes I got chills from the way he looked and talked to Lily, so scary and crazy-looking. His acting was 10/10 for me.

[@karinavidal4882]

The Ellen letters were my main criticism of the book like why…💀 every time there was a letter I would roll my eyes out 🙄😅

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah it was silly lol.

[@PriyankaSharma-qf7ne]

I agree

[@hailiebird]

I actually liked the journal entries, 15 year old girls sometimes do silly things and it was kind of charming and cute to me but to each their own!

[@shinniex]

Baldoni started his career directing documentaries of people with terminal diseases called “my last days”. Those were so well done and you can tell he truly cares for the people he were filming. He also has already done a project with Colleen Hoover by directing one of her books into an online only film. I believe it was the book “Confess”. So Colleen has had previous experiences working with him. I’m surprised at the controversy going on right now and how Colleen is seemingly not supporting Justin at all. If you want to know who Justin baldoni truly is, check out the My Last Days series.

[@asyerazam4726]

Unfortunately, Colleen got starstruck by Blake Lively, and by extension, Ryan Reynolds.

[@alexcoyg3281]

I think director of the movie has to be competent and skillful at his art, it does not matter if they are a woman or a man.

[@sarahedgar7026]

i have to disagree with you about the scene with ryle knocking on all the doors to have s€x with lily. i actually think that was the whole point of the scene. and loved it in the book. the beginning of the book is set up to seem like your stereotypical romance novel like you said. romance novels are INFAMOUS for romanticising toxic behaviour (especially in the mmc). so i find it very believable that many women did in fact find that scene romantic when they first read it. we are also reading the book in lily's pov, so all of ryle's actions early in the book, especially when it came to perusing lily, are incredibly romanticised, because lily found them romantic at the time. but you're absolutely right, this was a massive red flag from ryle that lily and we as the reader are meant to gloss over and misinterpret as romantic. only realising in hindsight that ryle's been a walking red flag from the beginning. we as the reader were meant to fall into the same trap as lily in the beginning, as the whole purpose of the book is understanding why victims of DV stay with their abusers. loved the video btw 🥰❤

[@sarahedgar7026]

i also think CoHo giving lily the most cartoonish perfect life in the book was also on purpose. you hit the nail on the head in saying it feels like a teen just imagining what their adulthood is gonna look like. lily spent her whole adolescence dreaming of escaping to boston and having a better life. when she meets ryle and alyssa and has the most romcom cliche life you've ever seen, she thinks she's found her escape and has her (too) perfect life. only then do we realise lily hasn't actually escaped anything and her current life is far from perfect. it adds another reason she doesn't want to leave ryle, she's scared of ruining her "fairytale" life she's always dreamed of

[@WhytheBookWins]

Thanks for sharing! I don't read a ton of romance so I appreciate you sharing how this relates to typical tropes. I do love romcoms though, and you make a good point with those as well.

[@aliliv9384]

It's so funny cause he is more respectful of the topic of DV then the author and the Blake I thought it was a rom com at first he is the only one throughout the press marketing actually talking about DV Blake she promoting a haircare line. Colleen wanted to make a colouring book for this book

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah I heard about that recently. But I haven't paid attention to any of the marketing they've been doing so at the time I made the video I didn't even know there was drama going on.

[@AthalieM]

"I'm warning you right now, I'm like a drug". I truly laughed out loud at that. The writing in these Colleen Hoover books sounds so terrible, yet there's such a furor for her output, I'm intrigued. Would you actually recommend any?

[@WhytheBookWins]

No! This is the best I've read so that tells you how bad the others are lol. A lot of people like Verity which is her attempt at a thriller but you would be better off reading Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, or Gone Girl.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@WhytheBookWins Verity was also supposed to be a romance though. Thing is, it would almost work as a thrilled. Almost. But she tried to shoehorn it in as romance, and somehow, SOMEHOW, Verity managed to willfully convince everyone that she was in a coma so thoroughly that even brain scans confirmed the coma. Um...what?

[@jadamaleeyahgriffithg.1853]

I actually recommended this book to people i suspect are in that kind of relationship because of the love story , the book seems to me to say ,you can love someone deeply but have to chose your self because, you can only change what you do , both relationships had all the feels ,but she had to choose the healthier relationship, i haven’t seen the movie

[@WhytheBookWins]

That makes sense! There is a booktuber who said reading this book a while back is what made her realize she was in a bad relationship and she got out of it.

[@shrls.zee01]

@@WhytheBookWins do you remember who this person is?

[@mmj3358]

I think that is so funny what Colleen said about Ryle in the book. I absolutely hated Ryle from the first few pages. I just saw the movie and how they changed those first few scenes, I actually liked Ryle and it made it so much harder knowing what was going to happen.

[@mwont]

In the book they had this ”naked truth” thing going. This explains why Ryle was so open and wanting to sleep with Lilli at the beginning.

[@MaximumRideMaster]

Boston local here. You nailed it when you said it’s horrible to drive in downtown it’s horrible to drive anywhere in Boston! And the parking prices are ridiculous too. The fact she can get a street parking in Back bay is amazing lol. Better to take the T or just walk lol

[@WhytheBookWins]

Thanks for commenting! Good to know my assessment was correct lol. It seems like a lot of locals also bike everywhere too. I don't know how much of the movie was filmed in Boston but I also wish we saw them on dates in popular Boston locations but oh well. Ben Affleck is great at showcasing Boston whenever he films movies there but it's where he's from so it makes sense he seems to be able to capture it so well.

[@kimmietooshoes]

I agree with you that Big Little Lies does a really good job with DV.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Moriarty is such a great writer! Her characters feel so real and genuine, and I was so invested in that book of hers in particular. And yeah, the way DV is written also feels so real and horrible but also shows why the wife continues to stay with him.

[@janobi8871]

​@@WhytheBookWins can you do a Video on big little lies?

[@WhytheBookWins]

@@janobi8871 i was on the ink to film channel and talked about big little lies book vs show with them! It's linked in the description if you want to check it out 🙂

[@TamB89]

Hoover is such a bad writer. She ia like the bad type of Wattpad teen girl writers. It's ridiculous

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah definitely

[@EzenwankwoUdoka]

One of the most practical books I read about Domestic violence is Breaking free from an abusive relationship, your journey to freedom by Natalie Adams.

[@jenmurphy6343]

A woman who was never abused like that would be no better of a director than a man. The problem was its mix between Sweet Home Alabama/ The Devil Wears Prada and Sleeping w the Enemy.

[@persephonestudy]

As someone who has suffered domestic violence I must say that this book is weird to me. Sometimes is awful as hell, yet, for time to time, it has truely heartbreaking quotes. I really wish Colleen Hoover could write more books that follow the second reaction rather than the first one.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah the book is really unbalanced in that way.

[@hailiebird]

You did a really good job highlighting the differences and similarities to the movie and book even though you weren’t a huge fan. I especially like that even though you don’t love it that you were able to point out what you felt the author did well. Very balanced great job 👏🏻 I will say that an abuser having a “reason” does not excuse the behavior by any means but everyone does have circumstances that lead them to where they end up which I feel like is even highlighted in the contrast between Ryle and Atlas because both have their own trauma but handled it/coped with it differently. As a mental health professional I feel like it is important to highlight his struggle with his anger which the movie just grazed over. The scene where Lily finds out about the brother is so much more powerful in the book because you gain a little more empathy for him as he shows true remorse. And his effort with having Marshall be a mediator for some conversations that we don’t see in the movie either shows him making an effort to be careful with his anger. Which when acting out of anger it’s a stress response where we act out of our brain stem in a sort of “fight or flight” which Ryle clearly becomes triggered (which I don’t love using that word because it’s become very over used) but essentially he gets set off when Atlas comes in because he is threatened by him and the potential to loss Lily scares him and he “blacks out” again we don’t see as well depicted in the movie. Overall, seriously great job!

[@WhytheBookWins]

Glad you liked my video ☺️ And you make a great point about how Atlas comes from a traumatic background and yet has been able to process things in a healthier way it seems. Thanks for commenting!

[@natashambulo3510]

In my opinion after reading the book and seeing what I saw online her writing seemed to have an emphasis on "he wud have been a good guy if it wasn't for the trauma" like there is giving a reason to someone's awful behavior but in the books it came off as very...., excusing ( I don't know if I'm making sense) like I saw an unnecessary glorification of his character by some readers like the fact that in the end whether charming or not, an abuser is not a good person, to me there is no two ways about it. It seemed the author picked up on this too because in the sequel book she made it very clear that Ryle is an asshole. Probably because of the backlash or some self reflection.

[@SydneyVolpe]

Wow thanks for this video!! I haven’t read the book but have obviously seen discussion about it being adapted. This was super interesting haha.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Thanks! Yeah this was a case where the movie was better in my opinion.

[@allosanthrwpos542]

The main girl was extremely unlikable . I didn’t know who Blake was till today. She acted as if she’s in a different movie. Took me completely out of the film …

[@elizabetha.188]

Huzzah to another fun compare and contrast review!

[@WhytheBookWins]

😃

[@LucyLioness100]

One of my coworkers read “Verity” which she despised and immediately said “no way am I gonna see this” to which I just laughed so hard. This one was popular at my work mostly cause old ladies and wine moms went to watch it

[@Mrs.E_78]

Cheesy is exactly the right word for Hoover’s writing. 😂 I’ve only read Verity, and the dialogue gave me secondhand embarrassment. I might check out the movie, since it sounds like they improved this story.

[@emmalight937]

Another thing they left out which I was looking forward to is the magnet. Something she held onto for so long and it’s not even mentioned in the movie :/

[@kitflixstudios516]

Okay, I may have vowed to never read her books, but that doesn’t stop me from watching videos that have constructive criticism about the many flaws in her books. I never really liked her nor her books, mainly because I just don’t respect her as an author. I used to be a bookseller and had no idea who she was and when I saw her books in the romance section I was feeling that something was off. A couple reasons why I don’t like her is mainly because I just think she prefers quantity over quality, I don’t feel like she puts the time and effort she was trying to put out and not to mention it takes so much time to make sure the story is good. Researching about DV is very tedious whether you were a victim or not, but what’s the most important part to me is to portray it well. And I feel like no matter what she writes her book will make money, so I just feel like it’s more of a cash grab opportunity. Another reason is how her books are passed off as romance when it’s just mainly dark romance and that feels like false advertisement to me. I hate how most of the books that have the most vile things that people would be disgusted by(grape, incest, etc.) is treated as if it’s normal and romantic. My main concern is the twelve and thirteen year olds that read it, one because those are for adults and two mainly because I don’t want them to be influenced by these kinds of relationships. Does she or is she aware that most of the people that read these books are middle to high schoolers? And as the years go by and watching people review and look at when those books came out, it just shows that she hasn’t improved at all. Especially if the names she keeps coming up with are ridiculous. But above all, all of her books are the same thing. The women are one dimensional, the male love interest is toxic and yet ends up with them. And 99 out of 100 times(Mainly a 100 out of a 100 times) she always makes she to include the female lead pregnant or have some kind of pregnancy in the story. I don’t care if the movie is different than the book, this is my only opinion and I don’t plan on watching the movie, both of the material isn’t good. Disclaimer: This is all just my opinion with what I think of her and her books. To those that have read through this, thanks for reading the comment.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@sarahhiggins3993]

I thought I was the only one! The Ellen letters were so annoying.

[@susanmcintyre9934]

Thanks so much for this video! You saved me a lot of time, even though you enjoyed the movie more than the book, I don’t really feel a need to watch it now. So thank you!!! Also, have you watched the first season of Big Little Lies? A comparison between that book and mini-series would be a great video to see!!! Love your videos! 😊

[@WhytheBookWins]

You're welcome! I have seen the first season and loved it! I didn't cover it on my channel but I joined Ink to Film for their episode on it, I linked to it on the description 😊

[@susanmcintyre9934]

@@WhytheBookWins Thank you! I almost always look in the description box. I can’t believe I neglected to do so this time!

[@arkkon2740]

Im glad you touched on Colleen saying she apparently loves Ryle, and assuming you've seen her other stuff, every other MMC acts the same way that he does. It's one thing to be self aware about creating a character, but Ryle's behavior is a constant between a majority of her male love interests and its gone to the point where people thought her OTHER books were like IEWU. Also I have to add, IEWU is apparently about her parents to a degree, but she never really talks about how close this is supposed to be to reality, and its really gross depending on how close you think it is.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah I read Layla and the relationship in that one was horrible and the main guy was terrible, but that one was played like it was romantic.

[@mercuryfighter]

thank you. I was on the fence about reading but I don't think I'm going to read this now. I don't like to promote domestic violence/women changing men books. I'm going to read something else. I really don't want to watch the movie either. Better things to watch and read.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah, there are definitely far better books out there than Colleen Hoover's! I'm glad you could just watch my video instead 😁

[@Denise-iz3wm]

I’ve read one Colleen Hoover book so long ago that I don’t remember the name. I just remember they said “I butterfly you” or something like that. I just don’t see how her books are so popular. I watched this movie because a friend wanted to see it and I didn’t like Ryle from the first moment met him. I don’t know how readers could have fallen in love with him🤷‍♀️

[@Mary-d5b5w]

Loved your review and have seen others review with the same comment that the book is not well written I did not read it myself but was curious what it was about since I’ve seen the trailer for the movie !!

[@audreybeale753]

Thank you! Read the book, didn't like it, but may consider watching the movie after this. Just such a tough subject matter to cover from not a very good script. Appreciated the detail you go into these videos with :-)

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah it can be a tough subject to show in a movie. Glad you liked the video ☺

[@c_louie670]

I read the book a long time ago so I really don't remember those cringe dialogues you mentioned omg. I'm sure if I read it now I wouldn't like things like that. I just remember how Colleen play well with trying to make you feel that maybe what Riley did one or two times was just a mistake and how I was starting to justify his behavior so I did like that on how she demostrated that. I'm not interested to watch the movie but I really enjoy this video comparing the movie and book. I will check the big little lies book. Thanks for the video.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah the book can be pretty bad at times but it has its merits. Glad you liked the video! 😊

[@pretty_raya]

Can you do a video on the book “After” it’s messy but entertaining

[@WhytheBookWins]

Sorry it doesn't sound like one I would be interested in but thank you for the recommendation!

[@alexking5742]

I’m so glad someone else agrees that Ryle was red flag from the beginning! Lily’s relationship with him was so cringe too. I feel like they never had a real connection and lily was just physically attracted to him which felt so forced in the book if her morals were so high. And the whole Ryle’s brother thing just seemed made up on the spot because the author was trying to find justification for his actions. The characters were very flat and cookie cutter. I hated how fake the sister/friend seemed in the book too. After your review though I’m hopeful for the movie and will check it out. Based off the book alone I wasn’t interested.

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah agreed! And DV is common enough and the men who do it don't have some huge scarring thing in their past. If she wanted to give him a "reason" it didn't have to be something so dramatic.

[@CirrenaMarie]

Yes! Every part of rule was a red flag from the start 🚩🚩🚩and the poor writing didn’t give Jenny Slate the chance to really shine

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah kind of an odd casting choice even though she is someone I usually really like!

[@chromesthesia]

Hmm I'm gonna become a writer. Also I'm definetly not a girl. Vile rile sucks. Throwing around marine grade polymer chairs all day and then people

[@christynagonzalez419]

So I have not read the book or watched the movie; nor do I intend to. I’m just curious if at any point Blake Lively’s character in the book thinks or talks about being afraid if Ryle could be abusive to their daughter? Again I have not read the book but IT ENDS WITH US seems like a very childish title seeing as how in reality men don’t just stop being domestic abusers. He may very likely go on to be abusive to other women. Also the reasons why women and mothers stay in abusive relationships is can be very complicated. There is often not only gaslighting but alienating from their family/friends and it mention verbal/mental abuse. Was that explored? Are any of those things discussed?

[@WhytheBookWins]

No she doesn't get into this at all. In a video I made last year about the book I mentioned this, like shouldn't she be concerned leaving her daughter alone with him when she knows he has these "black out" anger moments? But in the movie, he isn't even there in the end so I'm not sure what their custody situation is like. But I guess Hoover has Lily be okay with him being with their daughter since based on her own experience, her dad that was abusive to her mom was never abusive to her or her sister.

[@christynagonzalez419]

@@WhytheBookWins I see. In my experience people like this will always need a scapegoat or “punching bag.” Which is why I say many mothers stay in this kind of relationship bc they feel as if they rather be around all the time and not share custody in order to protect their child bc they are worried about what will happen when they are not around. I suppose the book could just be written from the perspective of a very naive person. But that is why I thought maybe they dive into more with her mother who could give deeper insight as to why women stay. “It’s easier than leaving” is very shallow response. I may watch the movie but tbh I’ve never been a Blake Lively fan. Love your videos! Thanks

[@mariaskabardonis8353]

The movie does seem to enhance the book. I do think Justin is a good Ryle from what I have seen. The friends were there to say that Cassie was fake in the book lol. I enjoyed them but I understand why they were cut lol. So was everything better in Boston when you visited lol I visited it’s not one of my dream cities anymore I am mbut I did like it. Yes driving is impossible there

[@WhytheBookWins]

Boston was okay imo. It's cool to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

[@mariaskabardonis8353]

I am in the same boat about Boston

[@DylanLovesBrenda]

I liked the movie more than the book which never happens lol I was not a fan of the book but I thought the movie was done well. I didn’t have a problem with the story, of course somethings but overall it was the writing and quotes are so cringe. Sadly watching other review channels and reading the comments people LOVE Ryle it makes me sad and worried for these women lol 😂

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah the movie had some cringe lines (especially coming from older people than they were in the book) but the book was still worse lol. And yeah, people who want her to be with Ryle are concerning 😬

[@DylanLovesBrenda]

@@WhytheBookWins 100% great review btw!

[@karenmorgan5656]

The writing pretty awful but the story and characters were well built well movie is better for sure

[@angelaholmes8888]

Because I didn't like the book i have decided not to watch the movie this is my least favorite book by colleen hoover

[@WhytheBookWins]

Which is your favorite of hers?

[@angelaholmes8888]

@@WhytheBookWins All your perfects Reminders of him Heart bones

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@angelaholmes8888 Reminders of Him is fucking AWFUL. The reader is supposed to feel bad for the fucking bitch who drove drunk and killed someone. The reader is supposed to want her to get custody of her daughter back from her dead boyfriend's mother, the mother of the man she killed when she drove drunk, crashed, then fled when he could have been saved had she gotten help. As the daughter of alcoholics, that book made me hate her more than I've ever hated any author.

[@ter17nicfab99]

I may not bother watching this one x

[@WhytheBookWins]

Yeah while I had some good things to say about it, it isn't one I would say people _have_ to see by any means

[@CarmenATrejo]

Great video. I forgot some scenes in the book but the movie was so cringe with the dialogue. I kept rolling my eyes. Like too woke. I thought Ryle was written better in the book than the movie; he’s just a red flag automatically. Atlas parts are good in both book and movie. I don’t like Blake’s portrayal of lily. Makes her unlikable and not relatable as a character.

[@LucyLioness100]

@@CarmenATrejo I don’t think the BTS drama with her helped her image either. Apparently she was busy strong-arming the director and taking control away from Justin. But yeah I know a few folks who didn’t like her performance; most patrons at my theatre I heard did, but not exactly the best judges of character sometimes

[@thairitrejo5637]

You sound upset and rude tbh lol I wish someone would go to 29 doors and beg me

[@JovialJakeJon]

Because when male directs it - we get good movie "It Ends with US" But when a female directs a movie - we get horrible "Madame Web"

[@WhytheBookWins]

I don't know how Madame Web has anything to do with It Ends With Us lol. Are you saying all female directors are bad? Because obviously that isn't true.

[@JovialJakeJon]

@@WhytheBookWins I simply answered your sexist question that you asked your audience directly in the beginning of the video.

[@cakt1991]

Not true at all. There are some great female-directed movies. I’m new to this channel and recently watched her coverage of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. I haven’t seen that yet, but it sounds great, and Greta is doing quality work. And if you want a fairer comparison, look at the progression from female directors to male (aka the reverse of what is likely to happen here, if the greater discourse is what I think it is) from similar properties “for women.” Catherine Hardwicke came in with an artistic vision for Twilight and made arguably the best film of that series. Each of the directors for the follow up films were men who didn’t have quite the same pedigree as Hardwicke, not to mention the books being much weaker plot wise, which didn’t help. Fifty Shades: Sam Taylor-Johnson, known for her artsy films, was brought on to direct the first one, and clashed with EL James. The two subsequent films were “directed” by a man with much less clout who would dance to James’ tune, not to mention the screenplays done by James’ husband.

[@paulinaa9205]

@@cakt1991 also To All the Boys I've Loved Before

[@ny3793]

The book was straight up garbage

[@jacobneale5844]

Didn’t read the book, but definitely watch the recaps the of the book 🫠