It Ends With Us Book Series Novels & Stories

I haven't actually read the official spin-off 'It Starts With Us' yet.

I got a bit burnt out on the universe, to be honest. A friend recommended it to me after I mentioned how I wanted more closure with Atlas. She said it follows his and Lily's story after 'It Ends With Us', but I have this strange feeling reading it might retroactively change how I feel about the first book's ending, which I thought was strong. I did see a lot of hype when it launched—it felt like a whole event online.

I'm not against the idea of a spin-off, but sometimes the ambiguity is what gives a story its lasting weight. I may still pick it up, but it'll be during a lazy weekend when I'm not as emotionally invested.

Straight up, the series is two books so far: 'It Ends With Us' then 'It Starts With Us'. The first one's a complete story, but the second is a direct sequel picking up years later with Lily and Atlas. I'd say publication order is the only way that makes sense.

Some folks online talk about reading the sequel first to avoid the heavy themes in the original, but that’s kinda missing the point. The emotional weight of the sequel completely depends on understanding what Lily survived in the first book. Skipping it would make Atlas’s whole character feel less earned, honestly. The second book is deliberately lighter, almost like a palate cleanser, but it needs that contrast to work.

I read them back-to-back when the sequel came out and felt the shift in tone was a bit jarming, but in hindsight, that's probably intentional. You need that closure.

A lot depends on how you read and which books you're counting. The core novel, 'It Ends With Us', is about 115,000 words—that's a solid weekend read if you're absorbed, maybe 6-7 hours for an average reader? But then there's 'It Starts With Us', the sequel, which is shorter, maybe around 90-000 words. For the whole 'series' as it stands, you're looking at roughly a 200k-word commitment, not counting Colleen Hoover's little bonus chapters or letters she sometimes adds online.

Reading speed varies wildly, though. I tore through the first one in a single, very late night because I couldn't put it down—the chapters are short and the dialogue pulls you along. My friend, who only reads on her commute, took two weeks. If you're listening to the audiobooks, both combined run about 20 hours. The sequel feels quicker, maybe because you already know the characters, but the emotional weight can make you need to pause.

Honestly, the time isn't just about page count. These books make you stop and think, or just stare at the ceiling for a bit after certain scenes. That processing time is part of the read, for me at least.