Colleen Hoover’s young adult romance novels have created a huge rift in the literary world. Since her first novels were released in 2012, her writing has become popular among both young adults and older readers. Hoover’s books are transformative and help to raise awareness about important issues that are not addressed enough in society. Especially in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, millions of people relied on books as a way to escape from the troubles of society. Suddenly, Hoover’s novels became all the rage, and everyone wanted to get their hands on a copy. 

Although the #1 New York Times Bestselling author has written more than 20 books and four series, Hoover’s most popular novel by far is It Ends With Us. Released in 2016, the book features recent college graduate Lily Bloom, a spirited and lighthearted protagonist who is ready to start her life in Boston. She starts her own business and meets Ryle Kincaid, who is the perfect man in so many ways. When things accelerate and Lily begins to question her relationship, she begins to reminisce about her time with Atlas Corrigan, her first love. Lily runs into Atlas, whom she hasn’t seen in years, and their bump-in causes her mindset to change as she wonders what her future might hold. 

While everyone was at home stuck in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, readers took to TikTok to find recommendations for their next read. This phenomenon gained the term “BookTok,” and has functioned as an outlet for avid readers and viewers to find book suggestions through short videos categorized by genre, popular authors, subjects, and more. Colleen Hoover’s name appeared more and more in BookTok videos as time progressed, and more and more people were advertising It Ends With Us. Following the BookTok craze of the novel, It Ends With Us appeared as the #1 New York Times bestseller on the bestsellers list in January of 2022.

The extensive advertising and publicizing of It Ends With Us has increased demand for more copies, more Hoover books, and a sequel to the intense romance novel. Since the novel was first released in 2016, fans all over the world have been anticipating the announcement of a follow up story. In February of 2022, Colleen Hoover announced that the sequel, It Starts With Us, would be available in October. The announcement immediately sent fans into a crazed excitement, and the book quickly became Simon and Schuster’s most pre-ordered book of all time.

Because both Hoover’s original novel and its sequel were so well received, fans continued to demand for It Ends With Us to be made into a movie. Fans on TikTok began posting about their dream casts for Lily, Ryle, and Atlas, and conspired over the thought of a film. Finally, after waiting impatiently since the novel’s initial release, Hoover fans got what they wanted. Justin Baldoni––actor, director, and most importantly, fan of the book––got the idea to turn it into a movie. It was announced that he would be both directing the film and playing the infamous Ryle Kincaid. On January 26th, Hoover herself took to TikTok and announced that Lily Bloom would be played by the one and only Blake Lively. Fans were both ecstatic and shocked following the announcement. Although the role of Atlas Corrigan has yet to surface, fans are already certain of the movie’s destined success. 

Despite there not being an official release date for the film, fans can expect it to hit the theaters sometime in 2024! In the meantime, it is definitely worthwhile to read It Ends With Us or any of Colleen Hoover’s other amazing books!