It Starts with Us

It Starts with Us is a romance novel by Colleen Hoover, published by Atria Books on October 18, 2022. It is the sequel to her 2016 best-selling novel It Ends with Us. The sequel was first announced in February 2022. It became Simon & Schuster's most pre-ordered book of all time. Hoover wrote the novel as a "thank you" to fans of the first novel.

Premise
The novel continues from where It Ends with Us ended and centers on the relationship between Lily and Atlas. The novel alternates chapters between the first-person narration of Lily and Atlas.

Plot
Lily Bloom's daughter Emerson with her ex-husband Ryle Kincaid is now 11 months old. Lily unexpectedly runs into her former lover, Atlas Corrigan, on the streets of Boston, but the encounter is cut short. After dropping Emerson off with Ryle, Lily returns to work. She is unable to stop thinking about her run-in with Atlas, but is hesitant to text him out of fear of how Ryle will react.

Atlas' friend Theo convinces him to text Lily, but Atlas is disappointed by her rather curt response. When Lily returns to her apartment that evening, she finds Ryle and Emerson inside. He requests to start having overnights with Emerson, but Lily asserts that Emerson will not be allowed to stay with Ryle overnight until she is old enough to speak. She also requests that Ryle return her apartment key, which he begrudgingly does.

Atlas' restaurants are being vandalized, but he chooses not to report it to the police after he discovers some food missing, empathizing with the vandal as he too was once homeless and starving. While inspecting some of the damage, he receives a call from his perverse mother, Sutton, whom he hangs up on and immediately blocks.

Atlas visits Lily at her flower shop. Ryle arrives unannounced. Lily, nervous about how Ryle will react to seeing Atlas there, hides Atlas in a closet. That night, Atlas invites Lily on a date, and she accepts. She drops off Emerson with her best friend and Ryle's sister, Allysa. While on the drive to their date, Lily falls asleep. Instead of waking her up, Atlas occupies himself by reading some of the journal entries that Lily wrote about Atlas when they were kids.

When Lily returns to pick up Emerson, she finds Ryle with Emerson watching Finding Nemo. Ryle is angry after having deduced that Emerson's middle name, Dory, is dedicated to Atlas because of the significance the movie had to Lily and Atlas when they were children.

Sutton shows up at one of Atlas' restaurants and reveals to him that he has an eleven-year-old brother named Josh, who is missing. Later that night, he waits at one of his restaurants, ready to confront the vandal if they return. The vandal returns, Atlas discovers that it is Josh. Atlas takes him in and resolves to return Josh to Sutton, but changes his mind after witnessing her abusing Josh.

While attending a wedding together, Atlas notices a heart-shaped tattoo on Lily's collarbone. After she tells him he was the reason she got the tattoo, they share a kiss, and have sex later that night. Atlas leaves early the next morning to take care of Josh, leaving Lily a note. Ryle arrives at Lily's apartment; when he sees loose undergarments strewn around her living room, he assaults Lily in a jealous rage. She flees the apartment and collects Emerson from Lily's mother's house. Lily takes Emerson to Atlas' house, where Lily and Atlas officially define their relationship.

Ryle sends Lily aggressive texts throughout the days following the incident. Eventually, he shows up at Lily's flower shop looking for her. Lily says she will be talking to a lawyer about his custody of their daughter. Ryle goes to Atlas's restaurant and assaults him. Atlas does not fight back, instead trying to talk him down. Ryle is still frustrated, but ends up leaving.

While at Emerson's birthday party, Ryle tries to talk to Lily. Lily refuses to speak with him alone, saying she will only converse with him if Allysa and her husband Marshall are there. When the four meet, Lily delivers Ryle an ultimatum, requesting that he attend anger management courses, and that his visits with Emerson be supervised. Ryle is enraged, but ultimately agrees to her terms.

Meanwhile, Sutton implores Josh to come live with her, but he declines, insisting on living with his father in Vermont. Atlas takes Josh to see his father, but Josh decides he wants to live with Atlas instead. Atlas meets with Sutton at his restaurant and requests full parental rights over Josh, as well as that they meet up for weekly family dinners at Atlas's restaurant. Sutton ultimately agrees.

Six months later, Atlas asks Lily to move in with him, and she accepts. A year and a half later, Theo helps a nervous Atlas go over his wedding vows to Lily, which include a reference to Finding Nemo.

Reception
By the end of its release day, the novel sold 800,000 copies, a number that includes pre-orders and first-day sales. It Starts with Us debuted at number one on The New York Times fiction best-seller list for the week ending October 22, 2022. It was the third best-selling novel of the year according to Publishers Weekly, selling a total of 1,885,351 copies. The next year it was the second best-selling novel of 2023, selling a total of 1,244,471 copies.

In its starred review, Publishers Weekly called it a "stunning sequel" that showcases "the author's talent for creating nuanced and empathetic characters". Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over." Marianka Swain of The Daily Telegraph gave the novel 2 out of 5 stars, describing Hoover's writing quality as "closer to Fifty Shades of Grey, a strange mix of twee and graphic, plus the added irritant of solemn therapy-speak pronouncements." Swain also lamented, "She [Hoover] favours blunt dialogue and inner monologues over description, subtext or character development." Alice Giddings of Metro wrote, "While it doesn't have the grit or the emotional pain and catharsis of the first book, Colleen's latest work is exactly what it needs to be, which is the light at the end of the tunnel."

It Starts with Us was named WHSmith's Book of the Year for 2022.