It Ends With US

Point of View

The point of view of "It Ends With Us" is first person point of view. It is told from the perspective of the main character, Lily. An example of first person used in the book is when she says "But I can’t help you unless I know you need it. Ask me for help. We’ll get through this, I know we can.”

Point of View

Setting

• The novel takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the major settings include Lily's flower shop, the restaurant where Atlas works, and Ryle's house.
• The time period is 2016

Setting

Theme

The themes of "It Ends With Us" include jealousy and emotional abuse. What starts as a love story becomes more of an examination of what love is and isn't, as well as relationships that live on an emotional rollercoaster. It Ends With Us foreshadows Lily’s experience with the cycle of domestic violence by introducing the readers to Ryle Kincaid as he is going through one of his rages and repeatedly kicking a chair. Watching him, Lily thinks of her father, whom she despises for having been abusive to her mother. She will make this connection again after she and Ryle are a couple and he begins hurting her both physically and emotionally. At that point, Lily will begin to see herself as her mother, toward whom she’d long harbored resentment. Lily will come to recognize that like her mother, she finds herself wanting to excuse Ryle’s behavior and believing that it will improve, despite evidence to the contrary.

Characters

• Lily Bloom is the protagonist of the book and also tells the story in her perspective. 23-year-old college graduate who has recently moved to Boston from Plethora, Maine. Lily is a redhead who speaks her mind. After her father’s death, she quits her position in a top marketing firm and uses her inheritance to open a flower shop because gardening is her passion and outlet.
• Ryle Kincaid is Lily's husband. He is assertive, stubborn, and a little arrogant. He has a soft spot for Lily, but cannot control his anger when his temper is triggered.
• Atlas Corrigan is Lily’s first love in the novel. She meets him because he is homeless and in need of food, shelter, and warmth. He always wants what is best for Lily, even if it is giving her up for another man she loves.

Plot

Lily Bloom has watched her mother being domestically abused by her father her whole entire life. She promises herself that she would never be like her mother and be careful with who she chooses to spend her life with. The day her father dies, she meets a boy named Ryle on a rooftop. They grow interested in each other and start dating after a while. The day Ryle and Lily start planning their wedding, Lily’s first love, Atlas, reappears and Lily is thrown between her feelings for the both of them. When Ryle realizes what has happened between Lily and Atlas, he turns into a completely different person and starts to become violent and abusive towards Lily. Lily realizes that her life is slowly turning into her mother's life.

She discovers that the cycle of domestic violence sustains itself through self-delusion and fear: the self-delusion that everything will stop, and the fear of breaking the relationship. In Lily’s case, her fear grows even more once she learns that she’s pregnant with Ryle’s child. She doesn’t want her child to grow up in a broken home, but neither does she want to bear Ryle’s abuse, or for her child to witness said abuse the way Lily witnessed her mother’s. To break the cycle is not only to take a stand for her own self-worth, but also to allow her child to have a positive relationship with her father. Lily then must make a decision. Will she leave Ryle for the sake of herself and her child? Or will she promise herself that it will be alright and stay with her abuser?