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I don't dislike It Starts with Us per se, but it does feel more like a long and unnecessary epilogue to It Ends with Us rather than the separate, worthwhile story it should've been.

I remember vividly the experience of reading It Ends with Us, how every page felt riveting and every moment essential. There were so many memorable scenes, so much emotion embedded in the pages. I sobbed my way through it, especially that ending that completely gutted me. To prep for this book, I reread the ending, and sure enough, it walloped me again.

So it's rather disappointing that this story didn't do anything for me. There was no emotional punch, no compelling conflict. It took me days longer to read this than I anticipated because I didn't feel any pull to keep going. And now having finished this, I'm already unable to point to a single memorable moment because there honestly weren't any.

But then, that's always the fear when an author gives in to fans and writes a sequel or prequel they originally had no intention of writing, isn't it? That the result would be mundane, at best an unnecessary add-on, at worst ruining the legacy of a previously amazing work. (I'm looking at you, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.)

More spelled out isn't always better. Whatever I had imagined in my head for Lily's future, it was more interesting than what I got. And in fact, to spell out Lily's future in the way that this sequel did took something away from the difficulty of Lily's decision at the end of the first book. Part of what I loved about that book was the nuanced and flawed characters, while this book distilled everyone down to either just a good guy or a bad guy.

The other issue is that there is no real conflict or surprises in here. Sure, I enjoy reading a happy ending as much as the next person, but not for 300+ pages. It's clear without having read a single page of this book what will happen and who will end up happy. And sure enough, the story progresses and ends exactly the way you'd expect. And that just does not make for an enthralling read.

This all sounds rather harsh, but it's really not that bad. It was an alright way to pass a few hours if you're not quite ready to leave the world of Lily and Atlas. This pleasant and unexciting story won't leave you breathless, but it shouldn't offend either. Just be ready to forget about it almost as soon as you're done.

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See also, my thoughts on:
It Ends with Us
Verity
Reminders of Him
Regretting You
Ugly Love
Layla
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