It Starts with Us Summary

It Starts with Us is Colleen Hoover’s 2022 sequel to her bestselling novel It Ends with Us, continuing the story of Lily Bloom and Atlas Corrigan. The novel picks up shortly after the first book’s ending, with Lily newly divorced from Ryle Kincaid and co-parenting their young daughter, Emerson. Atlas, now a successful chef and restaurant owner in Boston, reenters Lily’s life after their chance reunion, and the two begin cautiously exploring the relationship that was interrupted years earlier. The narrative alternates between Lily’s and Atlas’s perspectives, a structural choice that distinguishes this book from its predecessor. Atlas’s chapters reveal his difficult childhood—his time in the foster care system, his estrangement from his mother, and his bond with his younger brother, Josh, whose existence he discovers later in life. A central thread involves Atlas’s efforts to secure custody of Josh and protect him from their abusive mother, paralleling the cycle of harm Lily escaped in the first novel. Meanwhile, Lily navigates the complications of shared custody with Ryle, whose volatility remains a source of tension, and works to establish healthy boundaries while building a life with Atlas. Supporting characters include Lily’s friend and employee Allysa, Ryle’s sister, and Atlas’s restaurant staff. The story focuses on second chances, chosen family, and the quiet work of healing rather than on dramatic twists. Hoover wrote the book in response to reader demand for Lily and Atlas’s happy ending after the first novel’s ambiguous resolution.