What Happens In It Starts With Us? It Ends With Us Book Sequel Summary Explained

12 August 2024, 16:22 | Updated: 12 August 2024, 16:23

What Happens In It Starts With Us? It Ends With Us Book Sequel Summary Explained
What Happens In It Starts With Us? It Ends With Us Book Sequel Summary Explained. Picture: Sony Pictures Releasing / Everett Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Sam  Prance

By Sam Prance

Who does Lily end up with in It Starts With Us? Here's a breakdown of the plot of the It Ends With Us sequel.

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CONTENT WARNING: This article contains details of domestic abuse that some readers may find triggering.

Want to know what happens after It Ends With Us? Well, the sequel It Starts With Us reveals who Lily actually ends up with.

It Ends With Us is officially one of the biggest movies of 2024 debuting at Number 1 on the box office in the US and UK. Just like the Colleen Hoover novel, viewers have been gripped by the story of florist Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) and her relationships with neurosurgeon Ryle and her childhood sweetheart Atlas. The film also heavily explores themes of domestic abuse.

After watching the film, viewers who may not have read the books are now dying to know what happens to Lily next. The film's ending is actually different to how the first book ends, so if a sequel is made, it may not follow the exact plot.

With that in mind, here's a break down of what happens in the It Ends With Us books.

Watch the It Ends With Us trailer

For the most part, the film is pretty loyal to the It Ends With Us book. Ryle is abusive and Lily gets pregnant with his child.

However, at the end of the film, Lily ends things with the abusive Ryle for good. Atlas is there for Lily and provides her with support, and the film ends with Ryle officially leaving Lily's life and her ending up with Atlas.

The book's ending is different, and it plays heavily into the plot of the sequel novel. At the end of the It Ends With Us book, Lily breaks up with Ryle but she agrees to co-parent their daughter Emerson with him. The fate of Lily and Atlas is left unclear. It Starts With Us explores what happens next.

The sequel book starts when Emerson is 11 months old and it's only when Lily has a chance encounter with Atlas that she thinks about rekindling things with him. However, she's scared about how Ryle will react. Ryle shows up in Lily's flat without warning. Lily makes him give back his key so that he can only see her and Emerson on her terms.

Who does Lily end up with in It Starts With Us?
Who does Lily end up with in It Starts With Us? Picture: Sony Pictures Releasing / Everett Collection / Alamy Stock Photo

Eventually, Atlas and Lily attend a wedding together and they sleep together at Lily's place that night. Atlas leaves that morning and Ryle shows up moments later. Realising that Lily had sex with Atlas, he gets angry and assaults Lily. Lily then flees, picks up Emerson from her mum's house and goes to see Atlas where they agree to be together.

Later, Ryle assaults Atlas at his restaurant. This leads Lily to give Ryle an ultimatum: he can only see Emerson if he takes anger management classes. Meanwhile, Atlas finds out he has an 11-year-old brother called Josh who lives with their abusive mother and Atlas gets parental rights to Josh.

The book flashes then forward six months to Lily moving in with Atlas and it ends a year and a half later with a scene in which Atlas prepares his vows for his wedding to Lily.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by domestic abuse, the following organisations may be able to help:

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