Meet Colleen Hoover, the controversial author of 'It Ends With Us' taking BookTok by storm
Samantha Grindell
- Colleen Hoover is the bestselling author of over 20 books, including "It Ends With Us."
- The film version of "It Ends With Us," starring Blake Lively, premieres Friday.
If you've been in a bookstore recently, you've likely seen one of Colleen Hoover's books.
Hoover is the prolific and widely loved author of over 20 books. According to Quartz, her total sales are estimated to be as high as 30 million copies sold.
Hoover's catalog includes "It Ends With Us," which has been adapted into a film starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
The film premieres on Friday, and before its release, Business Insider looked back at Hoover's career.
From self-publishing roots to social media fame, here's everything you need to know about Hoover.
Colleen Hoover began her writing career as a self-published author.
Hoover, 44, was working as a counselor at WIC, a nutrition program for women and children, in Texas when she started writing, according to USA Today.
While she, her husband, and her three sons were living in a single-wide trailer, Hoover found time to self-publish her first novel "Slammed" in 2012, The New York Times reported.
It immediately became successful, appearing on the New York Times bestseller list seven months after Hoover published it.
Hoover's book sales are massive.
USA Today reported that "It Ends With Us" is Hoover's most popular book, with over 4 million copies sold as of 2022.
Its follow-up, "It Starts With Us," — which was released on October 18, 2022 — became an instant bestseller.
Hoover's books have sold over 20 million copies, and according to Time, six of her books were on the top 10 New York Times bestseller list at once in 2022.
But some think Hoover's works are problematic.
Despite her popularity, some readers take issue with Hoover's approach to sensitive topics, specifically the portrayal of domestic abuse in "It Ends With Us."
In the novel, the love interest, Ryle Kincaid, physically abuses the main character Lily Bloom, and some think Hoover romanticizes him and his relationship with Lily.
"Though cocky and manipulative from the start, Ryle is portrayed as a man who desperately wants to be good but is tormented by inner demons," Jennie Young wrote for Ms. Magazine in 2022. "This is, of course, a tired cliché that's too often applied to abusive men."
Many social-media users agree with Young's analysis, criticizing Hoover on apps like TikTok.
But there are also millions who love Lily's story. Some have shared on social media that they found "It Ends With Us" moving, others said they fell in love with the characters, and many TikTok users count it as a book they always recommend to friends.
In January 2023, social-media users quickly condemned Hoover when she announced she was publishing a coloring book based on "It Ends With Us."
Social-media users found the idea of a coloring book based on a novel about domestic abuse "tone-deaf," with people commenting their criticism on Hoover's Instagram post announcing the book and posting TikToks about it.
"This is so gross. Why make a book about literal abuse into something as lighthearted as a coloring book?" one user wrote.
Another TikTok user, who described herself as a former fan of Hoover, said she was "disappointed to say the least" in the project and that she hoped the coloring book wouldn't end up being released.
The day after she announced she was publishing the coloring book, Hoover shared on her Instagram story that she asked her publisher not to release it following the negative reaction she received.
"The coloring book was developed with Lily's strength in mind, but I can absolutely see how this was tone-deaf," Hoover said in the statement.
Representatives for Hoover did not respond to Business Insider's previous request for comment on the matter, but a spokesperson for Atria Books confirmed to BI at the time that the publishing house would not be moving forward with the project.
Despite the controversy, Hoover continues to win accolades and garner more commercial success.
In addition to the success of her books, Hoover will soon add film credits to her lengthy résumé.
Wayfarer Studios and Sony Pictures adapted "It Ends With Us" into a film starring Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid. The film premieres on August 9, and Lively has been wearing a slew of floral-inspired looks in the lead-up to its release.
The star-studded cast is sure to bring Hoover even more success, though some fans are skeptical of the film.
Lively and Baldoni are much older than the characters in Hoover's book, so some fans are concerned about how it will compare to the novel. In addition, others were skeptical of Lily's wardrobe in the movie based on the first images shared from the set of Lively.
But others are brimming with excitement for the release. In just 24 hours, the first trailer for the film released in May amassed over 128.1 million views, outpacing "Barbie" and "Wicked," according to Deadline.
People may have mixed feelings about Hoover, but the author's rise to fame is hard to ignore. As Jenna Bush Hager said when Hoover was named to Time's 100 Most Influential People list in April 2023, "Whether you count yourself a Colleen Hoover fan or not, her influence on the publishing industry is undeniable."
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