Colleen Hoover Responds to ‘It Ends With Us’ Coloring Book Criticism

• Colleen Hoover announced Tuesday she was publishing a coloring book inspired by “It Ends With Us.”
• The novel is largely about domestic violence, leading many to criticize the coloring book.
• On Wednesday, Hoover’s publisher announced the project wouldn’t move forward.

Colleen Hoover’s coloring book inspired by her novel about domestic violence won’t be published after its announcement was met with criticism on social media. 

Hoover is the bestselling author of novels like “Verity” and “Ugly Love.”

Elle reported that she got her start as a self-published author, but Hoover is now best known for her book “It Ends With Us,” which was published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Over 4 million copies have been sold since the book was published in August 2016. 

Its sequel, “It Starts With Us,” was Hoover’s highest debut to date when it was published in October 2018, according to USA Today. “It Ends With Us” is also being turned into a film by Justin Baldoni, who starred in “Jane The Virgin,” according to Variety. 

On Tuesday, Hoover announced she would be adding another project to the “It Ends With Us” universe: a coloring book inspired by the novel to be released in April. According to the Amazon page for the coloring book, the 30 illustrations included would bring the “most iconic scenes and settings” from “It Ends With Us” to life, as well as memorable quotes from the novel.

“I’m one of the adult coloring book industry’s biggest consumers, so to have one of my books turned into a coloring book is a dream come true,” Hoover captioned her announcement post on Instagram, which has since been deleted. “I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! Releases April 4th, 2023. Beautifully Illustrated by Emma Taylor.”

But social-media users weren’t as excited as the author initially was about the project, with many critical of the decision to turn the novel into a coloring book due to its subject matter. “It Ends With Us” is largely about domestic abuse; both the main character, Lily Bloom, and her mother face domestic violence in the story.

Social-media users quickly filled the comments section of Hoover’s post, questioning her choice to make the coloring book.

Representatives for Hoover did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. 

“This is so gross. Why make a book about literal abuse into something as lighthearted as a coloring book?” one user wrote.

Another said Hoover was “romanticizing a toxic and dv relationship.”

Book lovers also took to TikTok to air their grievances about the project, with many saying they felt the coloring book made light of domestic violence. 

One 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. Her video had almost 1 million views on Wednesday.

Another TikTok user posted about the project, saying, “A coloring book? A coloring book about a novel whose central theme is domestic violence, and y’all want me to take her seriously as an author?”

The TikTok user added that the video was “beyond tone deaf” in her caption. The video had already garnered over 1 million views on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Hoover shared on her Instagram story that she asked her publisher not to release the coloring book following the reaction she received to her announcement.

“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.

“I hear you guys and I agree with you. No excuses. No finger pointing,” she went on to say. “I have contacted the publisher to let them know I would prefer we don’t move forward with it.”

“Thank you for the respectful discourse and accountability. Nothing but love,” Hoover added.

A representative for Atria Books also confirmed to Insider the publishing house would not be moving forward with the project.

“Atria Books will not move forward with the publication of ‘The Official It Ends with Us Coloring Book,'” the representative said. “We developed this book to be uplifting and empowering, mirroring Lily Bloom’s story. We appreciate the feedback and discourse and have the greatest respect for Colleen Hoover’s fans.”

“Thank you for the honest conversation and passion for the world Colleen has created in her books and the characters within,” the representative went on to say.