Meet Colleen Hoover, the controversial author of 'It Ends With Us' taking BookTok by storm

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. 

She went on to write 25 more books, most of which fall under the young adult or new adult genres, though she flirted with paranormal fiction in "Layla" and thrillers in books like "Never Never" and "Verity."

Although Hoover's books have romantic elements, her works also include themes of sexual assault, domestic abuse, and mental-health issues. 

After her self-publishing success, Hoover signed book deals with multiple publishers, as The New York Times reported. According to the outlet, in the next few years, she is expected to release three new thrillers with the Hachette imprint Grand Central; two new romance novels with Atria, which is part of Simon & Schuster; and a new novel with Amazon Publishing's romance imprint Montlake.

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.

Hoover's relationship with her readers has been more intimate than the average author since she self-published her books and could therefore cater directly to her audience. But her massive social-media presence makes her even more connected to her readers — and more successful.

Hoover has 1.3 million TikTok followers, though she made her account private, and 2 million Instagram followers. TikTok, in particular, has contributed to Hoover's success, as she became massively popular on BookTok during the pandemic.

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. 

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.

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."