Colleen Hoover was under scrutiny from her fans after she was prepped to release a coloring book to accompany her best-selling novel, It Ends With Us.
If you go to any public place, you might see people pulling out a Colleen Hoover book to accompany them in their spare time. Her books are best-sellers, and are beloved by people of all age demographics, making her books perfect for a book club night or any reading occasion. Her books came to huge popularity specifically in 2021 and 2022 thanks to the widespread movement of "BookTok," a side of TikTok on which viewers give book recommendations and reviews - and through this, she became one of the most popular authors of 2022.
One of her most talked-about books, It Ends With Us, has a badge of notoriety for a reason. This book specifically follows issues of domestic abuse and sexual assault through the lens of protagonist Lily Bloom, making it a tough read, but what many people also evidently believe to be a riveting one, seeing that as of 2019 the book had sold over a million copies worldwide. This book also has a prequel, which was released in late 2022, aptly titled It Starts With Us.
With the growing success of this franchise, Hoover was set to release a coloring book with publisher Atria Books to accompany the best-seller - but when news broke on January 10 of a spring 2023 release date for the coloring book, people were confused and unhappy with the content, to say truly the least.
Underneath Atria Book's now-deleted post announcing the coloring book's release date and first-look specs, fans had some scathing critiques. "Look, I enjoyed the book, I'm a fan of CoHo in general. But... why would you make a coloring book inspired by a book about domestic violence..." one user commented.
When we talk about Colleen Hoover and her publisher both romanticizing abusive relationships and trying to convince us her books are romance, actually, something like CREATING A COLORING BOOK only proves the point. pic.twitter.com/BwTJqn4fRxWhen we talk about Colleen Hoover and her publisher both romanticizing abusive relationships and trying to convince us her books are romance, actually, something like CREATING A COLORING BOOK only proves the point. pic.twitter.com/BwTJqn4fRxJanuary 10, 2023January 10, 2023
Twitter users also voiced their concern about the coloring book. "Colleen Hoover creating a coloring book for a novel that’s supposedly about DV and SA is just profiting off of the subjects DV and SA. At this point it’s about money for her and I feel like we should absolutely 100% boycott her and stop buying from her and supporting her," the tweet says.
After reviewing the backlash, CoHo herself posted on her Instagram story, apologizing for the "tone-deaf" nature of the coloring book. "The coloring book was developed with Lily’s strength in mind, but I can absolutely see how this was tone-deaf. I hear you guys and I agree with you. No excuses. No finger pointing," she said. "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."
Atria Books released a statement soon after CoHo's Instagram story post that they would no longer be releasing the coloring book.
"Atria Books will not move forward with the publication of The Official It Ends with Us Coloring Book," the published posted to their socials. "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."
