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."
Hoover also ends the book with Ryle and Lily co-parenting their daughter, with Lily chalking her situation up to two people having to "work through their differences" to raise a child, thereby normalizing interpersonal violence, Young argues.
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.