Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the infamous writer Colleen Hoover. She’s responsible for many bestselling novels such as It Ends With Us, Regretting You, Verity, and many more. Recently, Hoover’s books have been turning into movies. One after the other, the movies keep coming out in what looks like the beginning of a never-ending cycle. From her movies, books, and scandalous accusations that she has yet to beat, Colleen Hoover has been the talk of the media.
Time and time again, Hoover has been accused of romanticizing serious issues like domestic abuse, trauma, and toxic relationships. “It Ends With Us” (2024) was the first of her books to be given a film adaptation. A common theme among her novels is marketing them as romances while also surprising or horrifying audiences with a sick twist. What starts out as a romance between the main characters Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, becomes a domestically abusive relationship involving attempted rape. Later, she was also criticized for undermining and profiting off domestic abuse victims during the marketing of the movie when she released an “It Ends With Us” coloring book.
“Regretting You” (2025) is a story about an estranged mother and daughter whose lives get turned upside down when an accident reveals betrayal and leaves them to confront family, love, and each other. Luckily for Hoover, this new movie release had nothing truly incriminating about it besides the usual snide remarks like indifference to plot points, acting, the script, and so forth. The most common criticism is the movie being what some would say is unbearably cringe, but that is what’s to be expected with any romance movie. Additionally, another movie adaptation finished filming in April 2025 and is scheduled to release October 2, 2026. “Verity” is a psychological thriller about a struggling writer who is hired to finish the book series of a famous author that leads to the discovery of a horrifying autobiography and the development of a forbidden romance. The novel has mixed reviews, some considering it suspenseful with a shocking plot while others consider it badly written and even shallow.
Though people are actively boycotting Colleen Hoover for her wrongdoings, the sales and anticipation of her movies are consistently high. Hoover’s works originally became popular on Tiktok’s Booktok. The community of Booktok is one that many would consider toxic. The kind of books that Booktok circulates are typically ones that have the trope of the female lead attempting to “fix” the male lead. These male leads usually have an assortment of bad traits, whether they are abusive, emotionally unavailable, manipulative, or cheaters. Totally sounds like all the stuff you’d want in a romance … It really is no question to ask why Hoover has such a die-hard fanbase when Tiktok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world and alone has 68.9 million posts on#Booktok.
The majority of this fanbase unfortunately is teenage girls. It seems the bar on standards for relationships is so low you can’t even see it. Not only is Colleen Hoover detrimental to readers and literature itself, but kids are experiencing toxic relationships through her books, thus normalizing it. It is important to prioritize what we want to be circulating in the media to make sure those who see it are getting something beneficial from the content, not a headache or a harmful mindset. There is nothing wrong with indulging in novels and movies, but it is clear that Colleen Hoover is not the author you want to look to for representation or romantic fantasy.
