A coloring book themed to It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel about domestic violence, won’t be published after all.
Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster that publishes Hoover’s books, announced Tuesday that it would release a coloring book inspired by It Ends With Us on April 4.
The adult coloring book, titled The Official It Ends With Us Coloring Book, was to include quotes “that come alive with charming illustrations that will make you want to frame them on your wall,” according to its sales page on Amazon.com.
But fans of the Sulphur Springs romance-young adult author took to social media to roundly object to the book. Her following on TikTok, known as CoHorts, was especially critical with some calling it inappropriate.
It Ends with Us, which was No. 3 on The New York Times combined print and e-book fiction list, tells the story of Lily Bloom, who falls for a man only for him to start abusing her.
In an Instagram post that has since been deleted but screen-captured by some of her followers, Hoover wrote that the 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.”
Hoover also wrote that she had contacted Atria and asked the publisher to not move forward with the project.
“Thank you for the respectful discourse and accountability,” she wrote.
Atria also replied with a statement to The Dallas Morning News, saying it would not publish the coloring book: “Thank you for the honest conversation and passion for the world Colleen has created in her books and the characters within.”
Atria Books will not move forward with the publication of The Official It Ends with Us Coloring Book. pic.twitter.com/IfnChSlv9X — Atria Books (@AtriaBooks) January 11, 2023
TikTok has been a force in pushing Hoover’s romance novels. Last year, four of Hoover’s novels — It Starts With Us, It Ends With Us, Verity and Ugly Love — made the Times’ top 10 fiction list. Publisher’s Weekly called Hoover “the Queen” of 2022 bestseller lists. According to market research company NPD Bookscan, Hoover’s novels sold 14.3 million print copies.
Hoover sold more books in 2022 than Dr. Seuss, and more than James Patterson and John Grisham combined, according to the Times.
Just the hashtag, #BookTok, has been a significant marketing force for her work.
TikTokers use the hashtag to target an audience, then engage with other TikTokers to recommend titles, create videos or make emotional pitches about what they’ve just read.
“It’s been a huge surprise and really incredible to find so many readers on TikTok,” Hoover said last year.
Colleen Hoover, publisher pull the plug on ‘It Ends With Us’ coloring book
