Colleen Hoover draws criticism for coloring book based on her domestic violence romance novel

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Content Warning: The following contains references to domestic violence and depictions of violence.

Colleen Hoover and her novels have been all over BookTok lately, partly because her romance novels are so popular, but also because of the backlash the author has received for romantic abuse. Unfortunately, the author’s most recent product did not help this perception.

One of the authors’ most successful books, It Ends With Us, has been held up by some as an illustration of cycles of abuse and the importance of breaking them. However, other readers found the novel manipulative and not very nuanced in its exploration of abuse. Hoover’s story has also been marketed as a romance despite the central relationship being abusive.

So of course, Hoover and his publishers took the next obvious step: they turned the novel into a coloring book.

Made by publisher Hoovers Atria Books, The It Ends With Us Coloring Book is advertised as a chance for readers/colorists to experience the most iconic scenes and settings from this phenomenal novel. Everything gets better when you color in the official It Ends With Us coloring book! The copy goes on to describe the coloring book as “Vividly drawn and delightfully relaxing, it’s the perfect gift for any fan of the New York Times’ glorious and touching hit series (USA TODAY) #1.”

Somewhere along the way, I think they may have forgotten what the novel is actually about.

When we talk about Colleen Hoover and her publisher who both romanticize abusive relationships and try to convince us that her books are romance, in fact, something like CREATE A COLORING BOOK only proves the point. pic.twitter.com/BwTJqn4fRx

— marines (@mynameismarines) January 10, 2023

Even fans of the book criticized the decision as being in bad taste. Numerous comments on the since-deleted Instagram ad contained further accusations that the author (and now her editor) romanticizes the abuse or hides it behind pretty images. And that’s ironic, given that the novel is about how abusers and their victims often pretend that everything is fine.

Colleen Hoover hasn’t posted about the coloring book on Facebook at all, so it’s possible it was a decision made by her publisher. But Hoover most certainly had to sign the coloring book and will profit from the sales.

The coloring book also addresses the larger issue of his works. Rather than engaging in difficult subject matter, the novel and now the coloring book use the aesthetics of romance and flowers, emotion, and fantasy in their marketing. In Hoover’s novel, the main character is pushed down the stairs by her boyfriend; do you think they will put this picture in the coloring book? No. Because it wouldn’t fit the “aesthetics”. And because it would remind people what the story is really about.

My biggest concern is the coloring book a tween or teen buys, and that opens the door to more writing from Colleen Hoovers. Whether she admits it or not, Hoover’s audience is largely made up of impressionable young people who could get a lot of the wrong messages from what she writes.

(featured image: Atria Books)

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