Two main novels and one novella. The novella, 'Finding Cinderella,' is a crossover with the 'Hopeless' series. It's a fun, fluffy read compared to the heavier subject matter of the main books.
If you enjoy Hoover's writing style and want more of the side characters, definitely pick it up. Otherwise, the duology stands strong on its own.
Okay, hot take: you could technically read 'It Starts With Us' alone and follow the plot of a couple getting together, but you'd be missing the entire point. The point isn't the 'what', it's the 'why'.
The first book's intense exploration of cyclical violence and difficult choices is what gives the second book's domestic bliss its meaning. Without that background, the sequel reads like a fairly generic romance. The power is in the contrast, so please do yourself a favor and read them in order. It makes the hopeful ending of the duology actually feel earned.
Right now, there are two books. The first is 'It Ends With Us' and the sequel is 'It Starts With Us'. It’s really more of a duology than a sprawling series, which I actually appreciate. A lot of authors feel pressure to keep a story going forever, but I think Colleen Hoover told the complete arc she wanted across these two. The first book handles the main, heavier narrative, while the sequel gives you that follow-up closure on the characters' lives. It feels very deliberate. You don’t need a dozen volumes to feel satisfied, which is a relief when my to-be-read pile is already a tower. I’m curious if she’ll ever revisit that world, but for now, two is the definitive count.
Some people online get confused because the titles are so similar, or they hear about a special edition or a bonus chapter and wonder if it’s a third book. But nope, just the two. I finished 'It Starts With Us' last month, and it did make me go back and skim parts of the first one again, which was a nice experience. Having just two books makes that reread easy to manage.
Okay, I had this same confusion last year. The core series is just two books: 'It Ends with Us' followed by 'It Starts with Us'. That's the chronological order for Lily and Atlas's story. A lot of people think there's a third main novel, but that's it. You can absolutely read the first as a standalone if you want; the second is a direct sequel that picks up right after the end of the first book.
Some folks recommend reading 'November 9' as well, since it exists in the same universe and has a very brief crossover character appearance, but it's a completely separate story and not necessary for understanding the main duology. The reading experience is perfectly complete with just those two in order.