Jamais Plus, the film adaptation of France’s fifth best-selling book in 2023, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, starring Blake Lively, debuts this Wednesday, August 14.
Jamais Plus, the film adaptation of France’s fifth best-selling book of 2023, It Ends with Us, a new romance bestseller by American writer Colleen Hoover, arrives in theaters, starring popular Blake Lively.
After a challenging childhood, life finally seems to be looking up for Lily Bloom, played by the star of the late 2000s hit series Gossip Girl. On the verge of opening the flower shop she’s always dreamed of, she falls in love with a man who appears to be perfect in every way – played by Justin Baldoni, who also directs the film. However, as time goes on, her partner’s violent tendencies begin to surface, forcing Lily to confront memories of her father’s abuse toward her mother. The story follows her struggle to break the cycle of violence for herself and her unborn child.
This is the premise of Jamais Plus, a film inspired by the childhood of the book’s author, Colleen Hoover. The movie challenges viewers to recognize the early signs of abuse, find a way out, and begin the process of healing. Published in 2016, It Ends with Us is a standout in the new romance genre – a blend of romantic fiction with suspense and eroticism that has become a publishing phenomenon among readers under 35. Colleen Hoover, affectionately known as “CoHo” by her fans, is one of the genre’s leading figures. Her rise to fame wasn’t driven by a prestigious publishing house, but by word-of-mouth on TikTok, starting in 2021.
A mother of three, Colleen Hoover balanced careers in social work and teaching while living in a trailer. She self-published her first novel in 2012. A decade later, she became a best-selling author, with over 20 million copies of her 24 books sold worldwide as of October 2022. In 2023, with 1.2 million of her books sold in France, she was the country’s “best-selling author across all formats,” according to Le Parisien. That same year, Time magazine named Colleen Hoover one of the 100 most influential people in the world, alongside US President Joe Biden, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, and American singer Beyoncé.
According to the GfK institute, new romance accounted for 7% of the French book market in 2023, with one in nine literary titles sold falling within the genre. A study published in April by industry organizations estimated that the genre had “3.4 million readers” in France, out of a total of 40 million.
With AFP
