How crying TikToks made Colleen Hoover a millionaire author

When Brittni Lourenco, 31, read the four harrowing words, “it ends with us,” at the end of Colleen Hoover’s blockbuster novel of the same name last year, she cried like a baby. Then, the clinical mental health counselor, from Connecticut, took a teary selfie and posted it to her Instagram story.

“It just pulled on every heartstring I had with how strong she was,” Lourenco told The Post of the novel’s protagonist, a hardworking florist named Lily who has a whirlwind romance that turns abusive with a neurosurgeon named Ryle. “It made me cry for probably 45 minutes.”

Hoover’s books — which are the top 10 spots on the New York Times paperback fiction best-seller list. She’s sold 12.2 million print books in the US this year alone, outselling both the Bible and Dr. Seuss, according to data from NPD Books.

“What makes her exceptional is the fact that we rarely see a single author with multiple titles sitting on top of the best seller list,” Kristen McLean, executive director of business development and primary industry analyst for NPD Books said, noting that Hoover’s “It Starts With Us” is one of the highest pre-ordered books on record.

Hoover is such a phenomenon, she’s drawing comparisons to pop stars, not other authors. “She kind of reminds me of Taylor Swift – hate her or love her, if someone is selling that many books she has to know what she’s doing,” Shelby Zang, 23, who is based in Chicago and runs the popular books-focused TikTok account @BookgasmTheClub.

“Her books are an easy read that also grab you and rip you apart emotionally, which is what makes her writing attractive. People are also easily influenced on TikTok — it’s the perfect recipe for her success,” Zang added.

Lourenco says she barely finished a book every few years before discovering Hoover. Now, she’s been known to go through five of the author’s books in a single week.

“I felt connected to her in that way,” she said.

While some have accused Hoover’s work of romanticizing abuse and perpetuating toxic masculinity, fans say the pain and suffering is the draw.

After being in a traumatic relationship in her teens, Orlando-based Giovanna Mondoni, 21, felt seen after reading her first Hoover novel.

“It’s good to read a book that’s a fairy tale with a happy ending, but sometimes I need to pick up a Colleen book to bring me back to reality,” said Mondoni, who credits Hoover with making her become a reader again. “At the end of ‘It Ends With Us,’ it makes you feel like you can really go through whatever life throws at you. It made me feel empowered.”

Zang says critics are missing the point of Hoover’s books.

“Sometimes people say her writing comes off as cheesy, but at the end of the day, she’s not here trying to get a Pulitzer. It’s for entertainment,” she said. “She’s a complete genius.”