Is Colleen Hoover’s New Book “Woman Down” Based on the “It Ends With Us” Drama? (Exclusive)

Colleen Hoover is back with another riveting novel — one that seems loosely inspired by her own experiences as a bestselling author.

A description for Woman Down, out Tuesday, Jan. 13, teases that its central character, Petra Rose, is a “frustrated author” with writer’s block who checks into a remote lakeside cabin to complete her next book.

A “viral backlash over her latest film adaptation forced Petra Rose to take a hiatus,” the synopsis teases, and she “learned the hard way what happens when the internet turns on you.”

On the surface, the summary sounds like it could be tied to the drama surrounding It Ends With Us, the 2024 movie adaptation of Hoover’s novel that sparked an ongoing legal battle between its lead actors, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

However, Hoover, 46, writes in an author’s note included in Woman Down that the thriller — her first book in over three years — is not connected to her real life.

“Just please keep in mind that while writers do take from their own lives, and some of the themes may mirror those of my own life in ways, this is in no way a replica of my journey or my morals, nor is it a reflection of how I feel about my peers or this industry,” Hoover writes. “This is simply a fun journey the characters took me on and nothing more. Please, I beg of you, do not try to make ties between my personal life and this story, as there are none,” she adds. “I’m just a writer writing about a writer — I am in no way advocating for or defending the character’s behavior or thoughts.”

“I think people might expect this book to mirror my life more than it does,” she told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “But overall, there are very few similarities between my life and this book.”

What is the backlash that Petra faces about a movie adaptation of her book? A beloved character who is one third of a love triangle storyline is completely cut from the film version, prompting devoted fans to turn on Petra, who had no control over the production. (The fictional book and film is titled A Terrible Thing.)

In Woman Down, Hoover explores Petra’s grievances with the Hollywood process and her difficulties adjusting to increased levels of fame — much like Hoover’s own feelings toward the spotlight.

The author, who lives in Texas and is married with three sons, told PEOPLE in 2024 that fame can be “scary” and that she’s even sought advice from Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James for navigating the attention.

“She went through a lot of [similar situations],” Hoover explained, at the time. “And she’s just very good at focusing on the positive and still interacting with those people who have supported her along the way. Just seeing how she hasn’t pulled away from it all and has still found a way to manage being grateful and thankful and interactive with those who have been there from the beginning, I think, is the biggest example that I’ve seen that I want to emulate.”

As her new book comes out, Hoover is also reflecting on how her connection with fans may evolve going forward.

“I wasn’t prepared for the ways that attention would impact my mental health,” she tells PEOPLE, adding that she took social media off her phone a couple of years ago. “I used to get a lot of my motivation from social media, but social media has changed so much over the years, and the negativity surrounding any subject or post, not just the book world, tends to put me in a headspace that doesn’t leave me feeling creative.”

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Though there are no mentions in Woman Down of conflicts between the cast of the movie-within-the-book, Petra did butt heads with a producer named Allister Jones, who was behind the changes to the plot for the adaptation.

“I am going to be difficult if another adaptation happens,” Petra tells fans near the end of Woman Down. “I’m going to fight tooth and nail for the story the readers supported. … I’d rather have adaptations I’m proud of than adaptations that don’t even resemble their original forms.”

While Hoover served as an executive producer on It Ends With Us and 2025’s Regretting You, she rises to producer status on the adaptation of her Reminders of Him novel, a screenplay she also co-wrote. In theaters March 13, it’ll be the first film from Hoover’s production company Heartbones Entertainment. (Her thriller Verity becomes a movie this October from director Michael Showalter, who gets a shoutout in Woman Down.)

In an interview with Elle magazine published in November 2025, Hoover admitted she has become “almost embarrassed to say I wrote” It Ends With Us because the highly publicized legal battle between Lively, 38, and Baldoni, 41, has “overshadowed” it.

“When people ask what I do, I’m just like, ‘I’m a writer. Please don’t ask me what I wrote,’ ” she said, adding that “it is sad, because I was very proud of that book. And I’m still proud of it, but less publicly so.”

According to Elle, Hoover’s producing partner Lauren Levine said they received over 30 inquiries from people wanting to adapt Woman Down for the screen, sight unseen, after it was announced in September, and Hoover has begun drafting a script for it.

Hoover also told the outlet that her next two books, currently titled One Good Reason and One Bad Reason, will have overlapping stories and likely be released on the same day. “Writing books pays the bills. That’s always going to be my priority and what I most enjoy,” she said.

Woman Down is available now, wherever books are sold.