To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

First Book to the To All The Boys I've Loved Before Duology

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

    This book was just like Eleanor and Park. Not because of the story but the way this book progressed and ended. It was such a let down to see an amazing book have an ending that would make the readers love it less. To be honest, I found myself enjoying the book as it goes along, I even loved it  but the ending kinda ruined everything, you know? This book is a light and fluffy contemporary read, I really liked the story and how it turned out. I shouldn't be sad with the ending because this is a series and I know that things will eventually be resolved between Lara Jean and the guy, though I can't help but complain about it because I really had some high expectations for the ending. You see, the thing that really pushed me to reading this book is the curiosity. I flew through this in a day because I've been itching to know what will happen but when I got to the last page of the book, I was so disappointed not to see the ending I really want to see. Nonetheless, if I just leave the ending out then I'd gladly say that I extremely loved this book. It's nice to see how the relationship between our two main characters develop. It was very unpredictable (for me) because there are a lot of things that could happen between them; they are both in love with someone else which makes it hard for me to guess if they'll end up with each other or not. I don't want to to say much about the guy, even mention his name because it will kinda ruin the experience for you but all I can say is that you won't avoid falling in love with the "love interest" of Lara Jean. 

   

    There are a lot of things that you'll love about this book. 1) The quirkiness of the relationship of Lara Jean and her love interest. You'll really see how they work out their relationship and how they really progressed throughout the book. 2) You'll realize that in order to move on you really need someone else (not generalizing here but that's the truth, right?) 3) The characters are just so cute. Especially Lara Jean's family. You'll see how close they are with each other and how happy she is in her family. This book just made me want to have a sister more. Aaah, I just want to talk about the book now! Okay...

SYNOPSIS:

   This is about Lara Jean and her letters that got sent out to the boys she loved before. And it's not just a typical love letter, those letters are for her closure to them. She writes them good-bye letters but she never intended to send them out until one day someone that she loved before showed her that he got his letter. It won't really revolve around that plot though since she'll start to fall in love again with one of the boys that she have written good-bye letter to.  But you'll see how these guys react to her letters to them. They have different reactions about the letters and its really interesting. Plus, this also follows Lara Jean's struggles as she tries to forget her feelings for a guy for the sake of her sister. This book is not just about romance, it's also about family. It is touching and heart-warming to see how Lara Jean loves Margot and vice versa. 

   Sorry for the lame synopsis, I really don't want to say much about it because I read this book without knowing a thing or two about it except for the part that Lara Jean's letters got sent out to the boys she loved before. 

RECOMMENDATION:

   Read this book when you're in a reading slump. Even though the first part of the book is kinda slow-paced, the story will go along really well once you're already at the middle part of the book. You'll be able to fly through this in a day, I swear. It is very light and a quick read. I honestly loved how it got me out of my reading slump but it immediately gave me a want for more contemporary novels. The characters are just so adorable I can't help but wish for the sequel to be released already because I already miss their quirky world. 

   If you liked Eleanor and Park, Anna and the French Kiss, and other Jenny Han's books then you'll definitely want to pick this up. The main guy character of this book is to die for. I was literally swooning and drooling over him while reading this. He was so cute!! And he was really unpredictable. He never appealed to me to be that kind of guy but I guess I kinda saw it coming because he is incredibly cute, not just physically but his cuteness can also be seen in his actions. Aaaaah! I just never thought that he'd be like that. I was giggling all-throughout the book. The little things that he does for Lara Jean is just adorable. 

   Or maybe you can read this book if you need to recover from a heart-wrenching and life-ruining book. I kinda wished I read this after reading City of Heavenly Fire because I know that I'm going to need a dozen of contemporary books after reading that one. ((I AM SO SCARED YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA)). So yeah, if you like contemporary novels then I highly recommend this one. Plus, it's rare to see a contemporary have a sequel, not a the companion type of sequel but a literal second book. Its a bummer though since we're going to have to wait for another year or so for the next book.

REVIEW:

{ Without Spoilers }

• You'll see how Lara Jean and the "guy" will develop and work out their weird and funny relationship. It's not your typical relationship okay. Once you're halfway reading this book, you'll see that they really are weird and its fun to see how that weird "act" will somehow turn into a romantic kind of feelings toward each other. 
• I also liked Lara Jean's Dad because he's pretty to cool for a single-father raising three girls. He's laid-back but he really is a good father to them. And he's a doctor which is always a plus for me. Its funny how their dad weave his way through his girls. He's awkward when it comes to dealing with girl problems but its good to know that he cares and he's there for you. I think that's what I really liked about this family. They are always, I mean, ALWAYS there to help Lara Jean out in any way possible. 
• I read this book understanding what Lara Jean feels. I know what it's like to feel how you feel like you've moved on to someone but realized that you never really did. You just tucked the feelings away. You didn't throw them; you kept them and its hard when those feelings started coming out again but there's nothing you can do but push them away. I also understood how she's been scared to fall in love all this time. Lara Jean is a relatable character~ I totally can relate to her when she's scared at driving! 

{With Spoilers}

• I have nothing against Margot. I really started to look up to her in this book because everyone seems to believe that Margot is a god of some kind. And that's the problem, the people in this book is literally worshiping her. But I guess she deserves that. She's responsible and kind and she deserves all the respect that she can get. I honestly didn't expect her to say that she needed Lara Jean and I just started crying when they were saying sorry to each other. It was an amazing moment between the two~ 
• I kinda hated the fact that the thing about Josh wasn't resolved. Jenny Han tried to resolve things by making Lara Jean tell Josh not to tell about the kiss to her sister but that's it. I wish I knew if Lara Jean already moved on to Josh or not because right now my mind is still confused with what's going on. I know that she already loves Peter but isn't it weird that she barely thought about Josh all-throughout the book when in reality everything that she's doing is about Josh? Do you see my point here? Its just weird for me not to really see how her feelings toward Josh fade away in the process of loving Peter. But maybe that's what's Jenny Han is trying to do...? Maybe she's trying to tell us that once you're falling in love with someone else, the past is starting to not really matter as much anymore.
• I barely saw Josh in this book, he had his cameos but I thought this is about him and Lara Jean's feelings for him. I mean, I don't complain if Lara Jean loved Peter because I love Peter, I really do. We saw how Peter forgets about Genevieve (or maybe not really...) but with Lara Jean and Josh? Not so much. 
• And I also wanted to see what Lara Jean wrote for Josh because we saw what she wrote to the other 4 guys but not Josh. I just... I don't know. I thought this is about Josh but why did he just show up in the book for like 8 times or something? He shows up like he's some kind of an old buddy of Lara Jean. I also don't get why Jean has to stay away from Josh. I think that she is really selfish because it's not Josh's fault to read her letter. Why does she have to shut him out of her life? Not just her life but in Kitty's and her Dad's life. It was kinda annoying how she dealt things with him. Did she forgot that Josh is not just a crush but also a best friend of hers? Its unfair for Josh to be shut out of her life when he literally did nothing for things to turn out that way. 
• BUT... I liked how she fell in love with Peter. Aaaaah, they are so cute!! I never expected for Peter to treat her that way. I thought he will literally just use her as a pretend girlfriend and be an annoying guy but I never felt like Peter used her at all. I felt the sincerity all-throughout the book. And maybe I did feel like he betrays Lara Jean every time he's with Gen but then I realize that it's not in the contract that he should stay away from Gen. He really did start loving Lara Jean and I know you felt too. 
• I was literally squealing when he got mad at Josh for kissing Lara Jean!!!!! OH MY GOD. I was jumping up and down and running all over the place because his reaction is so damn cute!!!!! AAAH~ He was like "What the hell? How did that happen?" and then "What the hell is he thinking, kissing MY GIRLFRIEND? It's fucking ridiculous. I'm gonna say something to him." HAHAHAHAHA OMG OMG OMG OMG PETER!!!! I never expected him to get mad like that!!!!! I thought he's just going to shrug it off because their relationship is just a pretend, right??? But with his reaction!!! I realized "Okay Peter. I know now that you're starting to like Lara Jean and don't you dare deny it!" And at the Christmas party!! He brought it up again!!! It's just SO CUTE!! He told Josh "This is a private conversation, Josh, between me and my girlfriend" WHAT WHAT WHAAAAT OMG and then "She told me you tried to kiss her. You try that again and I'm kicking you ass." I know I should be worried that a fight is going to happen between him and Josh but I was literally giggling and squealing and jumping all over the place!
• I think my favorite scene in the book is when they we're eating the rice balls that Lara Jean made. I have two favorites on that scene, no make that three. 1) Is when he was about to get the last rice ball and then immediately looked at Lara Jean to see if she noticed. HAHAHAHAHHA IT WAS SO FUNNY!!! He stopped short as if remembering the part on her letter where she said that Peter likes to take the last slice of pizza. HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, Peter! 2) When Lara Jean kept on telling Peter that it's okay if he takes the last one and then he was like "No! I don't want it" I IMAGINED HIM THAT HE'S A TODDLER SAYING THAT AAAH HE IS SO CUTE and then Lara Jean was like "Say 'ah'" and he was like "NO" like an adorable little baby hahahahhaha. And then Peter's friend was like "You are so lucky to have a girlfriend like Lara Jean. If you don't want to eat it then I will" and then opens his mouth to eat the rice ball that Lara Jean was holding and then Peter shoved him away and said "Step off, it's mine" HAHAHAHHA OH MY GOD PETER STOP 3) But his cuteness doesn't stop at that okay. While eating the rice ball, his eyes were closed and he said "Yum yum yum" HE FREAKING SAID YUM YUM YUM IF THIS IS NOT ADORABLE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS. That nearly killed me okay. Let's take a moment to breathe.... I just realized that my favorite part of the book is the entire chapter 46. 
• I was kinda sad about how he confessed to Lara Jean that he likes her. It was so lameeeeee. I give it a 3 out of 10. Hahahaha why. But I'm not really convinced by the way he said it. Or maybe I'm not really convinced if he really does like Lara Jean. I mean, I know I felt it but they way he said it kinda takes back all the genuinity I felt before he said that he likes her. Until know I can't seem to believe that he really likes her. Maybe the reason why I felt that way is I don't know his POV? I wish Jenny Han would make one, even just a novella that would do justice for his feelings for Lara Jean. 
• Their kissing scene though!!! It wasn't like the kissing scenes I've read before. This is really innocent and sweet and just ugh... For someone like Peter... I didn't expect him to show his vulnerability at all, and I didn't expect him to be gentle on her. He held her like she's fragile and that he would do anything for her and I'm crying sighhhhhhhhhhh canipleasehavepeter *cries* 
• I was shell-shocked when people have been talking about them doing 'it' in the hot tub. I know that I should blame Genevieve for this but I feel like a part of me blames Peter for it also. Even though I know that he wouldn't do such thing. Maybe it's the uncertainty in me, the uncertainty of Peter. I barely even knew about his feelings the night before so I don't really trust him yet but I believe that he really didn't do that to Lara Jean. Though, I hated him, I really did, because he didn't even call Lara Jean after the ski trip and it was so depressing to see her waiting for him to call her or text her but he didn't and through that span of silence that Peter gave her, I disliked him and my trust was gone all-over again. 
• But then I cried A LOT when Kitty gave Lara Jean's hatbox back containing Peter's letters and his letter were just so cute that I started crying. I know that Peter really did love her halfway of their fake relationship and it was a huge relief for me to know that before the book ended.

    All I can say is that the book it really, really great but the ending ruined it all. I just want the next book so baaaaaad!!