To All The Boys I've Loved Before Review
Lara Jean has always kept her crushes a secret. That is, except for her letters hidden in a box under her bed in which she expressed her feelings then sealed them away forever. One day, she discovers that her letters were somehow mailed out. All of the boys ranging from her first kiss to a summer camp crush to her sister's ex-boyfriend received their letters in the mail. Now she has to confront them all, or maybe the impromptu plan she accidentally started will help her out? As she deals with this new precarious position, she finds out that something good may just come out of her mess.
Keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion. This review is only my opinion, and you may have your own, different one. I would take into consideration what I say, but do not make a decision about the book solely based off of this review. Let's begin:
I did things a bit backwards with this series. I started out by watching the Netflix movies (I know, I'm sorry). I enjoyed them and thought they were cute. I was able to get the whole trilogy essentially for the price of one of the books, so I went for it. I now realize how much stuff was cut out for the movie, including some of my favorite parts of the books and things that made the storyline more juicy. I officially cannot like the movies as much now, though I will still watch them time to time when I feel like getting a taste of the books again.
I felt like straying from my usual fantasy and reading a more romantic, contemporary type book, so I decided to read this trilogy when I saw it sitting on my shelves. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with a misunderstanding of what it would be about or anything like that because of having seen the movies already, but the book was better than the first movie in the romance. The storyline is cute and slightly comedic with how some of the events played out. It kept me entertained the whole time. I felt some second hand embarrassment for our sweet protagonist, Laura Jean. She just kept getting hit from all directions that entire time and definitely had sympathy from me.
I enjoyed all of the characters. Kitty is sort of sassy and absolutely adorable. Laura Jean is so sweet and quirky and I just love the way her head works. I don't think Peter quite makes his way onto my list of book boyfriends (yet, at least). However, I still love his character and some of his more thoughtful moments. The movies really did not do him justice. I didn't get the same vibe from him in the movies as I did in the books, and I like the book vibes much more. Laura Jean's dad, while a little bit more of a minor character, was great. He is the type of dad that makes you just go "awwwwwwww" and I hope to see more of him in book two. Margot and Josh were two more that did not get enough justice in the movies. I liked their characters in the books more than in the movies and felt like I understood them better. I wish we could have seen a bit more of Chris because I think she is fun, but at the same time, I understand that she did not have too much more to add.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the realism of it allowing me to connect and relate to the story. All of the characters were very real. I feel like I could easily find people similar to them in real life. Sometimes books have characters that are too perfect or too evil that there is no way to relate to them, but this book does not have that issue. The character most resembling perfection still has her flaws. The story was mostly realistic. I have never seen anything like this actually happen, but I can imagine it happening to someone at some point in time.
This was a very quick and easy read. Even with a busy schedule, I was able to read it within 3 days and really it only took two because one of those days I was not able to read. It's simplicity only adds to it, though.
The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I love it. It makes my shelves look so much prettier. I have to give credit where credit is due, and it is most definitely due in this area. Most of the time, I don't like books that have actual people on the covers, but this is the rare exception. I especially love that the title is supposed to look handwritten in Sharpie.
Also, the bonus material at the end is fantastic, and I cannot wait to try (and most likely fail) at making some of those cookies. They had my stomach gurgling when I read about them in the book and I can only imagine how yummy they would taste. Now I have the recipes and won't have to imagine the taste anymore, so yay!
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a quick and easy, feel-good romance. It's fun and entertaining at all points. If you have seen and enjoyed the movies but have not read the books, please read the books. So far they are much better (not that the movies were bad- they just skipped a lot of good stuff).
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