Title: P.S. I Still Love You
Author: Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Contemporary, Easy reading, Romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: Peter’s right.

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

They had just been pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

Then another boy from her past returns to her life, and Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too.

Can a girl be in love with two boys at the same time?

The first half of this book I absolutely loved. It continued to build on the themes and storyline from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It starts with Lara Jean and Peter beginning their own relationship and actually making a go of it. You know straight away that Gen is going to be an issue (after all, she’s the perfect teenage girl antagonist), but at the beginning it works really well. And then I started to get frustrated…

I enjoy Lara Jean’s confusion at the two boys – John and Peter. When you’re going through puberty and just discovering what it’s like to date boys, it can be incredibly confusing. And when more than one guy shows an interest in you, it’s hard not to return the favours. Regardless of the circumstances. The love triangle also helps to add a little spice to the story as things go from sweet to rocky in her relationship.

The reason that this story frustrated me so much was the second half. Lara Jean takes control of her relationship and life, and puts her foot down on the ways that she should be treated. And then she goes back to the guy that isn’t treating her right. It almost made me scream. I understand it to a degree, and part of me still loves Peter (although that may mostly be because of the movie), but it is kind of sending a message that people can treat you however they want. I know it’s something that I would never stand for, and I would hope that my friends and loved ones would have a little more self-respect under similar circumstances. Hopefully this will all make sense in Always and Forever, Lara Jean.

Image source: Simon & Schuster

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Contemporary, Easy reading, Romance
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: To me!

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved – five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secrets letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

I absolutely loved the Netflix movie of this. It left me with such a happy, little feel good moment after I finished it. So I figured that the book (and as I soon found out the trilogy) would be an interesting read. And, since I finished it in one sitting, and then bought every other Jenny Han book that I could find, it was certainly an enjoyable read.

This was an easy, simple, happy read that made me incredibly happy. It was just a nice journey through a sixteen year old’s mind as she tries to navigate the trials of falling in love, becoming an adult and just generally dealing with other people. Because, as it becomes incredibly obvious throughout To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, people can seriously suck! Although, there are also moments that really remind you how awesome they can be as well. Especially Lara Jean’s relationship with her family. She obviously dearly loves her father – she constantly calls him Daddy (I actually found the constant referral, even in front of others of ‘Daddy’ to be quite annoying). She has a great relationship with her sisters. She misses Margot dearly when she’s gone and spends a lot of time with Kitty.

For as much as the relationships in this cute little romance are realistic, it’s the sisterhood bond that I loved the most. There is so much love in every moment. But there is also a lot of vindictiveness and pettiness. I have a sister. We love each other till the ends of the earth. But we would also do and say horrible things to each other. After all, we are stuck with each for the rest of our lives… and when you are with someone day in and day out, you get to a point that you kind of want to kill each other… and in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before it’s that exact revenge-driven, love you emotion that only a sister can understand that starts the entire saga.

Image source: Amazon