Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Series: n/a
Format: Paperback (paid for myself)
Rating: 2/5
WARNING: This review contains spoilers!
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Goodreads description: Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. One for every boy she's ever loved. 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 secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control...
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My review: Oh books with pretty covers. You keep drawing me in with your loveliness like a moth to a flame. I'm not going to lie, I only picked up this book a) because of its gorgeous cover and b) because I've seen it hyped all over Instagram and Twitter but I have to admit, I was quite disappointed with it. While I did actually really like Jenny Han's writing style, from all the hype this book has been getting I was expecting a cutesy love story similar to Stephanie Perkins's Anna books but I found myself getting annoyed with it quite a lot:
1. Lara Jean kept going from being a sweet, innocent girl to this scatter-brained, self-centred, babyish person without any warning.
2. As well as acting like she had two separate identities, I never knew what Lara Jean was thinking half the time and I don't think she did either! She spent years pining over her neighbour Josh (who is also her sister's ex...), then when Josh finally confesses that he does actually like her back, she suddenly decides that no, she has actually liked someone else (Peter) all along. Where did that come from? I'm not really keen on the idea of someone dating their sister's ex but it felt like the whole book was set up for Lara Jean and Josh to get together at the end so I was a bit thrown when she decides, seemingly out of nowhere, that Peter is the one for her.
3 The ending. Or lack of! There's no concrete ending to this story which is one of my biggest annoyances in a book. There isn't really any resolution to any of the character's stories.
*Le sigh*. I really thought this would be another Fangirl or Anna and the French Kiss but sadly it was not to be. I've not been put off Jenny Han's writing though so I think I'll have to try her other books to see if I like them any better.
Have you read any of Jenny Han's books? What did you think?
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