Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

[To All the Boys I Loved Before #2]

Published: May 25, 2015

Publisher: Simon and Schuster BYR

Format: via audiobook

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

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

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

My Thoughts

P.S. I Still Love You picks up right where the first book left off, we see Lara Jean trying to figure out where exactly she and Peter K are in their relationship. We finally get introduced to John and that leads to more friction between her and Peter. While I did like the chemistry between Lara Jean and John let’s be real he is no Peter K! However, the friendship and scenes between these two were SO adorable. I also liked the scenes with the elders at the retirement home, those seniors are so feisty...LOVE IT!

What I continue to love is the relationships with Lara Jean and her family. I love the closeness they have and that they stick together no matter what. I really feel for Lara Jean when she talks about missing her mom and how that really is hard for her especially now that she needs her the most.

This series continues to keep me interested in the lives and loves of the Covey sisters and their bond is like no other. I will continue to root for Lara and Peter no matter what and can't wait to see how this story ends. Jenny Han gives us another great book and gives us those feels like only she can.

Day 9 of 25 Days of Christmas Reviews: My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

My True Love Gave to Me by Various YA authors

Published: October 14, 2014

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

My Thoughts

Oh where do I start? I’ve always been a sucker for anthologies this one in particular is one of the best. Where else can you get a roundup of some the best YA authors around in one place? Some shorts were heart felt and touching while others were just plain cute I couldn’t stand it! The book contains the following stories…

1 Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

2 The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link

3 Angels in the Snow by Matt De La Pena

4 Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han

5 It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

7 Krampuslauf by Holly Black

8 What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman

9 Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

10 Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

11 Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter

12 The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

While I enjoyed all the stories for different reasons, my personal faves where…

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell this one focuses on best friends throughout the years on New Year’s Eve. We see how they meet and how the friendship grows into something more. I love these two together and when they finally kiss it’s just plain amazing. I was gitty and rooting for these two, classic romance by Rainbow Rowell.

Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han Omg this is just the cutest thing I ever read! Focusing on a human living in an elf world who is in love with someone everyone else tells her it will never work out with. Sometimes the heart wants what it wants despite logic or anything else.

Some reads are realistic while others aren’t each one will make you look at the holidays differently. There is at least one story that will touch your soul no doubt about it. So do yourself a HUGE holiday favor and grab this book, you’re bound to have a simply wonderful Christmastime reading this awesome book.

Late to the Game [4]: The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

Late to the Game is a series I do featuring books that everybody and their mommy have read…except me. The thing is 99% of the time I have these books but they have just been pushed back on my TBR pile. This won’t be a review of sorts seeing how everyone already knows the basics of the story but more of what I felt and how it affected me. I’ve dedicated this feature to try to put a dent in my pile and also to see if they live up to the hype…good and/or bad.

  

The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR

Format: purchased series

Ratings:

The Summer I Turned Pretty: 5/5

It’s Not Summer without You: 4/5

We’ll Always Have Summer: 5/5

Synopsis

Belly has always lived for the summertime because it means all her favorite things: swimming, the beach and the Fisher boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. She has spent every summer with them at Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember. She has always been in love with Conrad and finally, one summer, it seems like he might have feelings for her too. But it turns out, so does Jeremiah.

As the summers go on, Belly has to choose between two brothers who love her as she comes to the realization that she will have to break one of their hearts.

My Thoughts

I’ve heard so many awesome things about this series I knew I had to read it at some point. After reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before I knew I had to read it NOW. I read the first one The Summer I Turned Pretty in literally a day. LOVED it! Needless to say I devoured the next two back to back.

This series definitely lived up to the hype. I fell in love with Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad. Ok maybe not so much Conrad. At least not so much in the beginning, I thought he was mean and rude but then after getting into the series I realized the kind of person he was. Just like me. Yeah that’s right I said like ME. I saw myself in him as far as how he always distances himself and his feelings towards other. He doesn’t always show emotions nor does he speak his feels that often. It’s not that he doesn’t want to; he just doesn’t want to get rejected or hurt.

Jenny Han paints the picture of Cousins beach with such realness that I could close my eyes and see it. I could smell the salty air and feel the wind coming off the water. Not only are there wonderful characters but the supporting cast is amazing as well. However what I loved and enjoyed the most was how I got so invested in these characters so fast. Seeing them grow up and dealing with an issue that at times breaks your heart. There is not one of us who can’t identify with the triumphs and tragedies of growing up and trying to find out where and how we fit  into this crazy world. Throw in some romance and heartache you can’t go wrong. This is one read I wished I read earlier however I’m so glad I got to meet and fall in love with them and you should too.

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han 

Expected Publication: April 15, 2014

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR

Format: ARC via publisher

Rating 5/5

Synopsis

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

My Thoughts

I loved the whole concept of this book. It’s about Laura Jean who has these crushes and never says anything but decides to write letters to them and just let it go. This is something I would’ve loved to have done in my teen years. We all have these super crushes and it seems like we can’t tell them or tell anyone for that matter but we just want to say it out loud. And while she is mortified and scared of what might happen after the letters are unexpectedly mailed the outcomes are quiet surprising. I enjoyed the encounters she had when each guy confronted her about their letter.

While I enjoyed the whole crushes and letters angle of the story what I really loved most was the family aspect of it. Laura Jean and her two sisters are what made this the best thing ever in my eyes. Their connection and commitment to one another and their father was breath taking. You see their mother died early on in their lives and basically all they had were each other and their dad. They lean on each other and are very protected and won’t let anyone or anything stand in their way. The way they mother each other is never over bearing but they give each other just enough room to live and learn. This to me was what made this read the most enjoyable. Of course like all siblings they had their fights and misunderstanding but in the end family is the true star.

This was my only second Jenny Han experienced. I just recently [I know right?!] got into her novels and now I’m just trying to catch up. She writes the best stuff and she makes it look so easy, even though I know it’s not. So do yourself a favor and get to know the Song sisters, you will be glad you did! The only downside? We have to wait til next year to see what happens next. 

Late to the Game: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Since I’ve started blogging my TBR list has been growing by the day. So in honor of that I'm doing a feature called Late to the Game. This will feature books that just about everyone [but me] has read. Hey like they say...better late than never...right?

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Published: May 2009

Format: Kindle purchased

Publisher: Simon and Schuster BYR

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

My Thoughts

I was a little nervous when I first decided to read this novel. I had never read a Jenny Han book before and I’m always nervous when it comes to reading a book or series that so many people love and adore. I’m always scared that I won’t like it or even worse it won’t live to the hype, not so much the hype from others but the one I’ve built up in my head. Well I’m glad to say this has lived up to it and more.

I quickly feel in love with Belly, Jeremiah and Conrad. The summer world that Jenny Han built was near perfection. I totally envisioned myself at the beach right along with them. I loved the tale of these friends who were more like family who grew up together every summer. I also loved the flashbacks of the summers past; it gave us some insight on how everyone grew over time. Like any girl coming of age, Belly is dealing with the pains of growing up and figuring out who she is and her growing feelings for the boys in her life. While she has always loved more than the other she still feels torn and is trying to figure out if what she ever feels is even real.

In reading this it can’t help but bring back those memories of that first crush and trying to figure out if its love or not. That summer has been the hardest for Belly, dealing with her parents divorce, coming to terms with who she really wants to give her heart to and deciding wither or not just to declare her true feelings and let the chips fall where they may.

This novel is the perfect contemporary YA beach read. It has characters you won’t be able to forget and a storyline that captures you from the very first sentence. I honestly don’t know why I’ve waited so long to read it, and now that I have I can’t wait to find out how the rest of the series plays out.

Quotable moments…

*Moments when lost can’t be found again. They’re just gone.

*Sometimes it’s like people are a million times more beautiful to you in your mind. It’s like you see them through a special lens- but maybe if it’s how you seen them, that’s how they really are.

THE BOTTOM LINE... IT'S...

WoW [36]

Waiting on Wednesday [WoW] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s WoW feature is:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Expected Publication: April 22, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR

Summary via Goodreads...
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters.

Why I Can’t Wait....

Hello it’s Jenny Freakin’ Han! Plus look at that gorgeous cover and it simply sounds like a great read.

WoW [24]

Fire with Fire [Burn for Burn #2] by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Expected Publication: September 3, 2013

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary via Goodreads…

Jar Island teens Lillia, Kat, and Mary's ongoing revenge plot against Reeve has unexpected consequences.

Why I Can’t Wait…

Ok so technically I haven’t read the first one, but I will before this is released. Besides its Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian so of course I’m going to read it. Plain and simple.

Please share what you’re waiting on.