Review: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (Bought) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Lara Jean is having the best senior year. And there’s still so much to look forward to: a class trip to New York City, prom with her boyfriend Peter, Beach Week after graduation, and her dad’s wedding to Ms. Rothschild. Then she’ll be off to college with Peter, at a school close enough for her to come home and bake chocolate chip cookies on the weekends.

Life couldn’t be more perfect!

At least, that’s what Lara Jean thinks…until she gets some unexpected news.

Now the girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans—but when your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to? From Goodreads.

Continue reading Review: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

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

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

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?

Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing. From Goodreads.

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

Review: Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

New Year's Eve ended with a bang and Mary, Kat and Lillia may not be prepared for what is to come. After Rennie's death, Kat and Lillia try to put the pieces together of what happened to her. They both blame themselves. If Lillia hadn't left with Reeve...If Kat had only stayed with Rennie...Things could have been different. Now they will never be the same. Only Mary knows the truth about that night. About what she is. She also knows the truth about Lillia and Reeve falling in love, about Reeve being happy when all he deserves is misery, just like the misery he caused her. Now their childish attempts at revenge are a thing of the past and Mary is out for blood. Will she leave anything in her wake or will all that remain be ashes? From Goodreads.

Continue reading Review: Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Review: Fire With Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Fire With Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Lillia, Kat and Mary had the perfect plan. Take down the people who had wronged them and leave no trace of their involvement. But everything blew up in their faces at the Homecoming Dance.

Now Lillia and Kat are starting to second-guess their plotting, but Mary is insistent that she finally gets the revenge she deserves - destroy Reeve like he destroyed her.

But as more secrets threaten to reveal themselves, the girls' pact becomes harder to maintain. Emotions are spiralling out of control, and there's too much at stake. Because once a fire is lit, sometimes the only thing you can do is let it burn. From the blurb.

Continue reading Review: Fire With Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian (review copy) - Bad things can happen, even to good girls, and sometimes the only way to make things right is to do something wrong...

Lillia used to trust boys, but not after what happened this summer. And she’ll do anything to stop the same thing happening to her sister.

Kat is over the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes made at her expense. It all goes back to one person - her ex-best friend - and now it's payback time.

Four years ago, Mary left town because of a boy. Now that she’s back, she's going after him and she's going to make him pay.

Threee very different girls who want the same thing: revenge, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they've each had a taste. From the blurb.

Continue reading Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

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

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (review copy) - 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... From Goodreads

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

Review: We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han (review copy) - Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she's almost positive he is her soulmate.

Almost.

Conrad has not gotten over the mistake he made when he let Belly go. But when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it's now or never--tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good. Unlike his brother, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face a truth she has possibly always known: she will have to break one of their hearts. From DearJennyHan.com

Continue reading Review: We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Review: It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han (review copy) - WARNING! This is the second book in a series. I cannot review this book without spoiling the first book in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading the first book and don't want it spoiled for you.

One girl. Two brothers. Which one will she choose?

Isabel’s lazy, long hot summers at her family friends’ beach house are over.

Conrad – sexy and unavailable - is the only boy she’s ever loved. He’s left for college, taking her heart with him. Jeremiah, his gorgeous brother, is still Isabel’s best friend – but maybe friendship isn’t enough for him anymore . . .

Isabel just wants everything to stay the same, because change means moving on. But if she stops looking back, will she find a future she never knew she wanted? From Amazon UK

I really enjoyed the first book, so when I heard there was a second, I was really looking forward to it. The first book could be a stand alone; the girl finally gets the boy, and things will develop on from there away from the pages. But there were still some questions. What about Jeremiah? He showed some interest in Belly. And what happens to Suzannah? So it was great to get a second book and find out the answers.

A lot can happen in the time between one summer and the next. Suzannah died. Conrad went to college. Conrad and Belly split up. These aren't spoilers, we find out these things from the very beginning. But these things have really shaken Belly up. Suzannah was practically family, and she isn't coping well with her death. She's also heart broken over the end of her "relationship" with Conrad - the reason for which we find out as we read. She's emotional yet also emotionally dead, and it's just awful having to read her feeling so, so sad.

But when she finds out from Jeremiah that Conrad has gone AWOL from his summer school - where he was retaking classes and exams, because of time spent away for Suzannah - she is determined to help, no matter if nothing comes from it. If Conrad's missing, something is seriously up. So our story really begins.

I really liked It's Not Summer Without You. It's much more of an emotional book, less happens in this one in comparison to the previous, but it's still sweet in a sad sort of way. I loved that Jeremiah also got to share what he was thinking - about Conrad, about his Dad, and most importantly, about Belly. We still get those wonderful little flash backs like we did in The Summer I Turned Pretty, but most of the time, these are of events that happened before summer.

I could say more, but I would be spoiling the book. It's a sweet, quick read. I loved how it ended, where there is an end yet still more questions. Has Belly really made a decision either way? Will the other try to fight? So I'm really looking forward to the th9ird book in the series, We'll Always Have Summer. A lovely series that comes highly recommended!

Thank you to Razorbill UK for sending me a review copy.



Published: 5th May 2011
Publisher: Razorbill UK
Buy from Amazon US
Jenny Han's Website

Previous books in the series:
The Summer I Turned Pretty

Continue reading Review: It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han - Everything that happened this past summer, and every summer before it, has all led up to this. To now. Every year Isabel - Belly - spends a perfect summer at her family friends’ house. There’s the swimming pool at night, the private stretch of sandy beach... and the two boys. Unavailable, aloof Conrad – who she’s been in love with forever – and friendly, relaxed Jeremiah, the only one who’s ever really paid her any attention. But this year something is different. They seem to have noticed her for the first time. It’s going to be an amazing summer – and one she’ll never forget... From Amazon UK

With all the freezing cold weather we've been having in the UK recently, I fancied reading something that would make me feel warm - so what better than a holiday, summer read? I picked this book up half expecting to enjoy it - a love triangle is always enjoyable - but half expecting not to be wowed that much - light, summer reads are normally quick and enjoyable, but not much to write home about. How wrong I was! This book is just brilliant!

At first, I thought I was going to end up disliking it. It's not clear for a while exactly how old Belly is, and she felt quite young. I'm not really the best fan of novels for those at the beginning of the teenage spectrum. Although I'm a big kid, I've matured past that level, and find their interests - or at least the interests teens that age are pretrayed to have - well, uninteresting. And Belly seemed to be one of these young girls who worried about and liked things that just aren't me. But after a few chapters, I realised these were only small things, and she started to seem older. I came to really like her.

One of the things I really liked about this book was how every now and then, a chapter would be dedicated to a summer at the beach house from the past, and would say under chapter number how old Belly was at the time. They're not necessarily in chronological order, but they're linked to things that happen this summer, things that remind Belly of past holidays. It was great to see all the characters at various ages, to see their individual personalities stay pretty much the same, but see them mature.

This is more than just a light read, though. Serious issues are covered, like divorce and betrayal of friendship. It's not always smiles and laughter, there are a fair few sad moments, both in Belly's romantic situation, but also in the much bigger picture. There were so many times when I wanted to hug pretty much all the main characters, and even some of the side characters. For such a quick read, a lot of heart-string tugging moments are packed in, without it being depressing. Though I was close to tears at some points.

This really is a brilliant book! Sad and sweet and lovely all at the same time. A really, really good book, I can't recommend it enough. I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel, It's Not Summer Without You, which will be released in summer 2011. It's going to be awesome!

Thank you to Puffin for sending me a review copy.

Published: 3rd June 2010
Publisher: Razorbill UK
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Jenny Han's Website

Continue reading Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han