Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - All Your Perfects

this was the first book i’ve ever read by colleen hoover. from the raw truth of a dissolving marriage and struggles humans grapple with on the daily, she had hooked me from merely the description and first chapter. while i do believe her writing style is mediocre, hoover’s ability to draw reality and place it to words astounds me.

Content Warnings

hannalizzy's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was very emotional. I really empathized for the couple’s struggle with infertility, and the reader feels instantly invested in their journey through their marriage’s breaking point. I am happily in love, but always fear the possibility that in some distant future, I could find myself in a similar situation with the love of my life. The fact that they were able to overcome their greatest struggle gave me hope that my husband and I can always overcome any struggles that may hit us in the future. The couple’s emotions were so selfish and complex and deep and raw that I felt like it was a true story.

Compared to Hoover’s other works, this book left a little to be desired in my opinion. You definitely know you’re reading one of her earlier works while you’re reading it. Still enjoyable, and no doubt hopeful for those in a similar dynamic with their marriages.

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not my favorite of Hoover’s novels, but still touching, interesting, and fast-paced. I felt sad for the characters most of the book but the end is good, if a little predictable. Also, it isn’t as spicy as some of her other books.

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a_libra_library's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Boyfriend Graham is wonderful, amazing, a solid book boyfriend
Husband Graham awful, horrible, immature and not a great husband.
I guess that fits with showing how couples grow and change over time and how it isn't always for the best. This does not have a HEA and everyone should check the triggers going into this book.

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filipa_maia's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I can never get tired of Colleen's writing. Her books are so passionate, so involving, they go straight to your heart and get stuck into your brain.

Once again Colleen give us a story about love and pain, and it make us think about how much pain can destroy a love story. Although I've never been in this situation (or met anyone going through a tough time like this) I felt every single emotion that both Quinn and Graham are going through. Since Quinn's feeling of failure to Graham's feeling of helplessness, everything is very clear and though through in this book. This could be a story about a miracle: a couple that after years and years finally gets the baby they always desire. But this is Colleen we are talking about, so I knew (right from the start) that it couldn't be that "easy". On the other hand, not every couple gets their miracle so, in a way, this book can be kinda conforting for those people.

Now, to my "not favorite part". Dear Lord! I didn't want to not like Quinn, but Colleen does not make that easy. She is perfectly aware that her marriage is falling apart, she knows exactly how she is contributing to that happening, and she just watches... I spent half of the story just being mad at her.

With that being said: this was another 5 star reading! Highly recommend!

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iiamyx's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kyamie__'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Until then, I will continue to love you more and more with every struggle we face than I loved you when all was perfect.”

Honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this. Apart from a quotable quote I found in booktok, I have no idea what this book was about or who the author is. All Your Perfects is not a book of about a perfect marriage. Contrary to its title, it’s an emotionally messy read about a married couple giving what’s left of them to put the broken pieces of their marriage together. Midway, I thought to myself, ‘it’s like I don’t want to get married at all!’, lol.

Throughout the book, the author presents the reality of some married couples go through—from complicated family ties, third party issues, and dealing with one another and life together. Colleen Hoover wrote the chapters as alternating perspectives of the ‘Then’ and ‘Now. It gave me the right amount of the backstory of the budding and young romance of the couple, to what their marriage has become. I enjoyed the blissful flashbacks, and how the struggling couple cling on to the love and commitment they had in the past. Colleen definitely DID NOT sugarcoat marriage in this one.

I admire how bare and unrefined Quinn’s character is, she’s not at all the typical trophy housewife. Throughout the book, her anger, frustration, and emotions were fully exposed and written. Graham, on the other hand, is an ideal man of patience, deep devotion to his wife, and understanding. But their marriage strips off their facade, slowly uncovering the real condition of their marriage, in which they are forced to face and finally deal with.

My takeaway: Committing to a person is committing to their wholeness and brokenness. Who they were then, who they are now, and who they’ll become. Real love is the capacity to love the unlovable, not in a compromising way, but because out of love you see the person far beyond their unlikeable traits. Not as a record of their past, nor the idea of the person you painted in your head. To love and accept a person as who they are now, means to also be prepared to love the unlovable in them. Loving might be easy, but making a relationship work requires more than love, it needs mutual effort and commitment (awwww!).

Marrying someone as they are is also marrying the person who they will become.

I would recommend this read for readers seeking for character-driven stories. Quinn and Graham really served to be lovable characters who have their fair share of imperfections, but eventually makes an effort to be better for the other. However, I gave this a 4/5 rating because the ‘resolution’ part felt a bit rushed. Overall, it’s a great read (I wouldn’t recommend it for a Valentine’s day read tho!).

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