dfram's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i didn’t love the plot, though i understand why the author chose this route. my heart was torn too, belly. experiencing heart break at such a young age changes the characters forever and it is the most evident in this last book. when belly’s heart finally chooses who it belongs to, the true meaning of friendship is subtly revealed and i love belly’s childhood friends for saving her in all the ways that mattered so she could become the woman she is in the end of the story. i really liked this series! can’t wait to watch the show on prime
Spoiler
the ending of the second and the third book being the same is really tugging at my heart strings
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
meganpbell's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I agree with what seems to be the consensus that this is the worst book in the trilogy. I feel like the other two balance really well between literary, if young adult, fiction and soap opera but this one leans daytime drama and the ending felt rushed and not payoff enough for 3 books worth of material. That said, again Lola Tung elevates with her excellent audio narration!
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, and Grief
natalie_j's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Violence, Death of parent, and Sexual content
rebecathebookworm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence
_bobatea_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Alcohol
Moderate: Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Death of parent, Cursing, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Vomit, Blood, and Classism
madanxiety's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.75
Ugh this book went exactly as I thought it would. What a messy series lol!
And as for Jeremiah cheating... I guess it makes sense. Like Belly said, he was insecure and felt inferior to his brother - and that was reasonable! What with his dad's favoritism and Belly's affection for him. The cheating was self-sabotage - maybe even self-protection. God, these characters had so many chances to save themselves a lot of hurt and they just didn't 😂. My guess is the moral of the story, or at least one interpretation, is that love is always worth the hurt - that they weren't wrong to pursue a love that was bound to fail. I'm not sold on this idea at all, but I understand that some feel this way. The books has a Romeo & Juliet quality to it - everyone thinks they're so young and naive (because they are) and they kill themselves trying to be together anyway. I could never believe Belly when she'd say stuff like "oh, we might just be getting married to prove something to ourselves, but no I think we really love each other." It just always came off like she was trying to convince herself. And it was so obviously not going to work out between them so it just made her look stupid.
On the other hand, it was so ridiculous that Belly and Conrad got married just a few years later. 21 is still crazy young to get married imo, and it was so rushed I was just like huh? Too much whiplash.
I think Han has a way with words, but the more the series went on, the less I liked it / the characters. And though it seems to end with a tight resolution, I'm still left wondering what took Conrad so goddamn long. The excuse that he was supposed to take care of his brother by way of letting him marry Belly was also just too ridiculous. What I like about the show is the edition of the boat guy character (I forget his name, but the one who talks Conrad through a panic attack and fucks Belly's mom lol). I'll be interested to see if/how his addition changes anything with Conrad. I'd imagine a mentor like that could sway him to confront Belly sooner. If only Conrad had talked to the old Cousins mafia guy much earlier 😂.
My favorite part of the book is the addition of Conrad's perspective. I think this is a skillful writer-move on Han's part and recognize the precision she uses with these additional voices in the second and third books. And on top of that, it was just sorely needed. Like his whole personality was being stoic and impossible to read; it was about time we got in his head lol! Anyway, I think this is the same reason I like the changes made in the show - how we see more from other characters who did not have a voice in the novels.
Spoiler
Idk, I've never been in love so maybe I just can't get it, but I don't get why the characters put themselves in this situation. Even though Belly obviously loves Jeremiah bc they were basically family, I don't get how she could go from being obsessed with his brother for years to being with him. I guess the point in this book is that she was kind of immature and irresponsible. But yeah, it just seems so irresponsible to me that she would even get with Jeremiah. Like I've said throughout the whole series, she's so selfish, and she always gets what she wants. It just doesn't seem right. For once, I was kind of rooting against the protagonist.And as for Jeremiah cheating... I guess it makes sense. Like Belly said, he was insecure and felt inferior to his brother - and that was reasonable! What with his dad's favoritism and Belly's affection for him. The cheating was self-sabotage - maybe even self-protection. God, these characters had so many chances to save themselves a lot of hurt and they just didn't 😂. My guess is the moral of the story, or at least one interpretation, is that love is always worth the hurt - that they weren't wrong to pursue a love that was bound to fail. I'm not sold on this idea at all, but I understand that some feel this way. The books has a Romeo & Juliet quality to it - everyone thinks they're so young and naive (because they are) and they kill themselves trying to be together anyway. I could never believe Belly when she'd say stuff like "oh, we might just be getting married to prove something to ourselves, but no I think we really love each other." It just always came off like she was trying to convince herself. And it was so obviously not going to work out between them so it just made her look stupid.
On the other hand, it was so ridiculous that Belly and Conrad got married just a few years later. 21 is still crazy young to get married imo, and it was so rushed I was just like huh? Too much whiplash.
I think Han has a way with words, but the more the series went on, the less I liked it / the characters. And though it seems to end with a tight resolution, I'm still left wondering what took Conrad so goddamn long. The excuse that he was supposed to take care of his brother by way of letting him marry Belly was also just too ridiculous. What I like about the show is the edition of the boat guy character (I forget his name, but the one who talks Conrad through a panic attack and fucks Belly's mom lol). I'll be interested to see if/how his addition changes anything with Conrad. I'd imagine a mentor like that could sway him to confront Belly sooner. If only Conrad had talked to the old Cousins mafia guy much earlier 😂.
My favorite part of the book is the addition of Conrad's perspective. I think this is a skillful writer-move on Han's part and recognize the precision she uses with these additional voices in the second and third books. And on top of that, it was just sorely needed. Like his whole personality was being stoic and impossible to read; it was about time we got in his head lol! Anyway, I think this is the same reason I like the changes made in the show - how we see more from other characters who did not have a voice in the novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Infidelity
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don’t know why I wanted to read this book, I knew that I wasn’t going to like it considering I didn’t like the second book and should have just binned the series. I think part of it was I wanted to know how it ended and if it did get any better, fool on me – it didn’t.
This book is still based on Belly, who we met in the first book. She is now in college and with Jeremiah. She is loving her life with Jeremiah and she cannot wait to send all year with him. One night whilst at a frat party, Belly finds out Jeremiah cheated on her on spring break with the girl he told her not to worry about, she is heartbroken and doesn’t know what to do. Jeremiah begs for her to come back and proposed . . . and she said yes. Now she is planning her wedding and becoming Isabel Fisher just like she always wanted, except she thought she would be marrying Conrad. Each brother is keeping a secret from her, and this summer she must finally choose which brother her heart wants.
Okay, I am going to try and be polite as possible, but this book boiled my blood. Again, Belly is acting like a five-year-old when she’s supposed to be planning her wedding that she said yes to, she doesn’t listen to anyone else and then wonders why people are so pissed with her. Jeremiah and Conrad both need a slap in the face for letting a girl get in between them especially when it’s Belly. Like they were acting like the Salvatores trying to get Elena but there is one difference, they were vampires and could spend decades fighting where these two were going to think back to college as the time that the brother hated each other over Belly. I don’t think I've ever hated an MC as much as I hated Belly, she just doesn’t know what she wants and then she blames everyone else for that.
The parents were not existence in this book, if I was Belly’s age and turned round to my mum and was like I'm getting married, she would be like no way in hell. Laurel is supposed to be this bad-ass that we met in the first book and she gave up too quickly for my liking during this book and Mr Fisher was just like I don’t want to lose another son, like then stop him getting married instead of making your PA their wedding planning.
Belly didn’t deserve her happily ever after and I didn’t agree with the ending, I think she should have found someone as annoying as her in college and left the Fishers alone as childhood memories. Jeremiah was happy with someone else and I would love to know how he explained that Belly switched brothers about 6 times during the summer.
This book could have been cut down by about 100 pages, it was just repeating what was said during the two other books and wasn’t needed. The only reason I didn’t DNF this book or give it a one star was because of the additional POV chapters from Conrad. I wanted Conrad to have the additional POV in the second book and I knew I was right to want that.
Let’s hope the TV show doesn’t follow this book and it might be a little better. But this series took a lot out of me, which hurt me a lot considering I adored To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Cancer
Minor: Sexual content and Cursing
_sia_'s review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
elspethmigliore's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
i honestly just can’t. the ending was so extremely rushed and there was no clarification on conrad’s part at all. i don’t even know what i just read. i do know that if we took out alk of belly’s back and forth, the trilogy would be finished within 30 pages.
❌ i honestly cannot imagine myself rereading this book ever i’ll be surprised if i do.
❌ i honestly cannot imagine myself rereading this book ever i’ll be surprised if i do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
elizareign's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Don't waste your time reading this. Guess the ending, you'll probably be right.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Violence