A review by jurassicreads
Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

3.0

I grew up with friends who were OBSESSED with Sarah Dessen novels, but I just never found any of their descriptions interesting enough to pick up. Not to mention the moniker of 'teen romance' is usually enough to turn me off to any book, regardless of content. I've always been one to turn my nose up at books revolving around a romantic relationship. One specific piece of this one brought me to take a chance: weddings. As someone in my late-twenties, I find myself a little more curious about weddings, and sometimes that brings me to fiction books involving weddings. 'Once and for All' follows Louna, the daughter of a well-known wedding planner. Louna works summers for her mother's wedding business and has become really good at it, until one summer they take on an unexpected nuisance: a boy name Ambrose. Ambrose is flighty, a little bit of a womanizer, and rebels against literally anything organized. I think the interactions between Louna and Ambrose were ultimately not what kept me in this one for the long haul. This book chronicles a few very stupidly complicated wedding scenes that really made me laugh and cringe, but they were pretty much the only thing keeping me around until the end. I did feel connected to Louna because of her stubborn inability to stray from the rules (which I can relate to on TOO MANY levels). I was almost nauseated by how all over the place Ambrose was written, as if he was supposed to be the polar opposite of Louna.