Dorottya

When I tell you my copy is drenched in red ink on the margins - at least the first 80 pages,because that's how far I've gotten. As a 28 year old woman who enjoys being alone often and being independent,I found this piece of story fairly difficult to digest. The main character was insufferable and infuriating with her constant whining,the inability to exist without relying on another person. She expects everyone to live her life for her,take the lead and just tell her what to do or distract her from her own problems because she doesn't have a personality. I understand that she needed a revelation and an arc. Despite this,it takes way too long for her to get her s* together and try,even after she acknowledged the red flags. Help me!Pay attention to me! She acted like a baby,learning to live from zero. Which would've been fun to watch if she actually put in an effort. I was hoping for a more sensible character development.

The love interest falls short for me,sadly,being just as pathetic because he'd be charming if he wouldn't be taken. This should be enough of an indication for our heroine to remove herself from the situation,but somehow she manages to convince herself ‘this is okay,this is normal'. We were faced with this in the synopsis alright,but instead of making it an exciting and cute whirlwind,it only paints the main character as the homewrecker. What's worse is that as I scrolled ahead,Isaac makes no steps to resolve this situationship for another one or two hundred pages. He shares very little information with her despite being “friends”. (Guilt?) How do you not see it,girl?? Somehow it couldn't bring me to ship them and root for them. The pacing is off,can't hold my attention. I'm sure Marnie's a ✨brand new woman✨ by the end of the book,but I don't have enough time for her to figure this out,I'm sorry. I wanted to like it,I really did. But she's,and everyone else,except for Kit (her boss/friend) maybe,are super annoying. The number of books about this age group of women is limited. We're still figuring stuff out,that's right,but I'm kind of offended being portrayed this way.

No stars since I didn't finish it.

3 and 1/2 stars ✨

The final chapter to Lara Jean's high school shenanigans. Waiting for confirmation letters from universities and navigating (love) life for the future. This volume is a charming coming of age story to its core. I have to admit I got a bit emotional about the ending and Peter K grew on me. The pacing is similar to the first installment's,hence the rating. I think Jenny creates conflicts really well,I just wish they'd come sooner and would be more fleshed out. The solution should be more complex,because everything happens really quickly at the end. I'd have loved more John Ambrose,but all in all it's a lovely book. I'm going to miss these characters.

(Please keep in mind that I haven't watched the movies.)
I liked this sequel much more than the first book. The pacing was steadier and the chemistry turned up a notch. Although Josh's nearly complete absence was surprising to me,Peter's character became more loving,and John! Oh John Ambrose McClaren,my darling! I absolutely adored him. Am I the only one who was/is rooting for him? I feel like his character is a much safer choice for Lara Jean. He's thoughtful,gentle,caring and smart. He became brave for her. He's the one you can comfortably read in silence with. Ugh! Being with him is easy as breathing. The drama revolving around Peter and Genevieve is reasonably frustrating for the heroine. I mean who wants their boyfriend's ex still in the picture? Even though I loved Peter in this volume more than at first,he has yet to apologize,man up,give an explanation and commit. I did like how Margot,Kitty and Chris were having Lara Jean's back as a team in the beginning and the representation of double standard.

What I did not like: Kitty's character is annoying to me sometimes,I'm sorry. She is always scheming in the background when specifically asked not to (I know she's 10,but still) and she only does favors if there's something in it for her,she's way too bossy. Another thing I noticed is that in the first half of the book Lara Jean is repeatedly talking about how handsome Peter is. I get it,he's a popular teenage boy. There are more to a person than looks,girl. I was shocked how quickly she ditched John for Peter's sorry 4ss in the end. Also Anonyb1tch is supposed to be a Gossip Girl knock off?

Altogether this is a good story,there were several GASP and swoon moments for me. I enjoyed reading it. I'm going to pick up part 3.

Imagine inheriting a decades old manor and over two hundred acres of land. Exploring and renovating with your enemy-turned-friend-turned-lover,forced proximity,secret passageways,hide and seek,love letters,hand flexes,matchmaking from beyond the grave,treasure hunt,sharing a tent,kissing in the rain,dancing in the kitchen,baking together,a trip to Scotland...

This story is the definition of dreamy.
The main character,Maybell has an extremely vivid imagination,often escapes to and/or gets lost in her daydreams. She's a people pleaser,meek and quirky. A goofball with a huge heart,which is often taken advantage of by her mother Julie or her colleague Gemma. In certain situations I found her even somewhat childish,but really liked the character arc that was given her: how she learned to stand up for herself. Interestingly,the male protagonist,Wesley is even more insecure than the MC,which I loved reading! TW: Severe social anxiety,self-doubt,self-deprecation and claustrophobia. He was incredibly hostile in the first 100 or so pages which had me worried,but slowly his behaviour earned an explanation and his true self turned out to be adorable and devoted. Loved the subtle twists in the story. Their romance is pink haze and fluffy clouds,quite literally. It's genius how Maybell developing feelings for Wesley and the moment when the realization hit was shown through her mind,the way her fictional coffee shop transformed out of her control. The spicy scene is beautifully written,nothing explicit if someone's concerned about that. I wouldn't neccessarily say they complete each other,but after overcoming obstacles,these two characters help the other become stronger,healthier and more confident. Definitely a perfect match. Pick up this book if you want to indulge in some tooth-rotting fluff!

High hopes,deep fall.

The premise of this book was so good. All the praising reviews,the summary and quotes led me to believe I would love it and I was so sure of it. Finally,I thought to myself,a mature story with a female protagonist (almost) around my age. I couldn't wait to finish the previous book I was reading to start this one.

I picked it up with much excitement,but right off the hook I found the writing different from anything I've read before,which isn't necessarily a problem. Still,somehow I couldn't connect with it at all,despite reading it in my native language. The phrasing is simple,straight to the point and written in present tense for the most part,yet I got confused and frustrated by the structure,because even though it seemed easy to read,it felt difficult and distant (just like the characters) for some reason. I wrote this off in the beginning as maybe this writer and/or writing style isn't for me and continued with some struggle.

I don't want to go over the plot like so many did before me,I think everyone got the picture already. Let's talk about the characters as I dropped a crumble about them above. I love getting lost in a story,growing passionate and experiencing intense emotions,rooting for the people in there. I think my main obstacle for this here was that practically none of the characters were loveable for me and to go even further,the reason for that in my opinion was that I didn't get to learn much about them because of the writing style. Many many paragraphs of prose,very little conversations. The only character whose internal thoughts I got to know was the main character Casey,obviously,which were extremely cynical. I didn't know enough about the love interests to be appealing,let alone charming. The guy she chose in the end was barely in the book. I caught myself wishing she wouldn't choose anyone,but get her life together instead.

On the bright side,I liked Casey's friend Muriel Becker,who's also a writer. Everyone in this book is a writer... I'm usually good at remembering names,but here I needed to take notes because of the tidal wave of characters mentioned. I think that was totally unnecessary,cause half of them never showed up again.

The pacing was terrible. I was considering dnf-ing at several points up to 40%. The recurring descriptions of people's orders at the restaurant our protagonist works at were getting on my nerves. I learned a lot about being a waitress,but not much concerning the other characters' personalities. The plot only “picked up” around half of the book,but I was still waiting for something bigger to happen. Neither of the lovers were fleshed out enough and I felt like I was completely lost in time. Therefore some things I couldn't wrap my mind around regarding them. Everything happened so quickly with Oscar,the widowed writer. He asked Casey out immediately after being served by her at the restaurant. He kissed her right on that date,talked about her "baby-making hips" after,said he loved her,asked her to move in with them etc. Then he had an existential crisis and turned inside. I was so glad she broke up with him. I adored his sons though. Silas on the other hand,while closer to Casey's age,seemed unreliable and a bunch of details were highlighted like his chipped tooth and smell that weren't the most attractive attributes. I just didn't understand. Why?? I kept wondering where the affection is coming from,because I couldn't feel any between all these characters,and it gave me the illusion that I left something out. There was another male character in the first few chapters that gave me a headache: Luke. Two broken people getting tangled in each other - never would've worked out. I had a feeling Casey was,maybe unconsciously,leading them all on. Exactly why she should've sorted her stuff out first,but I understand the story has a starting point and it has to go from there.

The funny thing is,I never got to learn the name of Casey's deceased mother. I thought maybe she named the protagonist of the book Casey was writing after her but that was never directly confirmed. Then there were some random things that made me do a double take. For example being a golf prodigy and her real name cause it's not actually Casey,which I didn't exactly understand why she hasn't changed since the nickname was given by her perverted father. Her idea of how to teach literature was ridiculous too and the whole book was about how she can't write for different reasons. Well,she never even really sat down and tried.

The last couple of chapters and some wisely written lines made up for this ride,but the main character could've done those things much sooner and it felt a bit miraculous. Also feeding your mothers ashes to geese felt so freaking off,the description gave me a morbid sense of feeling. The last sentences provided a nice meaning and explanation,I still feel wrong about it.