Tag: Jenny Han

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

Posted August 19, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny HanReviewer: Rowena
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2

Publication Date: May 26th 2015
Genres: Young Adult
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Given the way love turned her heart in the New York Times bestselling To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, which SLJ called a “lovely, lighthearted romance,” it’s no surprise that Lara Jean still has letters to write.

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?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of makes it so amazing.

This is the follow up book to To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han and it was another cute story.

This story picks up right where the first book ends and it starts with the one thing that Lara Jean is best at. Letters. A letter to Peter. Ahhhh, this book.

I adored it to pieces. Lara Jean is probably one of my favorite YA protagonists of the year. She is so much fun to get to know and her thought processes and just everything that comes out of her mouth makes me laugh and laugh. She’s such a fun character and seeing her fall in love, get mad and learn some life lessons is a whole lot of great. I love reading about her life. Jenny Han handles writing the life of a young Asian protagonist really well. I love that her culture is a part of who she is, how it’s a part of her reactions to the things that happen to her.

This book introduces a new boy in Lara Jean’s life and while I was bummed that this was going to be a love triangle thing, Han told me to calm my ass down and keep reading so I did. I liked the way that the other boy was handled and I love that when all was said and done, Lara Jean knew where her heart belonged.

Peter, freaking Peter. I loved him. I loved how different he was from Lara Jean and even when he was being a complete dumbass, I loved him. The whole thing with Gen made me want to smack the shit out of her and kick Peter in the balls but as with Lara Jean, he knew where his heart belonged and I enjoyed seeing them come together in the end.

This book was a fun story about memorable characters from the first book. I liked that Lara Jean went through some real life problems and handled them like a real person would. I loved that she figured her shit out and fixed the things in her life that needed fixing (including friendships that used to mean the world to her). She was a better and stronger person for all the things she went through in this book and I adored her and Peter together.

This book is filled with cuteness and I definitely recommend this to lovers of Jenny Han’s books but also to fans of contemporary YA romances. This is one of the good ones.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. You can purchase it here and here in e-format.

four-stars

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

Posted December 15, 2014 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

boys ive ever lovedRowena’s review of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

I haven’t read very many things from Jenny Han but this book is one that I’ve wanted to read for a while because the premise sounded great.

After Lara Jean’s mother died, it was just the three Song sisters and their Dad. Margot, the oldest sister was the boss. She took care of everyone and was the fill in Mom that their youngest sister Kitty needed but when Margot went away to college in Scotland, it was Lara Jean’s turn to step up and handle business. Too bad once Margot left, Lara Jean, the good sister who stayed home and never got into any trouble, got a life that kept getting more and more complicated as the pages turned.

You see, Lara Jean has never had a boyfriend but she’s had a lot of crushes. She’s never told any of her crushes that she liked them but she did write them each letters telling them how she felt and then hid those letters away in a box. When somehow, those letters get sent out and her old crushes (and one crush that never quite went away) start confronting her about what was in their letters, Lara Jean freaks the hell out but over the course of the book, you really see Lara Jean come into her own. She becomes a lot more confident in herself and in life.

I really liked this book. I think the only gripe that I had with this book was the ending. It wasn’t a romance novel kind of ending but it wasn’t the worst ending either, but still…more would have been appreciated.

Lara Jean was the perfect protagonist. I thought she was so normal and loved her quirky personality. My heart hurt for her when I read her letter to Josh, her sister’s ex-boyfriend and one of her best friends.  She made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and I loved seeing her relationship with her younger sister, Kitty grow. They were such normal sisters and I liked the team they made once Margot left the nest.

Also? I knew right from the jump who sent those letters out. I couldn’t believe Lara Jean didn’t know.

Jenny Han tricked me because I thought the love interest was going to be one person and then PLOT TWIST, turns out, he’s someone else. The whole time we’re getting to know the love interest, I’m thinking, “Why are we getting so much of this guy? He’s great but what about the other guy?” and then as the story progressed, I started thinking, “Sorry other guy, you don’t stand a chance against this guy.”  I see what you did there, Ms. Han. Good job. The love interest was great. Just fanfreakingtastic. I came to adore the heck out of him. He was much more suited for the person that Lara Jean was now than the other guy.

This book really had it all. I laughed, I got teary eyed and I sighed all over the place. It was great fun and I’m definitely going to be reading more by Jenny Han. This was a great book, even if I wanted a bit more in the end. It was worth the price and the time that I spent on it.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Simon & Schuster Books for Younger Readers. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.

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Review: My True Love Gave to Me Anthology

Posted December 3, 2014 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

my true love gave to meRowena’s review of My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, Ally Carter, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Matt de la Pena, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Kiersten White.

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

This book felt like it had a million short stories in it but I jumped in anyway because a lot of my favorite YA authors penned stories in this one so I was all about it. I’m going to briefly review each short story and hope that this review doesn’t end up being longer than the book. 🙂

“Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell: This was my favorite story in the entire book. Oh, how I adored Noel and Mags. I loved seeing how they met and then their anniversary celebrations each year. The way that their friendship blossomed over the course of their short story was too freaking cute and I just adored this book to pieces.

Grade: 5 out of 5

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link: This story was short but I didn’t connect with Miranda at all and that she fell in love with a ghost did absolutely nothing for me. I read through the whole thing waiting for that moment when I’d connect with Miranda and the story and sadly, it never happened.

Grade: 1 out of 5

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Pena:  This story felt like it took me a million years to read it. I didn’t connect with either Shy or Haley. I wanted to smack Shy every time he lied to Haley and then when we get to finally know about Haley, I wanted to smack her too. I wasn’t at all mad that the story ended.

Grade: 1 out of 5

Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han: I haven’t read any books by Jenny Han (though I do have her latest release waiting to be read on my iPad) but I was really excited to read this one since I’ve heard a lot of good things about her books.  I’m sad to say that this book didn’t work for me at all. It was just…weird. Natalie grew up on the North Pole, having been adopted by Santa Claus? She lives amongst the elves and even has beef with one elf in particular because that elf is dating the elf she wants but can’t have? The only part that I thought was cute was the end when Flynn hands her what she wanted all along but even that wasn’t enough for me to like the entire story.

Grade: 2 out of 5

It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins: I was excited to read this story. I adore all things Stephanie Perkins and I thought she delivered a great short story. Both North and Marigold were cute characters that really came to life in such a short amount of space. I laughed, I sighed and I grinned my way through this story. It was cute.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan: I haven’t read any books by Levithan but was hoping for great things since he’s a pretty popular author of LGBT YA fiction. Unfortunately, this story dragged and the longer it went on, the more I just wanted to skip to the next story. The bitchy sister got on my nerves but I did think that it was sweet of the boyfriend to play dress up to make his boyfriend happy. I just wish that I could have connected with the characters more.

Grade: 2 out of 5

Krampsulauf by Holly Black: Another story that was just …weird to me. It’s a contemporary YA but with some fantasy elements thrown in and throughout the entire story, I kept wondering, “What the heck am I reading?” when it was finally over, I was glad to move on to the next story.

Grade: 1 out of 5

What the Hell have You Done, Sophie Roth by Gayle Forman:  This is one of the stories that I was most looking forward to reading when I first got this book for review. I love Gayle Forman and knew that she would deliver another great story. I’m so glad that I wasn’t disappointed. I thought this story was well written, cute and I loved seeing Sophie fumble her way around Russell. It was just all around cute and I enjoyed this one.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire:  This story was cute. Bad boy doing bad things and Good Girl not casting any judgments, seeing the good in him. Something that not anyone else sees. I thought they were a cute little couple. I loved seeing them work together to try to fix the problems that were all around them. I’ve never read anything by McEntire before but I’m keen to try something else.

Grade: 3 out of 5

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White: This was another great addition to the book. I loved getting to know both Maria and Ben. They were a fun duo. I thought it was cute that Ben had a sixth sense for what customers and employees of the diner would want or in some cases, need. He brought life into that diner and in turn, into that town and also to Maria’s life. I loved seeing them grow closer with each passing day and I thought White did a good job of telling their story in such a short space. I enjoyed this one.

Grade: 4 out of 5  

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter: This was one of those change places with someone and see how they live, or well, close enough to that kind of story line.  I was interested enough in the story to read it but there were times when I just had to roll my eyes down the street. Still, in the end, I was glad that I read this book and would definitely read more from this author because, Ethan was a cutie pie.

Grade: 3 out of 5

Overall, there were some pretty great stories but there were also some pretty bad stories. I’m not at all mad that I read this book though because while it wasn’t perfect, the stories that I did enjoy were just fabulous.

This book is available from St. Martin’s Press. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Watch: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Posted July 13, 2012 by Rowena in Promotions | 3 Comments


BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY…
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she’s ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she’s not the same girl anymore. And she’s ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won’t stop until they each had a taste.

Ooh, revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge. I can already tell by just reading the blurb for this book that it’s going to be drama filled and oh so good. I’m excited to read it. I can’t wait for this book to come out so that I can get my hands on it. It comes out on September 18, 2012. That’s just around the corner so woo hoo for short waits!

Anyone else looking forward to reading this one?

..and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from [insert publishing house here].
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

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