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

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BYR
Release date: April 15th 2014
Pages: 368
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: Bought
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What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?
Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I loved Jenny Han's Summer series, but it's been a while since I read those books, so I tried to keep my expectations low for To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Luckily, though, there was no need, because I was most definitely not disappointed! Just as I remember it being in the Summer series, Jenny Han's writing in To All the Boys I've Loved Before is engaging and addictive, and it reminded me of why I love reading. I absolutely loved this book!

The description of this one is super-vague, and I loved going in without knowing much. Some people might complain that the book doesn't have enough drive and no real central conflict (I know lit-agent-me would probably have to turn this down for that exact reason), but I didn't mind. You have no idea where the story is going because it develops in such a natural way, rather than following any standard formulaic pacing. This might bother some people who prefer plot-driven novels, but as someone who loves character-driven writing, I really appreciated this set-up.

Asides from Jenny Han's addictive writing, the characters are what make this book work. I loved Lara Jean so much! Her voice is so relatable, and she's the perfect balance of vulnerable and strong. (I especially loved reading about her driving anxiety because that made her even more relatable to me.) The secondary characters are great, too: my favorites would have to be Lara Jean's sisters, Margo and Kitty. The relationships between these three are complex and fascinating to read about. Their dad is super-sweet, too - I just loved all of the family dynamics in this one. Chris is Lara Jean's only female friend, really, and she's also tons of fun to read about - she's very unconventional, and I loved it. And then, of course, there's the boys. I don't want to really talk about them because, like I said, I loved going into this without knowing anything, but I'll just say that I really liked reading about all the boys Lara Jean has loved before (and still does?).

I had mixed feelings about the ending. My initial reaction was anger because it's very open-ended in regards to the romance, and I need to know what happens! But in a way, I really appreciated that the ending focuses on the sister relationship rather than the romance. And it's not like it matters anyways, since there's going to be a sequel...

I absolutely loved To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I can see how it's not for everyone, because the plot doesn't really have a clear track or central conflict. But I think that Jenny Han's addictive writing and engaging characters more than made up for it. I can't wait to read PS. I Still Love You!

Review: Fire with Fire by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Title: Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn #2)
Author: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release date: September 3rd 2013
Pages: 528
Genre: Young Adult
Source: BEA - I received an advance copy of this book at Book Expo America in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!
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Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance.
Not even close.
For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before.
And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him.
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn.
It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn...

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Burn for Burn was such a fun read, and Fire with Fire is just as entertaining. These books are perfect guilty pleasure reading - there's nothing deep or meaningful about them, but they're just so much fun to breeze through.

Both Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian have writing styles that I always enjoy. They write books that are always entertaining, simple as that. Both writing styles flow really nicely and make the pages turn quickly, even though this book is so long. Their styles work really well together. The characters they have created in this series are intriguing: no, they're not the most complex characters I've read about, but their stories are engrossing, and that's what counts. None of them are characters I can entirely agree with, but they're relatable nonetheless, and I enjoyed reading about them.

The story, though, I didn't enjoy as much in Fire with Fire as I did in Burn for Burn. In comparison, I feel like the sequel was lacking a certain drive. In Burn for Burn, the girls were brought together by their revenge plan, which pushed the plot throughout the novel. At the start of Fire with Fire, the girls have nothing of the sort to keep them together, so I didn't really see the point of the novel of at first. They do develop another revenge plan over the course of the novel, but it didn't seem as strong as the one in the first book. I wished the other girls' revenge plans that were mentioned in the first book had been elaborated on more in the sequel, instead of continuing on with the one that was already started in Burn for Burn.

In Burn for Burn, I was pleasantly surprised that the supernatural aspect didn't play too important a role in the story. That is still the case for most of Fire with Fire, up until the very end. And the ending... I really don't know what to make of that. The way it's left at the end of Fire with Fire, I don't think it makes all that much sense, to be honest. But I'm assuming the third book in the series, Ashes to Ashes, will elaborate on that storyline and hopefully make it all start to make sense.

Despite these smaller issues with the story, Fire with Fire is most definitely a fun read. If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read that doesn't require much thinking on your part, you should definitely give this series a try!

Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Title: Burn for Burn
Authors: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release date: September 18th 2012
Pages: 368
Genre: YA
Source: NetGalley
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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.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I love both Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's earlier books, but I was a little worried about this one, since it's classified as paranormal and not contemporary, like both authors' previous books. But I had nothing to worry about! Really, Burn for Burn reads a lot more like contemporary than anything paranormal. There are a few hints at some supernatural powers, and I guess that'll be explored more later on in the series, but for the most part, Burn for Burn is contemporary. That might be disappointing to people who prefer paranormal books, but I, as a contemps-lover, appreciate that it takes place mainly in the real world.


Burn for Burn is so much fun. Really, that's the only way to describe it. It's not deep or meaningful, but it's just so entertaining to read. Jenny Han's and Siobhan Vivian's styles are both great, and they work really well together. I'd love to know who wrote which parts - whether each of them wrote one character and they shared the third one, or what - since I honestly couldn't tell. The writing on both parts flows very nicely, making this a quick read. It's not too descriptive or ornate, but it makes it so easy to get lost in the story.


I'm not sure what to make of the characters. I didn't exactly like them or agree with their decisions, and each of the girls frustrated me at some point, but I didn't even care, for some reason. They're just fun people to read about! Especially Lillia and Kat have some serious sass and attitude, which made it hard for me to feel for them, but made them all the more entertaining characters. The same thing goes for the secondary characters - a lot of them are bitchy and mean, but that just caused for more drama and fun reading. In the beginning, I had some trouble keeping track of who's who, because of the varying POV and the large set of secondary characters, but I figured it out after a while.

At first, I was a little worried about the whole revenge thing, since it seems kind of... wrong, but I ended up really enjoying it. Again, I didn't agree with the characters' choices, per se, but I still couldn't wait for them to get revenge because it caused for so much fun reading. Burn for Burn is the perfect guilty pleasure read - you know you shouldn't be enjoying this because it's all so wrong and mean, but you can't help it. I loved Kat's and Mary's storylines, but I found Lillia's a little weak, to be honest. Her reasons for wanting revenge didn't seem as strong as the other girls', and I kept thinking something about what she'd heard would turn out not to be true, making me feel kind of bad for the guy she gets revenge on.


Burn for Burn is a quick and very entertaining read. If you go in expecting something meaningful, expecting it to be discussed whether or not the revenge these girls try to get is wrong, you'll probably be disappointed, but I didn't mind. This book is pure fun; total brain candy. I can't wait for the next book, even if I'm dreading the part where the supernatural stuff takes over.

Who are two authors you would love to see team up and write a book together?

Series Review: Summer Trilogy by Jenny Han

Titles: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You & We'll Always Have Summer
Author: Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Add to Goodreads: Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3
Purchase from Amazon: Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3


Goodreads description for The Summer I Turned Pretty:

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars


For some reason, I didn't review The Summer I Turned Pretty and It's Not Summer Without You when I first read them, so I'm just going to review them along with We'll Always Have Summer. This is a review of all three books, but I might talk about the third one a little more, just because that's the one I read most recently and have the most memory of. But don't worry, no spoilers even if you haven't read any of the books in this series!


I love these books so much, plain and simple - there's just something about them. I love getting lost in Jenny Han's writing! It flows nicely and reads so quickly - none of these books took me longer than two hours to read, since they're almost impossible to put down.


The characters are what's best about this series. It took me a while to get used to Belly, but she grew on me. I don't agree with all of her decisions, but I love her nonetheless. And Conrad and Jeremiah. Oh, Conrad and Jeremiah... *insert major swooning here* I love both of these boys so much - I can't even begin to explain what amazing characters they are. I loved the secondary characters, too - there's a strong family storyline, and I loved reading about Belly's mom and Susannah and even Steven. And I loved Belly's best friend Taylor! 

Seeing these characters develop over the course of three books is great. In We'll Always Have Summer, I liked seeing how much Belly had grown up, as well as the rest of these characters. I especially liked reading about them at college, because, well, I just love when books are set at college!


Another thing that's great about these books is the beach setting. I always love when books are set in beach towns, and the atmosphere in the Summer series is so well-done! I really felt like I was there at the beach alongside the characters, and I'd give anything to go to Cousins.


The Summer books evoked so many emotions in me. They made me happy, sure, but they're not only fun romances - they definitely have some depth, too. I tore up multiple times because of the pure feeling these books convey and all the love I have for the characters. I cry while reading books about grief and stuff like that all the time, but I don't remember ever having cried this much about a love story.


These books are the epitome of summer. I've read a book in the Summer series each summer for the last three years, and I really do believe there'll be something missing next year, when there are no more of these books for me to read. If you haven't read this series yet, what are you waiting for?