The Quick Cut: Lara Jean's life continues to be chaotic as she tries to get Peter back, deals with the fallout of the hot tub video, and finds another letter recipient coming back into her life in a big way. Drama ensues when relationships get complicated.
Preparing for the end of high school and the beginning of college, Lara Jean finds herself overwhelmed by the upcoming changes in life - including her dad's wedding, her relationship status, and her college acceptances. All hell breaks loose when she doesn't handle it as well as expected.
A Real Review:
As much as I enjoyed the first book in this series, I never anticipated reading the sequels. However, that all changed when the Netflix movie came out for the original novel. Seeing these two characters on the screen really lit something inside myself, especially considering how strong the chemistry was between the actors. After witnessing the strength in the movies and not so secretly hoping for a sequel movie - I had to read the next two books in the series! Considering I read these two books within a day of each other, it makes more sense to do one combined review for both books.
The first thing I need to say is this: the second book is the strongest of the entire series. Between the love triangle of Peter, John, and LJ and the continued interference of Gen - the emotions were strong and the characters had a real battle with one another here. As much as I liked the first book, it started really slow and didn't really grab my attention until the letters got out. This book didn't have that issue with it instead hitting the ground running. I can easily see myself re-reading this book over and over again just to experience the competing emotions (and relationship priorities) between Peter and LJ here. It's always more fun to read (or watch) when you can see them work their way through figuring out which relationship means more. Plus, who is the one causing the true issue here?
The third book I debated with that score, but eventually settled at a 3.5. As much as I enjoyed seeing our titular couple on the page again, I also had a problem with the fact that we really didn't have a true plot here. Don't get me wrong, Lara Jean struggles with the future and how everything is going absolutely NOT according to plan (including Peter's response to certain elements). This one is the weakest book of the series for this reason. There's no struggle other than the internal one within LJ and it doesn't play out well as the sole source of plot on the page. There really should've been something else to hold up the story and without it there, this really isn't more than just nostalgia at seeing these two together again.
With a couple who you can't help but fall in love with (at least a little), you'll end up feeling a lot of roller coaster feelings as you enjoy the intense story of the second book and feel slightly jipped at the lack of one in the final one.
My rating: P.S. I Still Love You - 5 out of 5; Always and Forever, Lara Jean - 3.5 out of 5