Once and For All Book Review

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I’m halfway through this book and I’m finding out it’s much sadder than I thought going into it. Trigger Warning for school shootings, that plays a part in the story and shows the aftermath so it can get dark and intense. Still a great book so far though! #bookblog #bookblogger #book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookworm #bookish #bookaholic #booknerd #bookdragon #youngadult #youngadultbooks #sarahdessen

A post shared by 🍒Alette🍒 (@bookishmunchkin) on Apr 11, 2019 at 3:22pm PDT

Hey y'all! Today I'm going to be reviewing the YA contemporary romance book, Once and For All by Sarah Dessen. Now, I LOVE Sarah Dessen books. I've been reading her books since I was a tween and I love the little world she's built with characters that pop up in other books and familiar businesses and stores. It's so "feel good" and happy! Sarah Dessen is awesome. 

I was really excited to read this book because it's about a wedding planner's daughter Louna, who helps her mom run the wedding planning business. You quickly find out Louna is jaded and cynical when it comes to love and you'll find out why if you read it. I won't spoil it here. But let me just say this book deserves a Trigger Warning for school shootings and the aftermath of that. It's a bit darker than the usual Sarah Dessen book, which I didn't mind because I think school shootings is a relevant and timely topic we all need to be talking about. 

Anyway, you follow Louna and her co worker Ambrose's shenanigans at weddings and in daily life. Ambrose is the exact opposite of Louna, very carefree and loving, and it's easy to laugh and be charmed by his character. The book continues with Louna's struggle to open up to love again and trust other people, even if they aren't guaranteed to always be there. 

Now, let me get into what I didn't like about the book. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5 mainly for one reason: INSTA-LOVE! I HATE INSTA-LOVE! And that's part of the main focus of the book, Louna falling in love with a guy after sleeping with him on a beach for the night. Honestly, I thought that was weird and stupid. When they told each other they loved each other at their parting, I rolled my eyes SO hard. Maybe I'm too old and not consumed by enough hormones to find this romance cute and loveable, but I just hated it. I didn't hate the guy, just the "romance". And it turned out to be a long distance romance for a short while, which just made things even more eye roll worthy. And to be honest again, I didn't really like Louna as a character. I know tragedy defined her character quite a lot but she just really annoyed me with how rude she could be and just detached. I didn't get attached to her at all. 

Other than that, I really loved the world setting and other characters. It's a nice and quick spring or summer read. I just wish there was less love at first sight lol. 

I'll see y'all tomorrow with my review of LADY MIDNIGHT!!! Til then, have a great day!

Alette