Once and for All

So I am reviewing this book completely on story and characters alone. I love Sarah Dessen books with all my heart, the first one I picked up was The Truth About Forever and I've read them all since then. So when she announced this book I couldn't wait, I have literally been overjoyed for this book for like a year, and it came out yesterday, I got it in the mail at like 4 and I blew through it tonight. I adore her writing style and her characters they just grow and this story just... I loved it so much. Now I am not going to talk about any representation when it comes to this story because that isn't why I read her books. There is a gay male father figure to the main character named William, I adored him but I can speak on if his life story is realistic and I don't want too. I really just want to enjoy the story. I know a few had issues with the fat representation when it come to Jilly the best friend, I didn't really notice it and I again wasn't looking. Louna is going through a hard time with her grief and you learn about her story as the book progresses and why she feels so cynical about life at the moment. I think she was written well and I like we were so far removed from the horrible incident. I don't like shooting stories, though I know it is realistic and it happens I just don't think those stories should be made into fiction, it doesn't help and it is never portrayed well. So the fact she wasn't directly there but suffered such heartbreak still put us there I guess in a way I could keep reading. I loved Ambrose as I love all Sarah Dessen guy love interest characters but this book was so focused on Louna I didn't feel he got a fully fleshed out character. Usually we get why they act they way they do and this one there was just a weird guy who did a lot of things nobody understood with no explanation. Overall I adored this book like I do all of her books, the characters, the story, everything just pulls me in and gets me hooked till I know they get their happy endings. This one is dealing with a lot heavier subject matter than usually but it still read so well on the page and I still cared so much by the end. I will probably read all her other books again because her writing style just floors me every time, I mean What Happened to Goodbye will forever be my go to book for summer days.

Once and For All is a true Sarah Dessen romance. This coming of age story is an emotional story that will have you believing in second-chances before the last page. Ambrose's eternal optimism is a stark contrast to Louna's heartbroken cynicism and exactly what she needed. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will simply state that Once and For All is sadly relevant to today's society, but hopefully it won't always be that way. Sarah Dessen has long been one of my go-to authors. Once and For All is a good read, but it wasn't my favorite of hers. This book is just as emotional as her others, but there isn't quite as much romance throughout. The lack of undeniable romance throughout is the only thing that kept this from being a 5-Star read for me. If you enjoy heartfelt, clean, coming of age romances, then I recommend Once and For All as one of your next reads.

The 5 stars are for shipping only, book was in pristine condition and shipped promptly. I feel like my rating of the book itself has no basis to change that. If I had to leave a rating for the book, like many of the reviews I've seen I do agree that the book overall while enjoyable, didn't really measure up to her previous books. I am a lover of Sarah Dessen and currently own all her books, but I will say that this is one that I actually had to force myself to get through. The idea to the story was wonderful, kind of playing off the "always a bridesmaid never a bride" mentality, but in the case always a wedding planner and never the bride. I just felt like the characters themselves were underdeveloped and their relationship almost forced. I do still love Sarah Dessen and I look forward to reading her future work!

I really recommend this book! It is so summery and I loved every second of it! It’s been a while since I read this book (I finished it back in July), but, that being said, it is one of those books that sticks with you. So even now, months later, I wanted to share my thoughts on the book with you all, because I find myself still thinking about this book and its characters and its story. First of all, I want to say (again) that Dessen has this way of making you feel like you’re living in the world of her books. I always find myself getting absorbed in her novels and reading them in just a few days, or less! Maybe it is the descriptions she uses, or the way she strings her words together, but I get wrapped up in each and every one of her stories. Every time. And Once and For All was certainly no exception. I loved the character of Ambrose! And he was perfect for Louna. He was exactly what she needed in her life, especially after the hard times she had faced recently. I loved the way Dessen created Ambrose and Louna and they way they just seem to fit together and be exactly what the other needed, but didn’t know they needed. *full review on blog*

I'll have to admit to being a little disappointed with this one. Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors and I've read all of her other books. She writes simple love stories, great drama, and gives all the feels. I wasn't that crazy about this story, however. Louna is, to me, a haunted character. She's got some issues that she hasn't really dealt with and that she doesn't actually talk about with others. She focuses on her work with her mom in the wedding planning business, but she isn't someone who actually believes in love. You get glimpses of her past relationship and hints about what happened to her boyfriend, but you don't get the full story until the end of the book. It's sad and Louna's behavior makes sense, but it also doesn't...if that makes sense. I liked Ambrose a lot as a character. He's goofy and weird, and seriously flirtatious. He tries so hard to be nice to Louna but she's just kind of mean, so it was strange when she realized her feelings for him. It was also a little confusing when he admits his feelings because there just wasn't a lot of instances that the two of them...felt things? I'm not sure, but I just didn't get a lot of swoony moments from these two so I wasn't sure how it all happened. I liked the story well enough and the ending was sweet. I'll always buy/read Dessen's words because she does them so well. The supporting characters are always well-rounded and fit perfectly into the story. This time it was the main character who didn't do it for me. Maybe next time.

This book and it's characters were funny and very enjoyable. I have read all of Sarah Dessen's novels, and this was one of my favorites! The character of Ambrose had me laughing out loud at many parts and I definitely wanted to be friends with many of the characters. Sarah does a great job of setting up her story and characters in a way in which readers get truly invested in it. This book will make you laugh, cry, feel super happy, scared and yes, sometimes in love (with Ambrose)! As an English teacher who loves a good romance novel, I would highly recommend this to anyone! The only downside for someone (not me!), would be that it is a young adult novel and characters are teenagers (seventeen). I know some older readers may be turned off by this fact, but in my opinion, it just takes me back to that age! Pick up a copy right now and read it! You won't be disappointed!

Pretty good nook

I was skeptical about jumping into another one of her books as I hadn't read one in over 6 years and had started to feel her books were slightly predictable. The beginning of the book felt very cheesy to me, and as I was reading I would often think I know what is going to come and I'm not into it. By the end I had laughed quite a few times and cried at least three times. I felt it was oddly relatable as I also am still reeling from the ending of a long distance relationship which I thought was my epic love, although my ending wasn't quite as tragic. This is great writing and I'm so glad I stuck it out to the end.