Fall Reads: Once and For All

Hello!

I realize that it is no longer summer, BUT I read this book over the summer and it is the type of book I would most definitely consider “summery”.

So if you’re like me and you love fall, but you are missing that sunshine and the warmer days gone by, I highly recommend you go grab yourself a copy of Dessen’s latest love story and you’ll instantly be transported to sunny, summery days!

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Book: Once and For All 

Author: Sarah Dessen

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

[image error]I looked outside and the sky perfectly matched the book, so I had to snap a pic! 

Synopsis (vis Goodreads):

As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, Sarah Dessen’s thirteenth novel, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine.

Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that’s why she’s cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm’s length. But Ambrose isn’t about to be discouraged, now that he’s met the one girl he really wants.

Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humor, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself.

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My Review:

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.

In this book, the main character Louna works at her mom’s wedding planning company. And for someone who is done with the idea of “love”, like those she works with, it was often funny or ironic that their job was one completely surrounded around and founded on the idea of “love.”

I love weddings, so I thought the wedding planning aspect added something really fun to the plot. Another little thing I loved about this book was the colors! The cover was beautiful and the pink and purple linen binding underneath the dust jacket was so pretty!

So in walks Ambrose to the story, who she is certainly not expecting, and her summer spins off in a direction she never thought would happen.

I have to say that I loved the feel of this story. Something about it reminded me of Gilmore Girls, and I didn’t want the book to end!

Now Ambrose… wow. This guy! He is the definition of a player, but the whole way through the book, even from the first thing he says to Louna, I found myself cheering for them, cheering for him. I laughed at the things he said and couldn’t help myself from smiling each time his character entered a scene. He was just perfect.

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.

[image error]@nadetterae Instagram

Also, and I won’t give away what happens because I don’t want any big spoilers in this, BUT, I thought it was really helpful and important that Dessen touched on the hard, traumatic things happening in today’s world. I hope that her book can help others through what Louna had to go through and grieve through in the wake of tragedy in this world.

I think it’s hard as an author to touch on the hard stuff and make the best impact you can because everyone thinks about and handles these situations differently. So I really appreciated that she talked about that and did her best to make an impact and help young people dealing with loss.

I liked the ending of the book a lot! As the pages were getting less and less, I wasn’t sure which way it would go, but I was really happy with how she wrapped everything up for the characters and left the reader with a happy ending.

Well, I still have Saint Anything & Lock & Key as my top favorite Sarah Dessen novels, but this book comes in a very close second.

One of my favorite lines: “It’s funny, the little details you remember from the things you cannot forget.” (I just felt this was really true and well said.)

To purchase this book click here. 

Check out my reviews of my other favorite Dessen books: Saint Anything, Just Listen, The Moon and More, Lock & Key .

Happy Reading and Happy Fall!

~Nadette