December 11

UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED REVIEW

MY OPINION: ******

What a satisfying conclusion to this series. I think before I wavered back and forth between whether or not this was my favorite and honestly, the fourth time around, I literally cannot choose. I loved UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED REVIEW

MY OPINION: ******

What a satisfying conclusion to this series. I think before I wavered back and forth between whether or not this was my favorite and honestly, the fourth time around, I literally cannot choose. I loved them all as usual!

This is such a fun, easy, beautifully-written series that I've read twice this year. Every time I read it, it never gets old and I love that about it. The characters are just as real and naive/amazing/awkward as always and I love how they never use their personality traits no matter how many times I read this series, meaning that they don't get bland.

I wish upon the highest star that some sort of novella or bonus content could be released for this series. I would eat that up.

I love this series so much and I would recommend it to readers looking for a strong female protagonist.

Main Character: Belly
Sidekick(s): Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, Laurel, Taylor, Anika, etc
Villain(s): Innocence, stupidity, first loves, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

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UPDATED UPDATED REVIEW

MY OPINION: ******

I feel like out of the three, this one was my favorite. I used to not like this book as much as the others only because it deals with marriage and weddings which is not something I find appealing in books. I find that it isn't as interesting.

However, Jenny Han made it interesting. This is an accomplishment in my mind because despite the weddings and marriages, I loved this book the most out of the three.

This book started off with Belly and her friends in college. We learn that she's at the same college as Jeremiah, her boyfriend. She and Jeremiah are this really happy, lovey-dovey couple which I tried to enjoy despite the fact that it wasn't with CONRAD. She attends a party and from there, everything goes downhill.

At the party, she and Jeremiah get separated. Within the first fifteen pages, we learn that Jeremiah cheated on Belly when he went to Cabo over spring break. I thought that the beginning was a little rushed and I would have liked to see more relationship building between Belly and Jeremiah but it worked.

Belly overhears some girls talking and she just knows they're talking about Jere. Now, if this were me, I would slap him, kick him in his special place, and never speak to him again. Belly, however, decides to GET MARRIED.

Yes, this did tick me off a little bit because it seemed more like Jeremiah was trying to do anything to erase the past. Yes, he WAS very remorseful and guilty, but to be honest, if he was so in love with Belly, he would have told her as soon as it happened. He tries to justify himself by saying that they were "broken up" but it was just a fight and to Belly, she knew that they weren't actually done.

Jeremiah is pretty honest. Although he knows that what he did was wrong, he tells Belly that he and Lacie, the girl, "had sex" and Belly is astounded, especially since she is still a virgin.

After Belly stupidly says yes to Jeremiah, though I guess it can be justified because she's in "love", she and Jeremiah set off on the task of telling their parents. Nobody takes it well, least of all Laurel, Belly's mother. I am on her side completely at this point: yes, go ahead and get married but wait a couple of years. Nobody should get married at 19.

It sounds like I didn't like the book but I did. The plotline was just not agreeable to common sense :)

Because Belly and Laurel don't agree on anything about this wedding, Belly decides to go to Cousins and live in the summer house until the wedding (of course they're going back to Cousins!). She learns that Conrad is also living there. Cue the romantic tension.

I loved this plot idea because we get to see that Belly and Conrad still have feelings for each other, though both of them try to hide or ignore it because of Belly' upcoming marriage.

And above all, we get to see Conrad's perspective! He also doesn't agree with the wedding and he admits that he still has feelings for her but he tries to hide it by freezing her out. Again. He does try to help by talking to Laurel but he tries to stay out of it for the most part.

This book was SO good. Conrad's confession just made it so much better. Yes, maybe he did treat Belly badly but at least he didn't cheat on her.

"Eyes flashing, he said, "I never once cheated on you. I never even looked at another girl when we were together."

"I don't know if I'll ever get you out of my system, not completely... It's not all of a sudden. It's always."

The things that Conrad says kill me every single time I read this book. And then when he tries to leave with "an ounce of pride" she shuts him down, making him admit that "she broke his heart", the thing that Conrad Fisher would never say.

I loved this book and it's characters. They were so real and throughout the series, they really seemed to grow. I am glad to have read this again because it brought back so many memories. I love this book and would recommend it anyone looking for a light summer read.

Main Character: Belly
Sidekick(s): Conrad, Jeremiah, Taylor, etc
Villain(s): Weddings, misunderstanding, love, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this book was very real to life.
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MY OPINION: ******

This is my second time reading this book and I loved it even more than the first time around! It was such a powerful conclusion to this series and it never lost its flavor that we tasted from the first two books.

My friend actually bought me this series for Christmas and I can not be happier about it. I am so excited to add this to my bookshelf that is evergrowing, especially since I've wanted these for a little while now. They are definitely my favorite YA contemporary novels, maybe ever, so... I NEEDED THEM

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. I don't think I can say it enough.

Belly definitely changed a lot from this book compared to the first one. She is now more matured and she doesn't really let things to get to her as much as before. She's trying to move on and she's learning to grow up and give in. She's definitely a lot more mature... in the first books, it was like I was reading from a child's perspective. Yes, she was a teen but sometimes the things she said were really immature and childish. But I DID love that about her, the way she clung to her childhood. Also, the first books were full of flashbacks so maybe that's where I got that sense. This book had a couple but they weren't as noticeable or abrupt.

(view spoiler)[LET ME TELL YOU ONE THING THAT DID MAKE ME MAD! Jeremiah cheats on her and then she finds out, confronts him, breaks up with him like she should have done, and then HE PROPOSES and she ACCEPTS after he CHEATED on her! That made me so ANGRY... but maybe I'm a little biased because of my undying love for CONRAD. (hide spoiler)]

I have to say, I've never hated Jeremiah more than in this book. The first couple of books, Jeremiah was sweet in the first book but I honestly thought of him more as a side person who was just there because he was there. Then in the second book, I think his feelings for Belly became more obvious but I again left it to the side... I was WAY more focused on Conrad *SWOON* Then in this book, they were dating and all that and I was like "JEREMIAH WHERE DID YOU COME FROM WHAT HAPPENED TO CON THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING"

Jeremiah really pissed me off. Check the spoilers if you want to know why. But really, his character was so ANNOYING. He was WAY too happy-go-lucky and if you want the honest truth, in my opinion, he was not a good boyfriend. Yes, Conrad sucked at being a boyfriend too but (view spoiler)[HE DID NOT CHEAT ON HER AND THEN EXPECT HER TO MARRY HIM!! (hide spoiler)] You do not know how much it pains me to make that a spoiler and not a REAL LIFE STATEMENT. Then again, maybe you're like me and you love spoilers and you read them anyway.

Conrad was SO messed-up and I FELT for him. I understood why he did the things he did in all three books. Many of you think he was a jerk or a**hole but honestly, he was just CONFLICTED and ANGRY and SAD. I mean, his mom DIED. Give him some SYMPATHY at least.

Conrad was definitely my favorite character. He was so SWEET and ADORABLE and (view spoiler)[When he finally spilled out all of his feelings for Belly, I cried, I cried, I cried because it was TOO LATE and BELLY RAN AWAY and I CRIED (hide spoiler)] This book had CON'S PERSPECTIVE in it and I died of happiness and jubilation. I got to see the world from HIS eyes and I cried with him and went through the stages of grief with him! I love Conrad Fisher. I thought I would hate him but I can't.

Aww there wasn't much Steven in this one and that made me just a little disappointed because to me he was always part of the gang: Belly, Conrad, Jeremiah, and Steven.

THE NICKNAMES WERE THE BEST THING EVER! "Belly" "Con or CONNIE" "Jere" "Steve" I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Every scene with Conrad was the ones I imbibed and died in. Every scene with Jere was full of annoying feelings because Belly would NOT break up with him. Every scene with Steve was full of a lot of sentimental feelings of remembering his character from the other books.

PLEASE WRITE A BOOK FOUR, JENNY HAN, I BEG OF YOU

Anyways, yes, this book focused a lot on marriage because Belly was planning on getting married at 19 (I did not support that AT ALL). I did enjoy it just as much though because Belly is amazing and I love her so very much, despite the fact that some of her actions and decisions are a little... rash. Or bold.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO YA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE LOVERS

Main Character: Belly
Sidekick(s): Con, Jere, Steven, her mom, Taylor, etc
Villain(s): Weddings (yes), misunderstandings, heartbreak, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life!

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MY OPINION: *****

I loved this final conclusion! It ended so well and gave this series a sense of finality that readers could definitely enjoy!

Belly seemed so much more independent, determined, and mature, although her confusion about the Fisher guys was still there and as strong as ever. I didn't like how she was so easily forgiving when she found out that... Jeremiah, her boyfriend, was CHEATING on her. I mean, he cheated on her with a girl and it was pretty serious. I can't believe Belly was even dating Jeremiah in the first place. I hated how she was so changed from the first two books. I would have expected her to have her life more sorted out, seeing as this is two years later and she's in college, so...

Jeremiah. I didn't exactly hate him, but I also didn't exactly like him. His character was so annoying. Honestly, Jeremiah still seemed the same as before, and it was quite strange how similar he was. He never matured. He still drank, hung out with dudes that sucked, and was just immature throughout the book. (view spoiler)[He cheated on Belly, thinking that they were "broken up", which kind of means he never treated their relationship as real in my opinion, and then he tries to make it up to her by proposing to her. When they are in college. (hide spoiler)] I don't necessarily think that their marriage is a spoiler, seeing as that was the WHOLE BOOK. I think that the fact that they are getting married at 18 and 19 is just strange and a bad influence on younger readers, but you know...

Conrad. LOVED LOVED LOVED HIM, just as much as before. I did hate how he NEVER LET HIS FEELINGS OUT UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. Like, what is this?? I mean, he was so obviously in love with Belly but he kept hurting her and making her think otherwise, and why? Because he was trying to "protect" his brother?? I don't get it. But Conrad is definitely my favorite character. I LOVED how this book gave readers his POV. I feel as if books that generally focus on one character's perspective and then show another characters are my faves :D

I know I generally talk about more characters, but it's ok for now.

THE ENDING. (view spoiler)[One of my favorite endings, though it did seem a bit abrupt. I FELT THE PAIN of Conrad and I FELT THE PAIN of Jeremiah and it literally made me feel like crying and screaming! When Conrad confessed, it was the BEST SCENE EVER. I just loved it! SO. MUCH. It was just so SAD and HEARTFELT and EMOTIONAL and AMAZING. I don't know.

I hated how Jeremiah didn't end up with her for only one reason: I hated how he always felt second best to his brother in everything, and he only just wanted to be better just once. But I will forever ship Conrad and Belly. (hide spoiler)]

I LOVED THE NICKNAMES. I loved how Conrad's was Con or Connie. Just so adorable. And Jeremiah was Jere... I just loved it.

I hated how in the most serious of times, such as when Conrad and Jeremiah were fighting, they called each other man. LIKE WHAT IS THIS??

Taylor x Jeremiah... :( IT NEVER HAPPENED
Taylor x Steven... :( IT ALSO NEVER HAPPENED

The author never gave Taylor a real conclusion. I wonder what happened to her..

I would recommend this book to YA readers or romance lovers.

Main Character: Belly
Sidekick(s): Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, Mom, Dad, Susannah, etc
Villain(s): Love, confusion, misunderstanding, etc
Romance/Realistic Elements: This book featured a romantic relationship and was all real to life. ...more

December 08

It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han (Goodreads Author)

MY OPINION: ***

I read this book for school and I must say, I don't really understand the hype over Shakespeare. Of course, he's a great writer but overall, I don't see the phenomenal love for him. Macbeth felt the same as the rest of his work. There MY OPINION: ***

I read this book for school and I must say, I don't really understand the hype over Shakespeare. Of course, he's a great writer but overall, I don't see the phenomenal love for him. Macbeth felt the same as the rest of his work. There wasn't anything unique.

Since I read this in English, of course we analyzed themes and characters and motivations.

Paradoxes. These just felt very random and I don't like the theme of it, especially because they were quite hard to find right off the bat.

Witches and superstitions. This was slightly more interesting, mainly because the witches were unique, but they also felt quite random. I do understand the historical importance of them, as this was during the time of the reign of King James I of England/King James VI of Scotland, and he was very paranoid about witch hunts of his time. Of course, Shakespeare had to please the monarch if he wanted to get paid, but again, I didn't quite like it.

Excessive desire for power. Yes, Macbeth goes a little crazy but honestly, I can't really blame him. Imagine being told by some very creepy witches that you're going to be king. Of course, this doesn't justify his mass murders but he went a little haywire which is understandable.

Macbeth's character annoyed me. He epitomized the tragic hero but there was something about him that didn't sit well with me. It wasn't even his bloodlust; in fact, I think it was just the way that he thought about things. His paranoid self just... irritated me.

Lady Macbeth was cruel and cunning but honestly, she was a queen. Like, I really felt her strength and determination, even though it eventually caught up to her. She was truly messed up in the brain sometimes but she was still... amazing at times. Mostly in her strength and stoicism though.

I liked Fleance and I really wanted him to come back. But he didn't. HE DIDNT EVEN SPEAK.

The plot of this play was not the most interesting. It traveled around a lot, but the one good thing about it was that it was NOT confusing, which is a first for Shakespeare. I understood everything and felt with the characters.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a classic, Shakespeare tragedy.

Main Character: Macbeth
Sidekick(s): Lady Macbeth, etc
Villain(s): Death, murder, etc
Fantasy Elements: This book had many fanatic elements.

*sorry for such a poorly written review; I have SOO much homework and I'm not really focusing on this* ...more