P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny HanSeries: To All The Boys I've Loved Before #2
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating:
Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?
I am so happy that I didn’t have to wait too long for this book. To those of you who read To All the Boys when it first came out, I am sorry. You poor, poor souls. I read To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before a couple of months ago and it was the perfect cutesy read and I wanted to smoosh it. I have been waiting for P.S. I Still Love You with great anticipation and Waterstones delivered it super early so I DIED.
What is reviewing? Anyway. I was really worried about reading this book because I had no idea how it was going to go. Jenny Han’s series enders haven’t been the biggest hits with me… Okay, so what if I’ve only read one? It was a Fuck You 1-Star read and I can hold a grudge. But I shouldn’t have worried because P.S. I Still Love You ended really well and I gave myself so much stress over nothing.
PETER K AND LARA JEAN ARE OTP AND NOTHING CAN TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME.
Do you ship it? Obviously I do. Who even remembers that Josh person? And John Ambrose McClaren *snorts*
So the Peter K and Lara Jean stuff was super adorable and I could read about them forever. They’re one of those couples that feel like fanfiction because they’re written exactly how you want them to be and there’s no blond showrunner to fuck things over for you and ruin the chemistry.
I didn’t, however, love this book as much as I loved To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. It was still great, but not THAT great. It was addictive, sure, but it was seriously lacking some very important components and other bits were too overdone.
Firstly, there weren’t enough Peter K. and Lara Jean moments. I’m being incredibly greedy here because there were PLENTY of moments and scenes involving Lara Jean and Peter, but they weren’t as adorable as their moments in the previous book. Obviously some things have changed but I missed their interactions from the first book because of all that UST and angst and fake-dating.
Also, there was too much drama with Genevieve. I really didn’t care for that or how it was set out. I think it went on for far too long, and at times it felt a little bit forced, as though Han was desperate to find something to get between Peter and Lara Jean. It didn’t feel like a natural progression at all, and the resolution was something I didn’t really care about.
I did like that we learnt more about Lara Jean and her childhood friends though. We got a glimpse to how things used to be, and Han does a really good job of showing how people grow up and change, and how things rarely go back to the blissfulness of your youth.
That said, it kind of took over from the sister stuff. I adored Lara Jean’s relationship and interactions with her sisters, and the lack of such things in P.S. I Still Love You was more than a little disappointing. GIVE ME MY SISTERS.
But overall, I really did enjoy P.S. I Still Love You. So much so that I read it in two sittings even though I was meant to be revising. It managed to distract me from the shit week I had been having and getting back into Lara Jean’s head and swooning over Peter was a wonderful experience. I am almost tempted to reread both books back to back because they’re just that addictive.
I read this one yesterday and I basically feel the same way you do. I wanted more of Peter and Lara Jean. Although I like John, there was just something so cute about him and the way he and Lara Jean basically missed out because of timing was a little sad. But yes, adored Peter in the first book and still liked him in this one, but not as much because of Gen. I get that they dated for a long time and he still wanted to be friends, but…ugh. Didn’t like that he did seem to put her first. I get that Lara Jean was insecure and this was her first boyfriend, etc. but I agree with her that it didn’t seem like Peter was putting her first. And that wasn’t resolved to me. Is she still going to keep calling him and crying on his shoulder? Given their history, I don’t see how they can stay close without it negatively affecting his relationship with Lara Jean. But anyway, I’ll stop rambling about that. Other than that, loved it, but definitely not as much as the first one. But I did love how it ended. Great review!
I actually really like John. In real life, I think he would have been a better choice for Lara Jean. I love Lara Jean and Peter in the fiction world, but I don’t think I believe he’s willing to give up his obsession with Genevieve. John is an actual friend to Lara Jean, they never run out of things to say, he puts her first, and he isn’t as obsessed with himself as Peter is, etc. I was very happy that Lara Jean ended up with Peter, because SWOON, but I don’t think I would have been disappointed if she’d ended up with John. I can definitely picture a future in which Lara Jean and John end up together. (Or, you know, any guy she meets after high school. She is rather young.)
Great review. I actually have not read To all the boys, but I have heard great things. Glad you have enjoyed the series.
I finished this book today, I really liked how Han handled the love triangle situation. It just seemed so realistic to me because there was a point in my life when I was conflicted over two different guys. It just worked, although I was a little sad for the one she didn’t choose. :'( He can be my book boyfriend. lol
I also really liked the Gen situation. Again, very realistic. I couldn’t really argue with it because that really does happen.