I read the first two books in the series a while ago, and I remember that I didn’t enjoy them as much as I had hoped. I’m not sure what aspects about the books that I didn’t like, but I knew it didn’t live up to the hype that surrounded it.

I was a little hesitant to read this; however, because of the glowing reviews and constant online chatter, I decided to give it a chance. As I sit here, only an hour after finishing the third, I realize that maybe I judged them a little too harshly.

I highly enjoyed this book. It was fun and cute. And you can’t help but feel good while reading. There’s so much rainbows and happiness packed into it. But don’t get me wrong, there are a few dark clouds and rain. This book will hit you hard in the emotions.

There were a couple of times where I felt tears building in my eyes. The book portrayed the emotions impacted by graduating and also getting a new step-parent. All the character’s actions felt real and relatable. There was never a moment when a character’s motive or feelings felt odd to the reader. For example, when Margot returns home from college and notices that some things have changed at home, I could really picture myself acting like that if I was in that situation. And I think a lot of readers could picture themselves too.

It was hard to get attached to the supporting characters because I could barely remember the first two installments. It was also hard to know certain details of character’s lives and what happened in the past. There were a lot of times where the book mentioned something and I had no idea what it was. It felt very much like a tribute/goodbye book.

It didn’t slow down to give you a recap of what had happened last time. That was fine because I enjoyed this book so much; I’m willing to go back and reread the others. Maybe they were the right book, however, they were in the wrong time in my life. I could see myself enjoying them now.

A random tidbit that I enjoyed about this book is that this feels very much like a Jenny Han book. I follow Jenny Han on Twitter and she really lets her personality shine on there. You really get a sense of what type of person she is. And throughout the book there are tiny sprinkles of her personality and interests throughout. For example, the Broadway musical Hamilton was mentioned several of times, and that is something that Jenny talked about a lot.

Characters

Prior to this book, I believe that I was impartial to Lara Jean. Maybe perhaps, a little annoyed by her? I can’t exactly remember. Again- right book, wrong place. However, in this book, I really enjoyed her. She is what the fandom world calls a precious cinnamon roll. She is so sweet and relatable. And if she was a real person, I believe that we would get along well. We have so much in common besides the cooking thing.

I related very much to her feelings. Especially the feeling of rejection. It hurts when you want something so much but life doesn’t go your way and you don’t get it. However, maybe it wasn’t something that you truly needed. This relates to Lara Jean. Where she ended up, is where she belonged.

Peter was everything. He was such a good boyfriend; and that was really shown throughout the book. At first I was worried that he was going to be portrayed as being “too perfect”. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. He made some mistakes; he said a couple of things he should not have said. But those moments were important to show because it really showed that he was only human.

Peter and Lara were adorable. Everyone knew that they belonged together. Of course, they face challenges in this book, but none of the drama felt odd or excessive. It was always grounded and real problems that people face in that time in their lives.

Family was a huge part of this book. Lara Jean has a great relationship with her sisters and her dad. Lara’s youngest sister, Kitty, was amazing. She had the best dialogue and was hilarious. I wouldn’t mind reading in her POV one day.

Final Analysis

Always and Forever, Lara Jean was great and like coming up for fresh air. Everything was well done. The main character and romance were amazing. It was a nice farewell to the series.