Review: P. S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #2) by Jenny Han

Book Title: P. S. I Still Love You

Author: Jenny Han

Published Date: May 26th, 2015

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: YA Contemporary 

Series: Book Two in To All the Boys I've Loved Before duology

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

Disclaimer: Library book.

Review:

I feel so conflicted about this book guys. I mean, I absolutely LOVED To All the Boys I've Loved Before, so I had every reason to believe that I would feel the same about P. S. I Still Love You. I'm utterly conflicted because while I enjoyed a lot of the book, I didn't feel the same way about this one as I had in the first one.

Lara Jean was maddening in a lot of the book this time around. Sometimes she would be really awesome and mature and then sometimes she would show exactly how sheltered she had been for so long. 

She seemed to not think very highly of herself as a person and that really showed when she obsessed about Peter's ex, Genevieve and the fact that she had bigger boobs and the fact that Gen and Peter had had sex before. Lara Jean seemed so hung up on the sex thing even though Peter never even mentioned it until she did. It was obvious to me that she wondered why Peter was with her.

Peter wasn't entirely blameless himself though. Look I have no issues with exes being friends as long as there are boundaries set in place. Peter clearly had issues establishing boundaries with Gen and it was infuriating and I felt bad for poor Lara Jean. She was trying so hard in the relationship, but it didn't feel like Peter was trying as hard as he could have. Yes, as it turns out Gen was having family problems, but Peter shouldn't have been her confidant anymore.

It was the adult characters that really struck a chord with me this time around. Stormy and Alicia and Mrs. Rothschild all had words of wisdom for the often naive Lara Jean.

"You'll go about your day and you will miss him at first, but over time it will ease." -Alicia

I think it was really important for Lara Jean to hear this because despite the fact the breakup was Peter's fault, she was definitely hurting a lot and I hurt for her. She needed to know she wouldn't always feel so sad.

Her dad was also very important in this book. While she was dealing with some craziness, she along with her older sister, Margot & younger sister, Kitty, were trying to set their dad up on dates. They didn't want him to be alone. 

I do wish there had been more sister stuff, but I still loved Margot and Kitty to death. I loved how they were when some stuff happened and poor Lara Jean was freaking out. They supported her without question.

He also had some insights about love that he shared with his middle daughter.

"It'll get easier, I promise. Peter Kavinsky isn't the only boy in the world." -Dad

"I just don't want to hurt like this ever again." -Lara Jean

"There's no way to protect yourself against heartbreak Lara Jean. That's just part of life." -Dad

I actually really loved John, and I kept hoping that something would happen between Lara Jean and John. Not while she was with Peter of course, because cheating makes my skin crawl, but after they break up. Lara Jean was different with John, less aggravating, and I liked that a lot. They seemed to be a better fit.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I didn't like Lara Jean as much as I did in book one, and I heartily disliked Peter in this book. I am going to give it 4 stars because there was a lot of friendship stuff in there which I loved. I would recommend this book only if you are patient because Lara Jean really drove me crazy through a good chunk of this book.