All Your Perfects
Ratings97
Average rating3.9
I liked this book.
I don't necessarily like Colleen, but this book was good, great even
I liked that it talked about serious topics and relationship ups and downs, I must confess that I shed a few tears
This book is sad, it's probably the saddest thing I've read since Zlata's Diary. Heart-breaking page-turner is an apt description; I didn't put it down until I was done. That said, if I am honest with myself, I wish I could unread it. That's not to say that this book is bad, there are strong characters and a gripping premise, it's well written, sweet, and profound, but it's also a devastating exploration of subjects I prefer not to grapple with (namely infertility).
I'm not sure if I have this right since I am essentially a virgin to contemporary romance novels but it seems to me that the genre is split down the middle. There's spicy romance replete with extended and explicit sex scenes, then there's whatever this book was. Let's call this other half sad romance, where the sex is beside the point, and it seems like the author is doing their best to make you cry. I am sure some readers really appreciate emotional catharsis, and I'm guessing that those people are die-hard Colleen Hoover fans. Call me out of touch with my feelings, but I don't really enjoy books whose main purpose is to make me sad regardless of quality. It seemed to me to be sadness for sadness' sake, I read depressing and bleak stuff all the time but I guess it hits differently when it's grounded in reality like this book is (as opposed to more cosmic/general sadness, or the horrors of a bleak future, etc.).
Let's talk tropes. It seems to me that when it comes to Romance novels the quality of the writing isn't the main appeal, there's a baseline for quality obviously, but what separates these books from their peers is largely a question of which tropes and themes the author chooses to incorporate. This applies generally, across most genres, but when it comes to Romance the tropes are the MOST important indicator of whether or not a reader will like the book. If I had to tag this novel I would probably say that this is a “love-conquers-all” story with a little bit of “second chance at love” mixed in there. There is also an undercurrent of “fated lovers” going on here which is a trope that personally hate because of how it undercuts the believability of the story. Thankfully it's only mentioned a few times and is never a viewpoint that the narration adopts.
I read this book because of Fourth Wing. It was mentioned in a discussion that there was a correlation between people who thought that book was average and the male audience. The implication is that boys + romance is the reason it was mid and not a reflection of the quality of the book. I chose this Romance novel from the Best of booktok list at random and gave it a read. I can safely say that I didn't have an issue with the quality of the book at all, this is head and shoulders above 4W in almost every way. The characters are real, the premise is grounded, the prose is consistent and unambiguous, and most importantly the whole scenario is generally believable. The difference between this book and 4W is stark, where this romance is carefully crafted and well thought out, 4W was lazy, horny, and all too fond of taking shortcuts.
This is a sad romance. If you like sad romance you're probably the reason Colleen Hoover keeps making the best-seller list and you don't need me to plug this. If you're in the mood for a good cry, or the idea of a grounded romance about two people working their way through something awful sounds amazing to you, give this a read. Points for quality, but I didn't really enjoy it.
PS: This book is set in new england, the MC is the estranged daughter of an irascible and wealthy mother who really only cares about wealth and standing. If this is ringing any bells it's because this is the setup to Gilmore Girls. The MC is Loreli, Graham is Luke, and her mother is Emily.
I promise that I will love you more during the storms than I will love you during the perfect days.
I promise to love you more when you're hurting than when you're happy.
I promise to love you more when we're poor than when we're swimming in riches.
I promise to love you more when you're crying than when you're laughing.
I promise to love you more when you're sick than when you're healthy.
I promise to love you more when you hate me than when you love me.
And I promise . . . I swear . . . that I love you more as you read this letter than I did when I wrote it.
This poem just fills my eyes it's so perfect.
This book has its flaws but felt so soothing to read.
I thought this was one of this author's thrillers, but it's actually about a marriage. Not a fan.
Coming back to review this book properly, i loved this book and the story. I loved how the issues were presented and how they were taken care of, i loved that if one was straying, the other was understanding. However, cheating is never forgivable. I loved that they understood it was not something that is a “mistake” and that the blame for cheating should be on the one who committed it. I appreciated colleen so much in this book.
4.5! This one was reallyyy good! The characters in this book honestly felt like real people to me. Colleen Hoover's books literally never disappoint.
book #1 of reading rush DONE!
wasn't too hard to finish all your perfects! it was well-paced and kept me engaged from the first page. amazing love story too :))) gotta pick up more colleen hoover books for sure.
[b:All Your Perfects 38926487 All Your Perfects Colleen Hoover https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531682842l/38926487.SY75.jpg 58113564]Did you ever feel like you broke off pieces of your heart as you turned the pages in a book? Each turn of the page tears a little more away. The words grind into your heart causing what's left intact to fissure. You start to choke from all of the feels and contemplate giving up because it's all too much. The book you're reading is so real and relatable that you feel the characters' pain. In reality, it's too late to stop reading since you have become so emotionally invested in the story. You know there is no way you are giving up. That was my experience with All your Perfects. I started it this morning and by 5pm I was done. Quinn and Graham met in unusual circumstances but it was evident fate meant for them to be together. Their love was a fairytale until the happily ever after turned sour. Their perceptions of a perfect relationship and perfect family evolve into an obsessive and destructive obstacle that is destroying their lives. This book took me on such an emotional rollercoaster that I don't even know where to begin on trying to explain the complexity of it all. Colleen takes us readers inside a broken marriage of two imperfect people trying to hold on to their happily-ever-after in the midst of devastating circumstances. I loved the alternating Past and Present chapters because we the readers got the complete picture of how beautiful they started and how beautifully broken they became and the journey in between. This is not my first emotional roller coaster by Ms. Hoover however this is the first I have devoured in a day. So, thank you for breaking my heart and showing your readers that there may be beauty in imperfections.
Every time I pick up an author who leans toward (or is firmly planted) the romance genre, I think maybe this one will click. Maybe I won't hate every character. Maybe I won't need to bring the sarcasm when doing updates or writing a review. Most of the time - probably good 95% - my optimism plummets and the sarcasm knows no bounds. Such is the case with All Your Perfects. I had a feeling I wasn't going to be a fan just from skimming through all the reviews that were all “I'm crying” “went through a whole box of tissues” and “this one crushed my soul and than ran over it with a mac truck.” mmmhmmm. Yep. Look at all those red flags waving in the wind. But I tried to keep an open mind. And at first I admit I was doing ok with it. Particularly the early meet cute for Quinn and Graham. And then whiny, should be talking to a psychologist about her depression Quinn showed up in the present day. After that it was struggle for me to get through all the suffering done by Quinn, because why give your heroine one problem when you can give her five horrible, awful things she doesn't want to deal with (and don't get me started on the polar opposite support characters used to prop up and tear down the main couple). All this seemed to go on and on until the last 30 or so pages, where suddenly glittery rainbows and oozy cheesiness dripped all over everything in order to wrap up every story thread in a cute, happy little bow.
This one just wasn't for me.
4.5 stars
I just finished this book and I am sitting here trying to figure out what to say about it. All Your Perfects is told in alternating chapter of then and now. The then chapters talks about Graham and Quinn at the beginning of their relationship and the now chapters talk about what they are going through now. I will say that reading the now chapters is difficult especially after reading the then chapters.
One thing that Colleen does really well is make you feel all the feelings. Everything the characters go through you feel like you are going through it with them. I will say I didn't get as emotional as I expected to with this one but I did go through an array of emotions. I felt like this book was written for me. I'm not going to talk about it because of spoilers but I connected with Quinn personally and what she's going through because I have gone through it to a degree. I figured I would ball my eyes out because of those moments but I didn't. The one time I got a little teary eyed wasn't really a sad moment it was a romantic moment.
I know this review is awful but I literally don't know what to say about this book. This isn't an easy book to read and its very real and emotional so have some tissues ready.
5 llorosas y destrozadas de amor ESTRELLAS.
Esta mujer... lo ha hecho de nuevo.
RESEÑA
Hace unos dos años, conocí a Colleen Hoover por medio del libro It Ends with Us, el primero que leí de ella. Nunca había experimentado nada de CoHo, y sobra decir que el libro me sorprendió de manera gratificante y rompió mi corazón. Luego intenté con Too Late, uno que causó muchas reseñas mixtas. No quise probar más de ella hasta ahora, con este nuevo que sacó hace poco, All Your Perfects. No estaba segura de qué trataba, salvo que estaba causando increíbles opiniones y en cierta manera lo asemejaban a It Ends with Us.
No sé qué libro fue peor para mi corazón.
All Your Perfects nos relata, desde su punto de vista, la historia de Quinn Whitley quien conoce a Graham Wells luego de ambos sorprender a sus respectivas parejas engañándolos mutuamente (la novia de Graham tenía sexo con el prometido de Quinn). Ese encuentro marcó un punto y aparte en la vida de ambos tanto, que la atracción mutua comenzó y no se intensificó sino hasta unos meses después cuando volvieron a encontrarse. La historia está contada en dos tiempos, alternados de un capitulo a otro, en pasado y presente. En el pasado, Quinn nos relata cómo inició su relación con Graham y lo bien que conectaban el uno con el otro; cómo se conocían, se enamoraban cada vez más, tenían sexo, conocían la familia del otro, se comprometían, etc. En el presente, ahora con siete años de casados, Quinn cuenta lo duro que está resultando el matrimonio desde que descubrieron la alta infertilidad en ella que causaba no pudieran tener un hijo, lo mucho que le afectaba ese hecho a ella, y desembocando en una gravísima crisis matrimonial, pues poco a poco la pareja comenzaba a distanciarse, a perder la esperanza y lo que en un inicio les unió. Tanto así, que tenían una caja especial que solo abrirían en un caso desesperado, una caja que inspiraba pánico en ambos, sobre todo Graham, pues ese caso desesperado no es otro más que el divorcio. Entonces, ¿el amor podrá ser más poderoso o sucumbirá a la tormenta? ¿Qué hay dentro de esa misteriosa caja?
No he leído antiguas –y primeras– obras de Colleen, pero lo que fueron It Ends with Us, y ahora All Your Perfects, tocan temas tan fuertes e importantes que lograron llegarme al alma. Colleen nos relata lo que sufre una pareja en apariencia perfecta cuando es incapaz de poder concebir un hijo. El sufrir de las desilusiones, de la culpa, el resentimiento y sí, el odio también. De cómo dicha pareja trata de mantenerse unida y de seguir luchando, hasta el punto de agotar todos los recursos.
Quinn es una joven independiente. Su madre no es la mejor de todas, y aun así Quinn desea ser una mejor madre, ¡desea ser madre!, con todas sus ansias posibles. Después de la decepción que fue su prometido, ve en Graham como lo mejor que le ha pasado. Graham se volvió su mejor amigo, su amante, su compañero de aventuras, su fortaleza, su apoyo. Su todo. Ella desea, anhela, poder formar una familia con él, y en cuanto descubre que no es posible, se culpa a sí misma; cada mes que no puede quedar embarazada, cada vez que rehúye al contacto de su esposo, cada vez que rechaza tener sexo pues representa otra desilusión más. Cree que la tristeza de Graham es debido a que ella no puede darle un hijo y se piensa que tal vez Graham sería más feliz si pudiera estar con alguien que sí le da lo que ella no puede a pesar de los sentimientos que siente por él.
Graham... Oh, en verdad quisiera que en mi vida me tocara un ser como él. No porque sea perfecto, Graham tiene sus imperfecciones y eso es lo que le hace humano. Es divertido, paciente, apasionado, tierno, también es arrogante, un tanto egoísta, directo y como todos, es un ser humano que, en estos momentos, no sabe qué hacer para ayudar a Quinn y eso le frustra. Le entristece. Lo devasta. Él... Quiero decirlo todo y a la vez sé que el factor de la sorpresa es lo que impacta en esta novela, así por una parte voy a contenerme.
El punto fuerte de la novela es el conflicto de la pareja. Llegados a la mitad, por mi parte, me interesaba más el presente que el pasado. Quería saber cómo, necesitaba saber de qué forma iban a terminar y en muy pocas páginas me conquistó tanto que, el pensar que llegarían a divorciarse me causaba tal dolor como si se tratase de mi propio matrimonio. Y eso es lo cómico...
No estoy casada. No tengo novio, nunca lo he tenido y no me avergüenza decirlo. He dicho a mi familia que no tengo planes de casarme y que pueden considerarme la solterona virgen de la familia. No tengo complejos con respecto a ello. Sin embargo, aunque no he tenido experiencia en el campo, no me explico como soy capaz de entrar tan profundo en este tipo de historias, cómo es que Colleen es capaz de adentrarme tan profundo en esta espiral, que me sentí tan angustiada por Quinn y Graham como si, y lo dije, fuera mi propia relación. Lo mismo sucedió en It Ends with Us. Pero, claro está que cada cabeza es un mundo y cada persona toma una decisión diferente, lo mismo aplica para este caso tal cual pasó en IEWS.
Me gustan los bebés. Me parecen adorables, huelen bien, me divierten y me gusta cargarlos. Pero no tengo el instinto maternal de ser madre. Ni siquiera por adopción. Más bien, opinión mía-MÍA, me enervan las mujeres que creen que ser madre es un requisito fundamental para sentirse mujer. Razón por la que en muchas ocasiones durante la lectura me enojaba con Quinn. Me enojaba con su obsesión por quedar embarazada, me enojaba con su pensamiento de que necesitaba un bebé para salvar el matrimonio, me enojaba que necesitaba un bebé para hacer feliz a Graham, ¡me enojaba que antepusiera su deseo de ser madre por encima de su matrimonio! Graham incluso lo menciona una vez, que pensaba que el sexo es para ella el único requisito para quedar embarazada, en un intento de decir que solo tenían relaciones sexuales por necesidad y no por gusto. Y sí, también puedo comprender a Quinn. Puedo comprender lo mal que se sentía por no ser capaz de tener un hijo, puedo comprender todas sus angustias, pero no me es suficiente justificación para el daño que estaba haciendo. Más que Graham, era a Quinn a quien consideraba egoísta. Se supone que... amar es anteponer la felicidad del otro antes que la tuya, Graham la amaba más que a sí mismo e incluso, por mucho que le doliera y a pesar de todo, sería capaz de darle el divorcio a Quinn si era eso lo que ella quería... Graham luchaba..., luchaba con todo lo que tenía para salvar el matrimonio, luchaba por los dos, luchaba por el amor que le tenía a Quinn... ¿por qué mierdas ella no hacía lo mismo?
...
Puedo percibir que también Quinn podría tener depresión, y es una enfermedad mucho peor al cáncer. Lo sé, porque lo tuve, gracias a todo lo bueno no a un nivel alto. Pero aun con eso, yo... no sé. Me siento aún muy enojada y a veces dolida con las decisiones que en un inicio Quinn cometió. En una realidad, Quinn tenía a un hombre maravilloso a su lado, que hacía todo por ella...
El final... y el epílogo. Oh, mi dios, yo estaba hecha un mar de lágrimas con ese final y ese epílogo. Y no porque terminara mal –Bendito sea porque todo no terminó mal– si no porque las cosas salieron bien pero hubieron detalles que me rompieron el corazón, me lo repararon, me lo volvieron a romper y luego le hicieron cirugía y me curaron. Sobre todo el epílogo, porque ¡fue tan hermoso! De los tres finales que he leído de CoHo, All Your Perfects se lleva el premio como favorito.
Como It Ends with Us, All Your Perfects deja una enseñanza muy valiosa para el lector: si solo te fijas en tus defectos, todo lo perfecto que tengas en tu vida pasará a un segundo plano que no te darás de cuenta de lo que tienes, por ejemplo, tu pareja. Quinn se enfocaba tanto, se obsesionó tanto, en su defecto de infertilidad que no se daba cuenta de la hermosa persona que tenía como esposo. Si tú, que lees esto, tienes un novio/novia, esposo/esposa, no te mortifiques con lo negativo de ti, vive el presente y disfruta la felicidad. Habrán maravillosos días, y tormentas de clasificación 5, pero no existe el matrimonio perfecto. Sino un amor tan perfecto, capaz de superar las imperfecciones de ambos.
It took me a long time to decide how many stars I should give this book because I liked IEWU more however since this is a different kind of story, I'm giving it the 5 stars it deserves. All your perfects relives a personal experience for me, having that one thing you want and in the end you never get it. I got mine so it turned all good but what Quinn experienced threw me back to what could have not have happened. I also like the point where everything you had on start of your relationship eventually what would make you keep it in the long run. Graham was so selfless and so perfect you will ask why they ended up being in a dreadful situation, in the end it's really what made you fall in love in the first place. I could never put the blame on Quinn, she was the one experiencing it. I know people would try to say the best things but if you are the one dealing with it– alone, you will be sucked in a painful reality that you cannot break through. In the ending it all went well, happy ending as you would say, but it's still there, it's never going to change. It will be permanent and all you can do is deal with it. The best way you can, I'm so glad she has Graham in this, having to share the dread of not being able to do anything about an inevitable fate.
Well that was a ride. I don't even know what rating I want to give this. It was a solid 5-star read at first. Then at one point, I was so angry that I was ready to give it 1 star because COLLEEN WHY DID YOU DO THAT??
All Your Perfects is a gritty, emotional portrayal of life AFTER the HEA we're so accustomed to getting in romance novels. It alternates between Then and Now chapters, telling the story of how Quinn and Graham met and fell in love to where they are seven years later, seemingly broken beyond repair.
I went into this blind, expecting from the blurb a book about a couple that are having your typical marital issues with a few sexy times thrown in as they try to find their way back to each other. What I didn't expect was to relate to Quinn and Graham on so many levels. Let's be real, marriage is hard work. Every couple goes through their fair share of struggles. It was nice (in a sort of morbid way) to see a romance novel go down that road and to show that it's not all butterflies and rainbows after the epilogue. I know part of the reason why we read romance novels is because we want to believe in the fairytale but sometimes that's just not realistic.
What Quinn and Graham face is so common yet rarely discussed. It can make or break a relationship and in their case, I wasn't sure if they were going to make it. There were times in the book that I was so angry at each of these characters for one reason or another. I was ready to put my Kindle down on multiple occasions because how can two people come back from that?? But of course I kept reading because it's books like this, ones that give you whiplash and a metaphorical punch to the heart that are some of my favorites.
“Our marriage hasn't been perfect. No marriage is perfect. There were times when she gave up on us. There were even more times when I gave up on us. The secret to our longevity is that we never gave up at the same time.”