#DualReview #FiveBlushReviews #FavoriteAuthor #UpAllNightReading ~~ All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

by Louisa · March 9, 2018

Rating:

All Your Perfects

By Colleen Hoover

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us—whose writing is “emotionally wrenching and utterly original” (Sarah Shepard, New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series)—delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

Louisa’s 5+++ BLUSH UP ALL NIGHT REVIEW

A book hangover doesn’t sum up how I feel after reading this book. It’s worse, it’s an all-consuming sadness, I might need to go through the stages of grief to move on to another book

Denial and isolation – I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have had the honor of reading this book so early. Denial that it’s over, denial that I won’t get to be in Quinn and Graham’s lives anymore. The isolation that I don’t have anyone to talk to about this masterpiece that Colleen Hoover has given us. This book introduces us to characters that are so relatable; we all know a couple like Quinn and Graham. It shows us that relationships aren’t always what we see. It shows us that communication is not just words, but actions. Allowing ourselves to fall into a rut, not talking and just assuming can be catastrophic to our well being as it can be to others.

“The problem is…he could be so much more without me.”

Anger – Anger at Colleen for allowing me to read it early, I know that sounds ridiculous because there are hundreds and thousands of people who want to read this book and how dare I be angry, right? Angry that it’s over and I can’t experience the first time I read this book for the first time. Angry that I have met the couple in a book that could explain what many feel in a marriage/relationship to everyone, angry that not everyone in the world will read this book because – everyone NEEDS this book in their lives. Angry that I can’t jump into this book and be with them some more. (Too soon for a re-read? I just finished 12 hours ago.) Quinn and Graham eventually let anger sneak into their hearts; when being angry at each other isn’t the root of the problem. Again – communication is the key and with our lives flying by so quickly, the need to communicate has never been more important.

“When you meet someone who is good for you, they won’t fill you with insecurities by focusing on your flaws. They’ll fill you with inspiration because they’ll focus on all the best part of you.”

Bargaining – ahhhh…the bargaining stage. You know as Colleen’s readers we ALWAYS want more and there is nothing different when it comes to All Your Perfects. (Look at the mayhem that’s currently happening with Maybe Now on Wattpad. We have wanted more of Ridge and Sydney for years now and Colleen has finally relented and gave us more and holy crap it’s amazing.) BUT I can’t possibly ask for more when this hasn’t even been released yet. I can’t ask for more until after July…right? Quinn and Graham have gotten themselves into a conundrum that many couples find themselves, thinking and assuming what the other is feeling. Colleen teaches us with their story that the assumptions we make almost never lead us to happiness.

“If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim.”

Depression – The sadness that I am feeling. Depressed yet again after reading a Colleen book. Not because I cried for the last 15% of the book because those tears were not all sadness, but healing and beautiful words between two people who love each other and have lost their way. The feelings in which Colleen Hoover invoked in me while reading was a wide spectrum. From swooning moments of their courtship to intimate moments that could break this couple into pieces, I was a part of their lives, a part of their pain. The swinging pendulum of feelings was ongoing from the 1^st page to the last.

“No matter how much you love someone – the capacity of that love is meaningless if it outweighs your capacity to forgive.”

Acceptance – I have to accept that Quinn and Graham’s story is finished. It’s all I could ever want; their happiness is all I want. Acceptance that once again, Colleen has given me a perfect book, a book that broke me at times then healed me. This book made me laugh out loud and open my eyes to my own life. This is not a new thing for me when reading a Colleen Hoover book, she always gets me thinking. She makes my life better with her books.

“The way he looks at me. The way he talks to me. I’m not sure anyone has ever made me feel as beautiful as he makes me feel when he looks at me…”

I think we all know when reading a Colleen Hoover book that she writes fresh, original storylines that break you then heal you all within the pages of the book. She has once again given me a world of thought on life, love, forgiveness, and marriage.

JADE’S 5 out of 5 “Wish I Could Give it “8”” Blushes

You would think the lump in my throat would have disappeared since finishing this last read. You would think that I would be able to compose myself during the times the tears literally seeped from my eyes while I was simply doing a chore at home, but my last read crept into my conscience and I can’t help but reflect on my own life, my marriage, and MYSELF.

My last read… the book that has literally commanded me to re-evaluate my relationship and self is All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover.

So I’m about to get real with you, but I feel like I have to in order to explain the revelation this book has caused! I have been married for 9 years and with my husband for 14 years this year. Our relationship is FAR from perfect as I’m sure many are. All Your Perfects gave me HOPE in relationships. It breathed LIFE into ME as a wife who has grown in a different direction from my husband. This book has lit a SPARK (something I haven’t had in a long time) in which I hope we can fan back into a flame.

There are so many words to live by in this book that I could rattle off quotes for days, but there is a part where an old couple gives advice. The old man says something so simple and obvious, but it is… EVERYTHING!

“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 give up at the same time.”

And that’s the thing about Graham and Quinn. (I should really discuss the impeccable characters in this story, don’t you think?) We all want to give up. It’s the strength of carrying one another when we almost can’t even carry ourselves. Can a marriage withstand the Category 5 days? Graham and Quinn’s story takes you deep into despair and anguish and you feel every single bit of their turmoil. Be prepared for heartache and sorrow, but also be prepared to feel love like you’ve never felt.

This is a stunning read and it’s perfectly pieced together! All Your Perfects is SO outside of ANYTHING Colleen has ever written. There is so much depth and emotion within these pages! I’m completely turned inside out. Although I haven’t dealt with infertility myself, I can only imagine that this is the most real book I’ll ever read describing the devastation surrounding it and I’m left speechless. Incredibly inspiring Colleen… thank you for this!