Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

     As soon as summer hits I always pull out all my favorite contemp authors. And this year is no different. As soon as the calendar changed to June and the weather got hotter, I pulled out my Sarah Dessen!

"Life is ahead of us... What a privilege, right? Don't squander it."

pg. 19

     Louna is the daughter of a wedding planner, which means she's seen love at it's best and its worst. Because of this, she has some doubts about love and doesn't believe in wasting her time with anything in between. And then she meets Ambrose who  can't even begin to spell commitment. But as things fall into place, they both find more than what they were expecting.

"Everyone will be a stranger as long as you nisist on nevre meeting people."

pg. 156

     What stands out the most in this book was the plot. I LOVED the storyline! It was so easy to get swept away into the world of wedding planning, especially just after my own wedding in April. It was also great to see the rest of the Dessen world like Lakeview and Colby again. Seeing some of the familiar places was nice and made me feel like I was right at home.

"Everything was alot to deal with, though, when you had gottn used to nothing. I needed increments: a few somehings, maybe an anything first."

pg. 176

     And of course, I liked the writing style. But really, who wouldn't, I mean it's Sarah Dessen. But even still, I have to remind myself that her books are more of coming of age novels instead of focusing on  the romance. This one was no different. And I really loved the surprises in the storyline. I wasn't expecting Louna's past to be that hard, but it really gave a good look into why her character came out that way.

"It was like my life had been silent in a way before, and now there was a soundtrack, the very best music playing alng in the background at every moment. You didn't miss is whn it wasn't there. You didn't know to. But once it was, nothing ever soothed the same again."

pg. 218

     Even though I did like it, I think I would have enjoyed this more had I not read This Lullaby right before this. In This Lullaby, there were multiple weddings, an annoying dude, and in classic Dessen fashion, there was only a slight bit of romance, just like this one. While I was reading it I found myself comparing the two and trying to find ways they were similiar. It kinda took away from the story for me.

"It's about the courage to go for what you want, not just what you think you need. Sometimes, we don't even know what that is."

pg. 321

     This isn't my favorite Dessen novel, but I still did really like it. I can't wait to spend the rest of the summer reading the rest of her books through #ReadaDessen.