Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Books with the Best Kisses
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is a freebie, preferably something to do with love. If you know me IRL, then you know I’m all about the kissing. The more kissing the better. Perfect topic for this week! Here are my top ten books with the best kisses in them:
I know I said the more kissing the better and normally that’s true. EDENBROOKE, however, has my favorite kiss in all of bookdom:
“He crossed the room to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. In three steps, he had me backed up against a bookcase. Before I could do more than catch my breath, he took my face in his hands and kissed me.
“I had never really been kissed before. But I did not need experience to know that Philip’s kiss was, in a word, devastating. His lips were firm and insistent, gentle and caressing. His fingers threaded in my hair, holding my head exactly how he wanted it while he kissed me one way, then another, until I trembled in his arms.”
It keeps going, but you get the idea. Julianne Donaldson knows what she’s doing when it comes to writing swoony romance. Why is this my favorite? I love the imagery of Philip crossing the room and backing Marianne up against a bookcase. And, if I put Tom Hiddleston in the place of Philip, it makes it that much better. (If you don’t like Tom Hiddleston, insert your favorite Brit in his place.)
What about you? Which books with the best kisses would be on your list?
Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before Author: Jenny Han Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1 Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, YA Pages: 368 Source: Library For: Book Club Rating: Sexual Content:
There's a trigger warning for this book. See Trigger Warning section at end of review for more details.
Goodreads Synopsis
Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. One for every boy she's ever loved. The letters are for her eyes only. Until the day they are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
My Thoughts
I’ve wanted to read TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE ever since it became a huge phenomenon because of the Netflix movie. Yet, I’m only just reading it now because it’s my IRL book club’s book for February. (I’m excited that I can finally watch the Netflix movie at least! Woot woot! ) There are minor spoilers in this review.
I really liked Lara Jean and her sisters. I also really liked the interaction between Lara Jean and the two main guys, the boy next door and Mister Cocky-Handsome-Everyone-Loves-Me. What I didn’t like is that two main guys meant that there was a love triangle. I despise love triangles. They’re my least favorite YA trope. They’re the main reason I don’t read as much YA romance anymore.
Love is scary: it changes; it can go away. That’s part of the risk.
Even though TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE had a love triangle, I decided to be optimistic. I even told myself, maybe Lara Jean will end up with the boy I want her to. Of course, all kinds of chaos ensued and it was a lot of fun to read and witness. I actually really enjoyed the story, but the ending, or non-ending I should say, almost ruined it all for me!
I like choosing to read the next book in a series because I want to, not because I have to. I understand series have cliffhangers; I’ve just never read one quite like this and in the first book. At this point, I’m not sure I’m going to continue the series. I’ll probably just see if I can get what I need from the Netflix movie(s).
I’ve been trying to decide if I want to rate TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE 3 or 4 stars. I’m settling on 3.5 stars. (I find myself giving out more half-star ratings.)
Have you read TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE? If so, what did you think?
https://i0.wp.com/jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/review-toalltheboysivelovedbefore.png?fit=919%2C918&ssl=1918919Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/logow_final2x.pngJenni Elyse2022-02-07 00:00:002023-12-30 18:01:09Review: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, andshowcase books and other things.
Feeling
I’m feeling mad at myself. I took my first test in my math class this semester and I made stupid mistakes. Stupid mistakes. I only got a 75% when I should’ve gotten a 100%. Thankfully, our lowest test score is dropped. Hopefully, I don’t botch up any more tests.
I’m also feeling discouraged because I can’t seem to figure out the auto grader in my computer programming class. I got a 30 out of 80 on my first project even though my code does exactly what the specs ask for. I’m not sure what to do since my teacher hasn’t returned any of my messages.
Blogging
I really enjoy being a part of the community. Visiting everyone’s blog and having visitors come to mine is one of the best things, especially in this pandemic reality. It helps my extrovert self feel like I’m hanging out with friends.
Reading
Because I’ve been catching up on homework this week, I haven’t read a lot. I did finally start reading TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han on Wednesday evening and finished it last night.
I have so many books out from the library right now! I hope I can get to them all. I have TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, BROKEN by Jenny Lawson, ROCK PAPER SCISSORS by Alice Feeney, and THE SOUND OF STARS and KINDRED by Alechia Dow checked out. They all came available at once.
Listening
This week, my song choice is a little different than past weeks. My therapist and I both like System of a Down. Most people are shocked when they find out I like them. They think I’m Miss Goody-Two-Shoes and wouldn’t like that type of music, which isn’t accurate at all, especially as I age. I know their music isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like it, that’s okay. To each their own.
My therapist went to a System of a Down concert in L.A. on Friday. It made me think about my favorite song, “Chop Suey!” The reason I like this song is it’s in the minor key. I music in the minor key. I mean really love it. It speaks to my soul unlike anything else in this world, except maybe a cat’s purr. I also really love Serj Tankian’s harmony. It’s amazing.
Watching
Corey and I started watching The Afterparty on AppleTV+. It’s awesome. My favorite episode so far is three. I loved all the songs sung by Ben Schwartz. If you have an AppleTV, I highly recommend this show. It’s really funny and has an all-star cast.
Loving
I love our new vet. Our old vet closed up shop without telling anyone. We have an 18-year-old cat on prescription food. We found out that our old vet was closed for good when we needed to buy Dax’s food. Fortunately, we found a new vet thanks to our neighbor and got Dax sorted out.
Corey took our 5-year-old tuxedo cat in a couple of days ago because she has been sick with a sinus infection. They gave her a shot of antibiotics so we didn’t have to try to force a pill down her throat. She’s acting so much more like herself again–playful, cuddly, and purry.
I’m really happy both of our cats are taken care of and doing well.
Wanting
I want a new winter coat. It’s freezing in my neck of the woods right now and I hate my coat. It’s one of those puffer coats that make you look like the Michelin Man if the coat is white.
Even though it keeps me warm, I hate how it feels because it’s really cheap and made from cheap material. I have to wear a long-sleeved shirt with it so the coat doesn’t touch my skin directly. It’s also not very comfortable to wear besides how the material feels. When I’m wearing it, I feel like the younger brother on The Christmas Story after his mom puts him in his winter gear.
Needing
I need my hair to grow faster. I got my monthly trim back into shape as I have short hair. The problem is that the person who cut my hair messed it up really bad. I keep telling myself it doesn’t look as bad as I feel like it does and it’ll grow back. I also like wearing hats so I have that option until it grows back.
January has been a great month. Not only did I start blogging again, I started a new semester of school, and I’ve filled my reading bucket quite full.
I participated in Bout of Books at the beginning of the month, which helped jump start my reading. I finished three books during the event. Because of Bout of Books, I finished reading six books and started a seventh one this month!
My favorite book I read in January was ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Frederik Backman, followed closely by THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis. I won’t be surprised if ANXIOUS PEOPLE ends up being my favorite book for the year, even though I still have 11 months left to find another one.
How did your January go? What are your plans for February?
I’ve been learning in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Books with Names in the Title
I’m not going to lie. This prompt stumped me a little bit. It’s obvious it means books like Harry Potter. The only problem is have I read any books recently with names in the title or are they all 15+ years old? Here are my top ten books with names in the title:
I think the most recent book on my list is MY LADY JANE as I still haven’t read the other two in the companion series. I also haven’t read any of the other books in The Lunar Chronicles yet.
What about you? Which books with names in the title are on your list? Do we have any in common?
I’ve been learning in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still love Harry Potter.
Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
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