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A review by artemisg
All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Two things to begin. First, yes, this was designated our March book club read, and yes, it is, in fact, April; shut up. Second, yes, this is not the feminist literature we should probably be reading for Women’s History Month, but I would argue that my sociology degree provides me with more than enough feminist literature, and sometimes you just need to read a romance.
Ok, onto the review.
The romance aspect of this story was beautiful and heartwarming. I really enjoyed reading the Then sections. In those sections, both Graham and Quinn were loveable and fun, and I was really rooting for them. Eventually, the comparison between Then and Now got heavy-handed, but I enjoyed the Then so much that I could ignore the impending tragedy of the Now. Now, onto the Now, I found Quinn kind of insufferable. I understand that she was genuinely suffering from depression caused by her infertility, and by no means do I want to trivialise mental health issues. She was just mean, and it made me both angry and sad. Especially after reading the letters Graham wrote. Additionally, she knew that her actions were causing problems but made genuinely no effort to remedy them, which was especially weird to me because she continued to remind us how much she loved Graham. Surely if you love someone that much, you make an ounce of effort to communicate with them?
((As an aside, there’s a weird paragraph about how therapy sucks? Which felt really out of place and like Hoover just wanted to let us know that she’s anti-therapy. Is she? It certainly felt like it.))
Also, and I think this is genuinely just a me thing, but some of the dialogue in this book felt so stilted and unnatural. I don’t know about you, but when I’m talking to someone I’ve known for almost a decade about my family, I refer to my brother by name. However, Graham and Quinn constantly say “my sister” or “my sisters”. This made their relationship feel shallow and surface-level and completely took me out of the story. Like when Graham is talking about his mum's reaction to their elopement, he says, “She’s been through two weddings with two of my sisters and she’s in the middle of planning the last one’s wedding.” Graham, why are you referring to your actual sister as “the last one”? Quinn (your wife) knows her name; she’ll know who you’re talking about. Although I think this may be because of a lack of fleshed-out side characters - I’m not sure I could name Graham’s sisters through no fault of my own.
Anyway, I digress, this book was a good read, as heavy as the themes were, it was ultimately heartwarming and full of love, although the end felt a little too perfect.
Ok, onto the review.
The romance aspect of this story was beautiful and heartwarming. I really enjoyed reading the Then sections. In those sections, both Graham and Quinn were loveable and fun, and I was really rooting for them. Eventually, the comparison between Then and Now got heavy-handed, but I enjoyed the Then so much that I could ignore the impending tragedy of the Now. Now, onto the Now, I found Quinn kind of insufferable.
((As an aside, there’s a weird paragraph about how therapy sucks? Which felt really out of place and like Hoover just wanted to let us know that she’s anti-therapy. Is she? It certainly felt like it.))
Also, and I think this is genuinely just a me thing, but some of the dialogue in this book felt so stilted and unnatural. I don’t know about you, but when I’m talking to someone I’ve known for almost a decade about my family, I refer to my brother by name. However, Graham and Quinn constantly say “my sister” or “my sisters”. This made their relationship feel shallow and surface-level and completely took me out of the story. Like when Graham is talking about his mum's reaction to their elopement, he says, “She’s been through two weddings with two of my sisters and she’s in the middle of planning the last one’s wedding.” Graham, why are you referring to your actual sister as “the last one”? Quinn (your wife) knows her name; she’ll know who you’re talking about. Although I think this may be because of a lack of fleshed-out side characters - I’m not sure I could name Graham’s sisters through no fault of my own.
Anyway, I digress, this book was a good read, as heavy as the themes were, it was ultimately heartwarming and full of love, although the end felt a little too perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Car accident and Infertility