To All the Boys I've Loved Before (Series) - Jenny Han

Series rating: ✫✫✫

Seeing as the film adaptation of To All the Boys I've Loved Before has just been released on Netflix, it seemed only appropriate that it was time to do a review of Jenny Han's series. Coincidentally, I read this series only a few weeks ago, and so the story is still fresh in my mind. 

I should start by saying that this series wouldn't win any literature awards, and it is very predictable in the way only a young adult read can be. However, it was really enjoyable, and I thought the entire story was adorable. I'm not sure this necessarily needed to be a series - one standalone book, or two at most, would have felt more structured and cohesive. Yet the characters were endearing and sweet, despite their immaturity at times. I read the whole series in just a couple of days, and it put a big smile on my face. 

✼ 

Lara Jean is a fan of love letters, and she keeps all her love letters in a hatbox that was given to her by her mother. But these aren't love letters that Lara Jean has received. These are love letters that she has written to all the boys she has loved: five boys over her sixteen years. Five letters, written but never delivered, hidden in her hatbox, secret, and destined never to be read.

Secret, that is, until the day that these letters find their way to five very unexpecting boys. Suddenly, Lara Jean's feelings are exposed, and her love life becomes very complicated. Especially seeing as one of the recipients just happens to be her sister's boyfriend, Josh. If she wants to protect both her sister and herself, Lara Jean may just have to come up with an imaginative way of avoiding the issue. Enter boy #2, ex-crush Peter Kavinsky.

*spoiler alert* 

Thirteen - Steve Cavanagh

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫

Thirteen first came to my attention because it was recommended by a number of people. When I first picked it up, the plot description jumped out to me immediately, and I just knew it was going to be right up my street. A crime novel based inside the courtroom, but with an intriguing twist: the killer is actually on the jury.

I loved this book. If I could have read it all in one sitting, I probably would have. The short, sharp chapters made this a real possibility, as they ensured the book was easy to read, despite the dark subject material. Eddie Flynn also makes for a really endearing protagonist; he is just the right balance of sharp and sweet. Switching between his viewpoint and the perspective of the murderer keeps the reader on their toes through an exciting and intriguing story. 

✼

This is the murder trial of the century, with Hollywood star Bobby Solomon charged with the murder of his wife. When the defence contact lawyer Eddie Flynn, he isn't sure whether or not he should involve himself with the case. But then he meets Bobby, and Eddie knows instantly that he is innocent.

As the trial begins and a series of fatal incidents happen outside the court room, Eddie starts to wonder if there is more to the trial than meets the eye. And if Bobby is really innocent, then where is the real killer?

What if they're on the jury?

*spoiler alert*