**This Review contains some Spoilers**
This series was meant to only be a duology and I thought it worked pretty well as just To All the boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You. So I was a little hesitant but excited when I found out that Jenny Han had decided to write one more book. On the one hand, I felt that Lara Jean’s story wrapped up nicely. Yes, it had an open ended ending but there was a sense that Lara Jean had finally started to find her Identity. And on the other hand, there was some unanswered questions, like were her and Peter really going to make it? What about their senior year? Would Kitty continue to be awesome? The answer is to that last questions is of course. Reading through this book and getting back to Lara Jean’s world of baking and arts and crafts, I was little disappointed to find that Lara Jean’s new found identity pretty much was all Peter. Her new friends were all his friends. Their plans mostly seemed to revolve around his schedule of Lacrosse games. To be fair, she did build friendships on her own with Lucas and Pammy but she wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for Peter. This became more apparent when they started to talk about college. Peter had already been accepted into UVA on a Lacrosse scholarship and Lara Jean had always wanted to go there. It’s a good school and only 15 minutes away so she could stay close to her family. Well, when she doesn’t get into UVA, there is a panic because now they have to deal with a long distance relationship. So she makes a plan to go to William and Mary for one year and transfer to UVA so they can be together. Things get even more complicated when Lara Jean who gets accepted into UNC after originally being wait listed. After a quick drive to Chapel Hill, Lara Jean is in love and it’s clear this is where she is meant to be. Now she will be 3 and half hours away instead of only 2. All this talk of college and what school would is the best, I can’t remember of any talk about what she wants to study. We know that she loves to bake and loves to crafting but what else in her life? Is she going to be an English major? biology? French? We have absolutely no idea who she is outside of her family and Peter but I could say the same thing about Peter too. As frustrating as Lara Jean’s behavior I started to realize that Peter’s identity is just as dependent if not more so on Lara Jean’s. He is very much the perfect boyfriend. He’s polite and good looking, athletic and charming. He organizes her father’s bachelor’s party to not only get on his good side but make her happy. He is also afraid of losing Lara Jean. Thanks for a moment of true honesty they seem to have finally found each other and where they want to go. They are going to try to make it work and I hope they do but where does it leave them. I sort of feel like we are left in the same place as were with the last book. They both are still growing and finding themselves as they should be at 18 and they are still together and going to fight to make their relationship work despite the distance but their future is still up and the air. I think it’s a very good development for Lara Jean to spread her wings and live on her own for once. Her life has always been about her family and then Peter. Finally in college she will be able to truly find her identity without them around and I think it will only make her stronger. It will make her relationships stronger and if her and Peter do work out them both stronger. Now, I hope in a couple of years, we come back to Virginia for Kitty, the high school years because I think that would be the most amazing story of all time.
I keep waiting for Rick Riordan to write a bad book. The Dark Prophecy is not that book. He just keep coming up with fresh and different ideas of making these old stories relevant and fun. Whoever is the God or Goddess of story telling, Rick Riordan is their son. When we last left Apollo, he’s reeling from the betrayal of Meg, a new prophecy sending him to Indianapolis and the reappearance of Leo and Calypso. That’s a lot for a former God turned mortal teenage boy to handle but handle he must. When Apollo, Leo and Calypso arrive they are greeted by some very polite monsters because of course the monsters that inhabit the Midwest would be polite. they are rescued by two former Hunters of Artemis Emmie and Josephine who tells them that their daughter is missing. She had gone to the dark oracle for help from the second Emperor who has made Indianapolis his home. Of course this Emperor Apollo has personal history with making everything more awkward. As the crew tries to figure out how to defeat Emperor Commodus and get the next prophecy without going crazy they experience the same mythic hi-jinks of the other books. Yes, these book can at times feel be formulaic but it never feel feels like that. They are just fun, witty and refreshing. Rick doesn’t shy away for the more uncomfortable stories from Greek and Roman mythology or tries to wash them out either. Many of these stories are not happy or fun but then again neither is life and yet Rick never lets it get to dark. He is always able to find the absurdity in them. Bring on the next one.
This is a story of how people deal with abuse. No seriously. Yes, they are mostly fairies and there is magic and takes place in a land full of both of those things but deep down it’s about the effects of abuse and how we deal with it. Almost every character has suffered some kind of abuse one way or another. In 
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there!
To say this book was delightful would be an understatement. Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows blends the perfect mixture of fantasy and fiction with history. History will tell you that Lady Jane Grey was the Queen of England for nine days before Queen Mary took the throne and beheaded her. Well, not in this book. Lady Jane Grey was the cousin to King Edward, the son of King Henry VIII. She was named the successor to King Edward because Mary was too Catholic and Elizabeth was a wild card. Edward’s advisors were afraid that either one of his sisters would take England back to the Catholic church and away for the recently established Church in England. Well, in this account the fight is over religion but over magic. King Henry was an Edians, or a person who can turn into animals. Before his rule, those who had this ability were hunted down and burned at the stack by the Verities or those who couldn’t change into animals. Mary is very much in the Verities, who blamed Edians for the death of her mother. Jane at first just a pawn in game of thrones but she soon turns the tables on those who try to control her. This book is very funny, charming and just plain clever. I often find myself laughing while riding on the train to the annoyance of my fellow riders. And it’s a real hoot when you find out what animal Jane turns into. You will not find a more clever book with horse puns anywhere. So do yourself a favor and go read it.
2 Women, So Many Books 