All Your Perfects

By Colleen Hoover

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All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

Released: July 17, 2018

Pages: 305

Publisher: Atria Books

Overall: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Setting & World-Building: 3/5

Emotional Investment: 5/5

*Triggers: Infertility, Infidelity*

"If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim."

Did I cry? Yes. Do I want to talk about it? No. But am I going to? Yes. Colleen Hoover really did a number on me with this story. She really was like "How much can I make Angela cry?"

Quick Summary: Quinn and Graham have the perfect-story book romance, born with so much passion and love. But after years of marriage with secrets, and mistakes both are too afraid to confront, can their love withstand it all? Especially if the root of their problems, is what could also potentionally save it.

I've read one previous Colleen Hoover book, Ugly Love (which I will review one day). That book also made me cry so I did not go into this book expecting a clear face. But the actual amount of pain I felt in this book surpassed what I thought. I started this book at 11 p.m as a light read and then before I knew it was 3:30 am and I had a disgusting amount of mascara running down my face.

If not made clear already, Quinn struggles with infertility and has for seven years. Her biggest desire in the world is to be a mother and when the one thing she's hoped for with the one person she loves beyond common comprehension becomes a lonely battle it causes obvious strain on her marriage. She closes herself off and doesn't talk to Graham because she believes she is holding him back. When I tell you Quinn was so real to me that her pain felt like my pain, I'm not exaggerating. Because the story is told from then and now, we get to see when they first met and their relationship in the present. This allowed us to only see how she grew in a matter of time but also how much infertility affected her personality. The tone between chapters was so distinct and the livelihood of the "then" chapters are nowhere near to be found in the somber, facade-like tone of the "now" chapters.

Honestly, the romance in this book is why I read romance. It was so raw and emotional and full of need. They never stopped loving each other, it just became so hard to express it to one another. But even through all the pain and loneliness Quinn feels, all she wants is Graham to be happy and be content so she pulls herself away. Sometimes I wanted to shake her, but I also sympathized with her enough to understand why she did that. The one thing I think held them together more than love was hope. They both had hope that things would go back to normal, or they would have a baby. Hope was such a beautiful motif, because the moment when Quinn finally loses it, it will shatter you. It's like nothing else matters and honestly, I had to stop reading because I was ruining the pages of the book.

Graham was probably the best man I've ever read about. He was perfect in almost every single way. He cared and loved and wanted the best for Quinn always. The one mistake he made is usually something I would never tolerate. I would have told her to leave, but also I've never been in their situation. I've never been in their type of relationship with that much love. I really do think her response is amazing and exactly what is necessary, so it doesn't make me as mad.

The one thing I felt weird about the book was how the descriptions of Graham kept changing. This isn't even from the past to the present but in the past itself. Like when she first meets Graham she describes him as a person who smiles with sadness. But then later he no longer characterized by that sadness and seems more upbeat. It seemed unlike the character.

I think the biggest thing I liked about this book was that it wasn't perfect. Ironic considering the title right? But the beautiful ending is exactly how the book should have ended. It's about making the best of some awful situations rather than mulling over the awful situations. It's about forgiveness and acceptance and moving forward. It is probably not the future Quinn and Graham wanted for themselves but it's okay because they are together. I don't know if this is sappy but I really do need everyone and their friends and families to read this.

Quotes

“I promise to love you more when you hate me than when you love me.”

"We’re all full of flaws. Hundreds of them. They’re like tiny holes all over our skin. And like your fortune said, sometimes we shine too much light on our own flaws. But there are some people who try to ignore their own flaws by shining light on other people’s to the point that the other person’s flaws become their only focus. They pick at them, little by little, until they rip wide open and that’s all we become to them. One giant, gaping flaw."

"When you meet someone who is good for you, they won’t fill you with insecurities by focusing on your flaws. They’ll fill you with inspiration, because they’ll focus on all the best parts of you"

"Our marriage hasn’t been perfect. No marriage is perfect. There were times when she gave up on us. There were even more times when I gave up on us. The secret to our longevity is that we never gave up at the same time."

"No matter how much you love someone—the capacity of that love is meaningless if it outweighs your capacity to forgive."

"The problem is, love and happiness are not concordant. One can exist without the other."

"It’s strange how I can miss a person who is still here. It’s strange that I can miss making love to a person I still have sex with."