Once and for All

by Sarah Dessen

As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine.

Louna spends her summers helping brides plan their perfect day and handling every kind of crises: missing brides, scene-stealing bridesmaids and controlling grooms. Not surprising then, that she's deeply cynical about happy-ever-afters, especially since her own first love ended in tragedy.

When handsome girl magnet Ambrose enters her life, Louna won't take him seriously. But Ambrose hates not getting what he wants and Louna is the girl he's been waiting for.

Maybe it's not too late for a happy ending after all?

'When I read a Sarah Dessen novel, I'm sixteen again, in the flush of first love.' Jodi Picoult

• ISBN10: 014138669X
• ISBN13: 9780141386690
• Publish Date: 8 June 2017 (first published 6 June 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen is about having second chances at love.

Will Louna get another chance at a second chance of having an epic love?

Louna Barrett

Louna Barrett is the main character, and we follow her throughout the book. We watch her go from a big cynic on love to embracing it. Louna is graduating high school and getting ready to go to college, away from her mom. She was a bit hard to get to know, and I sometimes didn't like her because of how Louna acted. Besides that, Louna was a great character, and we learn quite a bit about why Louna is the way she is.

Ethan Carusos

Ethan Carusos is a guy we only get to know through flashbacks, and he is mentioned here or there by another character. He is a guy that Louna met only once at night, but it was a big night for both of them. Ethan and Louna's relationship is a significant plot point throughout the entire story, and I can't exactly say much about it for that reason. I only know that I feel bad for Louna; I understand why she is the way she is and hope that she will open up to another.

Ambrose

Ambrose is the main guy for Louna. He was a bit too much to deal with at first, but after a while, I got used to how he was. Ambrose isn't what most people would think of as a love interest in a young adult romance, but once you get used to him, Ambrose becomes more likable in my mind. He is a good character. I can definitely see him with Louna.

Five Stars

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen is a nice read. I recommend having a box of tissues for certain parts of this story. Ms. Dessen is a fantastic author; I have always loved her books. Granted, not all of her books are for some people, as she does some books that aren't for the faint of heart. Louna, Ethan, and Ambrose are all great characters in their ways. I am giving Once and For All by Sarah Dessen five stars and recommend it to anyone that loves to read young adult romance books that deal with second chances at love.



Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Once and For All by Sarah Dessen.

Until the next time,



Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

[melanchalina]

Сара Дессен "Долго и счастливо"

9 из 10

Жанр: YA, драма, современный любовный роман
POV: 1POV, от первого лица (она)
Геометрия чувств: прямая
Теги: драма, потеря близкого, путь исцеления

РЕЦЕНЗИЯ:
Я не большая поклонница творчества Дессен, но некоторые ее книги мне нравятся. «Долго и счастливо» я читать не планировала, но случайно открыла книгу и, как говорится, «упала в нее». Люблю я милые, приятные романы, которые при этом достаточно стекольные и трогательные.

Сюжет у «Долго и счастливо» достаточно простой, о правильной, но закрытой девушке Луне, и легкомысленном и влюбчивом Эмброузе, которые волей судьбы вынуждены работать вместе. Любому читателю довольно очевидно, что из всего это выльется под конец, но история при этом не теряет своего очарования, а драматическая часть, связанная с прошлыми отношениями Луны действительно очень трогают (не буду спойлерить). То, что на первый взгляд кажется обычным мимими романом на самом деле оказывается глубокой и трогательной вещью, которую я полюбила всем сердцем.

Я очень люблю истории, где герой справляется с потерей, учится жить дальше и проходит долгий путь исцеления в поисках нового смысла жизни. Истории, которые вращаются не просто вокруг любовной истории, а гораздо глубже этого. И не смотря на то, что этот роман моментами разбил мое сердце, а иногда и вовсе доводил меня до слез, это была прекрасная история об исцелении.

Луна отличный персонаж, который прекрасно доносит все мысли и идеи автора. Она цинична и не верит в любовь, не смотря на то, что всю жизнь подрабатывает в агентстве своей матери по организации свадеб. Одно очень трагичное и болезненное событие в прошлом оставила огромный след в ее сердце, поэтому девушка построила вокруг себя стены и никого не подпускает близко. Дессен очень реалистично передала характер героини, в нее веришь и ей сопереживаешь. Она очень зрелая, ответственная и сдержанная, но история события романа влияют на нее. Это не выглядит неуместно или нереалистично, это не происходит по щелчку пальца, спасибо за это.

Эмброуз другой. Он ветреный, легкомысленный и не любит ответственности. И ему нравится раз за разом окунаться в романтично-букетный период, видя в этой легкости нечто приятное. Да, Эмброуз настойчивый, временами раздражающий, но при этом очаровательный, как щенок. А еще он полная противоположность Луне.

Так что возможно, это просто судьба, что столь разные и непохожие друг на друга люди встречаются, потому что им есть чему поучиться друг у друга, потому что они вместе они способны стать счастливее. И, нельзя отрицать, возникшую между ними химию. Их отношения развиваются по мере раскрытия истории, и они просто идеально сбалансированы.

Хочу отдельно отметить, что я без ума от сцен флэшбеков с Луной. Они такие атмосферные и кинематографичные. Сладкие, нежные сцены с нотками грусти. Именно эти сцены заставили мои глаза прослезиться.

Однозначно в топ моих любимых книг, и когда я буду морально готова, то с удовольствием перечитаю.

[mrs_mander_reads]

Sometimes you just need to have all the feels. Sarah Dessen is amazing.

[Katie King]

This is not my usual genre. To be honest, I don't know why I even bought this. But I did.

I struggled with it a LOT. 25-50% through, I was forcing myself to read because I was too stubborn to give up. Something shifted around 65% and I got very caught up in it, though. I think it was probably around where we hear the details about her last boyfriend. It hooked me and didn't let go.

It was a quick read and a good break from, like I said, the usual. One thing I absolutely did not like was the very ending with Ben. Kind of glossed over something big there.

[Leigha]

A young woman comes to terms with a traumatic event in this young adult romance.

I’ve heard many great things about Sarah Dessen over the years. When I saw her latest novel available at my public library, I decided to give it a shot. While her writing is oh-so-charming, I have many issues with the plot and characterization of the novel. Let’s talk plot first. Based on the cover and blurb, I thought this would be a fun, lighthearted read. It’s not. It’s dealing with heavy issues, such as mass shootings, death, and grief. While it ends with a hopeful message, I honestly felt depressed reading it. Don’t read this novel if you are looking for a lighthearted read.

My other issue is with the main characters. This is very much Louna’s story, a story about a young woman coming to accept and overcome her grief from a past tragedy. If this novel had been promoted as a “women’s fiction” read, I think I would have walked away happy. But this is a romance. Amrbose’s characterization and story has to be strong too. He never develops past the charming playboy persona. While I enjoyed their friendship, I never felt any chemistry between the two. Sadly, we get a better romance between Louna and her first love than between her and Ambrose. Don’t read this novel if you are looking for a sweet romance.

Overall I’m just super disappointed. It’s obvious the author is an engaging writer, but I want more from my contemporary romances. I want connection and growth from both main characters. It’s just not here.

tl;dr A disappointing romance with poor character development and a surprisingly sobering plot.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I am a solid lover of all things Dessen, and once again, she delivered a lovely story.

There are so many things I appreciated about this story: great characters, a warm and loving family, lots of wedding hijinks, but most of all, I loved the big idea of living each moment. My heart cracked in half when I found out what happened to Louna's first love, Ethan. I shed tears during each flashback, where we learned the details of their relationship. I was so happy for the support of family, but also that fate brought Ambrose into her orbit to help her heal.



I always cry at weddings, but seriously, this one just hit on a sensitive subject for me, and I thought Dessen executed it quite well. Oh! And I loved getting to go back to Colby and revisit some spots from one of my fave Dessen books (Along for the Ride).

Overall: A beautiful story of first love and first loss, of family and friends who are there to help you heal and move forward, and appreciating each moment you get.

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: Once and for All was a touching book; I'll give you that. The presentation however, didn't gel with me. Even though the focus was on Louna's experiences, it felt like reading two separate stories that accidentally had their chapters mixed up with each other. Yes, there were some references in the more recent timeline to the past but that still didn't anchor me enough as a reader. Chapters that were basically flashbacks weren't marked as such — not even with chapter titles.

I thought that might've been a limitation of the audiobook but I cross-referenced with the hardcover edition and came up short. It felt too jarring. Considering the individual timelines, I did care for Louna and her mother. I loved the connection they had and the wedding business shenanigans were fun to read about. The guys and her friends, though? I don't know. They were part of the story, sure, but despite their roles, I didn't feel invested in them.

[Stephanie]

Sarah Dessen is usually a hit or miss for me, so I was a little apprehensive, but this one surprised me! Once and for All felt a little different than the other Dessen books, which may be one reason why I enjoyed it so much more than all the others. I really liked Ethan's storyline, even though at first I was a little wary. By the end I was wishing we had a book for Ethan (without the tragic ending though). Ambrose was annoying in the beginning, which had me wondering how Dessen was going to pull off him as the love interest, but it happened so naturally to where I was rooting for them in the end.

Definitely my favorite Sarah Dessen book, by far. I listened to it on audio and definitely recommend.

[girlinthepages]

I am a true lover of Dessen books, but I have to admit that I finally found one that didn't quite work out for me. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed aspects of the book- the wedding planning premise, the side characters (William and Louna's mom were hilarious, I need a book based just on their misadventures in wedding planning!) and of course the timeline of an entire summer, when so much growth can happen. However, I just couldn't connect with Louna in any way and she felt like the least dynamic Dessen protagonist I've come across, so reading her narrative eventually left me feeling sluggish and uninterested and I really had to power through the end of the book.

I was really excited going into Once and for All, as it has all of the trademarks of a good Dessen book- set in the summer, a budding yet unlikely romance, a quirky element, and a darker shadow hovering over the plot of the story. However, the tragedy that befell Louna feels inorganic and hard to connect with. Without mentioning too many spoilers, it seemed like the tragedy was so big and publicly known that it almost lost some of the intensity of the demons her other protagonists face, which are much more rooted in the personal and private spheres (such as Caitlin from Dreamland and Annabelle from Just Listen).

I also had a major problem liking, or even tolerating, the main characters. Louna was just so boring. I know Dessen's protagonists are generally more on the quiet side, the silent sidekick to a more dynamic supporting cast, but I felt like I wasn't getting anything from Louna at all. She didn't have Auden's bitterness or Halley's recklessness or Caitlin's depth. She was just there. Ambrose annoyed me 110% of the time. I'll be the first to admit I'm not always smitten by Sarah's love interests, but even if I don't find them swoonworthy I can still appreciate the romance and relationship that develops between the two main characters. Ambrose, however, was so infuriating that I could not come around to liking him even though you can tell as a reader you're supposed to find his lack of a filter and brutal honesty endearing after a time. I however think that just because you admit you're a certain way doesn't give you an excuse to continue on with that behavior (aka him always saying things like "I'm not for everyone") and really found the eventual slow burn romance to be really unbelievable.

However, my experience with this book wasn't wholly negative. The easter eggs were REALLY fun to spot (I'm sure I missed some but there were some awesome ones like Eli and Auden in one of Louna's flashbacks) and since I purchased the Barnes & Noble special editions, I had a bonus epilogue at the end of my book which was hands down my FAVORITE thing about reading this book. It pulls in the favorite band we all love to hate, plus many of the major players from Saint Anything and was so much fun to read.

Overall: This book had a really fun and unique setting with the wedding planning backdrop, and it was nice to return to Lakeview and spot all of the easter eggs from Dessen's past books. However, the novel really didn't work for me as it felt more like it was following the formula of previous Dessen books without the heart or depth that her other books have. I definitely seem to be in the minority with this opinion though, so if you're a Dessen fan I think you should definitely still give Once and For All a shot!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[lizarodz]

Quite the Novel Idea http://quitethenovelidea.com http://quitethenovelidea.com/liza-reviews-sarah-dessen/Once upon a time I was an avid reader of Sarah Dessen.  My favorites are The Truth About Forever, Just Listen, and Along for the Ride. Unfortunately, I haven't read her previous three books. When I was offered the opportunity of reading (listening) to Once and for All, I grabbed it with both hands.  I started listening on my trip to BEA and finished it shortly after I got back.

Louna has worked with her mom and her partner on their wedding planing business every summer of her life and this is the last summer as she's getting ready to go to college.  She's getting over a very traumatic and painful experience and she's kind of putting her life on hold.  She's lost faith that anyone can love as deeply more than once on their lifetime so, why try?  Louna is strong, outgoing, organized, but she's also very stubborn and very sad. 

I have to confess that at first I found Ambrose as annoying as everyone else did.  However, he quickly grew on me.  He is hyper, but he also has a heart of gold.  One thing that I didn't understand is how he went from a womanizer to 'quitting' so fast.  His good nature, attention, compassion, and his kind thoughts wan Louna's heart at the end.  Their relationship grew into friendship and then to something more, even if Louna kept denying herself any meaningful relationship.

“Everything seemed bright and different after so long in the darkness. Even though most of the businesses were closed, there was one neon sign lit in the window of a narrow storefront. COFFEE AND PIE, it read. Two bikes were parked just outside."
I loved Louna's mom and William, her business partner and father figure for Louna.  Her mom is neurotic, extremely organized, attentive to detail, and she has dedicated her life to her daughter and to her business.  William is funny, easygoing, a great cook and people person.  They both love Louna and have her best interest at heart.  Other characters worth mentioning are Jilly and all her siblings and Ian, the dog :)

“It's about the courage to go for what you want, not just what you think you need. Sometimes we don't even know what that is.”

I loved the behind the scenes world of wedding planning! It was a lot of fun, and stress for all involved, but very nice to read.  We also get to read small cameos from other Dessen characters and from our favorite beach town of Colby.  Her writing is insightful, and she never shies away from the tough subjects.  The pace was a bit slow, especially the flashbacks to Louna and Ethan's story.

Overall, although I enjoyed Once and for All, it's not my favorite Dessen book (for a list of those, look at the first paragraph).  It's a story of lost, love, fear of both and the strength to overcome the pain and live for more.



Once and for All is the first book that I've listen to narrated by Karissa Vacker and I enjoyed it.  She has a gentle tone of voice and I was grateful for how distinctive the voice were from each other and for the nice pace of her reading.This review was originally posted on Quite the Novel Idea