All the Feels

by Olivia Dade

[Berls]

4.5 stars
Another fantastic read by Oliva Dade! After reading Spoiler Alert I couldn't wait to dive into All the Feels to get Alex and Lauren's story. I had heard that this wasn't as good, but I have to disagree. The story is different in several ways, but I liked it just as much.

I already knew Alex from meeting him in Spoiler Alert and I already knew a couple things I liked about him:
(1) he shared Marcus's appreciation of plus size women - not only had he admired Alice, but something he did near the end of Spoiler Alert (don't want to spoil LOL) shows that it's not just surface level.
(2) he's a good friend - the way he was toward Marcus made me really care for him already.
But I couldn't have guessed that I would love him so much! He has so many layers - he is racked with (unnecessary) guilt, is really misunderstood, incredibly generous, and just such a deeply good person. I also like that his relationship with his mother is solid - she's great, unlike the parents in Spoiler Alert. It was nice to see a situation with good, supportive parents.

And then Lauren, well I didn't really know her yet, but I grew to love her very quickly. She is not just plus size, but also has a bird like appearance - short, small legs, beak nose - conventionally ugly. And that has definitely shaped the way she's been treated her whole life, and how she treats herself. I liked that her issues were different from in the first book - she has learned to accept and expect to be mistreated. I enjoyed watching her grow and deal with this issue.

I was already deeply invested in the story because of the ending of Spoiler Alert. All the Feels starts just slightly later than Spoiler Alert began, so we revisit some moments, but from a different point of view. But because of that shared timeline, some of the first part of the book moves more quickly, bringing us to the end of Spoiler Alert about halfway through. I enjoyed watching them move to that inevitable moment and then I was ESPECIALLY interested in seeing how things would play out after. I wasn't disappointed at any point; it was a truly solid plot.

I listened to this book as well, but it was a different narrator than the first book. Kelsey Navarro did an excellent job bringing the characters to life as well. I had listened to her narration for another Olivia Dade series(There's Something About Marysburg) and was not surprised to enjoy her narration. Definitely would listen to her in the future.