All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover - A Book Review
Synopsis:
Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart.
The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.
Genre: Contemporary Romance Fiction
Tropes:
- Marriage in Trouble
- Souls Mates
- Second Chance
- Infertility
The first book review of 2024 and of course it had to be a book by my favourite author, Colleen Hoover.
All Your Perfects kicked off my A-Z Reading Challenge that I set for 2024 and of course, I had to start alphabetically – making All Your Perfects my reading choice for the letter A.
When I planned All Your Perfects as my read for letter A, I didn’t have any idea of what the storyline was about. I simply chose it because of my trust in Colleen Hoover. When it came to setting out my book journal, I discovered that it’s actually book number 4 of the Hopeless series – oops! A quick search on google reassured me that despite it being a series, each book can be read as a standalone. It wasn’t until searching the tropes that I learned it’s about a marriage is crisis and second chances – it would pay me to actually read the synopsis before reading the book.
I must say, I wasn’t very hopeful towards reading this book. I just felt like it was a book of Colleen’s that might leave me feeling ‘meh’. After I read Reminders of Him, I developed very high expectations of any other emotional books that she’s created – so part of me was expecting the same emotional experience of bawling my eyes out at 3am.
All Your Perfects follows the marriage between Quinn and Graham, who meet in an unconventional way – outside Quinn’s ex boyfriend’s apartment door, waiting for each other’s significant other to finish their affair.
Whilst waiting outside for the affair to finish, the pair become acquaintances, bonded by their reeling heartbreak and sharing of the Chinese that they stole from their significant others, before parting as odd acquaintances, only to meet up months later and developing a whirlwind and unexpected romance.
Despite meeting at their lowest points, they develop an instant attraction and spark to one another, making it seem fated and impossible to ignore.
We meet them 8 years later, far from a picture-perfect romance that they used to be, where they are struggling with real obstacles of marriage, barely talking about their problems to one another and the struggles of Quinn’s fertility.
Told in fragments, the story alternates from past and present – the past being their happiest and development of their relationship and the present being their most difficult and breakdown of their marriage. With every glimpse into their happy past, it only makes their present more saddening to learn about.
Then (past) – The last thing Quinn expected was to meet the love of her life outside of her cheating ex fiancés door. Despite leaving his number the night of their significant other’s affair, Quinn doesn’t make any attempts to contact Graham, fearing that any relationship with Graham would remind her of her lowest point. A year after leaving behind their cheating partners, Quinn and Graham reconnect by fate at a restaurant.
Now (present) – Seven years later, Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage and fertility struggles. The memories, mistakes and secrets they built up following their fertility devastation begins tearing them apart.
As the story is from the perspective of Quinn, we learn of a woman who is drowning in grief and shame, as she comes to terms with the possibility that her dream of being a mother will not happen. This struggle places a huge strain on her marriage to Graham, who she feels an immense amount of guilt for, as she’s not able to make him a father. Their fertility struggle results in the pair becoming lost within their marriage, keeping secrets about their feelings and like ghosts within their own marriage.
During the present, we see the pair in a constant cycle where Quinn prepares time and time again for her greatest wish to come true, only to be met with devastation. The devastation leaves Quinn withdrawn from her marriage to Graham, who wants nothing more than to reconnect with the woman he fell in love with 8 years ago.
The reflection to the past shows the development of Quinn and Graham’s picture-perfect and whirlwind romance that develops and progresses over a year. The pair quickly become engaged and married, where on their wedding day, they make a promise – should they ever want a divorce, they would open a wooden brown box with some secret contents. Leading to the impression that the contents inside could lead to the saving grace of their marriage. The contents are revealed at the end of the book as being letters they each wrote to one another, only Graham has added letters, detailing his feelings since their fertility struggles and how despite their struggles, he will always choose Quinn.
Throughout the book, I wanted to shout at Graham and Quinn and shake them into seeing sense. The fact that they weren’t able to communicate with one another was extremely frustrating because it would solve the main issue in their marriage – aside from the infertility.
I found the alternating chapters between now and then very effective in developing the characters and making me develop an emotional connection to them. It allowed for the development of the stark contrast in their relationship, which personally made me root for them to get back to the way they were in the past.
In terms of the fertility storyline, I wasn’t sure what the result would be for Quinn and Graham in their journey to parenthood. Through the book, I did hope that they’d eventually succeed with their dream of being parents, but I also liked the way it did pan out. I think it was fitting that Quinn eventually came to terms with her fertility and found peace within it. I think this ending was important because it showed that they were able to fix their marriage without having a baby and not because they had to for the sake of having a baby. Quinn’s miscarriage and hysterectomy did have me reeling for her because I did think she’d eventually have her miracle and I really hoped she would, but I like that the story wasn’t predictable. I do wonder why Quinn’s sister being a surrogate wasn’t an option.
When it came to opening the wooden box they created on their wedding day, the letters from Graham had me welling up. I wasn’t bawling like I have done previously with Colleen’s books, but I had tears in my eyes – especially when Graham was revealing that despite their infertility devastation, he would always choose Quinn. Since the story is from Quinn’s perspective, I liked the inclusion of the letters, as I was able to gain a full insight into Graham’s thoughts and feelings, as opposed to reading Quinn’s assumptions of them. I think the letters were essential since it was all from Quinn’s POV. I really liked how attentive Graham was and how despite being constantly pushed away by Quinn, he never left her side – a true example of ‘for better for worse’. He could’ve so easily walked away, but he didn’t and I think that just shows how much he loved Quinn. His love for Quinn was further cemented when he was willing to walk away to allow Quinn to find someone who already had kids, so that she would experience being a motherly figure in some capacity. That really was a true example that he was willing to sacrifice his love, to ensure that she wasn’t in pain anymore.
When it was revealed that Graham had kissed another woman, initially I was against him and had little hope or want of them reconciling, especially since Quinn and Graham both experienced the devastation of being cheated on. When he explained why he kissed another woman, it was sort of a justified reason – although I’m not justifying or excusing cheating in any form, I can understand why he did it. He explained that the woman reminded him of Quinn and because they had basically become strangers in their marriage, he kissed another woman to feel like he was close to Quinn and how she used to be.
Where can I find a man like Graham? – Maybe not a one that kisses other woman, but someone who cares unconditionally and is attentive.
Quinn and Graham’s story really does cut at the heartstrings and is a refreshing, honest and realistic portrayal of life until the very last page. It shows that in life, not everything goes to plan. I do resonate with Quinn’s fertility issues and I think it’s something every woman worries about. The story was a bit anxiety inducing towards my own fertility and the possibility that I could have the same fate as Quinn.
The story is told in Colleen Hoover’s unique style, full of short, crisp sentences that pack a punch and a half. As always when finishing a CoHo book, I’m eager to read everything and anything.
This book really tugged at my heartstrings. I was completely hooked from the get-go and couldn’t put it down. With every chapter flicking from past to present, I was eager to know what happened in the next chapter, to know whether the characters gained happiness of parenthood and reconciliation. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot :).
Highlight worthy quotes:
“Every day, I miss you. When I’m at work, I miss you. When I’m home, I miss you. When you’re next to me in bed, I miss you. When I’m inside you, I miss you.”
“I promise that I will love you more during the storms than I will love you during the perfect days. I promise to love you more when you’re hurting than when you’re happy. I promise to love you more when we’re poor than when we’re swimming in riches. I promise to love you more when you’re crying than when you’re laughing. I promise to love you more when you’re sick than when you’re healthy. I promise to love you more when you hate me than when you love me.”
“If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim.”
“I will love you more as you’re walking out the door than on the day you walked down the aisle.”
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Georgia
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