“If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim.”
―
Earlier this year, I read a book by the author ‘Regretting You’ (You can read my review HERE). It wasn’t what I had expected so I wasn’t keen on reading another book by her. However, upon reflection, I decided to give the author another try by reading this book.
I was particularly drawn to this book because it is a romance novel about a married couple which is usually rare. ‘All Your Perfects’ is a beautifully written story about Quinn and Graham who meet under unusual circumstances and later fall in love. They have now been married for seven years and are struggling with infertility issues. These issues have down-spiraled into other problems in their otherwise perfect marriage such as depression, miscarriage, infidelity, grief and abuse. Graham and Quinn have to fight for their marriage despite all that they are going through and this book highlights their journey and how they overcome their fears with utmost perfection.
I enjoyed reading this story although the theme is a very heavy one. I liked how the author wrote the book with each chapter alternated in past and present times. It made the experience pleasurable because recapping the times in the past where they were happy and without a care in the world brought more perspective to the story. I loved their romance, openness and devotion to each other. It was beautiful to imagine.
“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.”
―
Infertility is a very hard place to be especially for women. Quinn’s character represents how most women feel when they struggle with simple things like being on social media (where most women’s timelines are covered with pictures of their children and discussions around motherhood), having to answer questions and receive unsolicited advice from family, friends or even total strangers about your infertility, the high cost of fertility treatments and the depression that comes with it. I felt her pain and sometimes wished that she would concentrate less on her inability to get pregnant but I know it is a difficult thing to do. You can only fully understand if you have had infertility problems. The men are not left out here because Graham’s character also shows how this situation also affects men as well.
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Another thing this story brings to the forefront is how a lack of communication in a good marriage can literally ruin it. Most married couples in this situation end up making up things in their heads that are not necessarily true about each other (like in the case of Quinn and Graham) creating more hurt in an already bad situation. It also showed how a couple who are still in love with each other can also be unhappy. Love sometimes does not equal happiness. Life comes with a lot of stress from work, running a home, e.t.c so it is unlikely that two married people will not experience unhappiness at some point in their marriage. However, if they still love each other, they have a chance to work together to rediscover the happiness they once had.
The author has painted a truly realistic picture of the struggles many marriages face as they experience change in different aspects of their lives and how their actions or inactions may make or break them. There were so many things I took away from this story despite having being married for so many years.
Even with the heaviness in some parts of the story, I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audio book on the SCRIBD app. and it was glorious. It is a book I recommend to both single and married men and women. It is not a story just about infertility but about how complicated life gets as we all grow older in marriage. This book has definitely joined my best reads list for this year.
😍😍😍👌👌
P.S This is not your typical romance novel. I still have a problem with this book classified in this genre. If you are looking for something light and relaxing, this is not your book.
“What’s the secret to a perfect marriage?’ The old man leaned forward and looked at me very seriously. ‘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.”
―
Rating: 5 Stars
Published: July 17th, 2018 by Atria Books
Pages: 305
Genre: Fiction (Contemporary Romance)
Purchase: www.amazon.com/allyourperfects
The Author: Colleen Hoover is an International and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller and Women’s Fiction. And maybe a ghost story soon.
She doesn’t like to be confined to one genre. If you put her in a box, she’ll claw her way out. Her social media username is @colleenhoover pretty much everywhere except her email, which is colleenhooverbooks@gmail.com
Founder of www.thebookwormbox.com charity and Book Bonanza.
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