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P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2)
P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2)
Jenny Han | 2015 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
In this sequel to "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," Lara Jean is back - still a hopeless romantic, but also a bit more grown up. Lara Jean is struggling with the ramifications of her relationship with Peter, including a viral Instagram post that leads to a great deal of humiliation (oh the joys of high school). As she and Peter learn to navigate a "real" relationship, she also finds herself writing John Ambrose McClaren-- one of the original boys who received a love letter in Book #1. Suddenly, Lara Jean is even more confused. Is it possible to love more than one boy? Is Peter still in love with his old girlfriend (and Lara Jean's ex-friend)? How exactly does one navigate the ins and outs of love and high school?

I actually found myself enjoying this book more than the first. Perhaps I'd just become more accustomed to Lara Jean and her style, but this was a really sweet and enjoyable novel. Lara Jean comes into her own in the sequel, as she negotiates high school and all the romantic woes she encounters along the way. The second book also avoids a few of the "icks" I felt from the first (e.g., crushing on her older sister's boyfriend). You become a little more used to some of Lara Jean's idioms, and she really does grow up a bit -- taking care of her sitter, Kitty (still a spitfire and a great character all in her own), looking out for her dad, and coming out of her own world a bit.

Even better, the plot is unpredictable and keeps you guessing. Both boys seem viable options for Lara Jean, and she truly comes out of her shell and lives a little, while still remaining true to her self (key). The book presents a great family dynamic with Lara Jean's dad, a single guy raising his three girls, and the supporting cast of characters (especially Kitty) are fun and well-developed. Overall, I read this one in about 24 hours and found it quite entertaining and delightful. A great presentation of high school life and certainly a worthy sequel.
  
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure
Over the top hyperbole is nothing new for the “Fast and the Furious:” franchises as ever since the series shifted gears from Street Racing to action series with the fourth film; the stunts keep getting larger and more outrageous with each offering.

With the 9th film in the series currently filming; the first Spin-Off film “Hobbs and Shaw” has arrived and combines Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), with his rival Shaw (Jason Statham) as they are reluctantly forced to work with one another to stop a deadly viral agent from being unleashed on the world.

The fact that an enhanced individual with a score to settle named Brixton (Idris Elba) is intent on stopping them no matter what leads is pretty much all the plot viewers are going to get as it provides the reason for the cast to race and punch through London and other locales along the way.

The film has some glaring plot holes which are so large you could drive any of the tricked out vehicles the film features through and one in particular seems to over complicate the narrative when it is clear that a certain character that has been monitoring them all along knows the truth and can easily clear things up.

The two stars work well with one another but are not really given much to do other than glare and chest thump with each other early on but as the film goes on they are allowed to display a bit more comedy which does help the film along with a two-hour run time.
The film does have tons of over the top stunts many of which strain plausibility even by action film standards but you know what you are getting into when you sign on and if you are coming to a Fast and Furious film expecting realism than you obviously have not seen any of the prior films in the series.

That being said the finale is absurd and clearly pandering to Dwayne Johnson but it was nice to see some new wrinkles to his character and some diversity to the series added in.

http://sknr.net/2019/07/31/hobbs-and-shaw/