Hello my lovely readers, it's been a while.

I thought, before I dive into my review of To All The Boys I've Loved Before's movie adaptation, I thought I'd give you all an explanation on my month long hiatus, if you don't follow me on Instagram.

Without going into too much detail because I do want to keep this update short, I went on a generalized hiatus from most social media for a while; my blog was the longest I took a break from.

Basically, after going on my incredibly fun and rewarding trip early in July, I had realized prior, I have been blogging, writing, taking photos, basically doing anything and everything for my blog and Instagram and upcoming book excessively, that once I came back from vacation, I was in a huge creative burn out.

I realized my posts weren't as entertaining as they used to be and it really bummed me out. With that being said, I decided to take a little break to focus on what I wanted to do from there. I have since been back on Instagram and now my posts seem to be doing a lot better. I genuinely needed time to focus on myself, my mental health and my content. I didn't want to put out content for the sake of "getting it out" but because I truly felt proud of it, and now, I am well rested and ready to dominate my ever growing list of reviews and blog post ideas.

I did in face get an iPad this week which will be solely dedicated to anything work/book related: so reading, writing, blogging, editing, etc. so my Macbook will be used as work equipment as well but can be used as leisure as well (I'm weird and I like to organize gadgets that way).

So far, it has been helping get back into the work swing of things and I am loving it. Hopefully it stays this way!

I truly appreciate your understanding and all your kind messages wondering where have I gone and if I've stopped blogging -- which might possibly never happen since I love blogging and the book community so much.

It truly means a lot to me that my readers care so much about me and my content.

With that being said, let's dive into the review!

So, if you actually don't know, I did a review on the book To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han when I first started blogging and well, the book wasn't my most favourite - mainly because of the characters. 

I realized how broad my review is, as most are when you read my first blog posts but basically, the thing that bothered me the most were a handful of characters: Lara Jean's eldest sister Margot and her best friend Chris. Both of which I wasn't a fan of and I think that is what bothered me the most about this novel. Perhaps because I felt frustrated for Lara Jean, I don't know. (If you want to read my review, it will be linked here)

Despite not really liking the book that time around, I was still really excited for the adaptation, mainly because of the representation of an Asian American in the media which doesn't happen often. As an Asian American/Canadian, I truly was excited that this would be portrayed.

I absolutely loved the movie. I thought every aspect of it was so perfect. I think, since the time posting this, I've watched the movie about 8 or 9 times and loved it every time.

I think one of my favourite aspects about this movie though was not only were Chris and Margot bearable, in fact I really did love both characters in the movie, the family drama was cut short from the book which gave a perfect opportunity to focus more on the love aspect the novel tried to portray. 

The movie flowed so well for me that I didn't notice 99 minutes passed by.

Something I absolutely loved was the casting.

I remember talking to my sister months before when the promo photo of Lara Jean and Peter K cuddling was released and I remember her saying something along the lines of "I don't think this guy makes a perfect Peter K" and I agreed. From that promo photo, I didn't really see him as the Peter K in the book.

Rest assured, I was wrong. Watching Noah Centineo play Peter K, I thought and I know I'm not the only one, is a perfect choice. He is a heartthrob and you can tell by how well his acting flows in this romantic comedy.

I also really loved the casting for the Song-Covey sisters. Lana Condor especially made a perfect Lara Jean.

I didn't realize how much I related to Lara Jean until my boyfriend, and dozens of you lovelies from book related Facebook groups, readers on my blog here, people who follow my Instagram etc. have told me I reminded them of Lara Jean. 

Yesterday alone, I was told by 7 different people that I either have the personality of Lara Jean, look like how they envisioned her looking or look like the actress.

And personality wise, I get it. A mellow Asian female whose into books and is incredibly introverted makes sense.

I remember during my high school days, I had lunch with none of my friends and was really awkward and had no idea where to sit at lunch, so when I saw that scene of Lara Jean's first day of school and struggling to find a place to sit, I felt her discomfort for her.

I think that is also something I didn't really catch on while reading the book because I was so annoyed by the family drama to realize it but I indeed see it now. It still makes me laugh as I continue to get those comments but perhaps I'll take it as a compliment.

I really love the dynamic between Noah Centineo and Lana Condor. From videos and photos, you can tell the actor and actress are very close in real life and that brought that genuine relationship to screen perfectly. (I am genuinely waiting for the day they announce they are dating because I am all for it.) I feel like if they picked a different set of cast members, the movie wouldn't be as cute and genuine because the way the characters portray the relationship.

I know the lack of relationship between Lara Jean and Josh really upset a lot of people though because they did in fact like Josh and LJ together but I honestly couldn't care less.

I think the idea of liking your sibling's significant other is kind of weird so I was hoping there wouldn't be anything more than a friendship portrayed in this movie and for the most part, it did exactly what I hoped for.

The only thing about this movie that bugged me per se is at the beginning when Lara Jean and Peter K first establish their fake relationship, there are a few cringe-y acting scenes, but they are very small, very short and hard to notice unless you're really paying attention to it.

Otherwise, I am incredibly happy that Asian Americans are finally being portrayed in the media. I think Lana makes a perfect inspiration for the younger generations as she is so sweet and so genuine.

I am definitely rooting for Netflix to make adaptations for the rest of the books (even though I have yet to read them but trust me, I will soon!) because the movie is doing so well and I saw that sneak peak after the credits. I also think it'd be a pretty bad move if Netflix doesn't at least make one more sequel because the movie is doing so well everywhere and has amazing ratings.

So, what are your thoughts? Did you love the movie? What about the book? Both? Either or? Let me know in the comments section below or on my Instagram post! I'd love to hear your thoughts!