No More Perfect Marriages: Experience the Freedom of Being Real Together

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Our marriage didn’t collapse. It didn’t suddenly fall apart. It’s been a much slower process. It’s been dwindling, if you will. I’m not even sure who is most at fault.” This is not a bash on anyone that disliked this book because of this, nor does this in any way make your opinion inconsistent. We all feel differently when we read, and that's one of the most beautiful things about reading.

Though much of the book was hard for me to read, I thought Hoover ended this story perfectly. The last 10% had me sobbing, but those tears were mostly happy. I loved how the book ended. I loved how real, raw, and brilliant this book was. I loved that a light was shined on a topic that effects many of us, but most people don’t understand it or want to talk about it. I, for one, am glad that most people don’t get it and won’t be able to relate. But for those of us that can, I feel that Colleen did justice to this story and this topic and I’m happy that this book was written. As hard as it was to read at times, I’m glad I read it. Colleen Hoover is one of those authors that could literally write a book about anything and I’ll buy it. In fact, if she wants to publish a book about elephants eating chocolate chip muffins….I’ll probably judge a little but I’d still buy it. I’m that loyal. My bank account may not support my life as a reader but it gotta learn one day that Colleen Hoover is queen and exceptions need to be made. I'm going to take a moment here to state upfront how raw this review will be, because this book focused on a subject that has made my heart both hard and tender over the years- infertility. I put off reading this book until the last second before a review was needed (I'm so sorry if I made you nervous Ariele!) because I was unsure of how it would affect me. Would it put me in a funky reading slump? The short answer is no, it didn't, and I'm 100% glad I took a chance on reading All Your Perfects, because I have never consumed a novel that felt so intimately crafted toward myself as a reader before.We immediately understand that this is a woman who wants to have a child desperately but can’t and it’s slowly tearing her on the inside that she can’t and is barely holding on. Quinn’s POV benefited a lot from Hoover’s sparse but emotional prose which captured Quinn’s pain so well. Nothing she said or did made me feel like this is a relationship where both parties are, or were, equally emotionally involved. There were times where I would say that she definitely only used him for one thing and one thing only: a necessary ingredient for making a child. What’s the secret to such 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.” it left me sobbing like a baby with a heart full of hope stars for Colleen Hoover's All Your Perfects! I’m the residential bitch here, but I solemnly pray all of you who support this BS, never come to a hard time in your life when you go into depression and then get blamed for it and get abandon and betrayed by your spouse. That would be the only way you’d know what the heroine was feeling, but honest to God, no one deserves it.

I am blessed with having a great marriage. But it is not perfect. Truth be told, there are some days (week/seasons?) where it much farther from perfection than others. Over the course of time, our relationship is clearly trending “up and to the right”, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some short declines from time to time. Colleen Hoover is one of my favorite authors. Not many can evoke the kind of emotion she does with each and every book. All Your Perfects may be her most emotional one yet, at least for me it was. It’s funny how you can be so happy with someone and love them so much, it creates an underlying sense of fear in you that you never knew before them. The fear of losing them. The fear of them getting hurt. I imagine that’s what it’s like when you have children. It’s probably the most incredible kind of love you’ll ever know, but it’s also the most terrifying.” I’m going to put the trigger and content warnings below this paragraph! But if you want to go into this book completely blind, like many of Colleen Hoover’s readers do, please do not read my review. Plus, honestly? If you don’t have any triggers, it probably is best to go into this book blind. I won’t post any spoilers about the events of this book, but the rest of my review will talk about what this book is centered around.I won’t reveal ANYTHING about Quinn and Graham. I’ll let them tell you who they are through their own story. All Your Perfects is a hard-hitting book about a topic I’ve never read about before; infertility. And this book is told in alternating chapters, from past and present, where we see a couple fall in love, but we also get to see their marriage break apart because they cannot become parents. We get to see the guilt, the grief, the depression, and all the other dark things in between. This is a hard book to read, so please use caution going in.

Did she blame him for her miscarriage? No. She rather told him it’s not his fault. Did he return the courtesy and told her HIS cheating was not her fault? No. He blamed her for HIS weakness. I am not in anyway justifying infidelity, because even in this case it was hard for me to get over. But what let me get over it was the fact that even the book didn't justify it. Sure, Quinn may not blame him - but the author opens up account for US to blame him. Additionally, for Graham to blame him. Through the love we see that he shines on Quinn is beautiful and magical - until it's not. But that's life. Cheating happens in life, but justifying never should. There's always been a difference between crying over a book and a book making me cry. And this one really toed the line. But isn't that a sign of a good artist? I've always found crying to be a release of feelings I didn't need to hold onto anymore, and I got a whole lot of feelings out with this read. I think Quinn and Graham reminded me of my parents, in the way they acted around each other, and I needed to get pent up feelings about that out.This was kinda insufferable. Let me set something straight though—I GET why people liked this one, it just wasn't for me mainly because of the tropes. However, I can't deny that this is one of CoHo's better books, and for that, it does get a higher rating. I say this in every review for the books I've read of hers; Hoover's work is hit or miss for me but this one ultimately is middle grounded.