To All the Boys I've Loved Before is the first book in a trilogy written by Jenny Han. This is the story of Lara Jean, a teenager who finds herself in trouble when her love letters are released. Especially, since one of them is addressed to her sister's ex-boyfriend. 

The first thing I have to say is that if I had read this in high school, I would have absolutely loved it. But I'm not in high school anymore, and I cannot say I loved this, not even that I liked it a lot. I just liked and that's it, which left me a little disappointed. After all the hype for these books, I thought I would like it more. And I did like the movie quite a bit, so I was expecting to love the book. But sadly, I have to say that the movie might be better than the book.

First, I found Lara Jean to be a bit childish. I couldn't stand her at first because of this, but then I grew to like her. I didn't really identify with her, which was a bit sad since I did identify with her in the movie. 

But my main problem was Margo. She doesn't appear that much in the book, but every time she did I couldn't stand her. I just found her to be so mean and selfish, so I just couldn't avoid rolling my eyes at everything she said. She did redeem herself a little bit at the end, but I still don't like her.

Truly Devious is a book written by Maureen Johnson. It is the first book of a trilogy, and it shows. It is very introductory, with the real action starting in the last third of the book. The first few chapters really hooked me in, but then the book got really boring. I thought this book would be a page-turner, full of mystery and plot twists, but it really was not. 

The book is set in 1936 and in the present, where our main protagonist is Stevie, a true crime aficionado. Everything starts with the famous Truly Devious letter, a letter which seems to predict the murders to come. Throughout the book, I found the excerpts of the interviews from 1936, and in general, the chapters set in 1936 a bit boring. Nothing really seemed to be happening in those chapters. Not that the chapters set in the present were action-packed either. 

At first, I really did not like Stevie, I found her a bit pretentious and pedantic. Maybe even a special snowflake. But as I read more and more, I started liking her a lot. She is a unique character, and I think it is really well-developed and coherent. I did not like though that Johnson gave her a love interest because it seemed a little extra to me. 

Towards the middle of the book, the story starts to get full of suspense, with the clues slowly fitting into place. I was thinking of giving the book two stars out of five, but the last few chapters really got to me, and I ended giving it three stars in the end. 

The ending is dreadful though, it is really an open end. The mystery is not really solved, and the last line is a cliffhanger about the size of a ship. 

I think I will be reading the second book, A Vanishing Stair, soon. Not immediately though, since I need to forget how boring the middle chapters were and only remember the good feeling of the last ones.