All About You | A heartwarming, warm hug of a book. A book for the hopeless romantics. | Book Review

A lighthearted romance featuring fake dating, childhood ‘enemies’ to lovers, with adorable characters to warm your hearts? Sounds like a recipe for a wonderful romance book to me – All About You by Shaina Veronica. 

I was fortunate enough to have been sent an e-arc of this book to read and review before the release, but rest assured these are all my own genuine thoughts. 

Book: All About You
Author: Shaina Veronica
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Release Date: 07/11/2024

And as always, to bring everyone up to speed, here is the synopsis for this book taken from storygraph:

“To be with the boy of her dreams, she must first fake-it with the boy of her nightmares

HOPELESS ROMANTIC 18-year-old Jaslene Garcia has finally met the love of her life in a swoonworthy bookstore meet-cute of all places. Could this love story be anymore perfect?

There’s only one problem. Marlon Salvador – the devil incarnated, the bane of her existence. And the son of her Mum’s best friend.

Jaslene and Marlon have been bethrothed since birth. Kind of.

Their Mums, who have been best friends since forever, are both convinced their children are made for each other, setting them up on playdates, study dates and spontaneous hangouts throughout their entire lives. What they don’t understand is Jaslene wants nothing to do with Marlon, and Marlon wants nothing to do with Jaslene.

Yet, Jaslene soon realises that she cannot have her happy-ever-after until both their families stop trying to get her and Marlon together. Reaching peak desperation, she proposes a ruse with Marlon. To fake-date and stage a grand, dramatic break-up in front of their families, burying the idea of their pairing once and for all. That way, they can have their happy ending with the one they want.

And so, as the two are forced to put on a loving facade in front of their gushing families, they find themselves blurring the lines between fiction and reality, leading the two to question whether their idea of happy ever after was with the right people after all”. 

Well, now I’m feeling all warm and happy and longing for my own Marlon…!

All About You was such a gorgeous romance book. Although early on it is somewhat obvious the direction the book will take, the journey is no less enjoyable because of this. If anything, it’s a sense of satisfaction when all the issues are resolved and everything finally pans out as you know it should. Veronica’s writing style makes the book light and easy to get through in no time; I found the book quite addictive where once I’d started reading, I couldn’t pull myself away, and before I knew it, I’d flown through so much of the book. Whilst I think it is good to read books which tackle complex themes and stories and have intricate profound writing, I think it’s equally as important to read books that make us feel light and happy and escape the real world from time to time. 

Jaslene is our hopeless romantic leading lady, and she is absolutely lovable from the first page. Despite her being a hopeless romantic and sometimes a bit chaotic (although I’m sure that’s something we can all relate to from time to time), she was so endearing and unashamedly herself that she was so easy to warm to and root for. I know some people don’t like pop culture references in books as they feel it takes readers out of the fictional world, but I personally am not bothered by these references at all; in All About You there is a plethora of references made – usually by Jaslene herself – and for me, this brought her to life so much more. In fact, her passion about Kpop made me want to start learning more about the music she listens to! Jaslene’s personality leapt off the page and as a consequence, she therefore became much more real – someone I could actually envision myself meeting – which only aided to me feeling more for her and being that much more invested in her story.

I really loved reading Jaslene and Marlon’s relationship progression throughout the book. Childhood friends (or rather, reluctant family friends in Jaslene and Marlon’s case) to lovers is one of my favourite types of relationships to read about in books. I think there’s something really special about someone who you’ve grown up with, knowing inside and out, and suddenly starting to see them in a new light. This history between Jaslene and Marlon and the gradual shift in their relationship is written beautifully by Veronica. The change in their relationship as the book unfolded was written in a way that felt very natural; although the book is relatively short, I never felt any aspect of it was rushed. Even though I knew from the second the fake-dating started, where their pact would lead (we’ve all read enough fake-dating books to guess), the way it was carried out had me giggling, kicking my feet and rooting for them. Jaslene and Marlon’s chemistry together could be felt on every page from the moment their fake-dating act started; their personalities individually were fleshed out well, so reading the pair’s interactions together was really fun. They both consistently bounced off each other in a way that was heartwarming to read. Although I will say Marlon can now be added to the list of fictional love interests who have set the bar way too high for people in the real world.

All About You is a book for those of us who are also hopeless romantics, just like Jaslene – whether we admit it or not. The emotions of wanting to be loved, of the first ‘proper’ love we feel, the doubts and insecurities when you do find yourself falling for someone…Veronica has taken these emotions and perfectly integrated them into her book. The wonderful dates Marlon takes Jaslene on (seriously, where did Marlon learn to be such a charmer? I want someone to take me on those dates!) and Jaslene’s personal progression as a character was all so heartwarming to read about. I loved reading Jaslene discover that actually she’s perfect the way she is, there’s nothing wrong with her or being a hopeless romantic and anyone who doesn’t want her for her, isn’t worth it. I think especially for young readers, this is something so important for them to read – you don’t need to change nor prove anything about yourself to anyone to convince them to keep you around. Just find your person who loves you exactly as you are.

Family relationships are a big theme, and an aspect of the book I really enjoyed reading about. Both Jaslene and Marlon are Filipino with doting Filipino families…even if they are so supportive that they sometimes border on being too much. Again, I feel this is something everyone can somewhat relate to. I loved reading the dynamics between everyone – Jaslene’s sister is adorable and I actually wish we got to read more about her…maybe she can feature in her own book one day! And the food sounds delicious – I really need to try more Filipino food! I’ve not read huge amounts of books by Filipino authors or featuring Filipino characters, so I really liked getting to read more about Filipino culture in All About You. All these details throughout the book brought everyone and everything authentically to life that much more. It didn’t feel like I was just reading a book of a girl desperate for her happy ever after, it felt like a real peek into someone else’s life – which therefore made the story feel more intimate and furthered the emotional impact. 

With All About You being a young adult book, I did wonder if I was a bit too old for it, being I am no longer the target audience for young adult books, but I didn’t find this a problem at all.I found All About You to be an endearing, sweet and delightful read.  

I was so excited for All About You and it really did not disappoint me. I have been following Shaina Veronica via her social media for a while so was really anticipating reading her debut novel after seeing her progress online, and it is everything I’d hoped it would be. I adored this book and Jaslene and Marlon so much. I already know this book is going to be a book I revisit when I need to smile, or need a comfort read. 

I’d say All About You feels like a warm hug, a romance books for the hopeless romantics out there. This is the exact kind of book I want when I say I want fake dating. Shaina Veronica has crafted a romance story that makes me continue believing in love, through the story of these two fictional characters. If you want a gorgeous, light and happy romance book featuring tropes and iconic elements of romance books and films penned in a way that’s sure to warm your heart and make you smile…then yeah. This is the one. 

All About You is out on the 7th of November. You can find out more about Shaina Veronica and where you can buy her book here: https://shainaveronica.carrd.co/#