Loved this book even though I felt there was so much build-up that the final getting together wasn't as good as the almost-get-togethers that happened before. Still would recommend.

I loved Louna's story and her seeing Ambrose grow on her. The wedding planning details were such fun, and a great backdrop to this story of seeking vs. finding love. Sarah Dessen never disappoints!

I've been reading Sarah Dessen books from day one and as long as she keeps writing them, I'll be there to continue to read them. Her ability to show growth in her characters from where they start out in the story to where they end up is always the perfect example of how real life can change and give you a new perspective.

This book follows Louna, a teen girl, working at her mom's successful wedding planning business. She is skeptical about happy endings due to a past tragedy with a boy, seeing the experiences of the people in her personal life, and the not-so-happily-ever-afters of her mom's wedding clients. When her mom hires carefree Ambrose, a irresponsible flirt with an interesting outlook on dating, the two make a 7 week bet that has cautious Louna going on multiple dates, while Ambrose must date the same person for 7 weeks.

 "Once and for All" has great character development and growth from Louna. Her past and present are presented in alternate sequences that give the reader an understanding of who Louna is and how a little hope can change skepticism to believing in second chances. Without giving too much away, I'll say that this story also adds a horrific topic about violence that is very relevant in today's world for young adults. Dessen's portrayal of this in the story is believable and heartbreaking. Louna's strong relationship with her mom,  best friend (Jilly), and dad like figure (William) add a lot of great moments to the story that illustrate what a great support system Louna has. I wasn't too crazy on the "dating bet" aspect of this book. It seems to be a common theme in a lot of other young adult romance novels, but this story has enough other things going for it that it's easy to overlook this as something that is overused. Ambrose was an interesting character that balanced out a lot of the more serious characters in this book. He tended to add a lot of optimism to situations, which was a much needed refresher from all of the doubt harbored by Louna.

 Dessen always draws me in with her perfect blend of humor, family, friendship, love, loss, tragedy, and growth. Louna's story is the perfect example of this. This is exactly what I look for when I'm reading a contemporary novel . This book is definitely one of my top favorite Sarah Dessen books and it will definitely be a title to add to our library collection in June 2017. I can't wait to share it with other readers.

Loved this! I expected a typical high school kind of story but definitely not what I thought it would be. The characters were so great and I absolutely loved Ambrose and all his positivity. This really drew me in and I got completely caught up with Louna's story.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review(Thanks so much for granting my wish!). 

You either love or you hate Sarah Dessen's books. Yes, her books are quite formulaic, but they are so darn easy to read. I did find that I liked this book a lot more than some of her others. I think my favourites from Sarah Dessen are Lock and Key and The Truth About Forever. I think maybe that Once and for All could go on that list. Maybe it's that this book's elements are quite modern, but I throughly enjoyed this. 

Once and for All is about Louna, who doesn't know whether or not she believes in love. She works for her mother in the wedding business where she watches love hit its peak. Louna's true love died and her mother's marriage didn't turn out well. When she meets Ambrose, she starts to question her beliefs in love. 

It's always better to go into Sarah Dessen books without knowing much, but I'll try to tell you a bit about it. I loved that this book was about the wedding industry. While this book didn't delve deep into it, it was a really fun element in the story. I just found that Sarah Dessen threw in a lot of unique elements I haven't read in YA much or at all, which made me love this book. For example, Louna's best friend's parents were food truck owners. If you love love-hate romances, the main relationship in this book follows that kind of plot line. This author writes some awesome secondary characters that you will want to see more of, so get excited about that. 

Of course, because it's a Sarah Dessen book, the main character is a bit oblivious. She doesn't realize that someone is in love with her, which is super frustrating because it's right in front of her face!! Louna is also pretty mature for her age and is a bit jaded. Surprisingly though, the ending of this book is actually somewhat satisfying, which never happens! 

If you're looking for an interesting contemporary romance this summer, I'd suggest maybe picking up Once and for All, especially if you love Sarah Dessen.

A summer of weddings, a girl with a damaged heart, an annoying guy, and a bet - what could go wrong? Once and For All is a delightful new novel with Sarah Dessen's trademark  mix of romance, summer, and starting over.

Louna works for her mother's wedding planning business. Every week she witnesses the pinnacle of true love. Or at least that's what it should be. But Louna herself knows how badly love can end, leaving her cynical and sure that romance doesn't come around all that often. Then she meets Ambrose, a serial dater who enjoys the first few perfect moments of a relationship but never commits to more than a day or two. Ambrose drives Louna nuts with his eternally cheerful and haphazard ways. So she is shocked when her mother employs him to help with the summer weddings. But Louna finds herself enjoying spending time with Ambrose (sometimes, when he isn't making her crazy) and, even stranger, finds herself making a bet with him - she will agree to start dating again and he will try to commit to a relationship that lasts for seven weeks. 

This book was described as sugar and effervescent champagne. But I didn't get that feeling at all. Yes, there are weddings, flirting, and summer days, but it was far more somber than I was expecting. And yet it perfectly fit the Sarah Dessen mould - sweet romance and a light story, tempered with sad tragedy or hard circumstances with which the character must wrestle. I found Louna's story to be far sadder than I expected. When it says that her last relationship, her first taste of a true and epic love, ended badly, they mean badly. The reader slowly pieces together what happened and how it changed Louna. Meanwhile, we get to know Ambrose. At first, Louna can't stand him. But as they work together they build a sweet friendship. 

As always with a Sarah Dessen novel, there is a fantastic cast of secondary characters. I particularly liked Louna's mother and her mother's business partner, William. Both are vibrant characters. I also liked Louna's best friend, Jilly and the endless parade of siblings she was always carting around. 

While I didn't like Once and For All as much as some of Dessen's previous titles, it is a sweet book and touches on some very important and timely themes. 

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Dessen is one  of my favorite YA authors.  She has written another unforgettable story with great characters!  I especially enjoyed her link to current events and gave me plenty to think about.  Often the lesser known people in a tragedy are never mentioned and they are just as much affected by the events as the people closer to the victims.  Another great read by Dessen!

So far I've liked everything I've read by Sarah Dessen. While this book wasn't perfect (3 1/2 stars), it wasn't supposed to be. It's part of the plot that the messy bits are what a good life is supposed to be made of. I was in the middle of too many books, but this was one I had to finish - it was that good.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley, and am glad I did!

Another winner from Sarah Dessen! I have been reading her for ages so am not new to the worlds she creates. However, Louna's world had an extra little gut punch that I wasn't expecting. A step up for Sarah Dessen to be sure.

A cynical high school senior who works for her mother's wedding planning business finds love again after her last relationship ends in tragedy.

I received this book for free from Penguin Young Readers Group via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

Time after time, Sarah Dessen produces a solid novel with a timeless story.  Once and for All is no different. While Louna's upbringing is a little different than most, her experience with love and loss are so similar to our own.  She's relatable and readers will love her. Dessen manages to annoy the reader with the male lead, Ambrose, a few pages in and then takes on the challenge of making the reader fall in love with him.  She succeeds. As always, Dessen includes a cast of quirky and lovable secondary characters, such as Louna's best friend Jilly,  which rounds out the story.  Once and For All will not disappoint Dessen fans

There is just something about a book from Sarah Dessen that will give you all the feels. I have read and loved so many of her books that I go in knowing that I will probably laugh and cry and have a book hangover at the end. This book is no different. 

This story has some truly magical elements and I want to tell you all about them. I'm not going to though. I don't want to spoil anything about this. There are weddings, shenanigans, love, heartbreak and some pretty profound moments. I love the main characters and all of the supporting ones to. I enjoyed the wedding aspect and all the stress and sillyness that went along with it. One of my favorite things about her books are the familiar faces and tiny little details that show up from previous books. I love hearing the names of characters I have connected with in the past, it makes me smile every time I find one. 

If you enjoyed any previous Sarah Dessen novels, you will love this one. If you haven't read any of her books and you enjoy ya books (though really these are so much more than a genre might lead you to believe), then you should read this book and check out her previous books. All of them are standalones so no worries about order.

This is the first Sarah Dessen book I have every read. My niece has read all of her books and loves them. When I saw this title, I thought I'd check out what all the fuss was about. It was a light read about a girl who has just graduated high school but is very mature and has her share of sadness in her life. Will she every be able to find true love? How does one get over a sad and tragic heartbreak.
This is the perfect summer read for teen girls and maybe for some of their aunts too!

I really like Sarah Dessen's books, but this book was a bit of a disappointment to me. There is a good story there, but the pacing is a little too slow, the lead up takes a long time and the resolution happens to quickly. I liked a lot of the ideas that went into the story, I just felt like the book wasn't the best it could be.

****This book was provided by netgalley for an ARC
I have been reading Sarah Dessen books for about 10 years now.  I look forward to their release every year.  She wrote an amazing story this time about heartbreak, friendship, and families.   Natalie Barrett Weddings is a company run by Natalie Barrett and her friend William.  Natalie's daughter Louna works for them in the summer.  They have been in this wedding game so long that they have all lost hope in the love department.  Poor Louna has had more tragedy than any 17 year old should have.  She has over come some major heartache only to meet Ambrose.  Ambrose is the son of a bride to be and the brother of another bride.  He ends up working with them in the wedding business.  This story relates to so many young adults, those of heart ache, divorce and loss.

So I’m not a huge fan of Sarah Dessen’s books. Back in the day, after I finished reading “Along For The Ride” I pretty much lost interest in reading any other book from this author. I felt they were too predictable and Dessen’s writing just didn’t work for me.
However, the moment I started reading “Once and For All” I felt completely in love with it, which was a huge surprise, since I wasn’t expecting to like this book at all. Now I’m thinking about reading all her other novels, just to feel this way again (because this book was that good).
“Once and For All” was such a beautiful young adult novel. I loved the plot and the characters. Ambrose was my favorited male protagonist of all times, he had a great sense of humor and every dialog between him and Louna were just perfect. 
Louna is also a great and strong female protagonist; I could definitely see myself in her, since her way of thinking was very similar to mine. I loved to see how she dealt with everything that went through her life. Reading about her relationship with Ethan was really heartbreaking and emotional. 
Natalie and William were also really fun characters to read about and I couldn’t stop myself from comparing Louna and Natalie’s relationship with Rory and Lorelai from Gilmore Girl’s (have no idea why, though).
By the end of this book I was laughing, crying and wishing it had more pages (I just needed more). It was definitely a heartwarming book and everyone should read it.

I've been a fan of Dessen's work for many years and her latest does not disappoint. The main character, Louna is very jaded and the way the story weaves flashbacks of her past is flawless. I've not met a book of Dessen's I do not love and this one is no different.

I enjoyed the book overall, and it was very much a Sarah Dessen book. The doomed romance of Louna and Ethan seemed more genuine than the romance between Louna and Ambrose. I wish more time had been spent developing the that relationship.

An absolutely fun and good read that I needed right now! This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be coming back to her for more.

Louna doesn't believe in happily ever after. Her first love ended tragically and she's witnessed countless weddings thanks to her mom's wedding planning business, and most of those don't last either. But, a charmer named Ambrose may change her mind once and for all.

Super sweet, and so Sarah Dessen. A perfect novel for a breezy June day.