⭐⭐⭐⭐
More of a 3.5, but I rounded up because I liked the ending.
More of a coming-of-age/woman-finds-herself story than the woman-in-the-same-love-triangle-twice story it's billed as, All the Men I've Loved Again
is the story of Cora. Split between the early 2000s, when Cora is in
college, and 2021, we see Cora emerge from her shell and start to learn
about love and life. Her first love is Lincoln, who she's with for most
of college...but we see letters from Aaron a few years later.
It's
not really a love triangle either time so much as it's about Cora
trying to figure out who she is and what she wants. Cora struggles,
having been raised by a single father, one of few Black students at her
private school in Northern Virginia. She lacks confidence in herself as
someone who can be in any kind of relationship--friendship or a romantic
one. She finds friendship in college, and love as well.
I found
the writing style to be a bit lacking at times, and I'm not sure how I
feel about the introduction of Aaron to the story; we know from the
beginning of the book that Cora is torn between Lincoln and Aaron
(again), but we get the first letter from Aaron, hinting at romance, when
Cora is happily together with Lincoln. I'm sure it was done that way to
increase the drama, but I don't know how well it worked for me. Cora and
Aaron's first encounter is so much briefer than her relationship with
Lincoln; the emotions of it worked for me, but I think more time
could've been spent there.
I will say that, without spoiling
anything, Pride does a great job of showing how Cora interacts with both
men and how that's a reflection of herself and how relationships can
make people feel differently about themselves. I also loved the
relationship of Cora and her father--Wes is a fully drawn-out figure who
has his own relationships and this is done SO well. Cora's friends Kim
and Neisha are also great, and I love how realistic their friendship
felt, both in college and through later years.
To take a moment, though, to rant a bit (spoilers!): I am SO SO glad Cora didn't wind up with Lincoln. Even during college, even before the abortion and before he cheated, their relationship just seemed off. He talked, she listened. Everything was all about him. I was incredibly concerned that this would be a First Love Is Forever! book. Honestly, I would've been OK if Cora had wound up single. I do think Pride did a good job of showing the difference in connection between Aaron and Cora and Lincoln and Cora; from the beginning with Aaron, Cora opens herself up and they truly connect. I think Cora is somewhat to blame for how her relationship with Lincoln developed; she was so unsure of herself and amazed to find herself in a relationship. And I get it! But I spent a lot of the book just very concerned about how it would end, because a life with Lincoln would be bad for Cora.
Worth a read, and not just because at one point Cora lives in Silver Spring.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review!
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