Of all the five books in the series, this was the one of my least favorite. But it is still a great book and a most to reach closure in the fifth. ( )

In Fourth Comings the fourth book in the Jessica Darling series, we rejoin Jessica when it seems like she finally has everything she has been working so hard to attain. She is graduated with her psychology degree, is living with her best friend Hope and she is writing. The one thing she loves the most, well besides Marcus.Marcus on the other hand it just starting his freshman year at Princeton and Jessica is not looking forward to being the girlfriend of a college freshman. Which leads her to the conclusion that she should break off the on/off relationship for good. Needless to say, Marcus has other ideas and asks Jessica to marry him.The book itself is a notebook that Jessica is writing to Marcus in the week she is deciding whether or not to accept his proposal. Although it was apparent to me from the beginning what her answer would be.I was really disappointed with this book. I’ve been a fan of Jessica since book one, but this story was overall lacking. There was a line in the book that Jessica says and I quote "WHAT THE HELL AM I EVEN RAMBLING ABOUT!" To me that sums up the entire book. It was entirely random rambling! And the ending was a total let down, yet to end it any other way would have been too far fetched. The story just seemed incomplete there was just no, what is the word I’m looking for here, cohesion! Complete lack of substance.Now please don’t let this keep you from reading a great series. I loved and thoroughly enjoyed Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings. They are the books that made me fall in love with this series! If there is another bookin this series, you bet I will be reading it and I only hope it can redeem my faith!On another note this book is more for an older young adult audience. I’ve seen it suggested to be a crossover title to Adult Fiction and I have to say that I agree, this book is definitely for a mature audience. ( )

Fresh out of Columbia and facing the "where-is-my-life-going" question so many 20-somethings must tackle, Jessica Darling is living in New York City after finally reuniting with her best friend, Hope Weaver. Though things are tangled, complicated and tricky as Jess navigates post-grad life and tries (mostly in vain) to find a job, the matter weighing most heavily on her heart is whether or not to accept a very unexpected proposal from -- who else? -- Marcus Flutie, her first love and on- and off-again boyfriend.

Jess's journal entries in the week immediately following the proposal make up Fourth Comings, the penultimate book in the Jessica Darling series. And while this installment lacked the action of the first three books, I think it was definitely an important "chapter" in the overall story of not only Marcus and Jess, but Jessica and Hope, Jessica and Marin, Jessica and her parents, etc.

To be honest, I'm a little bit in love with Marcus . . . and the fact that Jessica is so undecided about him -- regardless of the fact that I can see where she's coming from -- is frustrating. I just keep wondering how long she's going to wonder about him, holding him at arm's length as she overanalyzes every step that could take her closer or farther away from the man she so obviously adores. But the real question here is the same one many must face before they make "the leap": With far more differences than similarities between them, is love really enough?

But I adore her quote about falling in love -- how first we fall so completely and obsessively for another person before the inevitable cool down that brings us into an easy, comfortable give-and-take relationship. Jessica says her problem with Marcus is that she's always falling for him -- falling, and falling, and falling, without ever hitting the bottom. And while she's continuously sailing through this love affair, Marcus is reinventing himself time and time again, turning into someone completely different as he grapples with all of the changes life brings him.

I love McCafferty's books so much, it's hard for me to speak cohesively on what makes them so great. Jess is just such a complicated, annoying, flawed, beautiful and real character -- there's something about her that makes her more of a friend than a two-dimensional creation of Megan McCafferty! And while I would have liked more of the novel to take place in the here-and-now, I still really loved seeing Jessica grow, change and develop. And I loved getting the latest news on folks like Manda, Len, Scotty and Bethany.

Was I satisfied with the ending? No. Definitely not. But I guess that's what Perfect Fifths is for! ( )

I didn't like this book at first, but then it grew on me. At times, the writing was too slick, referential and self-consciously snarky for my taste. At other times, Jessica's musings struck a chord, such as when her niece was accepted to a prestigious pre-K program, and Jessica hoped her niece remained happy, self-confident and undefeated by life. The relationship between Jessica and Marcus is a little tired, but I am still curious to see what happens in the next (and final) book. I kind of preferred Marcus's brother, Hugo, in this installment. ( )

Blech. This was both shallow and very boring. Why do sequels almost always go so rapidly downhill? This series didn’t slump so much as free-fall. I found Jessica's diary to be tedious and overly detailed, and all the characters (especially the protagonist) shallow and annoying. At least the earlier books had some funny parts. Megan McCafferty, stop beating an eohippus and try something different! ( )