[Review] Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

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Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 14/09/2014

Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 352

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (14+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Christina Perri - Arms ♪

My Rating: 

Feel good read

My thoughts

Let me preface this review by saying that I am madly in love with Stephanie Perkin and her previous books (Anna and Lola!). Her stories and characters are so incredibly realistic, fun and interesting. You can't help feeling happy reading her books. In the case of Isla and the Happily Ever After... I'm not sure if it's just a personal thing (where I am compared to where I was back when I read her previous novels), but there was just too much of it. It was too cutesy, too happy, too easy. Instead of feeling excited to continue reading I was groaning and waiting for the agony to end.

The first 150~ pages is practically a recount of Isla and her mad love affair with the dreamy, swoony, perfectly gorgeous bad boy artist with whom she had been crushing on for the past three years--turns out he has been crushing on her all this time, too! It was just... too sweet for me to swallow. But afterwards there was actually some substance and STORY and now my feelings for this book as a whole is a jumbled mess. On the one hand I love where the story ends, but the beginning was such a struggle to get through. It pains me to even say this about Isla. All things considered, I am glad that this book exists and I applaud Perkins for finishing all of their stories. :)

[Review] Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door {goodreads}

Authors: Stephanie Perkins

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 03/10/11

Publisher: Penguin (AU)
RRP: $19.95

Source: For review (thanks Penguin!)
Age: 14+

Pages: 350

My Rating:

Summary:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My thoughts: 

Just about perfection. THIS was just what I needed. Stephanie Perkins, you have done it again.

...MY PRECIOUS!

I'm almost at a loss for words.

Also, since I'm just wired this way, I noticed 4 grammatical errors in my *finished* copy. Nothing too major, otherwise I'd probably report it, haha. Just thought I'd say it for the sake of saying it.

San Francisco seeps out of this book like a soothing song. The story of Delores 'Lola' Nolan had me feeling and doing very, very similar things to when I joined Anna Oliphant's journey in France. It really makes me breathe a sigh of relief that it wasn't just the setting of France that had me so caught up in ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. I smiled, I giggled/laughed/chuckled, cried, fought back tears (losing in the end), felt frustrated, annoyed, confused. Perkins just has that effect on me. :P

Waiting on Wednesday (25): The Beginning of After & Lola and The Boy Next Door

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Title: The Beginning of After {goodreads}
Author: Jennifer Castle
Release Date (dd/mm/yy): 06/09/11
Publisher: Harper Collins

Why am I waiting on this?

When I first looked at the cover, I thought the model was Marie Digby, a musician I like (not love, but I had my moment). Her vulnerable but determinate and powerful expression and pose . . . . The design of the cover is so simple, but just really pretty, and screams CONTEMPORARY! I also love oxymorons, and the title "The Beginning of After", is just that. I also like the intermingling of the blue and yellow, with the stark contrast of red/orange along the top. All in all, I think the presentation is stunning. This is sure to lure in contemporary fans!

There's also the Gayle Forman, Sarah Dessen comparison at the end that's got me all intrigued . . . .

Links:


Official Site
Jennifer's Blog
Jennifer's Twitter (I'm the 8th follower, haha)

Title:  Lola and The Boy Next Door {goodreads}

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Release Date (dd/mm/yy): 29/09/11

Publisher: Dutton (Penguin)

Why am I waiting on this?

Stephanie Perkins . . . hello? Anna and the French Kiss stands as one of my favourite YA books, and Steph's companion (the first one) shows great potential. We all know Anna wasn't a fluke, that whatever she throws at us is going to be totally awesome. Dig the purple dregs. Can't wait to see how this is somehow coalesced with Anna's story!

Links:


Official Site
Stephanie's Blog
Twitter | Facebook


Thanks for visiting my weekly WoW post. ♥

Comment with your WoW post and I'll check it out!

[Contest] Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more.  So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris-until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true.  Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

'Very sly.  Very funny.  Very romantic.
You should date this book.'
- MAUREEN JOHNSON,
New York Times bestselling author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Scarlet Fever

Anna and the French Kiss is one of the contemporary novels of the year! With over 400 GR 5 star reviews, Anna is one hell of a book.

On to the contest . . . 

• This contest is for an Australian copy of Anna and the French Kiss
• INTERNATIONAL, though be aware that this is the Australian (PB) edition
• Contest ends on 13/01/11 (13th January 2011), drawing via Random.org and announcement on blog will be done on the 15th of January 2011.
• Followers optional
• Winner will receive some swag. :)
• Must have a place where you post reviews!! This is just because I received this book for review, so I feel it is just.
  
  
  Enter via the FORM

Visit Stephanie's Official Site


I would have loved to have sent off my copy before the Australian release date (4th January 2011), but that's just not going to happen. Thank you to Penguin Australia for sending an extra copy for review. :)

[Review] Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publication: 4th January 2010 (AUS)

Publisher: Penguin Australia

Source: For review, thanks Penguin!
Age: (14+) Slight language and sexual references. Nothing major.

Pages: 380

My Rating:

Blurb:

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in the debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

My thoughts: 

Warning: This is pretty long. I could talk about this book for days, though.

Oh my lord. I am in love. 

Anna and the French Kiss is, without a doubt, one of my favourite books of the year. I'm a bit worried about my review, since there are so many rave reviews out there, and how can I express in words truly how I feel about this crazy book?

If you love contemporary YA novels with cute guys, friendship, and heartbreak and all that other good soapy-esque type stuff . . . Anna is definitely the book. It definitely takes up a spot in my top 5 for 2010. I was so engrossed in the book that when I flipped to the last page and looked at my alarm clock sitting next to my bed, I realised I had stayed up until 2 am.

Anna and the French Kiss follows the story of an eighteen year old girl, Anna, who has been shipped off to Paris in order to complete her education. There, she meets some cool people, even a super cute guy, Etienne St. Clair. He is extremely well-liked among many; even Anna has her sights on him. Trouble is, he has a serious girlfriend. As Anna takes on the challenges of learning an entirely foreign new language, going to a new school AND living in it, sight-seeing, and trying to keep up with her friends and kind-of-boyfriend back home, WILL she be able to keep away from this forbidden fruit?

Sorry for the sucky whatever you want to call it. I think I just paraphrased the blurb. Anyway.

The characters are written to perfection. They have flaws--real flaws, both physical and emotional. Their interactions and dialogues are charming and witty. Some such include a pillow fight between two best friends, email scripts, making a wish on a star (quoted!) and sleeping over. I found myself continuously urging myself forward in hopes to read more interactions between Anna and Etienne, since they are amazing together--hilarious.
     Etienne is a mixed-up guy with an American father and British mother (?), who lived in London, but went to America one year for school, and now he attends SOAP (School of America in Paris). He also has brown curly hair and brown eyes, but he has an air of confidence and everyone likes him. But he's shorter than most, but due to his confidence, Anna doesn't seem to notice. Their relationship, their ups and downs are fabulous and realistic and seriously...I swooned. I'm a bit embarrassed by that.

Oh yeah--Anna is set in France! As a little girl, the one place in the world I wanted to visit was France, and I felt like I got to finally visit Paris through this book. Every landscape and chapel that is described is done so in such immaculate detail that I found myself breathless at times, just basking in the essence that emanated what my mind conjured of Perkin's words.

Anna is not only a riveting story about a girl who has been shipped off to Paris for school, but it teaches of the consequences of just one action, and how things may not always be what they seem. Anna believes that her friend from back home hates her, but truly she has been confused and left in the dust; Anna finally discovers that her situation in Paris is relative to all that has happened back home. Through her realisation, she is finally able to unfurl some of the tangle and mess that accumulates over the course of the novel.

Also, Anna is one hell of a page-turner. It has been so long since I got so lost in a book that I didn't even count down how many pages there were left to read. I just kept on reading and reading and reading, and before I knew it, I had reached the end of the book. 

Stephanie Perkins. She's going to be BIG. She's definitely a new author to follow.


Conclusion: Sparks ignite in this riveting novel: Anna is romantic, funny, heart-breaking, satisfying, emotional and educational . . . one of my favourite novels of the year!

Quotes:

    So what do I wish for? Something I'm not sure I want? Someone I'm not sure I need? Or someone I know I can't have?
Screw it. Let the fates decide.I wish for the thing that is best for me.
    How's that for a generalization? I open my eyes, and the wind is blowing harder. St. Clair pushes a strand of hair from his eyes. "Must have been a good one," he says. (pg. 87)

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Series:

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Isla and the Happily Ever After

Both are companion novels to Anna.

Challenge: 2010 Debut Author Challenge, though this could be 2011, too for Aussies. ;)

Other Reviews:

• "If you love contemporary romance at all - THIS is the book to own!!!"
  - Book Crazy (5+ mushrooms)
• "The best Romantic comedy I've ever read!  :)  C'est magnifique!"
  - Reading Teen (6/6)
• "Anna was a dream come true! Perkins took everything I wished someone would write and made it a reality for me. Merci beaucoup."
  - Princess Bookie (5 cupcakes)
• "I was losing hope that a contemporary romance . . . authentic and deep . . . would show its face this year.  Perkins threw me a life raft . . . fantastic debut."
  - Persnickety Snark (Go Australia!)
• "The falling in love feeling you get from this book is the sweetest feeling ever."
  - The Cozy Reader
  
  

I'd love to read your reviews! Leave a comment with a link to your review and I'll add it to the list. ;)

Learn more about Anna and the French Kiss and read more reviews at Goodreads! 

Teaser Tuesday (10): Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab the book you are currently reading and randomly post a couple sentences.

And then my mother does something that, even after all of the paperwork and plane tickets and presentations, I don't see coming. Something that would've happened in a year anyway, once I left for college, but that no matter how many days or months or years I've yearned for it, I am still not prepared for when it actually happens.

My mother leaves. I am alone. (pg. 8)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Pages: 370

Release date: 4th January 2011 (Penguin Australia)

Genre: YA, contemporary

Ages: 14+

Blurb (Goodreads):

Anna Oliphant is separated from her friends and her crush to spend a year in a boarding school in Paris. After an achingly realistic awkward start, she falls in with the arty group at her boarding school, which includes handsome, kind and funny Etienne. Over the course of the school year, she slowly, deeply, not always smoothly, falls in love with the city...and with Etienne...all the while enduring the barbs of some of the other boarders, who love to call Anna 'skunk girl' because of the white streak she dyes in her hair. Adding to Anna's troubles, Etienne already has a girlfriend, and even if he didn't, Anna's good friend at the school, Meredith, also has her eyes on him, and she has prior claims.

But Anna grows closer than ever to Etienne, and the tension between them is palpable as they resist the urge to kiss one another in a very French way.

 Hope you enjoy this week's Teaser Tuesday!

What are you reading?

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

Okay, so I'm back from my short few days break. I've got a few reviews to write up. If I don't leave them 'til tomorrow, they'll be short and not adequate for posting. So, here's a WoW post! :D

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

For this week, I am swooning over Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, which released December 2nd 2010!

Why I'm Waiting on Anna and the French Kiss:

I like the idea of the title & cover link. Also, it sounds like a nice and breezy kind of fun, romantic comedy kind of story. Plus, there are some crazy (and lucky) bloggers out there going nuts over this one. [The Hiding Spot & The Book Cellar]


Blurb (from Goodreads):

A contemporary romance set in the City of Light, guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris — until she meets Étienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna — and readers — have long awaited?

Well, doesn't it sound so fun? Thanks for visiting my weekly WoW post.

What are you waiting on this week?