Anna and the French Kiss by: Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 372

Published: December 2nd, 2010

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile 

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: 

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. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne 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?


My Thoughts:
Why have I waited so long to read this?!?! That is what I keep asking myself because I actually liked it. For so long there was so much hype about Anna and the French and it's companion novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door that I just wasn't convinced that I would like this book. I had so many preconceived thoughts and that is what kept me from giving this book a chance. And it doesn't help that I've had this book on my shelf for soooo long. I can say now that I am so happy that I gave it a fair shot because I just love it, and absolutely love the characters.
Stephanie Perkins definitely adds a twist to a romance story because most books make it seem like when two characters see each other for the first time they instantly fall in love and then everything clicks into place happily ever after. Life doesn't work that way though, and that is one of the things that made this book awesome. And then St. Clair!! I thought he was perfect even though he has flaws (which are realistic, compared to the incredibly cute guy that has the perfect abs, hair, etc.) and it just made me like him even more although he really annoyed me at times. Actually St. Clair and Anna gave me a huge headache over and over again. That's what happens though when two people belong together but they have too many hang ups to actually get together. Regardless of my rambling, I am so excited to read Lola and the Boy Next Door. I also like Stephanie Perkins writing style which makes it easier to get into the book. One thing I can say though is that the cover (I have the old covers not the new ones) does this book no justice, and that may have been another thing that put me off from reading this book sooner than I did. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone read it if you haven't!

Favorite Quotes:

• "Where have you been all my life?" I ask the beautiful panini. "How is it possible I've never had a sandwich like this before?" He takes a large bite. "Mmmph grmpha mrpha," he says, smiling. Which I'm assuming translates to something like, "Because American food is crap."
• "St. Clair coughs and shifts again. His leg brushes against mine. It stays there. I'm paralyzed. I should move it; it feels too unnatural. How can he not notice his leg is touching my leg?"
• "Rashmi iss me," Josh said into my phone. "Mer? Put Rashmi on. Iss emergency." "It's not an emergency!" I yelled. "They're just drunk."
• "Because I was right. For the two of us, home isn't a place. It's a person. And we're finally home."

Final Verdict: 4 Stars

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by: Jenny Han

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Edition: E-book

Pages: 288

Published: April 15th, 2014

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Purchase: Amazon | Bookdepository

Goodreads Synopsis: 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

My Thoughts:
I literally just finished this book, and I have to say that I am highly impressed.  Going into this boo I thought that it would be pretty interesting to hear about a girl who writes loves stories to the boys that she loved at one point in time. Especially since I knew a lot of people could relate to this topic (being young and having a lot of crushes).  I can say though that this book made me go through so many emotions to the point that I wasn't quite sure if I liked the book, and then other times I was head over heels for it. So, I'll start by saying what I liked about this book...  I think Jenny Han's character's were so realistic and each one had a completely different personality, so it made me feel like I was actually reading about someone else's life.  Kitty, the youngest of the Song girls, had to be my favorite character because she was so mature for her age, and at times would put Lara Jean in her place when she was having one of her moments (If you read the book you will know what I mean). At times I found myself just LOL and asking myself what's with this kid!!! She was amazing. I also liked how this book portrayed school for teens and displayed how mean girls can be to one another because those are the things that girls are having to deal with today.  Lastly, believe it or not I really did like Peter K. I felt that he made Lara Jean's life a bit less predictable and made her live a little, because she was definitely uptight.

Cons:
There are only a few things that I didn't like about this book and the main thing was how Margaret treated Lara Jean. I know that she was just trying to keep her sister in the right direction but I felt like it was too much pressure constantly telling Lara Jean to sign up for this and that, and volunteer at this place, etc.  I am glad that Lara Jean started to become her own person at the end of the book.  Lastly, I didn't like Lara Jean at the start of this book because I felt like she didn't act her age and that she was way to dependent on her sister Margaret. I think that that was the main reason why I struggled to get through the first half of this book.

Overall, I think that this is a great book and would recommend to anyone who likes love stories with a splash of some high school drama in it.  Plus, I felt like there were so many things left unsaid so I will def be reading the next book (I heard there will be a sequel and I sure hope so, I need more!!).

Favorite Quote:
"Josh, you break my heart. And you're a liar. Because you know me, you know me better than almost anybody, and you don't love me."

Final Verdict: 5 stars