"Isla and the Happily Ever After" by Stephanie Perkins

She's here! I have been anxiously awaiting Isla and the Happily Ever After's release (as with a good chunk of the rest of YA Fandoms out there) and I am so happy to have finally read this book. This isn't going to be much of a review as I thought that it was very close to perfect, but I am going to try my best.

Isla lives in Manhatten but goes to school in Paris. She is pretty content with her dual lives. During Summer Vacation, she runs Josh, a boy that also attends her school and the boy she has been secretly admiring for years. She ends up making a fool out of herself, but when they meet up again at the beginning of the school year, a friendship begins to develop and escalate into more than a friendship. Over the course of this book, we see their relationship evolve and how their love begins to test all bounds. And yes, we get to see Anna and Lola again too (and yes, I squeed, and that is not something that I do very often).

Alright, I am totally biased about this book. I loved the first two in the series and found next to nothing to complain about in this one. If anything, my only complaint is that Anna and Lola felt a tab bit shoe-horned into the book, but as we knew they would make an apperance, I can be okay with it. Basically, if you are already a fan of the series, you are going to be right at home with Isla and Josh and you will love Stephanie Perkins even more than before.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins

I Love Lola!    Lola and the Boy Next Door  by Stephanie Perkins is a fantabulous book!  In this companion to   Anna and the French Kiss, we meet Lola, a San Franciscan being raised by her two fathers.  She has an amazing sense of fashion, an older "bad-boy" and in a band boyfriend, and just realized that the Bell family has moved back in next door.  She has been dreading this day ever since the family moved out several years before.  Her entire world is about the turn upside down and her relationships with just about everyone in her life are going to change forever.

So, if you've read my earlier post, then you know that I wasn't crazy about Anna and the French Kiss.  While I enjoyed it, I felt that it was a very generic piece of YA fiction.  This was not the case with Lola.  I felt that her character and her experiences were quite unique.  She goes through many of the same ups and downs that you can expect in a book about a teenager (especially when two guys are involved) but it didn't feel like I was reading the same story over and over again.  Lola is awesome!

One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Lola is her fashion.  I felt that the outfit modeled on the cover didn’t even come close to the way I envisioned Lola in my head (and frankly, the model looks a little too posed and uncomfortable if you asked me).  As I was reading, I couldn't help but envision Lola in clothing I have seen on the website SmarmyClothes.com.  It was fun to actually have something to base my imaginings of the character on since I am very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl and have no real experience in the fashion world.  

While reading, these are the sort of
outfits I envisioned Lola wearing

SmarmyClothes.com

This book is definelty going on my "to-purchase" list (thank goodness for the library.  Otherwise I would be beyond broke) and will certainly be reading it again and again!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Anna and the Franch Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

It seemed that every other book blogger on the face of the planet was absolutely raving about Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins so of course I had to read it.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the heck out of this book but at the same time I didn’t feel that it was as amazing as I expected it to be.  I suppose I was expecting the Harry Potter of teen romance?  Despite the book not quite meeting my expectation, it was still a really fun read!

Anna is about to start her senior year of high school in the most romantic city in the world- and she isn’t too thrilled about it.  She has no desire to leave her best friend or Toph (her co-worker and crush/almost boyfriend) and she doesn’t know a word of French.  But her father has sent her to Paris anyway.  It takes some time, but Anna starts to make friends in this new city.  And more importantly she meets Étienne St. Clair, the most wonderful British/American guy in France who conveniently has a girlfriend.  Anyone that has ever read a book or seen a movie with a romantic plot immediately knows that Anna is eventually going to fall for St. Clair, it’s just a matter of time.  Just like in a Taylor Swift song, Anna and St. Clair become extremely close but because Anna knows he has a girlfriend, there is nothing she can do about it.  The reader spends the majority of the book waiting for St. Clair to break-up with Ellie (sadly a name I love was given to a rather unpleasant character) and to get together with Anna.  But will that ever happen (don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for you).  Another element of this book that is fairly important is Anna’s love of cinema.  Back in her hometown of Atlanta, she worked in a movie theatre and dreamed of being a professional movie reviewer.  In Paris she discovers that the city shares her love and spends a good portion of her evening soaking up the flickering lights of the big screen.  I felt that Anna was a well developed character and enjoyed that her likes and interests where an important part of the story.

This book felt very familiar.  There was nothing horribly surprising about it and it deals with themes extremely common in YA literature.  However, I fell that it is well written and well researched.  As I was reading it, I felt that the characters and their actions where believable.  Overall I really enjoyed this book and felt that it would be perfect read for a lazy afternoon.

You can expect my review of Perkins’ companion book, Lola and the BoyNext Door within a few days (I am loving it!).

Happy Reading!

-Melly