Isla and the Happily Ever After Review

    

       I know, I know. I speak about Stephanie Perkins way too much, but if she didn’t cause me so much heart ache maybe I wouldn’t have to! I can’t just let her tear me apart, rip my heart out and use it as a football and pretend like it isn’t happening! I need to speak through my feelings with you, It’s the only way I’ll ever come close to moving on,  – particularly my most recent feelings concerning her newest book, ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’. In recent weeks I have once again found myself lying on my bed at 2am, that familiar pain in my chest, wishing with all my might that I could pull one of Stephanie Perkin’s boys out of their fictional world and safely into my arms.

     

This time it was Josh. Joshua Wasserstein. Though I had not truly appreciated him when reading ‘Anna and the French Kiss’, my mind too consumed with the sheer swooshiness of Etienne’s hair, I was certainly appreciating him now. While Etienne and Cricket, the romantic interests of Perkins two previous companion novels, were friendly and confident, Josh was quiet, artistic and mysterious. In my mind he was stronger built than the other two boys, less soft edges, with a gorgeous well-shaped smile. It was a lovely change from the other two love interests and I ate up every romantic gesture like I hadn’t had a meal in weeks.

     

       There is an added physicality in ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’ not found in the previous books. Usually, Perkins focuses on exactly how the lovely couple came to be, the book ending with that fantastic first kiss moment so highly anticipated by the reader, however, this time we get to have a look at what comes after that. Of course, once a seventeen year-old couple has been together long enough to get that kiss out of the way, things begin to progress to much more… serious stuff. However, being so familiar with Perkins’ usual romance structure, I really did not expect this uh… new kind of kissing contained within the book.

   

         But, of course, Perkins being the literary genius that she is, it was all okay. Better than okay, it was nice. It wasn’t awkward or disgusting. She avoided explicit language and instead of the actual physical act, Perkins spoke of the feelings her characters experienced, something not usually the focal point of this kind of scene. It wasn’t pornographic and strangely, it didn’t seem all that sexual. Josh and Isla did not ‘have sex’, they ‘made love’. It was beautiful.

           However, don’t for a minute think that ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’ is about sex. Most definitely not. These moments were simply the finer details of an ultimately gorgeous picture; the glint in Mona Lisa’s eye.

           Of course, this wouldn’t be a Perkins book if we didn’t have an artfully chosen romantic setting. The book has two main settings – new and exciting Manhattan, brimming with people and possibilities, and… Paris! I squealed with joy when I found out we were going back to Paris, setting of ‘Anna and the French Kiss’.  I want every book to be set in Paris, things just seem to be more dazzling over there. Joshua Wasserstein was amazing for many reasons, he was gorgeous, artistic, thoughtful and funny… but now he gets to speak casual French too? I’m practically swooning as I type.

  

          More specific than Paris, in ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’ we get to return to Anna’s boarding school from ‘Anna and the French Kiss’. Yet another reason to read the series – the three stories are all tastefully intertwined, with ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’ featuring, in my opinion, the best cameos of the entire series. Etienne, Anna, Meredith, Rashmi, Cricket, Lola and Calliope all make an appearance at some point in the book.  The reader is given enough to detail to both excite and satisfy, but crucially, the cameos do not take over the main plotline of the book. I really do wish that I could talk to you about the wonderful scene near the end of the book, but even I would not be so mean as to spoil such a perfect surprise.

  

          There is only one fault I have for ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’ and that is this; the remarkable book marks the end of the three-part series. As I put the book down a weird sort of sadness washed over me and I suddenly wished I had never read any of it at all. I wished I could be back on the first page of ‘Anna and the French Kiss’, my low expectations about to be blown out of the water.

           However, at the end of ‘Isla and the Happily Ever After’ I knew one thing for certain. Stephanie Perkins is my favourite author. She writes exactly the kind of books I want to read, satisfyingly romantic and perfect right down to the last detail. I can’t stress enough how much I loved this series and I just know that whatever Perkins chooses to release next, I will buy from Waterstones with a bright grin on my face and an open heart. 

If you would like to find out more about Stephanie Perkins, here is her website!

And here's my Anna and the French Kiss review! 

My Top 5 Favourite Teen Romance Novels

If you are a regular to my lovely little blog you will probably know that I like teen romantic fiction. A lot. Instead of going to wild parties like most teenagers in this country do, I love to curl up on a Friday night with a mug of hot chocolate, a cosy blanket, a box of tissues close to hand and a good bit of chick-lit in my lap. I’ve read an awful lot of romance fiction in my time and I thought that, what with my experience and all, I’d give you a little idea of what to look out for! So, without further ado, here is my top 5 favourite Teen Romances!

5. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

            Okay, so it may not be the most mature love story out there but it’s still has a warm spot in both my library and my heart. Written as if it were the diary of fourteen year old Georgia Nicolson, ‘Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging’ was the first romance novel that I ever read. I must have been about ten or eleven when I first stole this off of my older sister’s shelf. I was curious as to the contents of a book with the word ‘thong’ on the front cover. I snuck off to my room and read it in secret. It was the funniest book I had ever read. Georgia’s crazy antics and randomnosity had me giggling wildly and though I did not much care for love interest, Robbie, at the time, I still told all the girls in my class at school about it. ‘Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging’ is a book that refuses to take itself seriously

 and that is exactly why it has earned its spot on this list.

4. The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

            When I first read it, I was addicted to this book like crack cocaine. For the day it took to get through it, getting me to do anything was about as easy as trying to walk through a thick brick wall.  ‘The Boyfriend List’ follows Ruby Oliver as, throughout the course of 11 ‘shrink’ appointments, she explores 15 important relationships (not all of which are romantic) that she has had with guys throughout her life. The stories are interesting and well-paced and the narrative is hilarious. This is a romance novel that for once does not actually promote the importance of love, but promotes self-confidence and friendship instead – strange, I know, but it completely works! Start reading it and I promise, you’ll be done before the day is out.

3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Or any Rainbow Rowell really)

            Would this really be a reliable list if Rainbow Rowell wasn’t on here somewhere? Just thinking about ‘Fangirl’ and its colourful array of characters (particularly tall and lovely, Levi) makes me sigh and drift off into a Rowell induced dream. One of the main reasons I think I loved this book so much was because of its unusual set-up. We all know the story of the cute under-appreciated girl desperately trying to get her high-school crush to notice her, but never before have I heard the tale of one awkward twin, trying to run a successful fan-fiction page and refusing to adapt to her new life at college (University to us Brits)! The difficult changes that happen at college are rarely addressed in teen romance fiction and I absolutely loved ‘Fangirl’ for being one of the first to do so! The whole story was just 

lovely from start to finish. With quirky characters 

and beautiful illustrations, ‘Fangirl’ is definitely one to look out for!

2. 10 Things We Shouldn’t Have Done by Sarah Mlynowski

            I have read this book every single summer for about three years now and it never fails to amaze me. ’10 Things We Shouldn’t Have Done’ is the most unpredictable piece of romantic fiction I have ever read. I found myself laughing with glee at some of the cleverer plot twists. The story follows sixteen year old April as she and her friend Vi spend a year secretly living on their own together while their parents are out of town. Of course, as expected, they abuse this newly-found freedom and after a few wild parties and a washing machine disaster find themselves in a good bit of trouble. Hot-tubs, kittens and drunken mermaid impressions are just three of the 10 things I absolutely loved about this book.

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

                Oo gosh. My heart still aches a little bit from the brilliance of this one. As regulars to this blog will know, ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ has been one of my favourite books for a very long time. It actually has a whole other blog post to itself – and rightfully so. ‘Anna and the French Kiss’, in my opinion, is the perfect teen romance novel. It has everything you could possibly ask for: a beautiful Parisian setting, a charming romantic interest, and most importantly, a whole lot of nearly-kisses, almost-kisses, not-quite kisses and finally, French kisses. There has never, in all of Waterstones teen section, been a more indulgently romantic novel. It destroyed me emotionally and left my crying on my bed. It really is that good. I may have written this list just so that this book could reign supreme. 

So, join me now, let us raise our metaphorical wine glasses in 

celebration and give a toast: To ‘Anna and the French Kiss’! 

Rainbow List of Must-Reads: Pink - Anna and the French Kiss

This is the Rainbow List of Must-Reads: Where I review a different one of my favourite books each week! last on our list we have a pink book with a pink cover:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

            It was one in the morning on a school night and I was lying restless on my bed with a throbbing ache in my heart. ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ lay open on the pillow beside me, spine still stiff from the bookshop that day. As I lay sighing at the ceiling, there was only one thing occupying my mind.

           Étienne St. Clair.

           I was in love. Really in love. I was in love with someone who I had only ever seen in my imagination; who only actually existed on paper. I longed to pull Etienne out from the pages of ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ and into my own comparably boring world. This just wasn’t fair! Why are the hot boys always fictitious?!

            ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ had truly slayed me. Never before had I felt such an ache of yearning when reading a romance novel (and trust me – I’ve read a lot of them). But what was it that made this book so perfect? Let’s analyse shall we?

           The Setup: The story follows Anna Oliphant as she is unwillingly pulled from her happy life in Atlanta to go and attend her final year at a prestigious boarding school in Paris. First off – Paris: The city of love. We’ve not even started the book yet and already our heart is melting a little bit. Romantic things just seem to happen in Paris. Maybe it’s the language? You could describe a particularly bad case of athlete’s foot in French and I’d still want you to kiss me under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower. Whatever it is, as soon as Perkins so much as mentioned Paris, I was drawn like a moth to a flame.

            The Boy: Of course it wouldn’t be Paris if there weren’t a few good-looking chaps floating about, now would it? You simply cannot have one without the other. Our boy takes form as Étienne St. Clair. I’m not sure how she did it, but Perkins somehow manages not only to wedge a French boy into an American boarding school, but give said boy a gorgeous British accent as well. Étienne was the perfect mix of cheek, chivalry and charm, (not to mention, fantastic hair) but somehow didn’t come across as over-the-top or arrogant. Despite being otherwise engaged with long-running girlfriend, Ellie, St. Clair was a love interest you could really lust over, making the rest of the book a tantalizingly tasty read.

            The girl: I am a massive fan of teen romance fiction, but usually when I pick up these sorts of books I find the female narrative a little… irritating. Seemingly as some kind of rule the girls who star in these books are self-involved, shallow and little bit too obsessive – I expected a similar situation with ‘Anna and the French Kiss’. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did Anna give a likable and interesting narrative to the book, but she also managed to break every single one of the rule I just stated. Anna cared about her friends and her family back home; she was ready to put them before anything else in her life. As much as she lusted after Étienne St Clair, she also showed an interest in other boys and kept a constant and thriving film blog too.

Sure, maybe Anna fell for Étienne unrealistically fast and a few other details are slightly off, but this is romance fiction, people! It’s what we’re here for! We read this stuff because sometimes real life just isn’t exciting enough. If we start picking apart every detail in a romance novel that’s the slightest bit unrealistic then you might as well chuck the entirety of Waterstones’ teen romance section into a massive bonfire and go and buy a big fat history textbook instead.

The bottom line is if you don’t like romance novels; don’t read ‘Anna and the French Kiss’. It just won’t be for you. It is the most brilliantly, satisfyingly romantic novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and it isn’t pretending to be anything else. I regard ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ so highly that there were really no other contenders for the pink spot on this list. The book pushed me into a deep cavern of love and longing that I don’t think I’ll ever really climb out of. Not that I’d even want to try.

Find out more about Stephanie Perkins here!

You can read the other reviews in the Rainbow List of Must-Reads here: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple