Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Apr 10, 2013 ♥♡¢σσкιє♥♡ (Krystle) rated it really liked it

Shelves: cute-like-a-bunny, liked-it, ya-romance

You can read this review and more on my blog:

This is another book I read a while ago so I will try to remember as much as I can.

I know that I laughed and smiled a lot while reading this. The interactions between Anna and Étienne were adorable. I always enjoy reading books about best friends falling in love, and I think that's why I read this. There is just something about finding out that the right person for you is also someone you have some history with, that appeals to me.

I am You can read this review and more on my blog:

This is another book I read a while ago so I will try to remember as much as I can.

I know that I laughed and smiled a lot while reading this. The interactions between Anna and Étienne were adorable. I always enjoy reading books about best friends falling in love, and I think that's why I read this. There is just something about finding out that the right person for you is also someone you have some history with, that appeals to me.

I am sure that the fact that Étienne had a girlfriend when he and Anna met annoyed me, but I don't remember being frustrated a lot. Anna fell for him while he was still in a relationship, but that didn't keep them from connecting and developing a great friendship. It was a little annoying when she realized that her feelings for him were romantic and he was still with his girlfriend. I'm sorry, but Anna was awesome, and I wanted him to ditch his dead weight girlfriend as soon as Anna realized she wanted him. I know that's wrong, but it's a book so give me a break!

It is pretty obvious that Anna's feelings are returned by Étienne too, but of course he spends a lot of time fighting the attraction because of that same darn girlfriend, but again, I don't remember this bothering me that much. Anna and Étienne don't spend a lot of time fighting their attraction and they also don't sneak around like a couple of cheaters. The author handles this very delicate situation well, and mostly this is just a cute book about a young woman who falls in love in Paris, and who doesn't love reading about that?

The book is clean, but there are a couple of "French kisses" that will make you swoon. I usually hate reading books about Americans who travel to another country and fall in love/find themselves. It is difficult for me to imagine all of the landmarks that are described and all that detail takes me right out of the story. But somehow this author really made Paris come alive in my imagination. I felt like I was walking through the streets of Paris with Anna. I saw the twinkle lights, visited the Eiffel Tower, went to midnight movies, and ate my weight in baguettes right along side her. I enjoyed the moments when Anna was exploring the city on her own as much as the moments when she was exploring with Étienne. This was a really well written, fun book that no Young Adult Romance fan will regret reading.

Sorry, I don't remember if this book had harsh language. I know there were no sexually explicit scenes though so I would recommend it for ages 13 and up. ...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Chester rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010-down-pub

Okay...

I am not entirely sure how to start this review. I rarely read realistic contemporary romance fiction that I don’t know how to measure the book and my feelings and my thoughts about it exactly. But I’ll try.

As mentioned above, I am not a huge reader of realistic fiction. Either it lost its appeal as I read tons of them growing up or the fantasy fictions are getting more of my attention, I’ll never know. I do know that I still tend to add the highly recommended ones on my tbr with the inte Okay...

I am not entirely sure how to start this review. I rarely read realistic contemporary romance fiction that I don’t know how to measure the book and my feelings and my thoughts about it exactly. But I’ll try.

As mentioned above, I am not a huge reader of realistic fiction. Either it lost its appeal as I read tons of them growing up or the fantasy fictions are getting more of my attention, I’ll never know. I do know that I still tend to add the highly recommended ones on my tbr with the intention of giving them a try. The Fault in Our Stars, Eleanor & Park, Paper Towns… which I ended up liking a lot.

I remember buying the physical copy of this book at a book fair last year, and it has been sitting in my shelf ever since. After reading a highly suspenseful fantasy fiction ending, my mind can’t focus on any YA fantasy book I pick up, so I decided to give another genre a try. And alas, I finally picked up this wonderful book.

I guess most of the stars I gave to this book were due to the fact that I was completely and entirely hooked all throughout the book. Once I started reading, I can’t stop. So much so that I even steal a few pages while working. Yes, not while on break. While working. Okay, on with the story.

Anna was sent by her big-shot fiction writer dad to Paris for her senior year. She is to study at SOAP, or the School of America in Paris, a prestigious school for, well, Americans in Paris. Anna didn’t want to go, so it was a shaky start for us. She cried a lot, she was scared to go out on her own, and would rather starve herself than try to order food. At another time I would have found that annoying, but I was actually amused with her. And I figured it’s a good start for what could be a good character arc for our protagonist.

And I wasn’t entirely wrong. Anna is smart, kind, funny, a little neat freak at times but I enjoyed being inside her head. The only downside is that it sometimes annoyed me when she can’t stop thinking about guys and how cute they are. I mean, seriously. And how could a movie buff like her don’t know how huge films are in Paris? I am baffled. Still, I love how she developed from a girl who won’t step out of her school to someone who knows what she wants and would do anything for it.

And then there’s Étienne St. Clair. Our idiotic friend. Oops. I love him but he was such a bloody idiot throughout the whole book. I understand the whole I-don’t-want-to-be-alone thing especially with what happened but Anna was right. He was never alone. He was just such a stupid (yet adorable and cute and funny) guy that can’t see what’s in front of him. Who wouldn’t go for what he wants. Sigh. Boys. And while I hated him for that, and for dragging Ellie and Meredith too, I still love how it was written. His character was initially portrayed as perfect. The perfect face, good grades, everyone’s friend. And let’s not forget the British accent. But perfect is boring, not to mention overrated. There’s no redeeming someone who’s already perfect. And I like me some redeeming. *wink*

I guess the only thing lacking on this book is character depth. Maybe I just got used to the fantasy fiction ones with complex character background but I feel like there should be more to these characters than meet the eyes. It was a feel good book, but at the end it was just that. I loved everyone, but I wasn’t able to establish a connection with any of them. Then again, what do I know?

This review also appeared on Amazon. ...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Nikki rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2013

It was okay.

I was just pissed at the fact that St. Clair is so stupid and confused. Okay, I get it that he is afraid of change but you just can't let the girl hanging on like the way he did with Anna. It was totally annoying. You just can't leave perplexing clues about liking someone or giving them hint that you like them when you're in a relationship with someone else. It's wrong. It's morally wrong. I know I should be giddy because they actually become a couple after so many dramatic happenin ...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Anna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-shelf, favorite-authors

Ach, why did I wait so long to read this!!!

St Clair. St Clair. St Clair.

Besides the fact that I've always wanted to visit Paris, the culture of this book was fantastic!

I loved Josh, Rashmi and Meredith. Anna and St Clair were perfectly played for one another. It was my favorite type scenario: best friends that find out they like/love each other.

I absolutely loved it.

5 stars. ...more

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Oct 29, 2010 Carie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, favorite-contemps

I loved this book! My perfect Christmas present!! It’s sweet, funny, and sexy. It does have some mature language and some of the misunderstandings/fights get a little old by the end (come on already!!), but the dialogue is great and the story is enthralling--I really lost myself while reading it. I loved that it wasn’t an insta-romance and that the relationship grew to the point that they were close friends and truly knew each other better than anyone else. I could feel how perfect they were for ...more

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Jan 04, 2014 Danielle Goodman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-guys-i-m-in-love-with

Loved this!!! I was surprised I had heard a bunch of good things about the book and yet I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. I was worried it was going to be extremely girly but it wasn't. Stephanie Perkins goes in my Favorite authors list along with Jane Austen, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rainbow Rowell, JK Rowlings, and Richelle Mead. It seems like my favorite authors list keeps growing.

I love St. Clair he was a great supporting male role and love interest for Anna. I like Anna as well except Loved this!!! I was surprised I had heard a bunch of good things about the book and yet I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. I was worried it was going to be extremely girly but it wasn't. Stephanie Perkins goes in my Favorite authors list along with Jane Austen, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rainbow Rowell, JK Rowlings, and Richelle Mead. It seems like my favorite authors list keeps growing.

I love St. Clair he was a great supporting male role and love interest for Anna. I like Anna as well except for some parts in the book I kept thinking calm down and quit crying it will all work out you just have to let it work out. I love Rashmi I just liked her character. The first part of the book I wasn't fond of her but then I really grew to like her and I still think she should be Anna's bestie. It was Rashmi and Josh that scraped Anna off the floor many of times to help her and take care of her. I loved Mer at the beginning of the book and then was not fond of her character in the middle of the book but she redeemed herself in the end. I had to keep reminding myself that Mer was into the coolest things like listening to the Beatles and such so therefore I kept routing for her. I'm glad to see that Mer was supportive of Anna and St. Clair at the end of the book and put aside her crush on St. Clair and moved on. She showed a lot of maturity when she did that, and proved that she valued her friendship with Anna.

Let's talk about the Isla cameos sense I am late in the game in reading this book and I know that Isla and the Happily Ever After comes out in a couple of day! EEEEP!!! I loved her cameos in this book it makes me all the more excited to push through Lola and the Boy Next Door so I can read Isla's story. She seems like a quiet individual but when the time comes she will stand up for what is right. I can't wait to read her story I think I will really relate to her and thank god I finished Anna and the French Kiss before pre-orders are done for Isla and the Happily Ever After so I will get a signed copy, stickers, pins, and hopefully a tote bag fingers crossed.

Pre-order is in for Isla and the Happily Ever After. I already have Lola and the Boy Next Door hopefully will begin reading it soon.

I loved this first book of Stephanie Perkins and I am positive I will love the rest of her books. I gave Anna and the French Kiss 5/5 stars probably on the percentage system a 90-95%. I loved the character development and how the story progressed. I also loved the French back drop to the story and the light-hearted ness of the book. The only reason I marked some points down is because of the only problem I had with Anna needing to calm down at some points in the book and Mer kinda getting lost in the middle. This is by far the strongest supporting cast I've seen in a contemporary novel. Good work Perkins can't wait for the release of Isla and the Happily Ever After. ...more

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Mar 27, 2014 Shawna rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance

This was a relaxing and easy read. If I had to stop reading, I had no problems remembering what was happening when I picked the book back up. I couldn't wait for the happy ending that I knew was coming from all of the positive reviews of the book. ...more

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Jan 01, 2011 Erika B. (SOS BOOKS) rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, sort-of-spicy

I didn't get the hype BUT it was a good take a breather from reality book! I loved the characters and I loved that it was set in Paris! I loved the authors wit and the "does-he-like-me?!" feel she can bring to a book! This book was a good frothy I just want me some romance with a dash of drama book! Cute! :D ...more

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