Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1) in 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]

Jan 27, 2015 Christa rated it really liked it

This was a really cute read. A little bit too angsty for my personal tastes, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Full review HERE ...more

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Jul 01, 2014 Sadie rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5+ stars. Sweeter and lighter than I normally like but a quick and charming YA read.

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Nov 03, 2014 Samantha rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015

I wrote a more in depth review on my blog that you can find here: https://samwisereads.wordpress.com/20...

This book is all about find your feels and then attacking them, and I loved every minute of it. ...more

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Sep 01, 2014 Kelsey rated it liked it

Shelves: library, books-set-in-usa-not-nyc, fiction, siblings, books-set-in-europe-not-uk, read-in-2014, probably-won-t-finish-series, reviewed

I stayed up all night (it is now 8:25 am) reading Anna and the French Kiss. I’d say it ranked somewhere around a 3.5 star for me.

I really enjoyed the first half/two-thirds or so up until Anna comes back to Paris from Christmas break with her family. After that, I just got increasingly frustrated with everyone. I feel like the book could have been ~75-100 pages shorter, tbh. The entire plot after Christmas was [Anna and Etienne are super cute, one of them does/says something that hurts the other’ I stayed up all night (it is now 8:25 am) reading Anna and the French Kiss. I’d say it ranked somewhere around a 3.5 star for me.

I really enjoyed the first half/two-thirds or so up until Anna comes back to Paris from Christmas break with her family. After that, I just got increasingly frustrated with everyone. I feel like the book could have been ~75-100 pages shorter, tbh. The entire plot after Christmas was [Anna and Etienne are super cute, one of them does/says something that hurts the other’s feelings, melodrama ensues, a week passes, Anna has a heart-to-heart with Rashmi, Anna goes to the movies, Anna leaves movie theater and turns around to find Etienne standing there, *gasp*, Anna cries, they apologize to each other, they become BFFs again, eventually someone pukes somewhere that isn’t a toilet] REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT until about 5 pages from the end when they finally confess their love and make out in public (again…??)

I just got really tired of it by the end. Like, I really couldn't wait for it all to be over.

On a related note, I appreciate how much Anna cries. The whole I’m-a-tough-girl-I’m-too-tough-to-cry trope has got to end. (This, ironically, coming from someone who never cries.) I also appreciate how fleshed-out the rest of their friend group was, although Amanda and her posse need to step off the Girl Hate. I am so done with Girl Hate rivalries please for once give me a book with all the ladies loving each other and taking care of each other that is all I want from my life.

I also didn’t care for the fact that Anna had to explain herself to Etienne and explicitly tell him that she didn’t have sex with Dave. She shouldn’t have had to do that and Etienne saying he knew that already, but wanted to hear it from her before he forgave her was uncalled for. I am not here for that.

Tbh, I'm not here for most of Etienne's personality. I don't get why everyone thinks he's so swoonworthy?? He treats everyone except his mom terribly, including but not limited to his friends, his girlfriend, and Anna. Like, I get that his dad's a jerk, but that doesn't mean he too gets to be a total jerk.

This post sounds negative, but I promise I really did like the book. I loved Stuart Thistleback. I had a fake summer camp boyfriend when I was 15, so as soon as I read that passage at the beginning I was super pumped for the book. Anna and I definitely had a bonding moment with Stuart Thistleback. I also felt super connected to Meredith. I was in almost her exact situation when I was on study abroad and I also happen to be a super tall, thickly built girl with curly blond hair (when I don’t dye it) who wore a faux-diamond nose stud at age 17 and loves hot chocolate and Thin Mints, so… that was surreal. (Loved the mom-sends-boxes-of-Girl-Scout-cookies thing. My mom sent me a whole parcel of Girl Scout cookies when I studied abroad too! [Did Stephanie Perkins read my diary?!?!]) Also A+ description of the culture shock of returning to the US after living somewhere else for a while. It’s been 3.5 years and I still think American food is too salty.

But seriously, there was a lot of puke in this novel. Like I really wasn’t expecting so much vomit.

Final rating: 3.5 stars :) ...more

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