Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1) in Addicted to YA

Feb 09, 2015 Colette rated it it was ok

I listened to this book on my phone. The audio was terrible! At first I thought there was something wrong with my phone or earphones. However, after listening to other books on the same program, I realized it was the reader's soft voice that made it so hard to hear. This made it difficult to get into the story, and I also wasn't a fan of the voices the reader gave the characters. Overall 2/5 stars; I'm still planning to read the next book in the series, but definitely not listen to it. ...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Renuka rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed, favorites, young-adult, romance, realistic, chick-lit, contemporary, my-fictional-boyfriends, fav-couples, triangles-of-love

This is the cutest chick-lit romance I have read in a long forever. With a name like Anna and the French Kiss, I was a little hesitant, but I have to say this book will blow your mind away with the adorable romantic tension. It isn't deep, or emotional. There isn't much other than pure, lovable romance. If you want a light read, this is your book. It went by very quickly because I was so engaged in the tale.

Anna is a cute protagonist. (Everything about this book was cute if you haven't noticed). ...more

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Jul 30, 2015 Aerika rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I was determined not to succumb to the five star rating, but I can't resist. I loved the story and characters so much. Anna is such a strong character and I wish I was as bold as she is when it comes to saying exactly what's on your mind when you're angry. LOL!!! ...more

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Feb 02, 2014 Wendy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction, contemporary, 2015

My star rating:

Plot: 3.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
World: N/A
Romance: 4/5

Enjoyment level: 4.5/5 stars

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Jan 27, 2015 Kim rated it liked it

Shelves: teen-romance, series, realistic-fiction, young-adult, book-club

This was a cute and fluffy teen romance. I'm not always a fan of teen romance, SO much angst. And while I'll admit this one had it's fair share, the cute parts made up for it in my mind. This is total high school chick lit. The entire plot is completely based on first world problems, that makes it light and easy. There's no deep dark places or great emotional depth but I liked it. Sometimes I just want something that makes the world seem so simple and this book does that.

You have Anna, a rich gi This was a cute and fluffy teen romance. I'm not always a fan of teen romance, SO much angst. And while I'll admit this one had it's fair share, the cute parts made up for it in my mind. This is total high school chick lit. The entire plot is completely based on first world problems, that makes it light and easy. There's no deep dark places or great emotional depth but I liked it. Sometimes I just want something that makes the world seem so simple and this book does that.

You have Anna, a rich girl with divorced parents who plop her in Paris for a year abroad to give her culture. This is utterly devastating in her eyes, see?, first world problems I tell ya. Things don't turn out too terrible, considering the very first night not only does she meet a very sweet friend, who in turn introduces her to an entire group of friends including a new hot-english-accent-awesome-hair-future-love-interest. The story covers her senior year in Paris with this new group of friends.

Anna was somewhat spoiled and pretty oblivious in some ways. I think St. Clair made it perfectly clear he was interested and she seemed to be so stuck on the fact that "he has a girlfriend" she couldn't see it. I think she was quite naive about love. Her attachment to "Toph" was ridiculous. She didn't even really like him, they made out once and she thought he was hot, total lust attraction at most. Etienne was a good guy, he wasn't perfect but not a jerk like so many ya love interests. He was cute and cheesy. I wasn't really a fan when he got all depressed, but there had to be some drama to add depth. The other characters were fun and I didn't love or hate them.

The description of Paris was enjoyable, I've never been but it seemed solid. I thought it was intriguing how Anna went to France thinking they had issues and when she came home to America, had another culture shock. The plot felt very realistic to high school drama.

I did like how Etienne and Anna built a solid friendship before entering the whole relationship phase, so maybe his inability to let go of his girlfriend was a good thing. Her relationship with Meredith and her friends in Paris were much more healthy than the one with Bridgette which was pretty immature considering she began sleeping with the guy Anna was into a few months after she left.

It was a light and easy read, and sometimes I don't want anything heavy and some solvable first world problems is all I want to deal with. There were giggles and smiles throughout the read. I will definitely continue in the series. ...more

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Jul 12, 2014 ijul (yuliyono) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: terjemahan, young-adult

Suka.

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Paris, Prancis, seakan tak pernah habis dijadikan latar kisah-kisah cinta nan membius yang akan diceritakan dari generasi ke generasi. Tak berlebihan memang jika kemudian selain dikenal sebagai Kota Cahaya, Paris juga dijuluki Kota Romantis. Anna and The French Kiss karya Stephanie Perkins ini juga mengambil sisi-sisi romantis Paris dalam balutan kisah drama remaja Amerika dengan latar belakang sekolah berasrama khusus bagi remaja Amerika di Paris.

Sudah lama saya tertarik untuk Suka.

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Paris, Prancis, seakan tak pernah habis dijadikan latar kisah-kisah cinta nan membius yang akan diceritakan dari generasi ke generasi. Tak berlebihan memang jika kemudian selain dikenal sebagai Kota Cahaya, Paris juga dijuluki Kota Romantis. Anna and The French Kiss karya Stephanie Perkins ini juga mengambil sisi-sisi romantis Paris dalam balutan kisah drama remaja Amerika dengan latar belakang sekolah berasrama khusus bagi remaja Amerika di Paris.

Sudah lama saya tertarik untuk membaca buku pertama dari tiga buku yang direncanakan ditulis oleh Stephanie Perkins ini (Lola and The Boy Next Door dan Isla and The Happily Ever After juga sudah terbit versi aslinya-bahasa Inggris). Saya mendengar begitu banyak respons positif dari buku ini, tentu saja, terutama saya dapatkan informasinya dari goodreads.com. Bahkan, per 26 Agustus 2014, buku ini memiliki rating 4.15 dari skala 5, dan telah dibaca lebih dari 118 ribu orang. Mantap. Tapi, sekian lama saya tak juga berusaha mencari bukunya. Pernah, sih, mengunduh versi e-book-nya tapi kemudian saya abaikan, hehehe. Syukurlah, kurang lebih empat tahun setelah rilis buku versi bahasa Inggris-nya, Laluna and Friends akhirnya menerbitkan buku ini dalam versi terjemahan bahasa Indonesia. Yay!

Secara garis besar, tak ada yang terlalu istimewa dari cerita Anna yang (merasa dipaksa oleh ayahnya untuk) pergi dan tinggal dan bersekolah di sebuah sekolah menengah atas khusus remaja Amerika di Paris selama setahun penuh ini. Bahkan, bisa saya bilang plot dari novel ini pun biasa saja dan sudah terlampau sering diangkat dalam cerita-cerita lain. Liku-liku harian anak pindahan yang mesti beradaptasi dengan lingkungan baru, bertemu sahabat dan berkencan dengan sahabat, dimusuhi saingan, dimanfaatkan saingan, sahabat jadi musuh, lalu sahabat jadi cinta. Biasa saja. Tapi, kemampuan menulis Stephanie Perkins memang harus diacungi jempol. Berkat kepiawaiannya menarik-ulur kisah Anna-Etienne di buku ini membuat saya betah membaca lembar demi lembar buku ini sampai akhir.

Well, memang ada kalanya saya bosan ketika Anna dan Etienne bersikap labil. Suka tapi diam saja. Berciuman tapi saling menyangkal. Ingin bersama tapi tak pernah menyatakan. Saya gemas bukan kepalang. Mereka bahkan sudah tidur seranjang (meski hanya sekadar tidur, bukan "tidur" yang begituan). Tapi, tetap saja, mestinya mereka bisa mengambil sikap yang tegas. Hah! Unsur-unsur macam beginilah yang kadang membuat saya kurang menyukai kisah-kisah berbumbu sahabat jadi cinta. Capek ditarik-ulur mulu.

Hanya saja, ternyata saya labil juga. Pada satu titik saya menyukai Stephanie Perkins yang memberikan waktu yang cukup (dalam artian agak "lama") untuk membuat Anna dan Etienne saling merasai getaran di antara mereka, meski lagi-lagi saya sebal ketika membaca pengakuan Etienne di bagian akhir. Huhuhu, bisa enggak sih enggak usah dikasih tahu kalau ---sensor--- sejak awal. Saya memang menyukai kisah cinta yang bertumbuh kuncup demi kuncup, bukannya cinta yang sudah mekar sejak pertemuan pertama. *sigh*

Meskipun keseluruhan novel diceritakan dari sudut pandang Anna, namun kisahnya tak hanya tentang Anna semata. Cukup banyak subplot yang mendukung pengembangan konflik utama. Tentang Anna dan seorang cowok bernama Toph dan sahabat karib yang dituduhnya berkhianat, Bridgette. Tentang orangtua Anna di Amerika. Tentang orangtua Etienne yang bermasalah. Tentang teman-teman baru Anna: Meredith, Rashmi, Josh, Dave, Amanda, dan Isla. Serta tak lupa juga digambarkan suasana sekolah dan asramanya.

Bonus dari membaca novel ini adalah kita diajak berkeliling ke tempat-tempat bersejarah yang tak hanya romantis tapi juga menambah wawasan. Anna dan Etienne juga memberitahu kita bahwa di Paris ada begitu banyak bioskop pribadi yang meskipun penontonnya tak banyak, bioskop tersebut tetap bisa bertahan. Jadi kepingin ke Paris, nih.

Dari sisi kekurangannya, selain ritme adegan yang terkesan agak boring karena tarik-ulur dan plot yang lumayan klise, tak banyak yang saya komplain. Novel ini romantis maksimal, deh. Hanya dari segi editing dan proofreading yang masih bisa diperbaiki, typo-nya bikin gatel padahal di bab-bab awal lumayan mulus, ke tengah ke belakang kok makin banyak typo-nya. Hal lain, di beberapa tempat bahasa terjemahannya agak belibet, entah dari sananya begitu atau bagaimana, hanya saja beberapa kali saya mengerutkan dahi. Anehnya, beberapa bab di belakang justru bagus banget terjemahannya. Pas gitu tanpa bikin mumet.

Oke, untuk kamu yang menyukai kisah remaja romantis dengan aksen Prancis yang seksi, saya merekomendasikan untuk membaca novel ini. Pelan-pelan saja bacanya, nikmati runtutan kisah Anna dan Etienne merajut kasih di Kota Cahaya. Selamat membaca! ...more

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