Have You Read... ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins

I am so ridiculously late to the party on this one.

And it’s all my fault.

See, I heard this book was fantastic. I heard it over and over and over again. I added it to my pile of books to read a while ago. But I kept getting distracted by other things– things I considered more my type of book. Meaning books that were either dark, DARK, or dark. And I kept saying next time, next time.

Because this looked so light. And…romantic. And…not exactly my thing.

So. We were prepping to take this long car ride, which seemed a bit ominous, and this book seemed like the perfect antidote to ominous. So I packed it.

From Goodreads:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

And I am a moron.

Holy crap, this book was fantastic.

I suspect I loved this book for different reasons than a lot of people. I loved it for the writing, and I loved it for the characters. I loved this book even though I kind of knew what was going to happen. The characters and the writing were so amazing that I would’ve read about Anna and her friends playing Go-Fish for 18 hours straight. There, I said it. I Loved it. Capital L.

And this is why I should not judge. This is why I should not read only one type of book. This is why I should go ahead and try those books that are not necessarily my thing.

I am not a re-reader of books. Not unless, like, 10 years have gone by. But I want to read this book again. Already. Even though I know what happens.

And now, for a secret: I also adored the story, despite what I thought I knew about my reading tastes. About 8 hours into the car ride, the husband narrowed his eyes at me and said, “Why do you keep smiling?” In road-trip land, there was no reason to smile. Nobody else was smiling. The kids were cranky. The husband was cranky. We had passed the time for smiling about 4 hours earlier. And I said something like, “Oh, well, you see, Anna just…” And then I realized I was about to completely and utterly ruin my reputation.

So I’ll leave it at this: This book will make you smile.

Come see what the rest of the Bookanistas are talking about this week:

Elana Johnson reveals the cover of The Eleventh Plague

LiLa Roecker wonders What Happened to Goodbye

Christine Fonseca wants to be Like Mandarin

Jamie Harrington falls for Falling Under

Shelli Johannes-Wells visits Dark and Hollow Places

Beth Revis discovers Lost and Found

Carolina Valdez Miller is wild about Wither

Bethany Wiggins commends Ketura and Lord Death

Shana Silver gushes over What Happened to Goodbye 

Jen Hayley peers into Clarity

Carrie Harris is mesmerized by Memento Nora

Matt Blackstone visits The Ninth Ward

Stasia Ward Kehoe spotlights Strings Attached

Comments

[Jessi]

Megan, I have this in my pile too and have been thinking the exact same things you originally thought about it. Seems I'll have to read it now and realize I'm also a moron. :)

[Carolina Valdez Miller]

I agree. I put it off for the same reasons. I think the cover alone makes you think it's something more akin to beach reading. But she did such a terrific job with characterization and made you really care about Anna and her friends. The voice was so strong. I was really surprised by it.

[Anita]

I loved this book so much I read it twice. And it really hasn't been out that long.

[Jill Hathaway]

Yay! Going to revisit this one!

[Megan Miranda]

Jessi - Please read it so you can join me :)
Carol - Yes, THE VOICE. Amazing. I was really surprised by it, as well.
Anita - That's awesome! I really want to read it again, too....
Jill - I know you'll love it. I KNOW IT.