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sharonsm_28's review against another edition
4.0
THIS WAS SO ADORABLE AND FUNNY AND EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED TO READ! I didn't love it quite as much as Anna and Lola, and a few aspects were kind of frustrating, but despite that, I still really enjoyed it!
natiesreads99's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the book! All of Stephanie Perkins' books are really quick and face paced and thats what I enjoy about it, however Lola and the boy next door still is my favorite. I thought in the beginning of the book Isla and the happily ever after would be my favorite but then I continued and we got to the "conflict" and I realized that Lola had won.
I really really loved how we jumped into the romance quickly and it was a beautiful one too, it was light and artistic and really cute. I really liked that they told each other things they never told their friends/family before and how well they clicked together and were so easy around each other but yet still a little shy and clumsy, that's what makes it real. In real life things dont always go the way you plan in your head and Stephanie Perkins does a great job at doing just that.
The art. THE ART. THE ART. I really loved the art in this book, just the fact that Josh paints and they visit places they both like that involve art or museums and you see exactly how dedicated Josh is to painting/drawing and wanting to draw and paint everything that he finds appealing. I loved that scene where Josh said he wanted to paint on her, that scene was one of the most beautiful scenes to me. And it kind of reflects how later on Isla says shes just a blank canvas but then again Josh painted on her, maybe a metaphor that he fills her up. (that's what I got out of it though)
The characters.
I LOVED JOSH!! At first I didn't even realize it was Josh from the first book but then Isla mentioned his tattoo and I was like OHMYGOD THAT JOSH!! But I really liked that Stephanie wrote a love story about him, I liked him a lot in the first book and now I love him even more. He's so artistic and really nice. I like how he tries not to care but then again he does care he just has to hide it because of the things he went trough that he doesn't feel comfortable talking about. I love how you get to see that he was a bit in the shadow of St.Clair because every girl falls head over heels with him but with Isla she told him that St.Clair was just "Alright." And I feel like that made him feel the special that he is. I also liked when we got to read his book and he showed tiny bits and pieces of how he wanted to act like St.Clair and wanted to be more charming, because things like that DO happen in real life where a friend feels a shadow to their friend and doesn't feel as if they're good enough.
Isla was an okay character, I liked the way she tells the story and the things she goes trough but the way her mind works frustrated me most of the times because..well WHY. The conflict that happened in the limo I was SO mad at her because she just wanted to pick a fight just to pick a fight. There was no fucking reason for her to pick a fight that night. She started doubting herself because she was only in 8 pages of the book. I thought that was really stupid and really selfish of her. To claim that Josh didn't really love her was a horrible thing to say because she's not the one to decide that and she completely threw a fit over really stupid things which pissed me off about her. I did love her relationship with her sisters, finally she opened her eyes and realized things at the end and really did go out of her way to fix them. In this book you can clearly see that the biggest enemy was Isla herself and a part of her mind that was way too hard on herself which also happens a lot in real life but I just feel that that scene in the limo was really unnecessary.
Kurt was alright too, I did get all defensive when he said "I was named after a guy who committed suicide." Because I really do love Kurt Cobain. I understood the role he had in this book but I didn't love him or really connect with him, I'm glad he was introduced in this book and that he was a good best friend but at times you could see that he had difficulty adapting to the fact that Isla has a boyfriend and has to get used to it. But in the end he did manage to make other friends that weren't Isla and I was happy for him because you could see that some people felt uncomfortable around him just because they didn't really get the time to get to know him better and I'm glad that Stephanie introduced this kind of issue in this book.
SPAIN!!
I LOVED THE WHOLE SCENE OF SPAIN. From the moment in the train till when they rush back. I think that was really when their relationship was at its utter best because it was just them and no one else around them and it was just what they felt for each other. It was really cute that they went away like that for a while (it kinda sucked that they got busted but it was bound to happen).
THE PROPOSAL.
When St.Clair proposed to Anna I was so happy for them and that everyone was there supporting them was amazing. The fact that Stephanie kept bringing her old characters back into the new book was something that I really enjoy and I loved seeing Calliope as well.
Overall a great book and I do recommend it if you want a quick read.
I really really loved how we jumped into the romance quickly and it was a beautiful one too, it was light and artistic and really cute. I really liked that they told each other things they never told their friends/family before and how well they clicked together and were so easy around each other but yet still a little shy and clumsy, that's what makes it real. In real life things dont always go the way you plan in your head and Stephanie Perkins does a great job at doing just that.
The art. THE ART. THE ART. I really loved the art in this book, just the fact that Josh paints and they visit places they both like that involve art or museums and you see exactly how dedicated Josh is to painting/drawing and wanting to draw and paint everything that he finds appealing. I loved that scene where Josh said he wanted to paint on her, that scene was one of the most beautiful scenes to me. And it kind of reflects how later on Isla says shes just a blank canvas but then again Josh painted on her, maybe a metaphor that he fills her up. (that's what I got out of it though)
The characters.
I LOVED JOSH!! At first I didn't even realize it was Josh from the first book but then Isla mentioned his tattoo and I was like OHMYGOD THAT JOSH!! But I really liked that Stephanie wrote a love story about him, I liked him a lot in the first book and now I love him even more. He's so artistic and really nice. I like how he tries not to care but then again he does care he just has to hide it because of the things he went trough that he doesn't feel comfortable talking about. I love how you get to see that he was a bit in the shadow of St.Clair because every girl falls head over heels with him but with Isla she told him that St.Clair was just "Alright." And I feel like that made him feel the special that he is. I also liked when we got to read his book and he showed tiny bits and pieces of how he wanted to act like St.Clair and wanted to be more charming, because things like that DO happen in real life where a friend feels a shadow to their friend and doesn't feel as if they're good enough.
Isla was an okay character, I liked the way she tells the story and the things she goes trough but the way her mind works frustrated me most of the times because..well WHY. The conflict that happened in the limo I was SO mad at her because she just wanted to pick a fight just to pick a fight. There was no fucking reason for her to pick a fight that night. She started doubting herself because she was only in 8 pages of the book. I thought that was really stupid and really selfish of her. To claim that Josh didn't really love her was a horrible thing to say because she's not the one to decide that and she completely threw a fit over really stupid things which pissed me off about her. I did love her relationship with her sisters, finally she opened her eyes and realized things at the end and really did go out of her way to fix them. In this book you can clearly see that the biggest enemy was Isla herself and a part of her mind that was way too hard on herself which also happens a lot in real life but I just feel that that scene in the limo was really unnecessary.
Kurt was alright too, I did get all defensive when he said "I was named after a guy who committed suicide." Because I really do love Kurt Cobain. I understood the role he had in this book but I didn't love him or really connect with him, I'm glad he was introduced in this book and that he was a good best friend but at times you could see that he had difficulty adapting to the fact that Isla has a boyfriend and has to get used to it. But in the end he did manage to make other friends that weren't Isla and I was happy for him because you could see that some people felt uncomfortable around him just because they didn't really get the time to get to know him better and I'm glad that Stephanie introduced this kind of issue in this book.
SPAIN!!
I LOVED THE WHOLE SCENE OF SPAIN. From the moment in the train till when they rush back. I think that was really when their relationship was at its utter best because it was just them and no one else around them and it was just what they felt for each other. It was really cute that they went away like that for a while (it kinda sucked that they got busted but it was bound to happen).
THE PROPOSAL.
When St.Clair proposed to Anna I was so happy for them and that everyone was there supporting them was amazing. The fact that Stephanie kept bringing her old characters back into the new book was something that I really enjoy and I loved seeing Calliope as well.
Overall a great book and I do recommend it if you want a quick read.
aerathiel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dovesfalling's review against another edition
3.0
Warning for ranting and relatively minor spoilers of the overall arc. I should also say - despite all of this - I still adore Stephanie Perkins, think she's hugely talented and should continue writing forever. But I see now why she struggled with Isla and Josh's story, and I think that comes through in the finished product.
This was just too.. young for me. Weird in a way, since this is the only one of Perkins' books that the main duo but despite that, it still felt... juvenile. With Anna and St. Clair (who I have never liked in subsequent books since it feels less like they're swoon-worthy and more like Perkins thinks they SHOULD be), there was a slow burn and an evolving friendship and romance. Even with Lola and Cricket, they had a history - albeit a ridiculous one - and you could feel the tension between them.
With Isla and Josh, there was no build. Just petite dainty littleBella Swan I mean Isla, so meek and scared and just... blank. And then slacker Josh, who through Anna's eyes seemed like such a tool, and yet. Apparently not.
Five minutes after they get together, suddenly it's a love affair for the ages, and even though they're eighteen, they're still controlled by their parents - Josh, here's a tip, you're fucking LOADED - BUY A CELL PHONE. It was just so overblown and overdone and geez louise, calm the fuck down already both of you.
So.Much.Drama.
PS: One thing I did appreciate was that
This was just too.. young for me. Weird in a way, since this is the only one of Perkins' books that the main duo
Spoiler
have sexWith Isla and Josh, there was no build. Just petite dainty little
Five minutes after they get together, suddenly it's a love affair for the ages, and even though they're eighteen, they're still controlled by their parents - Josh, here's a tip, you're fucking LOADED - BUY A CELL PHONE. It was just so overblown and overdone and geez louise, calm the fuck down already both of you.
So.Much.Drama.
PS: One thing I did appreciate was that
Spoiler
Perkins wrote sex into their relationship. In the previous books - especially Anna, there was this weirdness of Anna not being ready to have sex with St. Clair - yeah right - and it being this strangely huge deal. At least Isla surprised me by not being a virgin, and they banged it out fairly quickly. God save me from melodramatic sex in Y.A novels.jazmin's review against another edition
4.0
“Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting.The way he looked at you? He wasn't distracted. He was consumed.”
suspencebooks's review against another edition
5.0
“I am hard on myself. But isn’t it better to be honest about these things before someone else can use them against you? Before someone else can break your heart? Isn’t it better to break it yourself?”
___________________________________
If you've read the first two books and haven't read this one yet, READ IT! If you have read it, please, someone, anyone, fangirl/fanboy with me because I need to talk about something that happened in this book! If you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about!!!
This book is by far my favorite one in the trilogy/companion novel series, because everything from the past two books wraps up so nicely. When I first read Anna and the French Kiss, I wasn't impressed but the books have gone so far in the span on three books.
On to the actual book review:
1) The Plot
Anna takes place in France, Lola takes place in San Francisco, and Isla takes place in Manhattan/France! The settings in these books are phenomenal, because she describes all the areas so well and it's amazing. I LOVE how she described New York!
Isla is a student at the School of America in Paris (SOAP), and this book revolves around her love for Josh who we first met in Anna and the French Kiss. Whenever this book first started off, it had me laughing out loud from page 2, because Isla had just gotten her wisdom teeth removed and she was loopy and hitting on Josh and AH. It was so good!
These books are so cute, and if you want to get out of a reading slump, these are the books for you.
2) The Characters
Isla -
I cast Isla as Holland Roden from the MTV show Teen Wolf! I think Isla is my favorite narrator throughout these books! I just found myself relating to her so much, far more than I could relate to Anna or Lola, and I fell in love with her.
Josh -
I cast Josh as Robert Sheehan from the failure that was The Mortal Instruments movie. I love seeing Josh again, especially getting to go deeper in his character and see how sweet he was and how heartfelt, it was so nice to read from him again.
3) The Writing
- “For a certain type of person, high school will always be brutal,' the head says. 'The best advice that I can give you is to figure out what comes next, and work towards that.”
- “... But we stayed together because... I don't know why. Maybe because we thought we should be in love. At least I did. I wanted to be in love.”
- “I'm... a blank canvas. There's nothing here to love.”
- “Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting.The way he looked at you? He wasn't distracted. He was consumed.”
- “Do adults realize how lucky they are? Or do they forget that these small moments are actually small miracles? I don’t want to ever forget.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, my favorite installment!
★★★★.5/5!
mxysxm's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know how I feel about this book. At one point, it was very cute and romantic and fun but then it became this total disappointment. Just to be clear, I really liked Stephanie Perkins' [b:Lola and the Boy Next Door|9961796|Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss, #2)|Stephanie Perkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358271832s/9961796.jpg|7149084] and I loved [b:Anna and the French Kiss|6936382|Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1)|Stephanie Perkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358271931s/6936382.jpg|7168450] but I have to say, this final installment is quite far from going on my 'favorites' shelf. The previous two books had something behind them. Yes they were the usual silly high-school-easy-and-fun-read type of romance books but that's just it. They were enjoyable . They made me feel something whereas in this book I didn't get an ounce of feeling. It was plain and boring.
Isla is a desperate teenager. Her crush on Josh was just that - a crush. It turning into love and having him love her back felt too surreal and out of place. If the book had started with them meeting each other and THEN falling in love the book would've made more sense. it was just too much.
On the other hand, the were some really fun scenes, especially in the beginning. This is definitely the type of story that starts decent and ends up 'meh'. I don't think I would recommend this to anyone and I will definitely not be rereading it.
Isla is a desperate teenager. Her crush on Josh was just that - a crush. It turning into love and having him love her back felt too surreal and out of place. If the book had started with them meeting each other and THEN falling in love the book would've made more sense. it was just too much.
Spoiler
Not to mention when Isla 'broke up' with him. That was the part that made me realize this deserves no more than a 2 star. It was too sudden and had nothing to do with what was going on. The story behind what she felt after reading the memoir didn't build up and she never got to know what she thought or felt about it before blurting it all out to Josh. The reasons why she broke up with him were NOT reasons. It felt more like Stephanie was trying to keep the story going but was running out of ideas so she wrote the first thing that popped into her head. Which was very disappointing since I was truly looking forward to reading this one after finishing the first two.On the other hand, the were some really fun scenes, especially in the beginning. This is definitely the type of story that starts decent and ends up 'meh'. I don't think I would recommend this to anyone and I will definitely not be rereading it.
lauralantsov's review against another edition
2.0
[2'25] No sé qué pensar de este libro. Se me ha atravesado completamente, a diferencia de Anna y Lola. Puede ser que se me haya quedado muy juvenil, porque no podía con Isla a veces, de verdad. Casi todo el libro me ha pasado que era demasiado romance y los otros problemas eran meh, pero al mismo tiempo el final me ha gustado bastante, volver a ver a los personajes de los otros libros y como acaba, sinceramente esta autora sabe lo que hace.
Seguiré leyendo a la autora definitivamente.
Seguiré leyendo a la autora definitivamente.