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shelbywilson's review against another edition
4.0
super cute, sweet story -- but there's a moment at the end that really took me out of it. anna and st. claire get engaged? really? they are 19 and have been dating for like 6 months. I KNOW IT'S YA. BUT STILL.
kmthomas06's review against another edition
3.0
While the first book in the series remains my favorite, this was a delightful conclusion to the Anna series. Isla and Josh are perhaps both slightly drama queens but who isn't at 18? I was very happy this book is set mostly back in Paris so that the spotlight gets turned again onto the City of Lights as much as it is on the story of Isla and Josh. [Also, could we get Josh's graphic memoir because that sounds like a fantastic read!]
bnboura's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️. I loved this one but not as much as the others. I thought the themes of this book were great however I did not love the vessels through which the themes were discovered. I still think all in all this series does such a great job encapsulating young love and how dramatic your high school years seem at the time. I truly feel so nostalgic within these stories. However, I thought in the other two books the ensemble casts were very likeable and I felt they were flawed characters in a way that allowed you to learn from them without becoming annoyed. I felt less of this in this book. I still enjoyed this series though and would highly recommend reading all three books.
starbreather's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book... I was hoping for 100% of adorableness, and Anna and the French Kiss was 110% adorable and bittersweet and cute, but this book lost these qualities at times. Some moments of the book didn't click for me and made me frown, some made me goofy-smile all the way. At least I really loved the ending, which wrapped up the series cleverly.
aylasmart's review against another edition
4.0
This book was really really good, as is every book I have read by Stefanie Perkins. She describes the characters very well and their romance is adorable. Reading this after Anna and Lola, it's hard to love Josh as much as I love St. Clair and Cricket. The one thing I would say is their love works out too quickly. When the relationship doesn't work out at first it makes it so much better when it finally happens. This love was cute, but it didn't seem as real as in the other two books.
helloooooree's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
pestowitch's review against another edition
1.0
It concerns me how many people are reviewing this saying it's like the oh so perfect love story. The relationship between Isla and Josh is so beyond ridiculous and harmful to each other! Josh essentially gives up on school, starts going on unsanctioned trips to other countries, and gets expelled during the course of their relationship. Isla lets her grades start falling, decides to entirely change her future plans to go to a different college to be with a boy she's been dating for A MONTH, and basically drops her childhood best friend.
This went from a creepily obsessive crush to intense, all consuming love within a matter of pages and didn't feel very romantic to me at all? This was not a healthy relationship. It didn't have the warmth of Anna and St Clair, it didn't have the backstory of Lola and Cricket. It just had privileged teenagers throwing tantrums and jetting across Europe with each other without telling their parents. Isla was insanely jealous and continually attacked Josh about his previous relationship with Rashmi, and said incredibly hurtful things to him about the graphic novel he wrote. Also, the descriptions of the graphic novel didn't work at all. It's graphic for a reason?
The only thing I liked about this book were the descriptions of Barcelona and the voice of reason from Isla's best friend, Kurt (who she doesn't listen to, and basically drops to hang out with Josh all the time).
Side note again: Just like the previous book, if the bit at the end about Anna and St Clair had been taken out, it wouldn't have made any difference to the story, so am annoyed this is marketed as "Anna and the French Kiss #3".
This went from a creepily obsessive crush to intense, all consuming love within a matter of pages and didn't feel very romantic to me at all? This was not a healthy relationship. It didn't have the warmth of Anna and St Clair, it didn't have the backstory of Lola and Cricket. It just had privileged teenagers throwing tantrums and jetting across Europe with each other without telling their parents. Isla was insanely jealous and continually attacked Josh about his previous relationship with Rashmi, and said incredibly hurtful things to him about the graphic novel he wrote. Also, the descriptions of the graphic novel didn't work at all. It's graphic for a reason?
The only thing I liked about this book were the descriptions of Barcelona and the voice of reason from Isla's best friend, Kurt (who she doesn't listen to, and basically drops to hang out with Josh all the time).
Side note again: Just like the previous book, if the bit at the end about Anna and St Clair had been taken out, it wouldn't have made any difference to the story, so am annoyed this is marketed as "Anna and the French Kiss #3".
betka_s's review against another edition
3.0
Lepší než Lola, ale tak moc přeslazené, že mi trnou zuby. Anna je prostě Anna, i když tady mi ten konec s ní přišel trochu ujetý, promiňte všechny fanynky :D
aameem's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, let's start with the obvious. This is yet another in a long line of popular YA trotting out the same stereotypical heroines, childish misunderstandings, unimaginative rumours, transparent lies, shitty parents, dramatic kisses (that happen right as the fireworks go off behind the couple on New Year's Eve), watered down language and best friends who also double as your shrink. We know what's going to happen before we read it. We've read a hundred like it before. Why, then, do we keep going back to it?
I believe a potent combination of nostalgia and the comfort of a familiar narrative structure is at work. It's why adults still read YA. They liked it because they could relate to the themes explored in it when they were teenagers discovering themselves and the world around them (but mostly themselves) for the first time. Then the mere exposure effect took over. Repeated exposure created preference and they became hooked. It is the same reason we crawl back to our exes and into toxic relationships, the same reason we play songs on repeat even after we kind of hate them and the same reason we can't stop watching Disney movies. Let's face it, stereotypes make it easier for us to read because we don't have to put in time and effort behind processing the unfamiliar. We can just sit back and trust the story to take over and do what it's done in the past.
I'd like to say this though. While Isla is really another [b:Anna|6936382|Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1)|Stephanie Perkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358271931s/6936382.jpg|7168450] and definitely no [b:Lola|9961796|Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss, #2)|Stephanie Perkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358271832s/9961796.jpg|7149084], some of it really hit me hard. I couldn't help but relate to it. Josh and Isla had to go through the agony of separation, work through the anxiety, depression and withdrawal that comes with it, deal with doubts, cope with the dreadful reality of getting caught and get past parental disapproval. This was painful to read because it was all too familiar. I might have cried a little when Josh sends Isla a worn T-shirt that smells like him and she sends her scarf back as a peace offering even though they're fighting. It was all too real. I also have to say this. ISLA IS SUCH A BITCH. I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE MADE HER AUTISTIC BEST FRIEND APOLOGISE TO HER FOR HIS AUTISM. I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE BROKE UP WITH HER BOYFRIEND BECAUSE SHE WAS JEALOUS OF AN EX THAT WASN'T EVEN IN HIS LIFE. HOW SELFISH CAN SHE BE? What went wrong, Stephanie Perkins? How could you go from my beautiful, sparkly Lola to this?
I believe a potent combination of nostalgia and the comfort of a familiar narrative structure is at work. It's why adults still read YA. They liked it because they could relate to the themes explored in it when they were teenagers discovering themselves and the world around them (but mostly themselves) for the first time. Then the mere exposure effect took over. Repeated exposure created preference and they became hooked. It is the same reason we crawl back to our exes and into toxic relationships, the same reason we play songs on repeat even after we kind of hate them and the same reason we can't stop watching Disney movies. Let's face it, stereotypes make it easier for us to read because we don't have to put in time and effort behind processing the unfamiliar. We can just sit back and trust the story to take over and do what it's done in the past.
I'd like to say this though. While Isla is really another [b:Anna|6936382|Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1)|Stephanie Perkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358271931s/6936382.jpg|7168450] and definitely no [b:Lola|9961796|Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss, #2)|Stephanie Perkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358271832s/9961796.jpg|7149084], some of it really hit me hard. I couldn't help but relate to it. Josh and Isla had to go through the agony of separation, work through the anxiety, depression and withdrawal that comes with it, deal with doubts, cope with the dreadful reality of getting caught and get past parental disapproval. This was painful to read because it was all too familiar. I might have cried a little when Josh sends Isla a worn T-shirt that smells like him and she sends her scarf back as a peace offering even though they're fighting. It was all too real. I also have to say this. ISLA IS SUCH A BITCH. I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE MADE HER AUTISTIC BEST FRIEND APOLOGISE TO HER FOR HIS AUTISM. I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE BROKE UP WITH HER BOYFRIEND BECAUSE SHE WAS JEALOUS OF AN EX THAT WASN'T EVEN IN HIS LIFE. HOW SELFISH CAN SHE BE? What went wrong, Stephanie Perkins? How could you go from my beautiful, sparkly Lola to this?