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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I love Josh. Isla is kind of annoying, but I think it's because she is me. I am her. That is all.
I love Josh. Love love love. Which yes I know is the whole point of this book but I don't care. Fairy tales are my manna and this one doesn't disappoint. I adored how the ending ties all the books together and how just happily ever after it is. Happy is good. More happy in this world, please!
As with the previous two books, I LOVED this one. Swoons and heartbreaks and laughter and tears...Stephanie Perkins will give it ALL to you. Full review to come!!
Full review coming 08/04/14. Here's what you need to know right now:
This story is the definition of perfection.
Review originally posted at www.fictitiousdelicious.com on 08/07/14:
So, here it is. The end of a series that will be in my list of favorite series EVER 4ever. As much as I wanted to take my time and read it slowly and savor it, I ended up eating up in one big gulp. I didn't even get a bellyache! My heart did go through the wringer a bit, though. There are high highs and a low low felt like a squeeze to my heart and made moisture release from my tear ducts.
Let's start with Isla and Josh. Their story is as delicious as you'd expect. The first half of the story reminded me of Anna and St. Clair's love story in that they fall in love in Paris and wander the streets and take in all those amazing sights in the City of Light. But their story is unique.
Circumstances will test the crushes-turned-to-love that Isla and Josh find in France. And Spain. And New York City. And...I don't really want to say any more than that! I seriously think opening up this book without knowing a lot of details beforehand is the best way to open this sweet package of goodness. Just know we're dealing with Josh, a boy that knows (and has known his entire life) exactly what he wants in his life. Isla is more of the "I don't know what I'm going to do after high school" type. So, you know...they have some THINGS to work through.
Next, we get to talk about Anna, St. Clair, Lola and Cricket. Because guess what? You'll get to see them all! Perkins weaves them into the story like the master storyteller that she is. I swear my heart rate goes up by 100 beats per minute at the mere mention of St. Clair. He remains my favorite Perkins hero. Josh is a close second, though.
Lastly, lets chat a bit about Stephanie Perkins, okay? Guys. She's effing brilliant. BRILLIANT. This book is pure perfection. It has a heroine who is identifiable in her insecurities, a hero who is a good guy and so incredibly swoon worthy, an autistic secondary character who is written remarkably well and with zero stereotypes. It has adventure. It has sexy times. It has the right amount of angst. It has humor. Stephanie Perkins holds the recipe for the perfect book.
I know we've waited a long time for Isla and Josh's story and I know that might worry you--it worried me! The delays were totally understandable and I want to you to understand this one thing: She did the right thing in taking her time with this story. This book may very well be her best book yet. (I say *may* because ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS gets a 1,000,000 points for introducing me to St. Clair.) You won't be disappointed.
This story is the definition of perfection.
Review originally posted at www.fictitiousdelicious.com on 08/07/14:
So, here it is. The end of a series that will be in my list of favorite series EVER 4ever. As much as I wanted to take my time and read it slowly and savor it, I ended up eating up in one big gulp. I didn't even get a bellyache! My heart did go through the wringer a bit, though. There are high highs and a low low felt like a squeeze to my heart and made moisture release from my tear ducts.
Let's start with Isla and Josh. Their story is as delicious as you'd expect. The first half of the story reminded me of Anna and St. Clair's love story in that they fall in love in Paris and wander the streets and take in all those amazing sights in the City of Light. But their story is unique.
Circumstances will test the crushes-turned-to-love that Isla and Josh find in France. And Spain. And New York City. And...I don't really want to say any more than that! I seriously think opening up this book without knowing a lot of details beforehand is the best way to open this sweet package of goodness. Just know we're dealing with Josh, a boy that knows (and has known his entire life) exactly what he wants in his life. Isla is more of the "I don't know what I'm going to do after high school" type. So, you know...they have some THINGS to work through.
Next, we get to talk about Anna, St. Clair, Lola and Cricket. Because guess what? You'll get to see them all! Perkins weaves them into the story like the master storyteller that she is. I swear my heart rate goes up by 100 beats per minute at the mere mention of St. Clair. He remains my favorite Perkins hero. Josh is a close second, though.
Lastly, lets chat a bit about Stephanie Perkins, okay? Guys. She's effing brilliant. BRILLIANT. This book is pure perfection. It has a heroine who is identifiable in her insecurities, a hero who is a good guy and so incredibly swoon worthy, an autistic secondary character who is written remarkably well and with zero stereotypes. It has adventure. It has sexy times. It has the right amount of angst. It has humor. Stephanie Perkins holds the recipe for the perfect book.
I know we've waited a long time for Isla and Josh's story and I know that might worry you--it worried me! The delays were totally understandable and I want to you to understand this one thing: She did the right thing in taking her time with this story. This book may very well be her best book yet. (I say *may* because ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS gets a 1,000,000 points for introducing me to St. Clair.) You won't be disappointed.
3.5
It was okay. I found the majority of the book really cliché and it was pretty vanilla.
It was okay. I found the majority of the book really cliché and it was pretty vanilla.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I smile up at him. "It's beautiful. But what comes next?"
"The best part." And he pulls me back into his arms. "The happily ever after.”
I smile up at him. "It's beautiful. But what comes next?"
"The best part." And he pulls me back into his arms. "The happily ever after.”
In the middle of this book I had no idea where the story was going. I wasn't sure if I'd like how it ended but Oh. My. Gosh. I was wrong. I could not put it down once I got to the last 100 pages. I cried. 5 stars.
I'm beginning to think that Stephanie Perkins just isn't the author for me. I only mildly liked Anna and the French Kiss, and loathed Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla was only slightly more tolerable. I'm not really sure WHY. There's just something about her style that just doesn't jive with me personally, though I can understand why a lot of other readers do like her.
I think the hardest thing about this book is that for me a lot of the drama is clearly fabricated drama, it feels very forced and plainly added simply for the sake of making the plot more interesting, and it just doesn't flow naturally for me. Most of the time I could see the 'problems' cropping up immediately. Isla essentially sabotages her own relationship with Josh, because she's afraid of him breaking up with her so she breaks up with him first. In a way, this also happens with Anna and Lola, which is perhaps why I don't like this one or Lola as much as Anna's story. Same issues, slightly different stories.
Interestingly enough, I think the relationship between Kurt and Isla was more interesting and I was a bit miffed that it wasn't developed better. I think this is another sticking point with me and these books- there are friends for the main characters, but the relationships don't develop and barely receive any focus, only the relationship with the love interest does, and it's front and center. Others only wander in occasionally, and usually only to boost forward the romantic relationship. I don't know - it just bothers me that once Josh is in a relationship with her, Isla pretty much ditches Kurt, particularly since she gives this big monologue about how she broke up with a boyfriend and stopped being friends with another girl because they wanted her to choose them over Kurt.
I think a lot of the scene being set in France is wasted - if it weren't for the random trips to Germany and Spain, it truly could have been set in the US. At least in Anna and the French Kiss we got that bit of culture shock and Anna's learning to love the country and exploring it, but here it's barely touched on. Just seems a bit of a waste to set a book in another country and barely do anything with it.
For me this just didn't deliver, and I just don't think I'll read anything by the author again - she's just not for me, sadly.
I think the hardest thing about this book is that for me a lot of the drama is clearly fabricated drama, it feels very forced and plainly added simply for the sake of making the plot more interesting, and it just doesn't flow naturally for me. Most of the time I could see the 'problems' cropping up immediately. Isla essentially sabotages her own relationship with Josh, because she's afraid of him breaking up with her so she breaks up with him first. In a way, this also happens with Anna and Lola, which is perhaps why I don't like this one or Lola as much as Anna's story. Same issues, slightly different stories.
Interestingly enough, I think the relationship between Kurt and Isla was more interesting and I was a bit miffed that it wasn't developed better. I think this is another sticking point with me and these books- there are friends for the main characters, but the relationships don't develop and barely receive any focus, only the relationship with the love interest does, and it's front and center. Others only wander in occasionally, and usually only to boost forward the romantic relationship. I don't know - it just bothers me that once Josh is in a relationship with her, Isla pretty much ditches Kurt, particularly since she gives this big monologue about how she broke up with a boyfriend and stopped being friends with another girl because they wanted her to choose them over Kurt.
I think a lot of the scene being set in France is wasted - if it weren't for the random trips to Germany and Spain, it truly could have been set in the US. At least in Anna and the French Kiss we got that bit of culture shock and Anna's learning to love the country and exploring it, but here it's barely touched on. Just seems a bit of a waste to set a book in another country and barely do anything with it.
For me this just didn't deliver, and I just don't think I'll read anything by the author again - she's just not for me, sadly.
