Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary (via 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. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all... including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Lights, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Review
I'm not one for girlie books - not unless there's some kind of supernatural or fantasy twist to it. And this book is most certainly a girlie girl book, although I have to admit, this story has a soft spot in my heart. It's chick-lit at it's best! I loved the setting, Perkins was able to make me believe I was walking the streets of Paris along side St. Clair and Anna, Mer, Rashmi and Josh. It's written beautifully and is brilliantly funny.

So the story... Anna is sent to boarding school in Paris by her annoyingly orange father and she is more than a little resentful. Not just because she has a life back in Atlanta but also because she can't speak French! Which if you ask me, is kind of an necessity when living in France. It follows Anna as she has to learn to be her own person, to be independent, as well as figure out how to not too fall in love with your best friend.

The reason I don't usually like these kind of books is because they're usually told by winy fifteen-year-old girls whose problems are so tedious you want to rip your hair our by the start of chapter three. However, this is told by a seventeen/eighteen-year-old that actually has a morsel of common sense! Anna is a film geek with a neat and organised personality that spills out into her everyday life. She's not the loner or the popular girl which makes her relatable without throwing her into clique territory. I love her! And I was routing for her all the way through... well apart from the odd chapter in the middle when she went a little too 'love-sick-puppy' for my liking.

The character's in the story all have their own personalities, which is a rarity! Mer is the sporty one, Rashmi is the academic one (or at least more so than the others). You have Josh the artist and St. Clair the totally hot - if not slightly short - history nerd who you will have to stop yourself from falling in love with. Along with a handful of less amicable creatures such as Dave and Mike.

Now, it's not the next War and Peace! It's not literary greatness, with long fancy words that give you a headache. It's a sweet little book that will melt your heart and make you dream of Parisian cobble stones. It will make you want to make a wish on Point Zéro and fall in love in the City of Light. I'd recommend this book to any girl wanting a feel good read, because it will make you laugh. Each new chapter brings something new and exciting.

The only thing I can think of as a negative is that there were a couple of odd sentence in French and as I don't speak French I obviously couldn't read it. But trust me it won't make a difference to you're reading experience.

This would make the perfect beach read! Enjoy my lovelies!

Book Trailer