Friday, October 14, 2011

Flashback Friday: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Flashback Friday is weekly posting started by Mundie Mom's and another separate FF was started on Clean Teen Fiction.  The purpose is to highlight books you read a long time ago, but never reviewed or one that's been sitting on the shelf that we finally picked up to read.  Our Flashback Friday for this week is Stephanie Perkin's first novel, Anna and the French Kiss.  Lola and the Boy Next Door is the companion novel to this book!  It happens to also be unFREAKINbelievable!!!  You can check out our review of it here.


Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Published by: Dutton
Date Published: December 2, 2010
Reviewed by: Honorary Sis Beth
Sister Says: Fun, Flirty, and Fabulous

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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 Etienne St. Clair: 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? (-Goodreads)
                                 
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(((((Squeals))))) Anna and the French Kiss.....where have you been all my life!??!!? Just thinking about writing this review makes me giggle like a school girl.

First, I am going to start with the setting of the book. Ahhhhh....Paris. Stephanie Perkins does an unbelievable job navigating through the streets of Paris. I felt like I was Anna experiencing the places for the first time. It is the perfect setting for a lost girl to find herself and a Parisian/English/American hottie! Many times, I almost bought a one-way to Paris because of this book.

Speaking of hottie....St. Clair! ((((Big Sigh)))) Please don't get mad at me, but to be honest, I could not figure out why he made the crush tournament, but after reading this book....omigosh....definitely crush-worthy!!!! Broken, smart, smooth, sexy, and foreign....he has stolen my heart! In all seriousness though, I felt like his character was really well developed and executed perfectly. His struggles were palpable, his problems realistic (mostly), and his relationships deep. My only problem with him is I have a hard time pronouncing is name, Etienne, but I can deal with that!

Anna was so great. I can totally see some of myself in her. Not the obsessively compulsive clean part, but the totally neurotic and over-thinking part. In fact, some of her antics hit a little close to home


*****warning spoiler alert******
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ahem.....Dave. *****end of spoiler*****


 But, Anna was so likable and frustrating at the same time; that is what I loved about her. Seeing her step out on her own for the first time and navigate Paris, was just fun. I enjoyed seeing Paris through her eyes. Her growth throughout the book is just incredible to see. Not to mention her coffee connoisseur attitude after a few months in Paris....love it! :-)

This book was so much fun to read, I just want to read it over and over. It was flirty, fun, and definitely, bloody fantastic!!!! If you haven't had the chance to read it yet, move it high on you TBR self because it is worth every minute!

Buy it.....Read it......Love it!!!!