Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins | Audiobook Review

---

[book-info]

MY THOUGHTS

Don’t want to read the whole review?  Click to jump to the Skinny Review.

After that fun #LoveAThon weekend, I got a few recs that got me excited to read books out of my comfort zone.  As you know, I hardly read contemporary YA, so I was a little bit hesitant to read Anna and the French Kiss.  But, there was a lot of positive hype about this book when this came out, and a lot of bloggers did say that it was SOOOO GOOOD, so I decided to try it.  Please be warned that there might be some spoilery things in this review, so if you do read on, please be warned.

Well, what did you think?

Anna and the French Kiss was OK, to be honest.  It didn’t blow me away at all, and it reminded me why I hardly read fluffy contemporary YA.  Now, hold on to your pitchforks people, I didn’t say that this book was bad.

What are you saying, exactly?

I’m saying that I HATED ETIENNE ST. CLAIR, it’s not even funny!  Ugh!  And basically, nothing happens in the book that screams LOVE to me!  Honestly!  There were only a few touches, glimpses, whatever throughout the whole school year but as a whole, it didn’t scream love at all!

A whole year and nothing happens?

YES!  The book starts of when Anna settles in her dorm in Paris, France because her father wanted his daughter to be educated in Europe like most of his peers children (Anna’s father is an adult fiction writer that has had multiple movies based on his books which ultimately ends in death or cancer….sounds like an author you know, eh?).  Naturally, Anna HATES leaving her friends in Atlanta and moving in Europe.  Because come on, PARIS is HORRIBLE!  Note the sarcasm, here.  Study in an elite private boarding school?  HORRIBLE!

And you said nothing happens?

Okay, so I did get a little sidetracked here.  Anyway, the whole Etienne/Anna relationship happens for almost the whole school year and there was NOTHING at all that made me think, aww this is true love!  I mean, granting that this is a YA novel, but still.  Anna professed her love to him and to be honest, I was also expecting to fall in love, myself.  But I DIDN’T!

Did you even enjoy this book at all?

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy reading the book.  It was just okay for me.  However, it didn’t blow me away!  I’m still a little puzzled that a lot of readers love Etienne at all.  By the way, he made my characters I hate but everyone loves list.

I know this sounds like this is a hate review, it’s not.  I just felt cheated, you know?  I mean, I did go into this book with HIGH expectation.  REALLY HIGH expectations.  But, oh well.  I can’t get those hours back again, that’s for sure!

Recommendations

I honestly haven’t read a lot of contemporary books in this vein, but the closest I have read is Only for You by Beverley Kendall.  This was previously titled When in Paris…

[rating-report]

---