Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Ok, so I am obviously a bit late jumping on the Stephanie Perkins banwagon, but I finally read Anna and the French Kiss and I fully understand why everyone raves about it.
Before I get into a review, here is the Synopsis:


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?




I know, I know, When I saw the title and the cover I thought the same thing you are probably thinking right now. Thankfully this book was so much more than I expected. Honestly, I am not much of a contemperary buff, so I am quite hesitant whenever I pick up a book in that genre. But I can truly say that I loved everything about this one.
The characters were all well developed and completely lovable. I could easily realate to both Anna and St. Clare! I couldn't get enough of either of them; even the less important characters were absolutely wonderful.
The romance in this book was amazing! It wasn't your typical teenage romance story. There was no annoying insta-love, no "I can't survive without this person", and it was really refreshing. It was believable, and, in my opinion, the way two people should fall in love...over time. One of my biggets pet peeves with books is when the characters fall madly in love upon first site. Anna and St Clair's romance was not at all like that.
The story taking place in Paris was the icing on the cake. The culture in the story was so rich and genuine, I felt like I was really there. Stephanie Perkins' writing is so enthralling, and I literally couldn't put this book down. It was very detailed without endlessly dragging on with descriptions. It was the perfect balance of love and life; meaning; Yes, it was a love stroy, but there was much more depth to it.
I do have to say some things were fairly predictable, and if it wasn't for the way it was written, the story could have easily been a sappy, overrated romance. I am happy to say it wasn't that, and it was the most wonderful book I have read in a long time!
I am so excited to tackle the companion novel: Lola and the Boy next Door.

I rated this books 5 French Kisses!