Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Series: Anna and the French Kiss #1

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?

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5 Drink Me Potions

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Romance, romance, romance galore!

I put off reading Anna and the French Kiss for a long time. I’m not sure why. Hype I guess? And even though there are a number of cliches in this story, and of course, a predictable plot line, the path of Anna and Etienne’s romance was unique and extremely adorable.

Anna isn’t quite like any girl I’ve read before. She’s not necessarily a shy girl, but she isn’t in the popular group at school. She’s not afraid to put herself out there when need be, loyal to her friends, and apparently quite attractive (so not the cliche of extremely handsome boy falling for a plain girl). Etienne is probably the most unique male counterpart I have yet to see. He’s American, yet has a British accent and a French name. He’s not very tall (there goes that cliche) but his presence and inner charisma is what draws others to him. Oh, and yes, can’t forget about his gorgeous hair!

The protagonists fit well together. I just didn’t love how long it took for their confused feelings to get it together and realize they had something special right in front of them. However, through their struggles, it brought out the emotions and strength of their friendship, which quite frankly is more important at times than the initial physical attraction which made fade.

And the setting was in Paris! Oh la la. What better place to have a beautiful romantic story in? It was depicted so well that it made me long to go back to the City of Lights. I could picture many of the attractions they visited, and could clearly imagine myself doing it with Anna and Etienne.

Overall, a job well done, Stephanie Perkins! She took an ageless plot line and made it into something of her own.

Overall Recommendations:
Anna and the French Kiss may have high expectations but the romance and friendship of the 2 protagonists are worth the ride as they navigate the budding feelings they have for each other. Through the highs and lows of their senior year, and set in the gorgeous City of Lights, what more could a romance story have? It is a whole deal package that no one should miss out on! A definite 5 stars!