Tag: chick lit

YA

Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Anna and the French Kiss #3

isla and the happily ever after -stephanie perkinsLove ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

5 Drink Me Potions

Where should I start? There is just so many things to say about this book.

I guess I’ll just have to keep it sweet and simple.

Isla and the Happily Ever After was the romance book I’ve been waiting for. Where its predecessor Anna and the French Kiss was frustrating with its protagonists struggling to decide who to be with, and the other predecessor Lola and the Boy Next Door was extremely slow with its romantic chemistry, Isla and Josh made the best pair of love-torn protagonists I have yet to read.

It starts off right where you may have imagined it. You guessed it. Isla pining away for Josh, as she’s done for the last 3 years of high school. They’re seniors now and she REALLY needs to make her move. Girl, you should’ve done this ages ago, like pre-Rashmi (Josh’s ex).

Anyway, Isla was a nice, albeit a little similar to other protagonist voices I’ve read. She’s shy but sweet. She can be sassy, but she doesn’t make new friends as easily. However, as the story progresses, she gets bolder in her actions while still maintaining a bit of her old shy self in there too. Josh, on the other hand, is….I don’t have the proper adjective to describe him. I really got to know him through this book, another aspect of him that wasn’t clearly there in Anna and the French Kiss. Yes, he’s an artist and he’s drawing a graphic memoir of himself. I find that darn cute. And we get to read it! Sort of. To see how his high school life had gone, and what he hopes it’ll be like now. It really gives us the chance to see who he is and how he came to be this way. My goodness, it makes me want to smack and hug him at the same time. But of course, I still love him.

The romance picked up fast this time (for once). Unlike Perkins’ two previous works, neither protagonists had someone they were still dating/holding onto like their sole source of oxygen. All in all, it made their growing feelings for each other so much sweeter to read about, with the odd comical moments that any great couple have.

I–well I can go on and on about this book, but like I said. Sweet and simple. READ IT! With gorgeous settings like Manhattan, Paris and Barcelona, and the cutest couple as our protagonists, it’s like the perfect combination to falling in love with a book.

Overall Recommendation:
To keep it sweet and simple, this book takes the romantic storytelling to the next level. With two very different yet very complex and beautiful characters, it’s like unravelling a fairy tale as Isla and Josh fall for each other, and following the ups and downs of a real relationship as the every day drama tries to tear them apart. Oh, and of course, what’s cooler than reading about the love interest than in the form of a comic book story?
Seriously. It’s too cute for words. Please, read it. I swear it takes the best parts of Perkins’ previous works and mashes them into this gorgeous book.

YA

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Anna and the French Kiss #2

lola and the boy next door -stephanie perkinsLola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better.

And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

3 Drink Me Potions

I came in really wanting to love-love-love it like I did with Anna and the French Kiss, but I just…couldn’t. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, it just wasn’t as great.

Lola is a VERY unique protagonist. She never wears the same thing twice, always having on a different costume each day. They’re wracked with bright colours, wigs of all shapes and sizes, and combined in such interesting ways. She’s not afraid to be who she is. And for Cricket, her love interest, he sounded very sweet and cute. He’s that kind of nice guy who would do anything for the girl he loves. But Stephanie Perkins didn’t leave him that boring sounding. He’s extremely tall, at 6’4″, and invents little automatons for fun. Oh, and he has a great sense of style. Not your typical boy with T-shirt and shorts/jeans. No, siree. His wardrobe includes wearing (tight) pinstripe pants.

Anyway, with these 2 very interesting characters, why couldn’t I love it? The pacing just wasn’t right for me. I hated Lola’s relationship with her rocker boyfriend, Max. He was a total tool. Yeah, he never cheated on her or anything, and he seemingly cared, but he was so jealous and possessive. We all knew he was totally wrong for her, but no! The story had to drag on with him in it. I couldn’t wait until the page they broke up. Honestly. Second best page ever.

I guess I wished there was more to their romance. Cricket and Lola’s, I mean. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them as strongly as I did with Etienne and Anna. For most of the book, Lola was practically dragging her feet into admitting that she still had feelings for Cricket. Like, come on! Stop going back to Max and get your head together! I really wanted to scream that at her sometimes. It was frustrating, to say the least.

The ending was nicely wrapped up, of course. I felt that I had just finally gotten to the good stuff…and then it had to end. Sigh. At least Anna and Etienne were amazing secondary characters here. It did feel a little weird seeing them from a 3rd person perspective, though. All in all, it wasn’t a bad read. The chemistry was just lacking, and I wanted to slap Lola awake occasionally. But it was still romantic! (for the last twenty pages or so)

Overall Recommendations:
Lola and the Boy Next Door seemed to lack the essential parts of its predecessor, Anna and the French Kiss that made it so successful. Both protagonists were defined and unique in character, but the book felt like it was dragging its feet through the mud, waiting it out for Lola to figure out who was the right person for her. It sounds a lot like the underlying plot for the first book, but it was executed way better there.
This isn’t to say it sucked as the romance still had that Perkins touch, but I guess it could’ve been better. Having an amazing predecessor to live up to sets a high standard.

YA

Review: Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

since you've been gone -morgan matsonIt was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um…

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane’s list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait…what?

4.5 Drink Me Potions

I enjoyed this book a little more than I anticipated. As I kept reading, my rating went up a little more. Yes, Since You’ve Been Gone was rather a long read, and occasionally felt drawn out. There is a chapter titled for every item on the list that Emily wanted to complete to find her missing best friend, Sloane. However, I was kind of glad seeing that there was a whole chapter for each one, as it produced a progression for the summer in how Emily came to find herself.

Character development was one of my favourite things. Emily started off panicky, shy and alone as she found herself best-friend-less at the beginning of the summer. It’s understandable, especially if you have a shy friend like that. But slowly, with each item she crossed off the list, they challenged our protagonist to come out of her scared shell and for once, BE BRAVE. She had to face her fears for many of them. Like come on, she has a fear of horses but has to ride one. If I had to face my worst fear…..my goodness, it would not turn out as well.

I also liked the minor characters, like the friends Emily makes over the span of the summer as she goes through the list. They each had a personality that didn’t make them just mundane pieces to surround her with. This included her family as well. Her erratic playwright parents and adrenaline-junkie little brother were fun sides to the story, although they may not have directly impacted the central plot: follow list, finish list, find Sloane.

I’ll admit, I had hoped for more romance between Emily and Frank for more of the story. He’s had a long-time girlfriend for most of the story, which made it somewhat more bearable to wait. But if you’re looking for an amazing romance here, this is NOT the book for you, I’m sorry. I appreciated their growing friendship and under-the-surface feelings that gradually came. It wasn’t just physical chemistry between them. They were good friends too, and I like a relationship that’s based on more than just attraction between 2 people that may have nothing in common.

As for Sloane, I was very satisfied with the ending. For most of the book, I couldn’t understand why she left, or where she could’ve gone that would inhibit her from responding to Emily’s texts/calls. Hello, 21st century here. It’s not as hard to communicate with people over long distances. But I came to see her point of things and the ending left me with an emotional taste of their friendship that wasn’t just seen in Emily’s flashbacks. I surprisingly actually liked her by the end. Hoorah! She’s not a villain!

Overall Recommendation:
A mix of a fun and emotional read, Since You’ve Been Gone is a wonderful story on best friends and finding new friendships. With memorable characters and a protagonist with strong development over the course of the book, I swear, you’ll have a lot of fun following Emily and her friends as they complete the list. What an epic summer! Oh, and a bit of underlying romance thrown into there as well. It’s a complete package!