Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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?

Bop me on the head for not reading this sooner. Seriously, I don't know what's wrong with me. I totally had separation anxiety *stares longingly at iPad* when I had to do something else that didn't involve finishing this book. I feel like there isn't a lot I could say that you haven't already heard about this book, so I'm going to touch on the things that made me have a cheesy little grin the whole time I read it.

First off, what made me initially fall for this book was the the fact I finally got to somewhat experience my dream of going to school abroad! Sure, I've always wanted to go to Europe, but I've always wanted to have a year of education somewhere foreign. I've sadly never had the opportunity to do so, but oh man I'm so jelly of Anna for this and other things.

Oh, Etienne! Let's just discuss you for a moment so I can concentrate. Yes, I'm another girl who totally wants your bod even if you're too young for me. I'm choosing to ignore this fact for now because if you truly were some student nearby, I'd likely consider going there for grad school just to stare at you. Yeah. Well that or to befriend Anna because she's awesome and I want to go see random movies with her. I seriously adored both of them because of their banter. Any person who can have a great discussion (no matter how ridiculous) will totally win cool points with me. Anna and Etienne had that friendship I'd love to have with a guy friend. They were just full a lot of moments I'd totally fangirl over at any age. One important aspect is that their relationship had development! I loved that their friendship grew. It made me want them together instead of expecting it.

This brings me to the other friends. I really liked how each person had their own personality and little side stories. It brought so much more to the story because it wasn't focused on two people. Everyone had flaws, and I liked that no one was given that "perfect" personality. I'd love to have books continuing some characters like Josh because I think there's more to him than what we got. Overall, they were all people I'd love to get to know.

Food. I'm a total foodie, and this book was like written food porn. I wanted to eat everything they mentioned! Someone give me some panini and crack coffee! I seriously just wanted to gorge myself with cake when I was reading. It wasn't fair.

I definitely think it's one of those books you need to be in the mood for. I don't know if that makes sense, but I know if I read this while I was wanting something really deep then I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did. However, since I was in the mood for something enjoyable and light, it was the perfect book. If you're like me and haven't had a chance to read this yet, I'd say get on it because you truly won't regret it.

(As I don't understand a lot of French, a few of these songs are lyric appropriate, while others just fit the mood of the book for me.)

Soundtrack: 

Looking Good - The Parisians

Quelqu'un m'a dit - Carla Bruni

Anna(Go to Him) - The Beatles 

Que Veux-tu - Yelle

Time for Nothing More - The Parisians

So Much Trouble - Izia

Elle Me Dit - Mika

You Already Know - Bombay Bicycle Club