Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: August 14, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dream Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

You know those books that no matter what you know you will love, and then you read them and you love them even more than you thought you could? Combine that feeling with finally being able to read a book you’ve been waiting forever to read and you’ll start to get an idea of how I feel about Stephanie Perkins’ Isla and the Happily Ever After.

For as long as she can remember, Isla has been crushing hard on Josh but she’s never had the courage to do anything about it. But when she finds herself sitting across the table from him at a Manhattan café, Isla thinks this might be fate. Or it’s just lowered inhibitions thanks to a high dose of painkillers. But after that fateful night, Isla doesn’t see Josh again until they are both back at school in Paris. Starting their senior year, Isla and Josh grow closer, spending more and more time together quickly becoming inseparable. But just when things seem perfect, circumstances chance and the two quickly discover that getting to their happily ever after might not be as easy as they thought. 

I can’t even begin to explain how long I have been waiting for Isla and the Happily Ever After. When I saw that my pre-order had shipped early I practically jumped for joy. And when the book showed up at my house, there might have been loud squealing involved. Once I was done dancing around and hugging the book, I didn’t waste any time and started reading it right away. And I can’t even begin to put into words how Isla and the Happily Ever After made me feel. To say I was completely filled with utter joy and happiness would be a complete understatement. The whole time I was reading, I just had a big smile on my face. But at the same time, I also didn’t want the story to end because then that would mean having to say goodbye to these characters that I absolutely adore. Because I absolutely loved this story, and connected to it in ways that I never thought I would. I’ve always had a soft spot for stories where the characters go to school in foreign countries, because that’s what I did. From grade six to the end of high school, I was in Europe. My school wasn’t a boarding school the way the one in this story is, but there were definitely a lot of similarities. That alone, allowed me to connect to this story, and the one in the other books. But more than that, and with Isla and the Happily Ever After in particular, it was the characters that I connected with. Isla and Josh were so much more than I had hoped they would be and they are in large part why I loved this book so much.

In many other reviews, I’ve said that I’ve connected with characters, or seen some of myself in the characters I read about, but never has that been as true as it was with Isla. The more I read, the more I saw myself in Isla. At first I didn’t necessarily realize it, but the more I saw how she thought and the way her brain works, the more I realized that I was just like her in high school. Hell, I’m still a lot like that now that I’m in my twenties. In a way, seeing all of those thoughts on paper made me realize some things about myself. But beyond connecting with Isla so much, I loved her something fierce. And I loved her with Josh. Josh was someone who was sort of in the background in Anna and the French Kiss and I loved getting to know him more in this book. I really couldn’t have asked for a better match for Isla. These two together were just the most adorable couple. seeing them together, and seeing their relationship grow just warmed my heart and made me so unbelievably happy. And of course I loved the cameos by the characters from the previous books. There were many moments when I had to refrain from squealing out loud while reading in public because stuff happened and it made me SO FREAKING HAPPY AND EXCITED.

As you might have guessed Isla and the Happily Ever After was absolute perfection. I loved every single page of this book. Stephanie Perkins is the master of writing adorable and swoon-worthy romance. I absolutely CANNOT wait to see what she does next.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: September 29, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood.

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.

This book was nothing if not absolutely adorable. It was also a book I had been looking forward to reading since I read the last page of Anna and the French Kiss earlier this year. And if at all possible, I loved Lola and the Boy Next Door even more. Stephanie Perkins definitely knows how to write those perfect romance stories.

Lola Nolan has always known how to stand out in a crowd and she even likes it. Her goal is to never wear the same outfit twice and the crazier the look the better. But the clothes are really the only crazy part of Lola, she's a good friend and daughter and knows what she wants in life. And the most perfect part of it all is her older, rocker boyfriend who drives her dads crazy. But then the Bell twins move back in next door and Lola's world threatens to fall apart. Not so much because of Calliope, but because it means that Cricket Alexander Bell is also back in her life. Now Lola isn't so sure about a lot of things, mainly whether or not she is with the right boy. And the more she spends time with Cricket, the more Lola realizes those feelings she thought she'd gotten over are still right there. Because who could be more perfect for Lola than the boy next door?

I don't even know how to begin putting my feelings for this book into words. So I will apologize now if this review starts turning into just me saying "OMG this book was amazing" over and over again. But now that I've established that this book was amazing, I will try to be a little more eloquent. Lola and the Boy Next Door was an absolutely adorable story. Everything about it was spot on and nothing felt too cliché or overdone. It was just the perfect story. Stephanie Perkins has definitely found the perfect formula for writing a fantastic book and Lola and the Boy Next Door was exactly that. It was the perfect balance of romance, drama and humor. I just absolutely loved it.

Lola was pure awesomeness. I loved her right from page one and with every page I read I loved her even more. There was just this endearing quality about her. I felt her joy, her laughter and her sadness. She really couldn't have felt more real to me. And Cricket. I think I may have fallen in love with him. He was also quite possibly the best male character in a book ever. I don't think I can actually put into words how much I love Cricket. I also don't think it would have been possible for me not to fall in love with him. He just had this way about him, and nerdy boys are just the best. So of course I was rooting for Cricket the whole way through. What I loved was how Stephanie Perkins also included Anna and St. Clair into the story. It was great to see what happened to them.

The words fantastic and amazing don't even begin to describe the awesomeness that was Lola and the Boy Next Door. Stephanie Perkins once again wrote a brilliant book and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: December 2, 2010

Source: Purchased
Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Anna was 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. So she’ s less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Lights, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and heats melt.

Despite all the good things I had heard about it, I didn’t read Anna and the French Kiss until quite recently. Let me say that once I started, I didn’t stop. No matter how many times I told myself I would stop after the next chapter, I just kept reading on. It was that good a book.

Anna was perfectly happy to spend her senior year of high school at home in Atlanta where she has her family, her friends and a potential boyfriend. But her dad decides it would be better for her if she went off to boarding school in Paris. Though Anna doesn’t like the idea at first, she realizes Paris may not be so bad after all. And of course Etienne St. Clair just might have something to do with that. Unfortunately for Anna, St. Clair also happens to have a serious girlfriend. But who knows what can happen when you’re in one of the most romantic cities in the world.

Even now that I’m done reading, I just can’t seem to get over how cute and adorable this story was. Not only that but it reminded me of my high school experience overseas, mine wasn’t a boarding school or in Paris but it was still similar. While those similarities drew me into the story, what kept me reading was the writing. This isn’t an action-packed story but the way Stephanie Perkins writes it makes you want to just keep on reading. No matter how many times I told myself to stop reading, I didn’t do so until I realized it was 3 AM and I really had to go to bed. It was just a really adorable story that you can’t help but love and want more of.

As for the characters, they were absolutely great. I loved Anna right from the start. Not only was she a really realistic character but she was also extremely likeable. I just couldn’t help but hope that she would get what she wanted and that everything would work out for her. And then there was Etienne St. Clair. St. Clair has pretty topped my list of literary crushes. I could just picture him in my mind and hear his accent in my head and I wished I was in Anna’s place. He was just a genuinely good guy and you couldn’t do anything but like him. Basically, there were moments where I was pretty jealous of Anna.

Anna and the French Kiss was absolutely adorable and I loved every single page of it. Stephanie Perkins wrote a fantastic story and I absolutely can’t wait to read her next book, Lola and the Boy Next Door.