Anna and the French Kiss Paperback – Deckle Edge, August 4, 2011

This was my first time reading this book, and I LOVED IT! I read it in two days because I couldn’t put it down. I really liked Anna and I adored Étienne St. Clair. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.I absolutely loved the Paris setting. I’ve never traveled outside the United States, and Paris is one of the places I want to see. This book made me want to see Paris even more! Even though Anna is kind of reserved/shy at first (I’d be the same in a foreign city, or any city really haha), she eventually explores the city thanks to Étienne St. Clair.I did like most of the characters in the book. Only a few got on my nerves, and it was mostly minor characters and usually only sometimes. I absolutely loved reading the interactions between Anna and Étienne St. Clair. They made me smile, they made me laugh, they made me want an Étienne of my own! I also really liked the group of friends. Sure they fought amongst themselves at times, but what group of teenagers doesn’t fight?Okay I’m just going to get this out of the way. I hate cheaters, but I still didn’t have a problem with this book. I mean it’s not like they’re doing it or anything. But they do have an emotional connection that’s a little too much for “just friends”. I’m not saying it’s excusable to do that, but sometimes you can’t help who you fall for.Étienne St. Clair is the newest addition to my book boyfriend list. I found his character so adorable, so funny, so many other things. I loved the English accent and that he was also fluent in French. I could listen to him alternate between the two languages all day. His little quirks (crooked bottom teeth, messy bed head, nail biting, etc.) made him even more adorable. When readers get to the end, I don’t understand how everyone can’t be in love with him. After all the things he did for Anna throughout the book, besides being her best friend, I just couldn’t help myself. The last couple chapters were so great, especially the last few lines of the book. I don’t know how many times I squealed while reading this book. My heart melted, my heart soared, and did so many other things. If you haven’t read this book yet, read it!There were so many great lines and moments in this book. A few of my favorites were: “I mean, really. Who sends their kid to boarding school? It’s so Hogwarts. Only mine doesn’t have cute boy wizards or magic candy or flying lessons.” and “If there were an Olympics competition in hair, St. Clair would totally win, hands down. Ten-point-oh. Gold metal.” and “Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?” But my favorite part is the last few lines of the book. I don’t want to post them here though, so you’ll have to read the book to see why I love those lines so much.Final note: I loved this book. I bought the entire series after I read this book, and I can’t wait to read the other two books. Such a great romance with a healthy dose of friendship and teenage angst set in a beautiful foreign locale. What more could you ask for?

It was with great trepidation that I started Anna and the French Kiss. The good buzz for this book is insane! Best book of the year....best book EVER and so on. I almost never feel like everyone else does a book so I was skeered.However, my most trusted blogger friends were the ones promising it would be good, so I had to see what all the fuss was about. I have to admit that it didn't quite meet the best book ever or even best book this year for me - but I did love it.This is mostly because of my love for the protagonist, Anna. She is such a great example of a female YA character. I wish more were written like her. She's funny, smart and fallible but picks herself up and moves on.Anna is sent by her father to a prestigious boarding school, The School of America, for US students in Paris, France. She has to leave behind her best friend and her new blossoming relationship with the cute rocker boy Toph. She is not a happy camper. Most of the students come from rich families while she does not and she can barely speak a word of French.She soon becomes friends with students that have been attending the school which helps with her loneliness. She also meets Étienne St. Clair a cute English/American boy who is unavailable due to his long term relationship with his girlfriend, Ellie.The story is mostly centered on this relationship. Anna & St. Clair form a bond and become best friends. She feels more for him and it's obvious he has more than friendly feelings for her but that pesky girlfriend issue keeps getting in the way.There are a lot of "almost" moments for them and I loved how Anna kept her head about her and didn't let a boy drag her down. She was able to maintain the friendship and move on when she didn't think there was hope for more. She didn't sit at home pining away. She explored the city of Paris, went to movies alone, dated. What a concept!!As for the few things that kept this from being the perfect book in my eyes.....I think the missed opportunities with St. Clair went on a tad too long for me. I found myself wondering a few times what kind of boyfriend he would even be if they finally got together. Etienne St. Clair is a wonderful boy and there is never any doubt that he is over the moon for Anna but I felt like I wasn't getting the whole picture when it came to his character. I just wished I got a few chapters from his POV or maybe a conversation with him and another character. What was he thinking when he would leave her for a few days and then just show back up? What kind of relationship was he having with Ellie while he was in love with Anna? This is a minor complaint and should not dissuade you in anyway. In fact I don't know anyone else who even felt the same as I did about this. *see "best book ever* comment at the top.Another thing I loved about Anna and the French Kiss was even though this was a star crossed lover's tale, it never ventured into unbelievable slap stick territory. There were crossed signals and missed opportunities but it was all firmly rooted in reality. In fact I can say that several of these situations occurred in my teenage years. Unfortunately, it took place in the super exciting state of RI rather than Paris. Oh well. This is a very honest depiction of friendships, love and life as a teenager.There really is too much going on in Anna and the French Kiss for me to fit all into one review. There are great supporting characters, beautiful descriptions of Paris and enough talk of delicious food to make you want to hop on the next flight to Paris!As for swoony boys......I liked St. Clair but my attention kept being drawn to Josh, St. Clair's artistic best friend. Perkins is signed on to write two companion novels, Lola and the Boy Next Door ( September 2011) and Isla and Happily Ever After (late 2012) and I'm hoping my boy Josh is the focus of one of those stories. There is a little hint that he just may be in that last one. *fingers crossed*