Majorly, totally, butt-crazy in love. I love the story, I love the writing, and I love the setting. I love the secondary characters, I love Anna and I love, love, love, love, LOVE Étienne St. Clair.
There are two things I don't love about it, though: the name and the cover. Unfortunately, those two things made me dismiss it for months. Sure, I had it in my TBR pile, because I was vaguely attracted to the description on the back - about a girl sent to boarding school in France, where she meets a totally swoon-worthy (and totally unavailable) boy. But, I'm ashamed to say, I judged it by the cover. That cover is cheesy. And the name? Also kinda cheesy. So I assumed the book would be cheesy, too. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. I enjoy a bit of cheesiness. Like I said, I still picked the book up. But I dismissed it as a back-up read, something to have on hand in case I was bored or in need of a quick fix of fluff.
Then I came across countless reviews that said it was oh-so-amazing. I began to think maybe I'd judged it too harshly. So, curious to see what all the fuss was about, I picked it up on Sunday, at around 5pm. By 1am I was more than half way through and deliriously tired, but still had to force myself to put it down. Because I was already in love. The story was charming, the characters real, the chemistry sizzling, and woven together it was all so refreshingly normal. But that doesn't mean it was ordinary. Far from it. Yep, I admit it: I was really wrong about this book. Which is my hard luck, because it means I spent months with this awesomeness right under my nose and didn't know it. Sure Anna and the French Kiss is fun and it's fluffy, but it's so not cheesy - and it's most definitely not a back-up read. It's a must-read. Like, now!
Rating: 5/5
Eye Candy
I pictured Georgia Jagger and Tom Sturridge (pre his bearded hobo phase) as Anna and Étienne, respectively. I know she's supposed to have dark hair and he's supposed to have dark eyes, but I couldn't get Georgia and Tom out of my head. Hey, it worked for me - I think they're both gorgeous.
Fine Print
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2011
Get It: Fishpond
Images via Fuck Yeah Georgia Jagger and Tom Sturridge Online
