Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: Review

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

When Was It Released?:  2nd Decemeber 2010
Where Did I Get It From?: The Library
Who Published It?: Dutton Publishing
   Number Of Pages: 372 Pages 

Anna and The French Kiss is a book that I have heard so much about. Everyone seems to love the novel and I have been recommended this book by so many people I have lost count. Many times when a book has so much hype surrounding it, I find that it is never able to live up to it and I end up disappointed., so, I put this book off until I could not take it anymore! Let me tell you this book did everything but disappoint.

Anna is sent to Paris to attend boarding school, which she is less than thrilled about. She loves her life in her hometown of Atlanta with her best friend and her almost-boyfriend. Anna feels lonely and an outcast in Paris, that is until she meets St Clair, an irresistible guy with a cute English accent. There’s just one problem St Clair is already taken and in a relationship with his long term girlfriend.

I’m unsure where to even begin with how much I love Anna and The French Kiss. This novel had everything I love to read about filling the pages. I picked this up and could not put it down, it literally had to be dragged out of my hand at one point just so I could go to sleep. This is such a beautifully written contemporary YA novel, I was swept away with the pages and Stephanie Perkin’s writing style. I loved the setting of Paris for this novel, it was almost like a character in itself. The description was so well done that at times I felt as though I really was in Paris along with Anna and her friends. I love Paris, so any novel that can transport me there within the pages gets major bonus points from me.

I loved Anna as a character, finding her to be so relatable. She is awkward yet surprisingly likeable at the same time. Many girls will be able to relate to her, and the feelings she has during her time in Paris, because she is just your average girl. She is also very intelligent, which I loved about her, as it shows girls can do well in school and still be interested in boys at the same time. She is hilarious yet far from perfect which makes her seem much more real as a character. I also fell in love with St Clair (Etienne), again for his flaws and imperfections. He is just a normal guy and does not pretend to be anything that he is not. Even though Anna and St Clair, are my favourite characters, all of the characters with in the novel are beautifully written and memorable in their own ways.

There was one thing above all else that I loved about Anna and The French Kiss and that was the romance. I felt as though Stephanie Perkins created the romance between Anna and St Clair perfectly. I truly believed in their feelings for one another and their relationship throughout the novel, without any sense of doubt at all. I was willing the two to get together the whole way through the novel. I just wish they had been able to show their true feelings to each other sooner. I believe that the romance was so good because it was built up and not rushed into, it was built on a friendship and that is what makes me swoon over it so much. I want a relationship like theirs!

I honestly do not think I have loved a novel as much as I love Anna and The French Kiss. I want to read this all over again, right now! It is such a cute, beautiful, feel good novel which will grip hold of you and not let go until long after you have finished the last page. Anna and The French Kiss is like a hot, frothy, comforting hot chocolate that you will want to curl up with and savour for hours. I will definatly be buying a copy for my bookshelf, as well as Stephanie Perkins latest novel Lola and the Boy Next Door, and reccomend that you do too!

A Review: Paris Noire by Francine Thomas Howard

Francine Thomas Howard - Paris Noire

When Was It Released?: 20th September 2011
Where Did I Get It From?: Little Bird Publicity who represent Francine Thomas Howard kindly sent me a copy in exchange for a review
Who Published It?: Amazon Encore
Number Of Pages: 360 Pages

When I first heard about Paris Noire, I was actually quite excited to read the novel. I love novels set in and around WW1 and WW11 and felt as though this novel would be full of history, romance and racial prejudice. What more could I ask for? I had seen a few low rating reviews for this novel and wanted to find out exactly why others were not liking this novel. Therefore with an open mind I began to delve into the pages of Paris Noire.

Paris Noire, is set in 1944, at the beginning of the end of WWII and focuses on the story of Marie Therese and her two children Colette and Christophe. The family immigrated to Paris in 1928 from Martinique and faced many prejudices along the way. Once the Nazi’s have departed Paris, there is a great celebration where Christophe ends up embarking on a passionate love affair with the wife of a French freedom fighter. Marie-Therese suspects that this relationship will only end to heartbreak for her son yet Christophe is determined to make his relationship work, after all he is in love. At the same time Colette begins a dalliance with a white Frenchman and Marie-Therese herself finds herself attracted to a handsome black soldier.

I really did enjoy the plot of Paris Noire, with the focus on the romance that unfolds between various characters of different races. I felt the storyline moved quickly, which left me wanting to know hoe the novel would pan out. I found at times it was difficult to put this novel down, especially towards the middle of the novel where the events really pick up speed. I especially enjoyed the way in which Francine Thomas Howard takes on the aspect of a relationship and the prejudice that faces a African American man and a Caucasian French woman in the 1940’s. I felt as though the racial aspects of the novel were dealt with really well and were interesting while still being enjoyable. I also really liked that this novel is set during wartime, even though it is at the very end of the war, as I enjoy reading novels set in the first and second world wars. In terms of the characters I felt that my favourite would have to be Christophe. The way in which Christophe’s emotions are portrayed I really felt along with him and was routing for his relationship to work out throughout the novel. I found him to be relatable with a large amount of depth for someone who had been swept away with a relationship. I found Colette to be interesting, also and would have like to see a little more of her throughout the novel.

I hated the ending of this novel. I don’t think I have ever hated an ending more than with the ending of Pairs Noire. I don’t want to give too much away but lets just say it involves a mother pushing two people to get married who clearly do not love each other! I thought this was absurd and really ruined the novel for me. This is certainly not how I wanted this novel to end, and I would have really enjoyed the novel a lot more if it were not for this ending. To really enjoy the novel fully I suggest not even reading the last three or four pages. Aside from this, even though the racial aspects of the novel were dealt with well, it really began to grate on me that Marie-Therese had to bring up that she was from Martinique on almost every page. I understand that it is central to the novel but it really did not need to be mentioned quite so many times. I also did not the way in which Marie-Therese did not want there to be racial prejudice towards her yet she constantly says throughout the novel that she does not want her children to become romantically involved with any white people. I found this extremely hypocritical and felt that this could also have been toned down within the novel. I also felt as though Francine Thomas Howard should have done a little more research with this novel, as there many historical errors within the pages.

Paris Noire held so much promise as a novel, however I felt that it did not live up to its true potential. The synopsis and premise of Paris Noire was such an exciting an intriguing one, yet I’m afraid that certain elements of the novel let it down a little. That being said I still did enjoy the novel and would defiantly recommend reading it for yourself. The romantic and racial elements of the novel are fantastic and so enjoyable. I was all set to give this novel four stars, yet I’m afraid the ending of this novel pushed me down to giving it only three.

A Review: Restless In Carolina by Tamara Leigh:

Tamara Leigh   - Restless In Carolina

When Was It Released?: 19th July 2011
Where Did I Get It From?: Ashley Boyer at Waterbrook Multnomah was kind enough to send this copy for review
Who Published It?:   Waterbrook Multnomah
Number Of Pages:  339 pages


Restless In Carolina is the third novel in the Southern Discomfort series; following on from Leaving Carolina and Nowhere Carolina. I was excited to read this new novel in the series, as I always enjoy seeing how authors depict the south in particularly the Carolina’s, which is where I now live. I was excited to see how Restless in Carolina would pan out and could not wait to get started on this novel.

Bridget Pickwick is trying hard to overcome the death of her husband, Easton, but after four years things just aren’t getting any easier. Everyone around her seems to think that it is time she ditched her widow’s weeds and started living her life. On top of that she needs to find a buyer for her family’s estate, and not just any buyer, but someone who will keep the estate in its natural form, as eco-friendly as possible rather than turning it into a housing. Bridget thinks she may have found just in the man in JC Dirk, whose company has been developing green properties for years. JC however, is not amused when Bridget decides to gatecrash one of his meetings in order to get his attention, until she mentions the family name that is. JC finds himself more than interested not only in the property but also perhaps in Bridget herself!

The plot itself is based on a concept which is tried and tested with the southern girl and the city boy. I did enjoy the element Tamara Leigh brings in with trying to find a green buyer for the estate. I felt that this stopped the novel from being something that has been done many times before. Even though this is the third novel in the Southern Discomfort series, the novel still flows easily whether you have read the previous two novels or not. While I would recommend that you do read the previous novels in the series, it is defiantly not necessary in forming an understanding of the plot, and this novel does work well as a stand alone too.

I really enjoyed reading about the character of Bridget. Even though she is an almost polar opposite of myself, I loved her tough character and found her to be extremely grounded. Her tough attitude is chipped away at in this novel, revealing a hilarious, poignant and down to earth woman. I really enjoyed seeing the vulnerable side of Bridget and the way in which she deals with her grief over the loss of her husband, makes her extremely likeable. I also liked the character of JC who I found entertaining, humours and handsome. I loved reading the interaction between Bridget and JC, which had me wondering all along if they would realize that they are perfect for each other. I could not figure JC’s secret out until the point where he tells it. Its very rare for me to find a novel in which I can’t see what is coming on the next page, therefore I found this refreshing. Another favourite character of mine was Uncle Obe, who even though he is dealing with the on set of dementia, is still hilarious and comes out with some very funny lines. He is also a very generous and humble man, who brings great depth to the storyline.

I had one big problem with Restless In Carolina and that was that I felt a lot of the time religion was being pushed down my throat. I am very open in my beliefs and do mind reading about any religion or religious views, however I do like when it is mentioned on almost every page. I felt as though the authors views on religion were forefront throughout the novel. I understand that Tamara Leigh wanted to bring her faith into her writing and make her novels more God-honouring, however I just felt that the way in which it was brought across was not to my tastes. I do not enjoy being preached at through a novel and feel that a little toning down of this could have gone a long way to improving the novel. My other issue with the novel was the use of stereotypes. I myself live in South Carolina and I did not enjoy the way in which there were stereotypical southern characters, who all had stereotypical southern names. I know that many people love these aspects of southern life and reading about this in a novel, but personally I myself am not one of them. I would have liked the characters to be unique people rather than stereotypes of how southern people are perceived.

Overall I did enjoy reading Restless In Carolina. I found the novel to be humorous, filled with romance and southern charm. The characters fit really well with the plot and I really found myself wanting to find out what happened. There is a strong message throughout this novel, which I commend Tamara Leigh for putting into her work. I would recommend Restless In Carolina to anyone who enjoys a romance novel sprinkled with southern charm. I will be reading more from Tamara Leigh in the future.

Westmore: A Review

Carol Cassada - Westmore  

When Was It Released?: 11th April 2011
Where Did I Get It From?: I received this as part of the blog tour for Westmore from Tiffany at A Cozy Reader's Corner Review
Who Published It?: Create Space
Number Of Pages: 390 pages


Family drama, romance and a picture perfect New England town; what more could you want in a novel? Well Westmore offers all this and much more. I was first introduced to Westmore by Tiffany over at A Cozy Reader‘s Corner Review . She is running a blog tour of Westmore and after becoming intrigued by the novel I decided to sign up.

Westmore follows the lives of three families; The Greens, The Braxton’s and The Reynolds. Charlotte is a widowed single mother, who never believed she could find love after the death of her husband. That is until Detective Bryant comes onto the scene. Andrew Braxton is a ruthless successful businessman who runs his household with an iron fist. As soon as he learns his youngest son Wayne plans to move away and work for another publishing company he goes out of his way to do everything he can to stop his son from leaving. Laura Reynolds is having marital problems and so decides to move back home with her daughter Megan. Little does she know that she may be running from the past but her past could be about to catch up with her.

The style in which Carol Cassada wrote Westmore was very enjoyable. I found style and storyline is a little reminiscent of Danielle Steel’s novels. The storyline held a large amount of promise being filled with romance, family drama and family issues. The characters are engaging and I found that there were characters I fell in love with. Charlotte in particular was one of my favourite characters throughout the novel. I found Charlotte to be very relatable and I was moved by the problems she has gone through in her life. I felt the emotions she was feeling and found that I was routing for her to overcome the issues and find happiness. I also found that the character of Andrew was enjoyable to read about. Even though I did not like him as a character, in fact at times I found myself hating him, I enjoyed the way in which he brought drama into the novel. I also loved the way in which Westmore ends on a cliff hanger, leaving the reader in suspense. This made me want to read the next instalment to discover exactly how the story plays out.

I did find, however, that far too many characters were introduced in a short space of time. At the beginning of the novel numerous characters are introduced for about a page each. You do not really get to know much about the characters before you learn about new ones. I found that this meant I forgot who characters were and became confused about how the characters were intertwined with each other. I usually enjoy novels with numerous characters but in the case of Westmore I think they should have been introduced as the novel progresses rather than just all in the beginning. I also thought that very little seemed to actually happen within the novel until the very end when I was left with a cliff hanger. I would have liked to see more drama in the middle of the novel in order to power the novel forward. In addition I found that there were a large number of errors; both spelling and grammatical. This may, however be due to the fact that I was send a novel for review, therefore it may not be the finished manuscript.

I have to admit that I found Westmore was not a novel that I enjoyed as much as I thought I would. I found that my tastes were slightly different to this novel. I would defiantly recommend anyone to read this novel for themselves and form your own opinions. I have read many good reviews on Westmore, however I just found that it was not to my tastes. Please remember that my reviews are only my opinion, therefore you may find yourself completely disagreeing with what I say. Having said that, I am defiantly looking forward to reading volume two of Westmore and finding out exactly how the story progresses.

French Lessons: A Review and Giveaway

Ellen Sussman - French Lessons

When Was It Released?: 5th July 2011
Where Did I Get It From?: From the library
Who Published it?: Ballantine Books

From the minute French Lessons by Ellen Sussman was released last month this has been at the top of my to-read pile and as soon as a copy came in at my local library I had to grab it. Once I arrived home I had to start reading this delectable novel, and I could not put it down. French Lessons is as inviting as the smell of fresh espresso and pain au chocolat wafting out of a French café in Paris. I delved into this novel and couldn’t stop reading, feeling almost as if I was right there on the river Seine along with the characters.

French lessons takes a look at the lives of three American’s exploring Paris with their respective French tutors. Along the way they will learn about not only language but also love and loss. The storyline is split into sections focusing on each character separately. First up is Josie with her tutor Nico, who desperately wants to heal her broken heart. Then there is Riley with her tutor Philippe, who feels lost and alone in her own city, and even more lonely with her husband. And last but not least Jeremy with his tutor Chantal, who is accompanying his wife while she is shooting a film, yet he struggles to feel connected with her. As the three American’s take their respective journeys through the winding streets of Paris they succumb to passion, romance and may even find a hidden truths about themselves along the way.

I have always had a love affair with France and Paris in particular, being fascinated by its elegance, romance, and language. I have always wanted to be able to speak French, and lets be honest who hasn’t? (If you tell me you haven't I will either think you are lying or don't know enough about France to want to!)  Well French Lessons brought all this back to me and much more. I am now desperate to return to Paris! I loved the descriptions of the landmarks, food and wine, and the city itself whitch are described in enticing detail. The novel is split into five sections, which I really liked as well, making it easy to read this novel savouring each story on their own. It is hard to choose which story I enjoyed the most, as each made me care about the characters in such a way, that I was wondering about what had happened to them all long after I had finished the novel . The character of Josie and her heartbreak will draw you in and have you feeling along with her through her entire story, while the character of Riley will have you laughing along with her charming wit and humour. And lets not forget Jeremy who you will grow to love too. Ellen Sussman deftly manages to change the tone and mood for each of these stories meaning there is no chance of you getting bored along the way.

French Lessons is a sexy and at times erotic novel, with an explicit sex scene around half way through the novel, which may not be to some readers tastes. If you are in any way offended by this, then maybe this is not the novel for you. Aside from this the only other thing I didn’t like about the novel was there was no real closure with any of the characters. Even though there is an ending with the tutors,  I was left wondering what had happened with Josie, Riley and Jeremey's lives. An epilogue for each was perhaps needed to really close out the story.

French Lessons is a luscious, charming, romantic novel, with sexual tension rife with every turn of the page. Ellen succeeds in bringing each of her characters to life with her joie de vivre, French Lessons should be savoured and is a real treat for any reader.

Giveaway

Giveaway has now ended

Thanks to the wonderful Leah Johanson from Ballantine Publishing, a section of Random House Publishing I have two copies of French Lessons to giveaway to my lucky readers. So what do you have to do to win? Well for this one you need to be a GFC follower. Once you are just leave me a nice comment with your email address and you will be entered into the giveaway.

For bonus entries (one additional entry per step completed):

1. Post this giveaway on Facebook - leave a link showing this
2. Post this giveaway on Twitter - leave a link showing this
3. Post this giveaway on your blog - leave a link showing this

You must have a US mailing address to enter this giveaway. Winners will be chosen at random.

Giveaway ends August 25th at 11.59PM