Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Synopsis:

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 Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

This book was so addicting cover-to-cover. I could hardly put it down. I am not sure if it was the writing style or the actual story itself, but something about it just hooked me and would not let me go.

It was fun, it was sweet, it made me laugh out loud at times.

The characters were all pretty great. Anna as the protagonist was fun to read through. Her personality made this book very light and enjoyable. I think every girl reading this can find a bit of themselves in Anna or on of her friends.

St. Clair was a great complementary character. Once they met, you could feel the chemistry right away. He and Anna had witty conversations and you could feel the relationship growing from day one.

There was something really sweet about seeing such a fun relationship bud throughout the pages of this novel. You can’t help but to root for them to be together.

With the young romance, the family and friend drama, and the quick and fun experience with reading this book, I feel that Anna and the French Kiss as well as its sequels will be a staple in YA literature for years to come.

5/5 Stars

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River of Desire by J.K. Winn

Synopsis:

Imagine traveling deep into the Amazon Jungle, where every step is a struggle through thick undergrowth, any rock or tree may mask a venomous creature and somewhere, at some time, you will run up against a mysterious Ebola-like Hemorrhagic Fever.

River of Desire tells the tale of Leah Roberts, a reporter on assignment in Peru, who hires professional guide, Dylan Hart, to escort her into the Amazon jungle on the trail of a deadly disease. On the river, Leah and Dylan encounter treacherous rapids and carnivorous creatures, but what they fear most is the attraction growing between them. Their travels finally lead them to a reclusive doctor who holds the answer to the sudden appearance of the lethal viral strain.

Don’t expect the ordinary when you begin a trip down the River of Desire. So, hop on board the boat and take a thrilling, sometimes life threatening, but always action-packed ride down the mighty Amazon with Leah and Dylan, who face daunting adventures, but know that love is the most amazing adventure of all.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this book. I haven’t read many romance novels, and I was a little worried that it was going to be super cheesy and turn me away from it. I am a big fan of J.K. Winn’s other novels, so when I was approached to review this one, I couldn’t turn it down.

I was not disappointed. River of Desire has an interesting and action filled plot that keeps you turning the page.

The chemistry between Leah and Dylan makes the read even more enjoyable as well. They work well together, and their dialogue flows really well and never becomes boring. You can tell that their attraction is growing throughout the novel and it is only a matter of time before they end up together, but that is about the only predictable thing in the book.

I did not expect it to turn into a deep novel with stories about family lines and war. It came out of the blue, but was written to fit perfectly into the story.

The action will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the relationship between Dylan and Leah gives it a nice soft side.

Fans of romance novels will surely enjoy it.

4/5 Stars

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Synopsis:

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

I am not sure what I was really expecting out of this book, but it did not live up to my expectations.

Most of the book was spent living in the past telling the story of Mia’s life through flashbacks. This helped to show the relationships between her and the people in her life, but it got dragged out and boring at times.

The characters were pretty well written. I felt like I knew them all pretty well by the time I was done. The dialogue flowed really well between them as well. Character development was the best part of the book.

The story itself is interesting before you get into it. The execution comes up a bit short. I felt that there should have been more about the accident and maybe her condition instead of all of the flashbacks. A good majority of them served a purpose, but a few could have been left out for a more relevant story-line.

I thought there would be more drama surrounding her decision. I didn’t feel emotionally tied to it or her character at all. Maybe that is why I wasn’t as into it as the next reader.

That said, I want to read the sequel.

4/5 stars. I did really enjoy it, I was just expecting more.

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