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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins Review (by Marlow Tracy)


When I first started reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins at the recommendation of a friend, I had low expectations. I’m not usually one for romance novels, and the title led me to make the assumption that it would just be another one of those super spicy, kinda gross, absolutely-no-plot romance books. (I admit that I was wary of romance after my last book, Vendetta by Iris Johanssen, which I thought would be a cool spy novel with romance on the side but ended up being a weird romance novel with kinda boring spy stuff on the side [would not recommend!]). Once I read the first chapter of Anna and the French Kiss, I realized that my assumptions about the book were completely and utterly incorrect.
               First of all, the only reason it’s a French kiss is because Anna (the main character)’s father sent Anna across the ocean against her will to a fancy boarding school in Paris, France for her senior year. After reading the first few chapters, it became clear to me that the book was not just about romance. Perkins focuses on Anna as a character, including her relationships with friends and family, her studies and plans for the future, and all sorts of other character developments that I did not expect to see in a novel that I had assumed was solely about romance. Of course, the book has some spicy parts (you can’t write a romance novel without them), but they are accompanied by actual emotional reactions and complex relationships instead of shallow flirting and more spice. I thought that I would have to put the book down as soon as I started, but it turned out to be such a page-turner that I had trouble putting it down at all. I loved reading about Anna dealing with her inner and outer problems, and she has a (actually) unique personality and exciting voice that makes it really fun to read. Fun enough that I was even willing to sit through the spicy parts. 10/10 would recommend this book even if you don’t like romance, and especially if you do.

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  1. MariamSeptember 10, 2019 at 7:22 AM

    Considering I recommended this novel to you, I am extremely happy you enjoyed reading it. Your take on Anna and the French Kiss as an individual who usually stays away from the romance genre, unlike myself, was refreshing. Your description of Stephanie Perkin's writing style is extremely well-written and overall I am sure your review will produce no shortage of incoming readers.

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  2. Emma MurawskiSeptember 15, 2019 at 7:29 AM

    I began reading Anna and the French Kiss towards the end of last year. When it was recommended to me, I thought it would be some soppy love story that I could not get into. I started reading and realized it was much more than that. It seems to me that you had the same realization. I think your description of the book is very engaging and well-written. This review is so good, that I want to go pick that book up and read it again! Great review!

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  3. Clara WoodSeptember 15, 2019 at 10:10 AM

    Wow, this blog post was really interesting!I generally stay away from romance novels for the reasons you stated (bad plot, too spicy, dull characters), but your review makes me want to give this romance novel a try. You framed yourself as someone who was not especially keen on novels in the romance genre, so it's encouraging that you enjoyed it (despite its spicy parts). I definitely will give this book a read!

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