Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (audiobook)
Read by: Kim Mai Guest
Time: 10 hours and 29 minutes
Publisher: Listening Library, 2011
Source: library
BUY: Amazon -- BN -- Book Depository

Goodreads Description:
Anna was 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. so she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, perfect, Etienne 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? 

My Review:

Wow. Romance. And drama. I have to say, I thought I’d read chick lit before, but I was wrong. Very wrong. Call me ignorant, but I thought I’ve read a good amount of kissing and love struggles in my lifetime, but this book had me really feeling the heartache and the tension between Anna and St. Clair.  The relationship between Anna and St. Clair was agonizing. But in a good way, if you know what I mean. I’m pretty sure I was yelling at them at one point, “Why can’t you just see you two are meant for each other!! Gah!! the heartache is unbearable.” Anyway, it’s probably good I listened to this book while I was home alone. I couldn’t control my emotions very well, but that is unsurprising.

This book was a quick read, and even though nothing really surprising happens, I really enjoyed it. I started reading this book on my vacation. I was at the beach for a few days, and I could not have picked a better book. It was a lot of fun, despite my desire to shake Anna’s brains out so she could stop acting like a stupid teenager.  I suppose that was the glory of the book. Anna and St. Clair were undoubtedly in love, and unbelievably stupid at the same time. It’s a classic tale of love and heartache, but I grew to love all of the characters despite their teenage ignorance. I mean, I was a teenager once :)

On the narration, I thought Kim Mai Guest did a great job at creating new voices and personality for each of the characters. It really brought the story to life. I hated St. Clair’s voice at first, but after a while I didn’t even notice it. I guess it’s pretty difficult to capture that American, with an English accent, who also knows and speaks fluent French, male voice. Other than that, Guest was a very animated story-teller, and I really enjoyed listening to this book.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun romance. It doesn’t take long to finish, and you’ll probably finish reminiscing about all of your own past or current lovers. Or maybe you’ll just be dreaming about St. Clair’s fabulous hair. Either way, you won’t regret it.

I give this book a four out of five fantastic foxes. Despite it’s foreseeable plot and stock characters, it was quirky and uplifting. The writing was strategic as the plot moved with ease while still making me beg for more.