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Review

4 ‘Here I go, crushing on a teenager again’ stars

This is a fantastic follow up to one of my fave YA books, Anna and the French Kiss, and Stephanie Perkins has one again delivered a deliciously sweet romance featuring characters that I instantly loved.

Lola is a bubbly 17 year old with a happy home life, parents (two fathers) that she adores, a supportive best friend, and a hot, 22 year old rocker boyfriend, Max, that her parents strongly disapprove of but who she loves dearly.

Things are thrown into disarray when her neighbours return home after a two year absence – including Cricket, her first love and the boy that broke her heart. Lola and Cricket were never a couple, but they were the best of friends and had strong feelings for each other. It’s just that neither of them were brave enough to take it any further. But now they are back, and 18 year old Cricket has grown up and is finally able to tell Lola how he feels. It’s the words she’d dreamed of hearing from him, except now she’s in love with Max and has moved on… or has she?

I thought Max was the one, but…there’s that other one.
The first one.

This is a really fun, sweet YA romance. It’s a little bit angsty, with a bit of drama, but it’s a total feel-good read with really nice build-up and some gorgeously swoony moments.

“So you believe in second chances?” I bite my lip.
“Second, third, fourth. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. If the person is right,” he adds.
“If the person is…Lola?”
This time, he holds my gaze. “Only if the other person is Cricket.”

I love that these characters have a little bit of eccentricity about them. It gives the story a bit more colour and life. Lola is quirky and creative, she loves to dress up in dramatic costumes, and she is proud of her individuality.

I don’t believe in fashion. I believe in costume. Life is too short to be the same person every day.

And Cricket (*sigh*) is charmingly quirky himself – a science-geekish inventor with his own individual sense of style, he has lived his life somewhat in the shadow of his twin sister, who is a champion figure skater. Now the he is older and more confident, he puts himself out there, and I love that isn’t ashamed of how he feels, yet he’s still respectful of Lola, and more than anything, just wants to be a presence in her life.

“Lola?” Cricket is on his knees at the side of my bed. I feel it. “I’m here,” he whispers. “You can talk to me or not talk to me, but I’m here.”

And the two of them together are absolutely adorable! From friends, to friends who have feelings for each other but aren’t together, to even more, you can feel the genuine ‘rightness’ about the two of them. They accept each other exactly as they are, they genuinely appreciate the other, they are incredibly caring and supportive, and they are so compatible, and so stinkin’ cute!

“I like being different.”
“And I like that about you … But I like the real you best.”

I loved Lola’s parents. Two overprotective fathers are truly better than one, and the dynamics they have as a family are fantastic! Lola’s BFF, Lindsay is amazing. And Anna and Etienne fans can also rejoice – there’s a good amount of time spent with the fabulous duo, and I loved catching up with one of my favourite YA couples, seeing them all blissfully loved up and happy together.

This is a great read. Cute and fluffy with some deeper moments as Lola figures out who she is and strives to become the person that she wants to be, with the right one by her side.

I loved it – 4 stars.

The Anna and the French Kiss series