Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Can Anna find love in the City of Light?

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's waiting for?

I'm a sucker for romance and have a soft spot for the teen variety. Underneath its glacial layer, my heart is gooey as a syrup-soaked sponge. When it comes to fiction, my cynicism and skepticism are always at odds with my immaturity and longing for a happy ending. I admit to racing through Anna and the French Kiss.  I'll go ahead and say it: I liked it. It's a guilty pleasure. There's no denying it's an easy read which, when it comes to romance, I'm all for. I zipped through it and couldn't put it down. I think it's the fastest I've got through a YA since I was in high school. Nevertheless, there are aspects which don't sit right with me, and I can't move past them enough to find true, unadulterated enjoyment from having read this story.

The parts which make this story work are the sweet romance - it is properly cute - the believable dialogue, and the convincing portrayals of teen angst and behaviours. Even though it's been twenty years since I was seventeen, I do remember how awkward things could get between friends. Yes, there are times when the characters act poorly towards each other, but I don't see their conduct as unrealistic. Far from it. They're normal teens who make mistakes, hurt each other, and generally act within a bubble of self-centeredness. In that regard, Stephanie Perkins gets it spot-on. The dialogue is much more characteristic of teens than John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, (which, I know, isn't hard), and in general the prose is wonderfully authentic. Also, the dynamics of the characters' friendships are ultimately more satisfying than the usual All Boys Like The Main Girl and All Girls Like The Main Boy. However, it barely scrapes past this particular aspect as it's stated pretty much every girl in school fancies Étienne, while Anna has some sort of romantic affiliation with almost all the teenage males.

The secondary characters were slightly more interesting than the average YA supporting cast, but the "villains" were sadly standard fare. It's a shame the female antagonists are considered slutty while the protagonist is literally virginal. It's a tired trope that feeds into slut-shaming, sexism, and rape-culture. I expect better from YA romance these days, but then again I'm numb enough to the tropes to bypass them in search of The Big Love. Sadly, the relationship between Anna and Étienne isn't a healthy one, which makes these smaller quibbles stand out.

The characterisation of the lead love interest is where I begin to take issue. Étienne St. Clair is nice - I use Anna's description of Every. Single. Guy. - and there's plenty about him to like. I could never quite pin down what his hair was meant to be doing, but that isn't so important. He has personality, he's funny, intelligent, and we're assured he's beautiful, but not too perfect. Now, I love a flawed character, I do. But I believe there's a big difference between a flawed character and a romantic lead who's weak. I don't mean physically weak, and I'm not talking about the various fears he expresses throughout the narrative. Those are rather endearing. But Étienne St. Clair is weak-willed and has a weak mind, and it's seriously off-putting. Of course, paired with Anna's hypocrisy and inability to see what's right in front of her, they make a great pair. Then there's Anna. If I have to read one more book where Blondes = Boring or Bad, Brunettes = Beautiful-But-Don't-Know-It-and-Are-Therefore-More-Desirable-to-Boys I will break something pretty and grind it under my heel. The whole clumsy shy cutey-pie thing has been done to death. Despite this, Anna's relatively interesting, witty albeit universally oblivious, and refreshingly well-rounded for a YA female protagonist. However, based on their actions, or rather, Étienne's actions throughout this book, I don't see a happy future for them. And that's a major turn-off, which puts my whole Reader Experience on a bummer.

3/5 Stars

GREEK WARS by E.A. Weston ~Release Blitz~

Greek Wars  

Pick a House and Start the War… Andy Morgan is diving headfirst into a new college and a new life. After all, it's the best way to escape the heartache of her past and move on to new and exciting things. Unfortunately for her War has begun making her choose a side and thrusting her into the spotlight. When a rival sorority starts poaching another sorority's legacies, it's war a Greek war. And not all is fair in Delta Kappa battle. When the DG’s partner with the DK’s, there's more on the line than bragging rights and new pledges. Nicole, the president of DK, is set on redemption but she’s not only trying to win back her legacies, she wants her Ex, Riley, back. Except Riley has his sights on someone new and Andy just might be the pawn in a Greek game she wasn't quite prepared to play. Now, it's up to Andy to teach the star quarterback a few tricks of her own--while taking down Greek row – one house at a time. About the Author E.A. WESTON was born and raised in Dublin Ireland. She now resides in southern California. She is the best-selling author of New Adult contemporary, paranormal, and Fantasy romance novels. She has written and published fifteen works of fiction including the Blackrock Series, The Avalon Series, and the Lupo Legacy mini series. Earning awards for cover design, and in multiple romance categories for her Blackrock series including best steamy NA romance. www.eaweston.com / @ek8010 / Elizabeth@eaweston.com Copy/Paste HTML below :D

OUT NOW! The highly anticipated NA release by E.A. Weston if finally here!

Pick a House and Start the War…

Andy Morgan is diving headfirst into a new college and a new life. After all, it's the best way to escape the heartache of her past and move on to new and exciting things. Unfortunately for her War has begun making her choose a side and thrusting her into the spotlight.

When a rival sorority starts poaching another sorority's legacies, it's war a Greek war. And not all is fair in Delta Kappa battle. When the DG’s partner with the DK’s, there's more on the line than bragging rights and new pledges. Nicole, the president of DK, is set on redemption but she’s not only trying to win back her legacies, she wants her Ex, Riley, back.

Except Riley has his sights on someone new and Andy just might be the pawn in a Greek game she wasn't quite prepared to play. Now, it's up to Andy to teach the star quarterback a few tricks of her own--while taking down Greek row – one house at a time.

GRAB YOUR COPY!

About the Author

E.A. WESTON was born and raised in Dublin Ireland. She now resides in southern California. She is the best-selling author of New Adult contemporary, paranormal, and Fantasy romance novels. She has written and published fifteen works of fiction including the Blackrock Series, The Avalon Series, and the Lupo Legacy mini series. Earning awards for cover design, and in multiple romance categories for her Blackrock series including best steamy NA romance.

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Get Some Diversity: Part One (ROYA #29)

Without getting political, it’s safe to say the world would benefit from a little more compassion and understanding right now. The rise in hatred and intolerance across the globe is hard to ignore. I believe Martin Luther King Jr. correctly identified lack of communication as the root of the problem. However, tackling such a gargantuan issue is daunting. It’s difficult to see how one person can make a difference. But we can. YOU can. And it all starts with something as simple as reading a novel.

“We must promote, persuade, and provoke our young readers to pick up those books that broaden and challenge our understanding of what it means to be another and to be ourselves.” 

---Alegria Barclay, excerpt from Building Empathy Through Reading  regarding Black Lives Matter 

Books have the ability to reach people and communicate ideas. Their influence is undeniable. Yet, for a long time there wasn’t enough accurate representation in fiction, particularly in books geared towards children and teens, to foster an empathetic outlook. Somehow the default settings in YA tended towards white, heterosexual, gender binary characters, often from middle-class backgrounds. I’m not suggesting stories with these characteristics aren’t or can’t be enjoyable, but constantly having to relate to them when you see nothing of yourself is tiresome. Moreover, if you do identify with some or all of these traits, failing to read stories about those who don’t can narrow your lens of perception. 

Can books really have such a huge influence on younger readers? Absolutely! Sometimes fiction can be a young person’s only route into experiencing the lives of others with whom they have little in common.  On the flip-side, some children and teens rarely see themselves represented in fiction, which poses another problem. When they’re continually presented with books in which people like them are secondary characters, or aren’t even there at all, they begin to perceive themselves as having the same relevancy. These youngsters don’t deserve to think of themselves as invisible or secondary characters in life. They have a right to see characters similar to them as the hero, adventurer, vanquisher of evil, and star in the spotlight. This isn’t purely for entertainment’s sake. It’s about giving kids a chance to feel as though they’re part of this world.

To see oneself in the pages of a young adult book is to receive the reassurance that one is not alone after all, not other, not alien but, instead, a viable part of a larger community of beings who share a common humanity.--- Michael Cart, Expert for children’s and Young Adult Literature, excerpt from The Value of Young Adult Literature 

Thanks to movements like We Need Diverse Books and Ramp Your Voice this is changing, and diversity-deficient fiction is counteracted with multiple constructive campaigns. Now it’s easier than ever to find books featuring a wide range of cultures and backgrounds, and work by authors of different ethnicities. All you need to do is get your hands on one, read it, and if it’s good, recommend it to people. If you have the urge to do more than that, why not gift a copy to a friend or family member? It’s that easy. By doing this, you spread awareness and subsequently contribute towards culturing compassion and understanding in society. You become a transmitter through which the book communicates with the world.

If you’re keen to take that extra step towards diversifying your reading, here’s an idea for how you might go about it. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to ensure the next five books you read sit outside your usual scope. Avoid the temptation to select something from a genre you don’t read and instead look to switch-up the human element. For example, if you typically enjoy books by men, pick one by a woman. Find something by a transgender author. Choose a book with a POC protagonist if most of the characters you usually encounter are white. If you tend towards authors who are straight or gay, seek out work by openly bi, ace, or pan writers. Above all, actively hunt down work by writers from cultures and backgrounds that contrast with your own. These are just a handful of suggestions to which you are by no means limited. There are thousands of ways to diversify your reading, and the more you read and share, the greater your contribution to spreading compassion and understanding. In the meantime, if you’re unsure of where to start, check out this list on Mostly YA Lit. Or if you’re into sci-fi & fantasy, take a look at Diversity in YA’s list.

Next week, I’ll continue this topic by looking at how readers and writers can interrogate artistic decisions when it comes to diversity in fiction. Until then, happy reading!