Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss

It’s Review Tuesday!!!
Just kidding, there is no way I could actually keep to a schedule. I have, however, read tons of books already this year and thought another review was long overdue! Here is what I thought of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins:

I love books that make me want to experience new things. Or better yet, books that make me feel as though I was the one experiencing (in part) what the main character was going though. Anna and the French Kiss was definitely one of those books.

To be honest, I had pretty much no expectations going into this books. I only knew it was a romance novel about a girl going to France, and that it was read by a lot of Nerdfigthers. Obviously that was enough for me.

The plot is as following: Anna is send to an American boarding school in Paris by her father who believes it will be a good experience for her. There was no discussion, so Anna feels like she has been cruelly ripped from her old life and her friends and potential boyfriend. She is quickly adopted into a group of friends however, which includes the beyond gorgeous Étienne or st. Clair as they all call him. Unfortunately he already has a girlfriend… These friends drag Anna from her room and show her how beautiful another culture can be, even if you don’t speak the language. At all.

What struck me almost right away was the humour and the quirky voice of Anna, a girl who loves films and does not dream to become a movie star or a director—nope she wants to be a film critic. I have been reading a lot of dystopian and sci-fi novels lately and I needed something upbeat and lovely and cheerful as this book. Not to say that there weren’t darker moments as well; the book deals very realistically with Anna’s feelings of being separated from her home and stuck in a strange country. I myself felt a lot of the things she was going through when I went to study in England for a year. Then there is relationship trouble, the horrors of cancer, an abusive father…

Perhaps the thing that I loved most, aside from the romance and humour, was Paris itself. Together with Anna you get to explore the City of Light and are introduced to not only the major tourist attractions but also lesser known café’s, districts and cinemas. It made me want to travel and made me wonder why I have never been to Paris, when it’s relatively close by the Netherlands.

In short, this book is funny, well written, has the occasional nerdy reference that I can really appreciate and should appeal to anyone who is interested in romance, young adult and travel!

Keep Writing! & Reading!

Xx
Noortje

Holiday Read Book Review: Holly Claus

It's the Christmas season!! and with my exams finally being over I find myself capable of really enjoying everything I love about this time a year. :) 

Something I've wanted to do for quite a while now but never really found the time to do is book reviews.

And what better way to start then with my favourite holiday read? 

The Legend Of Holly Claus is a book that just screams Christmas and it never fails to bring me in the holiday spirit. I bought it a couple of years back and this year is my third time re-reading it. 



In this wonderful book by Brittney Ryan, Santa Claus is actually the king of Forever, which is the land of the Immortals. Every soul who changed the world in their own way, who selflessly and full of love helped those around them, becomes Immortal and ends up in Nicholas' kingdom. 

One Winter day Nicholas is reading letters from children all over the world and he gets one from a small boy who asks something nobody had ever asked him before: What Santa would like himself for Christmas. A miracle occurs and Nicholas and his wife Viviana are blessed with a child: Holly. 

But the beautiful day of her birth is ruined when an evil being named Herrikhan, who is trapped by the universe because of all the horrible things he has done, hears of Holly and her perfect, loving, selfless heart and puts a curse on her--turning her heart to snow so that it will belong to him alone when she is older. Once he possesses her heart, he will be set free...

The Legend of Holly Claus must by far be the most adorable book I have ever read. It really makes you remember what Christmas used to feel like as a child and reminds you of the wonders if every day things. Holly is a happy innocent and curious child, despite the fact that she has to stay locked up in the castle for most of the year, in her enchanted room where it always snows, so that her cold heart won't melt. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to curl up with a cup of tea on the couch, snow lazily drifting outside, book in your hands. To anyone who wishes to laugh and cry with joy (yes this book nearly made me cry many times), marvel at the breathtaking illustrations and just escape for a few hours in the wonderful and beautiful world of Holly Claus. 


Do you have a favourite holiday read? A book you simply have to read every year to get a complete Christmas? Please share in the comments!

Also let me know if you think I could improve this review and those to come. I have never really done anything like this before :) 

Now it is time for myself to curl up with Holly and later on write some pages of my own :) 

Keep Writing!

Xx Noortje