Why I'm Excited For 2014

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, filled with fun, food, and of course, books. So, now that it's 2014, there are new books to be read. With plenty of books being released this year, here are the three that I am eager to get my hands on!

3. The One by Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 6th
The final book in The Selection series will finially tell us how America's story will end. As the competition comes to a close, what is in store for her and Maxon?

2. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton

Pages: 352

Release Date: May 15th

Oh, how I love Stephanie Perkins. After spending years simply reading supernatural and dystopian books, Stephanie re-introduced me to contemporary novels with her fabulous plots and quirky characters. I'm super excited to read this latest love story. 

 But what am I looking forward to the most? You probably already know.

1. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Pages: 733

Release Date: May 27th 

Can I use this book as an excuse to take a month off? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to need that long to recover from the emotional trauma caused by this book. Who is in danger? Who will lose their life in the battle against Sebastian? Will Magnus and Alec be reunited? These are important questions that I can't wait to find out the answers to. I'm excited and terrified for May 27th.

I have a feeling that May is going to burn a very big hole in my purse! What books are you eager to bury your nose in this year? Let me know!

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Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Product Details:
Pages: 372
Publisher: Dutton
Released: December 2nd 2010 (US)

Goodreads Summary:
Anna is 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. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

My Review:

Is it possible to marry a book? Because I’m pretty sure that this book is the love of my life! Anna and the French Kiss is fabulous. Pure and Simple. 

Anna hates her father for sending her to boarding school in Paris. She’s being pulled from the life she loves back home and is being forced into a county that she can’t even speak the language of. 

So, Anna is alone and friendless in the middle of the City of Light… Enter stage left, Etienne St. Clair. Gorgeous, funny and perfect St. Clair. Who happens to be taken. And so we begin Anna’s life changing senior year at the School of America in Paris.

Anna is the perfect heroin. She’s got humour, sweetness and she can really stand up for herself when she needs to. But she isn’t perfect and that’s what I love so much about her. She grows as she overcomes the mistakes she makes and begins to understand herself better in the process. 

Don’t even get me started on Etienne. He is definitely on my list of cutest boys in books. You can totally understand why most of the females in the story fall for the gorgeous American with the French name and English accent. Come on, how awesome is that?! He also has flaws that just added to how great his personal story was.

The build-up of Anna and Etienne’s feelings for each other was just so perfect. With him having a girlfriend, they’re on forbidden territory and even though Ellie (The Girlfriend) isn’t technically a bitch in the story, I wanted her out of the picture to make the path clear for them. I found myself completely sucked into their world and it drove me crazy that they weren’t allowed to be together!

The other characters in the book are simply awesome. I loved Rashmi. She comes across as a bit of a bitch for the first half of the book and I was glad when we learn more about her and what she’s going through. I also liked Anna going home to her friends back in Atlanta over Christmas break. That’s when she realises that her life back at home wasn’t as perfect as she’d believed it to be. 

This is the type of story that will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book.

The romance is adorable without being too in your face. There’s laughter and tears to be had throughout and I loved Stephanie’s writing style. I’d say she has a similar tone to Meg Cabot, who is one of my all-time favourite authors, so fans of Meg will love her. I will definitely be reading the companion novel, Lola and The Boy Next Door, as soon as I can get my hands on it!

Royal Rating:

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