Tag: Stephanie Perkins

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Book Recommended To Me

7 Comments

btt

Hello, welcome back to another Book Traveling 168709Thursdays, which a weekly meme created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle @Danielle’s Book Blog. The goal is to share the covers of a book related to that week’s theme, which you can see at the Goodreads group, indicating the original cover, the one of your country, your favorite and least favorite.

This week’s theme is “Sometimes we get great recommendations … Choose a book someone recommended to you that you loved“. I’m using Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, which was a book that I was “pressured” to read by Cátia and Kat :D.

Original COver:

I hate the original cover, to be honest… so bad!

COVER FROM MY COUNTRY (PORTUGAL) & COVER FROM THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN (SPAIN):

                                            

Oh boy… I really don’t like the portuguese cover… NO! And the spanish just used the original one, and I don’t like it either.

Favorite COVER(s):

                 

My favorite cover is the new US/UK editions… so pretty! Then I really like the Serbian and Indonesian covers, they’re just so cute.

LEAST FAVORITE COVER(s):

    

For my least favorite ones, let’s start with the 2 German ones, because WTF? Then the Russian one doesn’t fit the book at all. The Italian cover is weird as hell because Anna is not a blond! And then there’s the Vietnamese… just no!

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Book That Gives Me Warm Feelings

9 Comments

btt

Hello, welcome back to another Book Traveling 168709Thursdays, which a weekly meme created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle @Danielle’s Book Blog. The goal is to share the covers of a book related to that week’s theme, which you can see at the Goodreads group, indicating the original cover, the one of your country, your favorite and least favorite.

This week’s theme is “Fall is just around the corner! Choose a book that brings you warm feelings“. This week I’m going with Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) by Stephanie Perkins, because I loved this book, and it definitly gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings.

Original and Favorite COver:

I love that this book was already published with this gorgeous cover!

COVER FROM MY COUNTRY (PORTUGAL) & COVER FROM THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN (SPAIN):

This book is not out in Portugal, but it is in Spain. I’m not crazy about this cover, but I’ve seen so much worst.

LEAST FAVORITE COVER(s):

                  

I really don’t like the Romanian, German and Spanish editions. Do I need to explain myself?

The ‘Spring has Sprung’ Book Tag

27 Comments

springhassprung

Hey hey hey! Here I am with another book tag, this time it’s The ‘Spring has Sprung’ Book Tag and I was tagged by The Orang-utan Librarian. Thank you so much! And let’s do this 😉 .

1. Flowers: Look on your bookshelves. What is the most beautiful book both inside and out?

One of my most beautiful books, inside and out, has to be Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon.

Just look at it, isn’t it gorgeous? And it’s such a good and sweet read 🙂 .

2. Grass: What is a book that you find that others like way more than you do?

Given the goodreads rating that Nirvana has, I would say that a lot of people liked it WAY better than me, considering that I rated the book 1 star… which I have to be honest and say that I don’t really understand how that’s possible… to each its own, right?

3. Rain: What’s a great book that lifts your spirits when you’re down?

The obvious answer here has to be Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, right? I read this book twice already, and I love love love it! It makes me happy. So much so that I even borrowed my physical copy to my bff. I hope she takes good care of my precious!

4. Dew: What’s a book that made you feel alive?

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy’s Us surely made me feel alive. Maybe because my heart was actually hurting while reading this book. Maybe!

This book has it all: great dialogue, great characters, great story, great romance, huge heartbreak… perfect.

5. Storms: What’s a book that you found unpredictable?

Hmmmm, I would say that Anything You Want by Geoff Herbach was pretty unpredictable. There were definitly some things that I didn’t see coming at all. Also, the book was nothing like I expected, but it’s oh so good!

6. Rainbow: What was a book that you struggled with, only to be happy that you read it in the end?

Well, I struggled with Lady Midnight, but not because the book isn’t brilliant or because I didn’t want to read it, just the opposite. But it is a huge book, and my hands and arms would hurt when I had been reading for awhile. The book is heavy like hell!

7. Chilly Weather: What’s a book that you couldn’t finish or didn’t enjoy?

Perfect time to mention my last 1 star reading, and that was Lessons of the Heart, which is a YA/NA teacher/student romance. It was so so bad, and it had nothing to do with the forbidden part of it. You can check out my review of it HERE.

8. Warm Weather: What’s a book that you loved and wanted more of?

I wanted more of Adorkable for sure. Such a cute and good read. I wanted to see what happened after that last scene and what was in store for Sally and Becks, because they were so adorable together :D.

  

9. Green: What’s a book that you haven’t read yet, but really want to?

Actually, I’m saying one that I’m gonna start today, and that is The Rose and the Dagger, by Renee Ahdieh. I’ve had the book for a few weeks now, but I can only manage one physical book at a time, and I needed to finish Me Before You before starting this one.

10. Pink: What’s a book in which you felt a strong connection to the characters?

I felt a really strong connection to Isla and Josh, in Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. Maybe that’s why this was my favorite book of the companion series. There’s just something so great about Isla and Josh.

11. Purple: What’s a book that when you read it, you feel safe?

Not sure I fully understand this question, but hey, I’ll give it a try?! I think Attachments by Rainbow Rowell was a book that made me feel safe, maybe because I loved the story and it’s my favorite contemporary of Rowell’s. Have you read it? You should!

12. Orange: What book do you feel is intelligently written?

I didn’t want to repeat authors, but I kind of have to. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is, in my opinion, one of the most intelligent written books I’ve ever read. I loved how the base of the book was known, but she twisted everything. I fins the magic system especially compelling.

13. Yellow: What book puts a smile on your face?

Ok, try to look at that cover and not smile… did you manage it? Big Rock by Lauren Blakely definitly put a huge smile on my face. It’s an amazing romance and I highly recommend it to everyone who likes NA romances.

  

I tag:

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent 5 Star Reads

61 Comments

top 10 tuesday

Hello, welcome back to another Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is:

Ten Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads (Or Ten Of The Best Books I’ve Read Recently if you don’t 5 star stuff…or you could do 5 of my latest five star reads & five of my most disappointing or 1 star reads)

Well, I do 5 Star books… a lot. I don’t give away full 5 stars easily, but I do rate a lot of books between 4.5 and 5 stars. That’s what I’m showing today: my last ten favorite reads, a.k.a., books I have 4.5 to 5 stars.

Slide1 Slide2 Slide3Slide4 Slide5 Slide6 Slide7 Slide8 Slide9 Slide10

Book Traveling Thursdays: A Book With Two Awesome Dads!

15 Comments

btt

Hello, welcome back to another Book Traveling 168709Thursdays, which a weekly meme created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle @Danielle’s Book Blog. The goal is to share the covers of a book related to that week’s theme, which you can see at the Goodreads group, indicating the original cover, the one of your country, your favorite and least favorite.

This week’s theme is “Father’s Day is celebrated in a couple of days in a few countries! Choose a book with a awesome father figure“. Today I’m choosing a book that has TWO awesome dads! And that book is Lola and The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. I really love Andy and Nathan and their dynamic with Lola, and how much they love their little girl – even when she messes up.

Original COver:

This is one of those series that I’m so glad it had a cover change, because the original cover? Terrible!

COVER FROM MY COUNTRY (PORTUGAL) & COVER FROM THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN (SPAIN):

No cover for a portuguese edition, but there is a spanish version… unfortunately they used the original cover 😦 .

Favorite COVER(s):

This is definitly my favorite cover of this book. When it was re-published in 2013 – in preparation for Isla‘s release – the covers were redesigned, and thank the lord it was.

LEAST FAVORITE COVER(s):

Most of the covers for this book are pretty terrible, so besides the original one, the Czech, Bulgarian, German, Italian and French (in order) are my least favorites. Most of them simply because they don’t seem to represent Lola and Cricket AT ALL!!! At least they KNOW that book takes place in San Francisco… that’s something, right?

Isla and the Happily Ever After (Stephanie Perkins)

32 Comments

islaandthe

The café is boiling. The atmosphere is clouded with bittersweet coffee.
Three years of desire rip through my body and burst from my lips: “Josh!”
His head jolts up. For a long time, a very long time, he just stares at me.
And then…he blinks. “Isla?”

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on brooding artist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And, after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer break, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to face uncertainty about their futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Set against the stunning backdrops of New York, Paris and Barcelona, this is a gorgeous, heart-wrenching and irresistible story of true love, and the perfect conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

This one is my favorite of this series! Yep, Isla and the Happily Ever After totally stole my heart! I loved Anna and the French Kiss and I liked Lola and the Boy Next Door too, but Isla was on a totally different level.

Once again, the writing of this book was flawless. It was funny and self aware, and it flowed so well. I really liked Isla’s voice, she felt real to me. Again, I really loved the setting, how it starts in NY and then we get to go back to SOAP in Paris :), it was awesome.

If there’s one things that all these books have in common is that all characters are unique, and Isla and Josh are no exception. Isla is quiet and shy, but once she opens up, she’s fun and easy going. Her insecurities broke my heart, but once again, they felt real to me, so much so that I was sobbing for a good chunk of the book.

isla_1

I love Étienne and Cricket, sure, but Josh… OMG! Where can I get a Josh? I had loved Josh during Anna and the French Kiss, but I fell in love with Josh during this book. One thing that made this book totally different and better for me was the fact that we actually get to see some of the events through Josh’s perspective and how he feels about things.

isla_2

The fact that Isla and Josh enter a relationship quite early in the book was a plus for me – even though I knew that something bad was coming – because it actually allowed me to read about their relationship and not just how they got together. This means we get to see them grow within it. Another thing that I loved was how well the sex was handled. This is the first book of this series in which both partners are equally experienced, which means that it flowed naturally and it made a lot of sense.

The conflict broke my heart, because it hit close to home. I think that Isla voiced the fears of a lot of people, but I absolutely loved how it was resolved. And this book’s message is so important… It’s ok to not know what you want to do with the rest of your life at the age of 18!

isla_4

Because I do live in Barcelona, I did love the chapter in which Isla and Josh are here. The descriptions of La Pedrera, Casa Battló, Parc Guëll and La Sagrada Familia were beyond perfect. I’m not a very big fan of Gaudí, but I do love these sights, especially Casa Battló and Parc Guëll, which are my favorite places in Barcelona.

View this post on Instagram

#casabatllo #barcelona #gaudi #spain

A post shared by Cristina Afonso (@tinyobsess) on

I was overjoyed when Anna, Étienne, Meredith, Cricket and Lola appeared in the book. 😀 I was so happy about that whole subplot. And Isla recap of Josh’s comic about the events of Anna and the French Kiss – slight spoiler for Anna and the French Kiss –  was the best thing ever! Also, Kurt! How awesome was Kurt?! I really liked to see their friendship and how Josh and Kurt’s friends fit into their dynamic.

isla_anna

In the end, I loved this book to pieces and it took the top spot in this series. It’s ok to not know what you want to do with your life. And sometimes you need space and time to organize your thoughts and feelings and realize what’s important. All the love for Isla and Josh!

isla_3

Lola and the Boy Next Door (Stephanie Perkins)

46 Comments

lolaandtheboy

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

After reading and loving Anna and the French Kiss, I had high hopes for Lola and the Boy Next Door. Despite having liked this one slightly less than the first book, I still loved it and thought it was a great read.

Once again, the writing is wonderful. Lola is such a funny protagonist, but comparing her with Anna, i couldn’t notice how she was  a little bit more immature, which was fine, because she IS younger than Anna. She did get on my nerves in the beginning, especially about her relationship with Max, which I could write a whole post about how wrong that one was…

I actually thought that the message of this book was stronger. Lola has to come to grips with who she is and accept it, while accepting everyone else too. It’s a lovely story, really.

lola_2

I loved Cricket Bell! And Cricket and Lola as so sweet and cute, my heart was exploding with happiness whenever they were together. I loved that he didn’t shy away from his feelings anymore, and he told her from the start how important she was to him. I loved how slow their relationship progressed and how sure they both were about each other, before anything else happened.

One thing I absolutely adored in this book – that was lacking, for obvious reasons, in Anna – was the involvement of family! Lola’s parents are super awesome! I loved them. I loved how she loved them. Even when they were being overprotective and almost beating the crap out of Cricket… I still loved them. I loved Andy especially, though Nathan was a riot. I really liked Norah’s role on the story, and how Lola manages to start a real relationship with her. Equally, I liked the role of Cricket’s family, especially the importance of Calliope in his live, even if I wasn’t a big fan of hers in the beginning.

Friends were also super important in this book, and I loved Lola’s relationship with Lindsay – there should be more friendships like theirs in YA. But I was ecstatic when two familiar characters became a recurrent appearance… yep, Anna and Étienne were there, and they were glorious! I love them so so much!!!! I loved how close they were, and that they were practically living together 😀 ❤ !!!!

lola_1

Ultimately, I loved reading about Lola and Cricket, the only thing that put me off a bit about this book was how irritable Lola was at some points, and sometimes she was just a tiny bit over the top… I still loved her! 😀

Anna and the French Kiss (Stephanie Perkins)

54 Comments

annaandthefrenchkiss

Anna has everything figured out – she was about to start senior year with her best friend, she had a great weekend job, and her huge work crush looked as if it might finally be going somewhere… Until her dad decides to send her 4383 miles away to Paris. On her own. 

But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna finds herself making new friends, including Etienne, the smart, beautiful boy from the floor above. But he’s taken – and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near-missed end with the French kiss she’s been waiting for?

I finally did it!!! After owning the book for several months, I finally read Anna and the French Kiss, and I did it in little over 24 hours because it was awesome!

The first thing that really surprised me was how funny the writing was. Most contemporaries are quite light and easy to read, but Stephanie Perkins made this book hilariously funny, and I had such a  great time reading it.

anna_2

I adored all this cast of characters. Two things amazed me in this book, for one the characters acted their age, even with the level of maturity that comes with not having a parent present 24/7, they were still teenagers, learning by trial and error. Secondly, I loved that no one was perfect! And how those little imperfections just made for better characters, like the fact that Étienne was short and afraid of heights… I mean, how cute was that?

anna_1

Anna and Étienne’s relationship is the epitome of cuteness! They’re adorable :D! I liked how they became friends first and foremost, and how they both helped each other through such hard times. I just wished that some decisions were made a little earlier in the game, but I was pretty happy with the end result.

anna_3

This was definitly one of the best contemporary romances I’ve read so far, and I can’t wait to read Lola and Isla.