Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Published: August 14th 2014
Source: ebook
Pages: 352
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #3

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh.

But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

REVIEW

Having read the other 2 books in the Anna and the French Kiss companion series, I was super excited to read this but man this had to be my least favourite in the whole series.

The writing was of course amazing, in true Stephanie Perkins fashion, I was completely drawn into the story. However, the plot was very boring and predictable and after the first 50% my patience ran thin and I just wasn't as invested in the story as I wanted to be.

I did not like Isla. She doesn't think before she speaks and she was just way too immature for my tastes. Also, she was very insecure. Obviously this is realistic and normal in real life but she doesn't seem to realise that she is insecure and try to work on it. Instead, she just says the first thing that comes to her head and blames the guy for everything. This is why guys think girls are crazy bitches :P

Josh was sweet and cute but he was rather immature too. I mean if you knew that your girlfriend is insecure would you really show her drawings of your naked girlfriend!?!? Anyway, I didn't really feel like I knew him at all so I couldn't connect with him. They were just apart too much that we didn't really get to see that much of Josh.

Kurt was such an interesting side character but he was so horribly neglected it was so sad. Also, he was completely abandoned by Isla when she got together with Josh. This is not how you treat friends. This issue was brought up but it felt like there wasn't a real conclusion to this, adding to my frustration with Isla.

The romance wasn't ship worthy. I didn't really feel like their relationship progressed from the puppy-love stage and they could've easily solved their argument/issues by simply communicating rather than wallowing in self pity and attempting to seek revenge. Meh. Also, they were SUPER DUPER DRAMATIC about everything UGH no just stop. They had to be separated for 2 months and they behaved like someone was dying or that they were gonna be apart for 20 years. The relationship was just very juvenile and I was laughing and cringing at all the silliness. 

VERDICT

Aside from the writing, there was really nothing much going for this book and while it was cute and fluffy, the characters and romance was very juvenile and seriously got on my nerves.

This series just went downhill from Anna and it is a real pity because I had such high expectations for Stephanie Perkins.

Recommended for anyone that wants to complete the series, if you've not read any of the books in the series, you might just wanna read Anna and stop at there.

Plot: 2.5/5 

Pacing: 2.5/5

Originality: 2/5 

Writing style: 4/5

Characters: 2.5/5 

Feels: 2.5/5
Enjoyment: 3.5/5

Cover: 3/5

Overall rating: