A review by twiinklex
Anna and the French Kiss Collector's Edition, by Stephanie Perkins
2.0
Not a bad book per se, just not the one for me as I found it to be a very problematic read.
I love the Parisian setting (duh) and can actually picture the romantic scenes, so it's a damn shame. Neither the story nor writing were engaging, and all the characters sucked.
Having read several reviews, I knew to expect cheating so that didn't bother me as much as it should have. I appreciate the author exploring an issue and situation that many people go through but don't talk about, but definitely not how the book seems to justify infidelity.
What bugged me more, however, was all the unnecessary women bashing and ridiculous girl-on-girl hate:
- 62%, Chapter 28: "I have nothing to say about prostitutes (other than you'd make a terrible prostitute, the profession is much to unclean)." Why would you write this?? Why???
- 68%, Chapter 32, Anna fantasizes about wanting to hurt Ellie, whom she hardly knows: "I want to grab her Parisian-styled hair and yank it so hard it rips from her skull. I want to sink my claws into her eyeballs and scrape."
- Also Anna in 72,% Chapter 34: "'She hates me?' I'm confused. What did I do to her? I haven't even seen her in months."
Wtf Anna. She also starts the book by making dumb assumptions and comments about Paris and French people, then snubs Americans when she's back in the States. There was plenty of slut-shaming and stereotyping as well, which was a huge turn-off.
Maybe I would have enjoyed this book more when I was younger?
I love the Parisian setting (duh) and can actually picture the romantic scenes, so it's a damn shame. Neither the story nor writing were engaging, and all the characters sucked.
Having read several reviews, I knew to expect cheating so that didn't bother me as much as it should have. I appreciate the author exploring an issue and situation that many people go through but don't talk about, but definitely not how the book seems to justify infidelity.
What bugged me more, however, was all the unnecessary women bashing and ridiculous girl-on-girl hate:
- 62%, Chapter 28: "I have nothing to say about prostitutes (other than you'd make a terrible prostitute, the profession is much to unclean)." Why would you write this?? Why???
- 68%, Chapter 32, Anna fantasizes about wanting to hurt Ellie, whom she hardly knows: "I want to grab her Parisian-styled hair and yank it so hard it rips from her skull. I want to sink my claws into her eyeballs and scrape."
- Also Anna in 72,% Chapter 34: "'She hates me?' I'm confused. What did I do to her? I haven't even seen her in months."
Wtf Anna. She also starts the book by making dumb assumptions and comments about Paris and French people, then snubs Americans when she's back in the States. There was plenty of slut-shaming and stereotyping as well, which was a huge turn-off.
Maybe I would have enjoyed this book more when I was younger?