Book review: “Anna and the French Kiss”

I bought this book because of its high average rating on Goodreads, and I was so eager to start reading it, hoping it would deliver some sweet and rational romance (I know, even while being in love we still need to be rational). But to be honest, it didn’t turn out as I had expected. It fell rather short and there were so many things that did not hit the mark for me. I don’t know if I’m the odd one out here, or maybe because I’m no longer a teenager that I failed to resonate with this book. My sister appears to really love it; I don’t. I guess we could say: Never judge a book by its rating.

The whole idea of the book promises a good, relaxing, sweet, and easy read, but the problem I had with it was the execution and the characters. There were many parts in the book where I found it rather strange, weird, and hard to absorb, such as the hatred of French people towards American people. I don’t know if it is because I’m Asian that I didn’t grasp this Western cultural information. The dialogues between Anna and St. Clair also sounded strange to the point that even a hopeless romantic like me couldn’t stand them. I know the author wanted to apply the humor appeal to these dialogues, but sometimes I just felt that she tried so hard and it backfired. 

Some dialogues just didn’t work out and felt so awkward. And they didn’t help in expressing the relationship development of Anna and St. Clair. There was a sense of rush in the way these two moved forward in the relationship. They spent Thanksgiving together, then slept together for 3 consecutive nights! And even when they slept together, the way the author described this detail was just so short, bland, and unattractive. It was as if there was nothing to expect or hope for in terms of romance between these two people. Then boom, Anna found out she was in love with St. Clair! How miraculous and convenient was that.

Photo source: https://nevertoomanyb00ks.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/anna-and-the-french-kiss-contains-spoilers/

About the characters, I really had some serious problems with them. Speaking of Anna, I didn’t find anything really special or attractive about her, except for the fact that she really cared about St. Clair’s mother’s health condition. The nonsense ups and downs in Anna and St. Clair’ relationship just put me in a not-so-eager mood, and the main cause was Anna. One time she talked in a happy and friendly tone with St. Clair, and then the next time she turned bitter and even wanted to start a fight! How can any people in love with some sense behave like that? Throughout the whole book, I just wanted to scream at Anna and shake some sense into her. Come on, Anna, you’re 18, which means you’re officially an adult now! Behave like a rational, sensible 18-year-old person. All I can say is, me at 18 certainly behaved with more sense than Anna.

And when Anna thought St. Clair rejected her and came back to his ex-girlfriend, she started to behave like a crazy broken-hearted dumb girl by dating a jerk! This action forced me to think about what type of love life lesson or even self-respect lesson the author wanted to teach young girls through the portrayal of Anna. If you really love and respect yourself, make a wise decision to maintain your happiness, to be an emotionally independent person who can stay in control of your emotions even after you find out the bitter truth that the one you truly love may not be yours. At least don’t rush into a relationship with such a jerk that cost you your reputation, just to make that someone jealous or hurt! What a dumb thing to do! And why does every young teenage girl in America dream and desire to have a boyfriend at such a young age? I don’t mean to be conservative, but love is not a thing that we can force to happen; when it comes, it comes. And when it hasn’t come yet, or it has come and gone, just try your best to keep being a happy single person. You are in control of your life, of your happiness, and of your emotions.

About St. Clair, except for the good-looking appearance and the sweet personality that made him the friend of everyone, he seemed to be not so much better than Anna in terms of determination and the ability to make wise decisions. I know he was in a really painful situation when his beloved mom was seriously sick, but that was not the excuse for being sluggish and drenching your life in pain. And when he had the chance to open up and to make things right, he just swept it away by going back to Ellie and holding on to a love that was not love anymore, because he was fearful of change. I know change happening during this sensitive time was hard, but what was the point in holding on to a ruined love that was more of an emotional burden than something that was supposed to bring you happiness? Thank God in the end he realized that and started to make amends with Anna. However, I still see St. Clair as a weak person in terms of mental strength. He was so indecisive and undetermined, and not a good example for how to be a boyfriend, and certainly not a good example for other boys to follow.

The side characters were interesting sometimes, but for most of the time they were unnecessary. They did not contribute much to the flow of the story and the development of the main characters’ romance. The only things that saved this book from being a total disaster were the beautiful and captivating descriptions of famous tourist attractions in Paris, as well as the culture and signature aspects of this romantic city, from food to movie theaters (I didn’t know that Parisians love movies like that). The theme of “home is wherever I’m with you” was also a highlight of this novel. I was especially fond of the ending, when the two main characters sorted things out on the roof of one of the most famous cathedrals in the world, and in the cutest and most romantic way possible for a teenage love story. At least there were nice things to enjoy in this book.

Final verdict: 3/10, and I’m being generous.