the reader in a quiet corner

I was actually wary of reading this one, because the friend who introduced me to Sarah Dessen was not that enthusiastic about her works. And yet, Sarah Dessen is apparently a big name in the YA genre. I've already read a John Green book (so-so), and now I thought I should finally read a Sarah Dessen. Besides, I was looking for a book which incorporates music (I still am), and Just Listen was up there in top recs. *

It started out okay. I think Annabel is relatable. It was pretty difficult, though, since I had to sludge through a lot of detailed narrations of the most mundane and insignificant things. That part I didn't like. I could have been saved a lot of pages to read.

I liked Owen and I'm happy he helped Annabel overcome her avoidant personality.

As usual, the ending got me. Usually, my impression of the book is based on how things were resolved. Too bad the resolution was after 85% of the book. I had to sludge through 85% conflict (like I said were just mundane narratives), and the resolution in the last 15% of the book?

It was a really good ending, though. One that satisfied me enough to make me really like the book. I think it really would be a good and worthy read for young adults. I liked the issues presented in the book, the sexual assault, the anorexia, etc. I didn't quite expect they'd handle the theme of music like that. It was okay. But another theme is change, and I loved that.

* p.s. if you happen to know a really good book which incorporates music (classical preferably) in an astonishing way, then please do let me know. I'm always up for a rec.

When I was young, I watched an anime series called Now and Then, Here and There and it was a difficult series to watch: full of brutality, violence, even rape, and kids actually watched this. It was depressing, yet it was so fascinating, and I will never be able to forget it. Good news, though, and spoiler alert: it had a happy ending.

The beginning of Finnikin of the Rock kind of reminded me of that show, because of the angry tone, the scenes of violence, and damn it was depressing, and I just began! It made me want to give up on the book altogether. Which may warn those of you who are not familiar with this series: This is not an easy book to read, and it may not be for everyone.

But man it was fascinating and thank God I didn't abandon this book (idk maybe I'm just biased towards the author), because it really got better. I don't know how Melina Marchetta does it, but she just makes it work. The book tells the reuniting of the people of Lumatere, who were torn apart when a curse was brought to their kingdom. Divided and lost, each group of Lumaterans found strife, struggling to find a new home for their people. Finnikin is that hope, and with the help of Evanjalin and his mentor Sir Topher they will undertake a journey that will lead them home, to reclaim their kingdom, even though that path will be paved with blood.

The book doesn't focus on the world building, but instead, it is a character study, with a little social commentary as well. This book just screamed Giiirrrrlll Poooweerrrr. And yes, the men are amazing as well, but the women are to be reckoned with. As the book got along, the characters found a way to balance Male and Female. I think it was a pervading theme: the yin and the yang, Light and Dark, Lagrami and Sagrami (the two goddesses worshipped separately by different Lumaterans), the goddess complete.

And though the book got off with an angry tone, as it went along, Melina showed humor as well, and love. Let's talk about the romance. Ugh. That was unexpectedly really pleasant. Like oh my glob I want something like this. I love it when the two protagonists are a match for each other. Like when the other one makes the other better, and stronger. Granted there was a little angst, but it was an enjoyable angst, and the ending rewarding.

*4.5 stars

Another hit! Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed Heyer's witty writing and dialogues and her colorful characters.

This has also quite hit home for me, personally. I know when something is just so emotional for me when I get a tingling sensation in my hands. And then my chest aches, and there's a threat of tears. And damn, when Drusilla was talking to herself in the mirror, convinced that the quiet gentleman, Gervase, would never have feelings for her, and that his amiability towards her was simply courteousness, I cried.

You see, as people perceive Drusilla (what a name! Even in Edwardian times it was an archaic name), she is sensible and totally plain. What hopes indeed does she have when there exists Marianne, a Beauty, of which Gervase can't even deny?

(Sometimes the synopses on Heyer's books can be so misleading. I had really thought that Gervase and his brother would be fighting over a woman.)

What I really love about Heyer is how she chooses her protagonists and the different way she conducts a romance. Though sometimes she writes novels about a Cynical Man falling for an Innocent (like in The Corinthian), she also writes about romances not based on passion, but a quiet kind of romance, and her characters are not your typical Hero and Heroine.

In The Quiet Gentleman, Gervase is soft, a dandy, but beneath his gentleness is a wily and intelligent man. Drusilla is plain, sensible and dependable. Throughout the book, no one really assumes she would catch the Earl's affections. And indeed, the book was not focused on how they fall in love, instead it focused on the threats to Gervase's life, and his relationship with his brother. The romance simply was there, you just had to read between the lines. And be delighted with how things worked out.

I loved how at first Gervase thought Drusilla was dull. Like all young men in their village, he was smitten with Marianne, the Beauty. I loved how Marianne was not presented as a Beauty without Brains or with a mean heart, but simply a Beauty, friendly and admired by women and men alike. And yet, look how things turned out.

*4.5 stars I still can't believe that resolution, though. Theo, the cousin, attempted to kill Gervase 3 times! And tried to frame Gervase's brother for it! And they let him go. Ah well.

I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.

If I could rate this book based on that quote alone, this would get five solid stars, seven even. But alas, the book was not entirely as august as that quote.

While it was funny at times (to a point), I mean, it is John Green and he is funny in his vlogs, it also sounded kind of pretentious sometimes. Oh, they are two young people wise beyond their years. I'm not averse to precocity in young people in novels. It just didn't seem to work on me in this one. Sometimes I couldn't help but feel that a particular quote was screaming "Quotable quote! This is inspirational! You have to like this!" as if it wasn't obvious enough.

Take for example, "I do not deny myself the pleasure of looking at beautiful people/ saying true things." Like ugh. Queue eye roll. I get Augustus Waters's appeal, but his love for metaphor is not particularly appealing to me. That smoking metaphor, felt a bit contrived. "You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing." Queue another eye roll, please.

I liked a lot of TFioS quotes before I read the book. You come across a really well written quote in Tumblr, and of course you're intrigued which book that came from. Sometimes a quotable quote is only good as a stand alone, sometimes the novel that quote comes from is really nice. When I read some of the quotes that I liked (see added quotes) in context, they didn't seem as good. They only felt affected and manipulative.


*3 stars Sometimes it was written really well, I liked most humorous parts, but at other times felt a little too contrived, so it didn't work for me. As Emily pointed out, John Green's humor didn't balance with the way he philosophized out things through Hazel, Augustus and Isaac, and the messages seemed a little too "inyerface". *shrug*

It's almost 3AM and I am reeling from my reading experience. How to even begin?

Last I left the book I was more than halfway through. I thought I could definitely finish this "tomorrow", but I meant like tomorrow afternoon. Well it literally is "tomorrow" since it's the 13th of April. 3AM.

So since it's apparently hard to put down (it's really easy to read), why do I only want to rate this 2 stars? Well, 2.5 stars. 2 stars means it was okay. I had such good hopes for this. I actually felt like I could like this, and now I feel bad for not.

Like most books I've read, the final impression it leaves me determines my overall impression of the book. *Sigh* Now I must warn you that there may be spoilers ahead. Most likely. Obviously I can't write properly since it's 3AM and I'm running on adrenaline here, and a famous writer once said:

I believe that words uttered in passion contain a greater living truth than do those words which express thoughts rationally conceived. -Natsume Soseki,[b:Kokoro|762476|Kokoro|Sōseki Natsume|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327991553s/762476.jpg|1977713]

So here goes nothing:

I really liked how this novel was realistic, and made you care about the story despite its simplicity. I may not have had the same experiences as Autumn had in highschool, but the novel rings true. Not everyone can be perfect, nor make the choices that an outsider [read: reader] would choose, nor do things that we all expect. Autumn and Finny, from the outset, you knew that they belonged together. You're reading it to know why and how they are not.

And then the book was an almost detailed account of their high school life. Autumn started dating this guy and Finn dates this girl in their freshman year. It wasn't like old times, and they seem to have grown apart. But you see, Autumn is such an unreliable narrator, even though she says Finn and her are no longer friends, you can read between the lines: that they have sexual tension, and Autumn is an idiot.

What I cannot like is how the story seemed so stagnant. A lot has happened, but not much essential to the story. I loved getting frustrated when I realize what Finny really felt in this scene and that, and I liked Autumn sometimes. Who doesn't often feel like they're dreams and reality can't coincide? So what if Autumn chooses to have a stable life with James instead of pursuing her love with Finn? We're all idiots. And I'm okay with that.

What I'm not okay with is how there didn't seem to be character development. Especially with that ending. Is this frigging City of Angels? The two protagonists spend one bloody day together after confessing and consummating their great love, and are separated forever the next day? Why would Laura Nowlin do this to me? And Autumn's reaction? She'll think Finny would forgive her for that? I never really took her seriously when she said Romeo and Juliet was romantic, because hell I liked Romeo and Juliet and sure it was romantic, but there's fiction and there's reality. So when Autumn decided to follow Finny into the dark, I think that was poor character development. What's more, she decides to do it again until she succeeds. *facepalm* Is it really nice to present in a novel that a girl is so devastated in love she wants to kill herself, because there's nothing else to live for? But oh wait, she's pregnant, and she thinks about aborting it, but the thought of Finny stops her. It would have been so nice if she had made a decision because that's what she stands up for, and not merely for the sake of a departed love.

*2.5 stars

It's actually hard for me to rate this. On one hand, Days of Blood and Starlight surpassed Smoke and Bone [to me], on the other hand, Laini Taylor kept ripping my heart out again and again, and I cannot like it. I cannot like getting to know a character, liking them, rooting for them, only to have Taylor kill them off.



Or do I?

Is this a friggin ASoIaF book? Because it seems like that. Letting me read all these POVs, and then killing them off. One time, all in a space of a chapter. It's amazing actually, how Laini Taylor did that. Introducing a character I really liked, only to find out he was just a plot device and I had to find out he dies. UUUGGGHHHHHHH.

And that ending.

All the time I was like.



But she did. Not cool, Taylor. NOT COOL. So now I'm pretty devastated. And hooked at the same time. What are you doing to me, Laini Taylor???




I'm getting way ahead of myself, though.


Days of Blood and Starlight follows the events in [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone|8490112|Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)|Laini Taylor|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338613368s/8490112.jpg|13355552], when Akiva and Karou separate ways, to each save their people. Inaccurate little synopsis I have there, because they really broke up in the end of Book 1. And it's so refreshing to be able to read this book, which didn't focus on the romance of the two protagonists for once. Instead, I was treated to the romance of Karou's buddies Zuzana and her Mik. (YAY!) Is there a more adorable couple than Zuzana and Mik. I wanted to hug them and kill them at the same time for their cuteness, omg. I WANT MY MIK. WANT WANT WANT.



This book focused on the pains of war. Of Karou's internal conflicts to right what she believed she wronged, in the face of her grief. Of her struggle to stay true to what she thinks she needs to do. And also in Akiva's side - the struggle to change what is being done. To stop this accursed and stupid war. These two are saving their world from each end. Or at least, trying to. *ALL THE AWARDS TO LAINI TAYLOR FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!*

*5 stars. I think it really does deserve 5 stars, despite that heart-ripping, twist-loaded, WTAF-inducing, frustrating ending.

HAZAELLLLLL!!! The worst death ever! Why Hazael? Why did anyone have to die? Ugh, I was half in love with Hazael, Laini! And you killed him! I died a thousand deaths!
Ziri! What? A love triangle that's not really a love triangle? Ziriiiiii, let me hug you....
Ugh, JAEL! Ugh, why couldn't Akiva have killed him too? UGGHHHHH
For a moment there I really thought it was THE WHITE WOLF. Like WTAF. And then it wasn't. Twists upon twists upon twists. I died a thousand more deaths.
THANK GOD, it wasn't Ten.
Seraphim and Chimaera finally working together! Akiva and Karou, I know you're gonna get back together! Earth being invaded by angels! The plot thickens...

I stayed up until 2AM to finish this thing, even though I just got off work 3 hours ago.


P.S. Dear [b:Dreams of Gods & Monsters|13618440|Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #3)|Laini Taylor|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1368723378s/13618440.jpg|19221595],
Will you please come sooner? I'm dying here.

THE TITLE


THE COVER


THE WAIT....IS AGONY

This is the YA Paranormal Romance which should set the bar. I think it truly deserves its popularity. However popular it may be, though, I only ever see one copy of it on bookstore's shelves while the Twilight series and The Mortal Instruments series take up much more space. *Frowny Face*

Granted, I haven't read much from this genre [thanks to Twilight and Hush, Hush] , but dang, if all YA PNRs were written this way, then I would invest a lot of my time reading them.

Here's the thing: Laini Taylor takes all these "elements" from YA PNR, and turns it into this astonishing, dark, word-gasmic fantasy novel. Though there were things I didn't like (the protagonists' utter physical beauty perfection and the insta-love which I thought over the top), the way Taylor writes overweighs all of that. Her humor was effective, the whimsicality alluring, and she used all these fancy words I never knew existed. I have never been more thankful for ColorDict in my life. But the big words weren't put there just to make a paragraph less boring. I'm telling you, this was really well-written.

There has been a lot of YA PNRs involving angels, and to tell the truth, I love that, ever since The Mortal Instruments Trilogy, but then I had to go and read Hush, Hush, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Daughter of Smoke and Bone has restored my love for angel/demon-lore.

*4.5 stars I contemplated giving this 4 stars. But it actually reminded me of the TMI series, what with the angels and all, and I gave [b:City of Bones|256683|City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)|Cassandra Clare|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309277410s/256683.jpg|2267189] (CoB) 5 stars. And that can't happen.

I loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and CoB, but for different reasons. While CoB was a fun read, I think Smoke and Bone is so much better.

But I rate books according to my enjoyment of the book, and I've come a long way since CoB. Daughter of Smoke and Bone offers incredible world-building, storytelling and lovely prose. Although, I'm not really sold out with the passionate you-changed-my-life-I-really-love-you-we-were-meant-to-be kind of romance in this book.

You like Japan? Read Natsume Soseki.

I hope I don't sound racist when I recommend this to people who like that "Japanese melancholic vibe" as if all Japanese people are morose or anything. I grew up loving anime, and if you are familiar with anime, you'll know anime is weird but hilarious all the same. But then, I also watch Japanese films and they are pretty damn melancholic. These bittersweet films with simple themes that just make your heart ache. I really think it's characteristic of "Japanese" just as much as their quirky anime and game shows. And I suppose they are two sides of the same coin - the hilarity in juxtaposition of its melancholy.

I think Kokoro is indeed very "Japanese". I enjoyed reading it because I enjoy the simple serenity and directness of Japanese media. In fact, while I was reading this, I imagined I was watching a Japanese film. Circa time of Memoirs of a Geisha, and my beloved Rurouni Kenshin.


Also, Kokoro was authored by one of the most popular Japanese novelist of all time, and if you even had a little interest in Japan, you would know Kokoro. From what I understand in its Introduction, this novel is widely known to everyone in Japan.

It tells of the life of Sensei in the time the narrator, a young man, meets and befriends him and of the shadow that plagues Sensei's existence.

Now comes the hard part where I have to go through that intellectual detail that the novel is really about. I am utterly unreliable in this area. Is it enough to say "Read the Introduction after you read the novel?"

Kokoro was published in 1914, and the events in the novel were set in 1912, around the time emperor Meiji died. The Meiji era signaled a new era in Japan - the opening of Japanese gates to Western civilization and an end to feudalism and the samurai way. *Insert intricacies of Japanese history and culture*

In my own innocent understanding: It's about the conflicts of the old and the new.

And it's also about human relationships and moral dilemmas.

...

...

...

Ugh, I just can't review this properly.

It's a pretty good novel, okay? Even with its flaw. I friggin love that melancholic vibe. So yeah, *4 stars.

*2.5 stars On one hand I really loved the faeries. Their strange and enchanting descriptions (e.g. he fills the room with sunlight - literally, she leaves icicles wherever she walks on, etc.) could really suck you in. I am so into that. I was initially hooked on the Seelie Court ever since I read them in City of Bones.

On the other hand, the premises were a little far-fetched and I could not care for Ash or Seth or Keenan.

So Keenan is the son of The Winter Queen and the late Summer King. Keenan is the new Summer King but he can't rule as a Summer King without a Summer Queen. But then why isn't there a Winter King to the Winter Queen? Or a pair of monarchs in the Dark Court and Seelie Court? It's only in the Summer Court where they need a King and Queen? And how on earth did the evil Winter Queen and late Summer King get it on, and produce Keenan in the first place? The Winter Queen, Beira, is all evil and only wants to rule the world in perpetual winter, but the real world seems as normal as ever, tit didn't seem affected by this Summer Court vs Winter Court thing which has apparently gone on for hundreds of years.

On top of that, Keenan needs to search for the Summer Queen all these years, who is a mortal, and it could be anyone. How does he even choose one? Like choose one random girl and hope she's the one? And then when the girl is unknowingly chosen, she apparently becomes a Summer Fey and she can't return to mortality. So she's basically doomed to become a faery, without her consent, unless the prospect of being a faery eventually warms up to her. And then there's this test where the girl chooses or not to take some staff to see if she really is the Summer Queen, but she can choose not to take the staff, because she'll risk being a Winter Fey - all cold and dead-looking - if she isn't the One. Also, Keenan has to court the girl and make her fall in love with him, but if she isn't the One, she basically becomes a member of his harem. Forever.

LIKE WUUUUUTTT?

I only read this because I had been given [b:Fragile Eternity|5152561|Fragile Eternity (Wicked Lovely, #3)|Melissa Marr|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327813714s/5152561.jpg|5219564] as a birthday gift and I thought I couldn't understand that book if I didn't read the first book first. However, I don't think I got much from Wicked Lovely. Everything I read in WL was pretty much hinted at in the first few pages of Fragile Eternity. There wasn't even any in-depth explanation of how ALL THIS came to be. Which was what I was hoping for.

So yeah, in conclusion, I loved the creation of the faeries, but not everything else.

I would have only given this 4 stars, had the ending not spoken to me at such a point in my life. It's funny how the right book smacks you in the head at just the right time, opening your eyes, making you feel better. Granted, this book wasn't the answer, but it made me think about things for a while. It really got to me. Now I realize that I'm the answer.

To avoid sounding vague, let me just say that I was pretty mad at the world/universe/life. In Josephine Alibrandi's words:

"...Things don't turn out the way you want them to."

Those words can be almost anybody's words. It's true: Life Sucks. Wouldn't things be much easier if things just turned out the way you expected them to?

I know that when the things we want to happen don't happen, it's usually for the better, but I'm still coming to terms with that.

What Looking for Alibrandi essentially left me with is:

"Promise me you'll never stop dreaming."

I always have to remember that.


*4.5 stars Looking for Alibrandi is full of loving characters. I especially loved the character dynamics: Josephine's unexpected relationship with her long-absent father, her development with her grandmother, and her relationship with her boyfriend.

It's made me an official fan of Melina Marchetta.

WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA

*4.5 stars* Glob, I loved reading this. Though the various spoilers I read in the internet, most especially Tumblr, kind of ruined it for me. That ending? Yeah, knew it was coming. Bummer. Thanks, Internet.

Nonetheless, there were things that took me by surprise and things that still affected me, even though I knew they were going to happen.

GRRM knows how to torment you. I suppose it's because of his background in screenwriting which accounts for almost every chapter ending in a cliffhanger. Real WTF cliffhangers. For instance, Dany was wondering where she would put her traitors: hang them or banish them, etc, and GRRM would write: Suddenly, she knew. And end that chapter. It wasn't very well written, even for a cliffhanger.

But oh well, I praise ASoIaF for its incredible storytelling. Maybe it's because I watched the series first, but it really did feel like I was reading different characters' voices. They were all distinct from one another. I've read other books who tried to write each chapter from various POVs, but they would sometimes befuddle me, because they seemed to talk alike.


I'd also like to make commentaries about the various narrators in the book, except the Prologue and Epilogue.

Jaime - Yeah, saw a lot of spoilers about this one. But how could I not love his relationship with Brienne? It was nice to know his side of things. It emphasized even more that PEOPLE ARE NOT WHO THEY SEEM TO BE, AND THINGS ARE NOT WHAT WE THINK THEY ARE. It was fun reading him, and his verbal parrying with Brienne, but I think his part could have been cut out? The series is way too long!

Catelyn - Ugh, totally knew it was coming.

Bran - Though it can be boring at times, compared to what's happening in King's Landing and everything, I love the development on his side of the story.

Davos - A lot of people love Davos. I like him enough. IT's just his side is a warring side, and I don't really like battle scenes.

He's one underrated character, considering how massive a help he is. Yeah, I see why people love him.

Samwell - Oh, Samwell, he's growing isn't he? He was pretty vital in narrating about the Others, the wildlings, especially since Jon had separated from his brothers. I love what Sam did in the end.

Sansa - Of all the narrators, I think I identify with Sansa the most. Thinking life is a song, and then grimly finding out that it isn't. You'd think Sansa'd be dead by now, but a combination of sense and royalty has helped her survive. I think Sansa will learn how to play the game.

Tyrion - AHHHHHH TYRIONNNNNNN. He's just awesome. A sad, sad character, really. He just never catches a break. When I read all the injustices done to him...like King's Landing never apprecaiting him just because he's a dwarf, and the people turning a blind eye on Joffrey's cruelties, and various hypocrisies. You gotta love Tyrion's speech in his trial. Joffrey, though. Oh, Joffrey. Goodbye, and good riddance! Kind of an anticlimactic death, though. Joffrey should have been flayed, skinned, had his nails ripped from his fingers and burned, before he strangulated to death by poison. The little prick.

Arya - I am so sad Gendry and Arya separated! Now I think they will never meet again. Damn GRRM, playing with my shipper heart and then tearing them apart! I knew what would happen with Arya, but I still loved reading it. Also, I think I found out what happened to Nymeria, and I really wish she and Arya would reunite.

Jon Snow - MMMYYYY BBAAAAABBBBBYYYYYY.

Okay, it's because of the gorgeous Kit Harington that I love reading his parts, even though I don't like battle scenes. And I'm happy Ghost came back.

Dany - Ugh, is there no end to her bamf-ness? I am reading the makings of a queen, how awesome is that? (And Barristan Selmy returns! Yay!) My friend told me I will miss her in A Feast for Crows, though. *frowny face*


A lot of deaths in this book (no less from GRRM), and a few weddings. New villains will surely crop up in AFfC, and what will happen to my babies? So...

*skipping off to read AFfC*

A 15-year old and a 21-year old? How will that ever work out?

But somehow, Laura Buzo managed to pull off telling a story about a 15 year old girl who falls for her 21 year old coworker, in this novel about first love, growing up, and moving on.

Sometimes I think, I really must be a 15-year old trapped in a 23 year old body. I was able to relate with Amelia maybe because I'm in a certain point in my life like her, and I loved her narrations. You're in love with a guy but you don't know what to do about it? Hey, me, too!

Though the parts with Chris's narration were a bit confusing (I really would have preferred if it was all Amelia's POV), it actually made sense in the end. Final verdict: Chris's narration, not a strong point for me (except for the times he mentions Amelia). Sometimes Chris and Amelia had too similar word choices.

This book just kept getting better and better, though. Buzo interjects these thoughts on feminism and patriarchy, and even on literature through Chris and Amelia, and, it didn't feel contrived at all. (I am thinking about one novel - [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810], I'm looking at you! - where the feminist agenda was so blatant and distracting, it set my teeth on edge). I felt like I got out of this novel with a satisfied, giddy heart, and also a little bit wiser.

*4.5 stars It's rare to find a book that leaves you with this peace of mind, a book that leaves you satisfied, especially when it's a book that's already been raved about, and thus gave you high expectations.

Love and Other Perishable Items aka [b:Good Oil|8079815|Good Oil|Laura Buzo|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298925793s/8079815.jpg|12803237] is a light read (this is the first time this year I've finished a book in a day!), but packs a punch. I'd love to read this again and again.

He's messed up. She's messed up. I have never enjoyed reading a romance in so long, and I have never rooted so hard for two people to be together. The pace was alright with me, and yes it was cheesy at times, but it was a good cheesy, you know?

Millay managed to make their emotions palpable, and I know I've complained about angst, but at this time, when I read The Sea of Tranquility, I loved the angst. I loved how effed up all the characters are. I tore at my hair, rolled my eyes, screamed, laughed, cried. It was an awesome emotional roller coaster ride.

I was torn between giving this 4 or 5 stars, because I know it isn't perfect, but what the heck, I haven't enjoyed reading a romance in such a long time.

*5 stars. This was a welcome and surprisingly pleasant break from a string of "okay" books. A classic case of "the right book at the right time."

I'm not into Paris like other people, and I do not get the lure of boarding schools, nor am I into the sophisticated English-accent cute boy type (I'm crazy, I know). If I reflect further upon it, I like under-the-radar type of guys, which is why I totally would have been into Josh instead.

Not that St. Clair isn't swoon worthy. Glob. He. Is. Dreamy. Which is why I added a new shelf (fictional boyfriends), because I will now officially keep track of swoon worthy guys that I've read about.



What hindered me from giving this 4 or 5 stars was because I did not enjoy it like I wanted to. The cover alone and the synopsis made me want to delay reading this book, which should have warned me, but then I saw these positive reviews from my GR friends, and I thought, hey, this could be different. Because truthfully, these are not the kind of novels I'd swarm to. But then, I gave a chance to [b:Dairy Queen|16178|Dairy Queen (Dairy Queen, #1)|Catherine Gilbert Murdock|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347858197s/16178.jpg|564970], and I loved that book.

It was hard to like Anna, especially when I can't relate to her. What did Anna ever do to snag a guy like St Clair? She's pretty but she doesn't realize it *rolls eyes*, she's nice, she prefers to stay at home than go out drinking, she's a neat freak, and St Clair can talk to her. Great, but I wasn't much convinced. Maybe if I had delved more into Anna's head instead of reading through a lot of conflicts, I could of liked her more?

It was hard to relate to the relationship problems in this book, actually. (I'm 23 and still single, what can I say?) Anna leaves this guy in Atlanta, with whom things might have been more intimate; at her first day in Paris, there's this attraction with gorgeous St Clair, but who already has a girlfriend; and the girl who first befriends Anna is also in love with St Clair.

A lot of drama there, but I didn't feel sparks. I just felt frustrated because...well, it was a complicated relationship. Though they develop their friendship throughout the book, and yes, it would be wonderful to be friends and then lovers, there were all these dilemmas. And I did not enjoy it.

You know what I did enjoy:
St Clair's secret message to Anna:

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

I was titter-tottering between giving this 2 or 3 stars, in the middle of reading it. But since I love well-made resolutions, overall, I liked the book.

What made Anna really likable to me was when she was watching Lost in Translation and realized that St Clair's friendship mattered more than being more than just friends to her, it didn't matter whether or not they would be together. Finally, Anna has her act together!

*3 stars A sweet,wish-fulfilling romance, albeit a bit too cliched [for me]. I love me my good endings, but this happy ending still didn't tip the scales and made me forget all the frustrating drama in the middle of the book.

Oh. My. Glob.

Isla is actually gonna get her own story told. I absolutely, absolutely wished there was a book for her while I was reading Anna and the French Kiss, and oh, man. Isla and Josh!