the reader in a quiet corner

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.