Lola and The Boy Next Door (Anna and The French Kiss #2) by: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance
Published: September 29, 2011 by: Dutton Books

So I FINALLY finished this book, after about a month of trying. I posted my halfway review of the book about a week ago, and after that I sat myself down and didn't do anything but finish it. I need to move on to another book. I have to say that I was a bit under-whelmed with this book.

First to the positives: The characters! I loved the characters with a passion. Everyone (except Max and sometimes Calliope) put me in a good mood. I loved how unique Lola was. She was confident in what she wore and how she acted. I loved how she didn't have an average style of a typical teenager in other books. Now to Cricket! Everything down to his name, was different and I loved that. He wasn't a typical teenage heartthrob in other books. His style was unique like Lola's, and he was such a gentleman! The author did a great job with the characters.

Now to the negatives :(. It took me a long time to get through this book. It dragged on, and I feel like there were a lot of details to the book that were irrelevant to the plot. The book started off very slow, and didn't really pick up until the end. But by then, I  had lost interest. I was looking forward to this book because a lot of people told me that it was even better than the first in the series. I felt as if it was a bit boring and it didn't really even have an interesting plot.

I am now hoping that Isla and The Happily Ever After, the third book does not let me down. So far, I've had a love-hate relationship with this series. Isla however, has been the book that I've been looking forward to since her character was introduced in the first book. I don't know why, but she reminds me of Eleanor from Eleanor and Park, which is one of my favourite books.

Overall, this novel was a bit predictable and boring. The first book, in my opinion, was definitely better, however I feel like the last book will be the best. The characters were great, although I wish I had read more plot twists or suspense. I would rate it 2 out of 5 stars.

Bye For Now!
Emily @ Paperback Princess

Halfway Review of Lola and The Boy Next Door by: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance

I have started the second Anna and The French Kiss book. I did like the first one, so I decided to give the second one a go. I have to say that this book is going by really slowly for me.

Usually if I get really into a book, I could easily finish it in 2-3 days. However, I have been stuck on this book for more than a month now. I don't know why, but I just can't seem to get into it. I think that the problem is that it takes a while for something interesting to happen. The book's introduction and the first few chapters were very hard to get through.

Now I know that I shouldn't judge a book based on the first few chapters, so I have continued reading. However it is still taking a while to get through. Once Cricket Bell was introduced into the story, things started to pick up. I am loving his character, there's a bit of cheekiness to him, and I feel like he's such a sweetheart. Lola's character is sweet as well, she has a unique style that I like, and she doesn't take crap from anyone. I liked how the author put a different twist on a character, rather than just having her wear clothes like the average teenager. Lola is her own person.

The book is different, and that's what I like about it. I also like how the author wrote Lola to have two dads. This is the first book I have read that features a homosexual couple, so I applaud the author for showing that not everyone has just a mom and a dad.

So overall, the positives of this books are the uniqueness of the characters, however I will say that the books is still very slow. I hope that by the time I finish the book, things will change.

Bye for Now!

Emily @ Paperback Princess 2014