Isla and the Happily Ever After

August 14, 2014 ARC, Book Review 3

Isla and the Happily Ever AfterIsla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Published by Penguin on 2014-08-14
Pages: 352
Goodreads

“Stephanie Perkins’s characters fall in love the way we all want to, in real time and for good.” —Rainbow Rowell, Award-winning, bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

My Thoughts:

You guys. YOU GUYS!!!!!! Do you have any idea how much joy it gave me to type “Isla and the Happily Ever After” as the title of this review?!?! It means that it’s here!! Isla and Josh’s story! For everyone to read and fall in love with!!! ***happy dance***

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I LOVED this book! Immediately after finishing it I posted this on goodreads:

Ohmystars. Oh. My. Stars. I loved this book like crazycakes! I cannot even!!!!! The perfect companion to ANNA and LOLA. Steph Perkins has such a way with creating characters and stories I can’t get enough of. All my love for Isla and Josh!!

And, yeah. I stand by that. I mean, I’ve already re-read it! I loved it that much.

I know it can be scary to pick up a book you’ve been waiting a long time for, especially when you REALLY loved the previous books and there has been a lot of hype. But seriously. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins was so worth the wait and deserves all the hype! It really is that good. Here are a sampling of things I loved (without being spoilery!)

* By page two Steph has worked in the pronunciation of Isla 🙂 Check out the chapter sampler to see if you’ve been saying it correctly!

* Isla’a longtime crush on Josh. I can so relate to being the girl with the crush on the same guy forever without talking to him!

* Isla in general…. such a great character. I loved learning more about her and her world!

* Kurt, Isla’s best friend. I loved their friendship and all the things they go through together.

* The sister aspect! Isla is the middle of three sisters. She is close with her older sister and I could relate to that! I don’t have a younger sister, but I thought Isla’s relationship with hers brought a lot to the story.

* The reappearance of beloved characters. Of course there are the obvious ones…. but there are some smaller ones too! I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t list them. But I highly suggest a re-read of ANNA and LOLA if you haven’t already done so!

* Travel! We’re back at SOAP so there’s the Paris aspect, but Isla and Josh’s story doesn’t stick to one place! I loved seeing where Steph would take us next.

*Josh. Oh man, talk about a swoonworthy book boy! He can draw and he’s sweet and just all around adorable! I really, really liked him. There is so much more I’d like to say but SPOILERS!!!!!

*Basically, everything.

For me, Isla and the Happily Ever After was perfection. I had such a big smile on my face when I finished it! It had all of the swoons I wanted plus the humor that I love. Stephanie Perkins is the best at creating characters I can relate to and want to know IRL.

Hands down, Isla and the Happily Ever After is one of the best books (if not the best!) I’ve read this year. I cannot wait to add a finished copy to my shelf!

Bonus:

My amazingly talented friend Jaimie created another beautiful piece of art for my favorite Isla quote:

islajIsn’t it gorgeous?!?! It’s gonna look so great with my ANNA and LOLA ones!!!!

 

3 Responses to “Isla and the Happily Ever After”

  1. Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook

    I just finished this this morning. It was soooo good. I loved Josh and Isla. I do admit to some scenes – well certain scenes I felt almost too old for, though. Like I was maybe rolling my eyes a little. And although I think my teen self would have reacted similarly, I just felt so far from that version of myself.

    But I did absolutely love this book, and when I finished I definitely was happy sighing.

  2. Courtney @ Courtney Reads A Lot

    I really need to start this series! I have yet to read any of these, and I’m not sure why. I guess I’m scared I’ll be the odd one out and not enjoy them, though it seems like that’s nearly impossible with all the positive reviews I’ve seen for this series. I’m glad you enjoyed this one!

  3. Brooke

    I thought that this book was completely swoon-worthy! Stephanie Perkins NAILS that edge-of-your-seat, butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling of first love so well, I was hooked. Confession: this was the first of the three books that I read, and I’ve already gotten Anna out of the library and read that as well. (St. Clair, AMIRITE?!)

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