Back off, ladies, Etienne St. Clair is my boyfriend. And I pretty much loved him, Anna and this entire novel from the start. 
 Everyone has told me how much they just adored ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, but I have always resisted, mostly because the hardback cover doesn't do a lot for me and neither does the title. I'm the kind of reader you need to market from top to bottom. But Stephanie Perkins was in town with a handful of other authors in February for a signing and once again, friends were telling me how amazeballs her books are, so I broke my book-buying ban and grabbed them. 
 ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS did not disappoint! It was fun and snarky and easy to read. It also didn't lose the seriousness I like hidden within the pages of the novels I read. I like fluff when buried underneath are messages to the reader. I want to be able to nod along with the writing and be all, "I totally get you, giiiiirl." ANNA is no exception. She is the quintessential American girl, is nerdy, but not ashamed of it, and wears Batman pajamas. I totally loved her. 
 Anna's foray into a foreign country for the school year was both fun and heartbreaking as she tries to accept the changes in her life, the loss of her friends who are back home in the ATL, and new social customs. Oh and learning French. Can't forget the French. Perkins' descriptions really brought me into the book, and into Paris, SOAP, as I walked the streets with Anna and her Parisian friends. I could wax poetic about Perkins' writing, but you've probably read it, I don't need to. If you haven't read it... ah! DO IT NOW. 
 The relationships Anna has to learn how to forge are brilliantly done and realistic: Anna and her parents, Etienne and his parents, Anna and Etienne. ANNA AND ETIENNE. Le sigh. The two of them together were ridiculously cute and romantic and I loved that they have so many misses. Anna's friends bring such a nice roundness to the novel; there is something wrong with all of them, whether it's insecurities, family troubles, liking a boy you know you can never have. Hey, we've all been there, right? 
 Overall, this is a sweetly romantic novel that melts your heart in all the right places.