Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After

My rating: ★★★★★
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance.
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #3

Blurb from Goodreads:

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 swoon-worthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

My review:

Oh man ! I don’t even know where to start ! THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!!!!

“I am hard on myself. But isn’t it better to be honest about these things before someone else can use them against you? Before someone else can break your heart? Isn’t it better to break it yourself?”

This is without doubt my favorite book from this trilogy. I might even be the best contemporary romance I’ve read since a long time! Okay, I’m going to try not to rant too much :D Here I go:

First let’s talk about Isla. She’s… amazing! I could relate a lot to her. It actually scared me how much I thought the same way as her about the ability of someone loving her. Her insecurities were very familiar to me. This sounds probably so cheesy, but in a way it taught me a little more about life.

“I catch a glimpse of his abdomen. Yummy. "Yummy tummy."
He startles. "What?"
"Hmm?”

Now, Josh…. *sighs* Oh man, where do I have to start? Wait, I know: HOW CAN SOMEONE MAKE PAINTING/DRAWING SO HOT?! Also, he is gorgeous, talented, sweet, gorgeous, caring, funny, charming, oh-so-swoony, gorgeous… Did I mention he’s gorgeous? ♥
Okay, but seriously. I love him a lot. He is definitely one of my favorite book boyfriends!
(There was only thing that got me mad at him: RABBITS WHY JOSH WHY? SERIOUSLY?!)

This is my favorite book in this series because this time we could actually see the relationship grow. With Anna only 10% of the book was her being in a relationship. With Lola… well to be honest, I don’t even remember (sorry!). But this time we could see it develop completely right from the beginning. And their relationship is the best. They struggled a little during the middle, because of a damn hair diffuser (you’ll understand while reading the book), but I’m SO happy with how everything turned out. Isla and Josh are so meant to be!

“Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting.The way he looked at you? He wasn't distracted. He was consumed.”

The ending though… was BEYOND perfection! All the characters were reunited and I cried so much because I was so happy. I thought my heart was going to explode because of all my feelings. I knew there was a ‘big’ ending, but oh god, it was so much better than I expected. When I finished the book, I hugged my book and squealed for a few minutes. It was that good.

“Josh grins. It’s wide and relieved and reveals a rarely seen pair of dimples. I could live inside those dimples for the rest of my life.”

Oh god, I can keep on and on about this book. The scenery, the plot, the characters, the ending… everything was perfect. This review is probably written with way too much excitement, so everything I forgot can be described with this gif:

PS: I apologize for all the caps lock. I couldn’t resist #sorrynotsorry