Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Published: September 2011
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Review: This was just as good if not better than Anna!

Lola seems to live an almost perfect life with a rocker boyfriend and 2 dads that love her. Everything seems fine until her used to be neighbors move in after years of not seeing them. After the way they left Lola doesn't want anything to do with them and also doesn't want to know about them. Unfortunately for her, it seems kind of impossible since each day her feelings towards them change, especially for Cricket.

Lola is the person that I could never be and I loved that! She had her own personality and she really distinguished herself from the rest. She was trying to get over what had happened with her neighbors and when they suddenly appeared everything came back to her which made her not want to see them. Of course, the one person that she doesn't want to see is the person she sees.

And Cricket is awesome! According to Lola he dresses well and can also invent stuff. He doesn't have that big personality that everyone can see that Lola does but he stands out in his own way. He was going through his own things and trying to figure out his own problems that were tormenting him. He actually seemed like he could be the boy that lived next door.

I can't decide if I liked Anna more or not but I know for sure that they are both amazing. I enjoyed reading every single minute and I can't wait to read her next book. I feel like anything that Stephanie comes out with I will buy even if I don't know what it's about. =)

In My Mailbox (50)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Now that school has stopped taking so much time and golf season is over I can start to blog again! I missed it so much and now I'm super happy that I finally have the time to dedicate myself to it. =) These are the books that I've bought while I was gone.

Bought:
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Vixen by Jillian Larkin
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Clarity by Kim Harrington
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

What did you get this week?

Armchair BEA: Best Books of 2011-so far!

Today we're talking about our favorite books of 2011 so far! By the end of the year it will have changed. =) So here they are in no particular order:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Heist Society by Ally Carter

The Princess of Las Pulgas by C. Lee McKenzie

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Released: December 2010
Pages: 372
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis:  Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Review: I can't even begin to say how much I loved this book! It really was amazing!

Anna has a father who has decided that it would be good for her to go to school in Paris. Anna is afraid of her new surroundings but over time she finds out that there may actually be something good to all that is happening. As time goes by, Anna lives many different adventures and experiences new things and finds that there is much more to her life.

I loved reading from Anna's perspective! She wasn't one of those who's mind revolves around a boy. Yes she thought of him often but she was realistic and tried to keep things the way she thought would be best. She wasn't perfect and I think it's one thing that made her so likable and someone easy to relate to. Like anyone she made mistakes and also tried to remedy them after she figured out what she had done.

Étienne St. Claire. He was the guy every girl wants for herself. I mean, wouldn't you want a boy who has an English accent, has a French name but is also American? Again, he wasn't perfect and also made some mistakes. He wasn't like the typical bad boy that you find often and I was glad for that. Despite not being a bad boy, I always looked forward to more about him when he appeared.

It wasn't only the main characters that were amazing! Meredith, Josh and Rashmi were equally amazing! They each had their different personalities that somehow came together to be great friends. They each had their problems that at the end were solved in the best possible way. I liked how they each turned out to be great friends to Anna.

I loved how the book was set on Paris! All throughout the book I was eager for something to happen between St. Claire and Anna and I have to say that Stephanie Perkins did a great job at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat! It's part of what made this book awesome and never got boring. I'm usually not into contemporary books but I have to admit this is an exception! If you haven't read this book yet, you have no idea what you're missing on!

In My Mailbox (36)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. So this week I only got 1 book but 1 really good book!

Bought:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I already read it and I loved it! It's so good!