vagasker
Written on Aug 5, 2019
Not my cup of tea (and tbh neither were the other two in this series but maybe it was the holiday mood that kept me going).
“Stephanie Perkins’ characters fall in love the way we all want to, in real time and for good.”—Rainbow Rowell
“This adorable YA romance is half New York love story, half Parisian romance, and fully prepared to make your heart melt quicker than a gelato dropped on a sidewalk.”—MTV.com
From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren't always forever. Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.
- ISBN10 014242627X
- ISBN13 9780142426272
- Publish Date 4 August 2015 (first published 14 August 2014)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Speak
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 368
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780142426272
Reviews
Not my cup of tea (and tbh neither were the other two in this series but maybe it was the holiday mood that kept me going).
Sam@WLABB
Written on Apr 19, 2018
I feel like the odd man out, but I think this was my favorite book of the series. I think I am developing a taste for low drama books, and this installment had the least amount of drama. I also think it had the most swoons. If I had to classify this story in as one thing, it was the story of two people falling in love. There were also ideas of self-acceptance, family obligation, and loyalty, among other things, but it was Isla and Josh's romance that captivated me. The last part of the book made me cry some serious tears. Between all the characters in the series making an appearance, getting some major updates on their lives, and Josh's manuscript, I had feels galore.
Overall: A wonderful ending to a series, which delighted me.
kymmiejournals
Written on Feb 25, 2018
Bianca
Written on Nov 29, 2016
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? I thought honesty made people strong.
Nessa Luna
Written on Aug 18, 2016
Isla and the Happily Ever After tells the story of Isla Martin, who has had a crush on Josh ever since she can remember. The only problem was that he already had a girlfriend. Until now. What happens next is a whirlwind relationship that could go anywhere. I honestly have to say that I liked this relationship best, because they got together pretty early on in the relationship. With the previous two books, the couples only got together at the end of the story, after flirting with each other for almost the entire book, and that's honestly what I don't like so much about these romance books. So thank you Stephanie for not doing that to me again with this book! (And no this is not a spoiler, it's sort of in the summary already).
Both these characters were already introduced in Anna; we knew Josh because he's St. Clair's best friend, and Isla was mentioned a couple of times in the first book as well (I believe Anna stopped a person who was bullying Isla or something like that). So from Josh's side we didn't need much introduction. Isla, however, was only a cameo in the first book, so we got to know her a bit better in this book. I liked her, but there were some things that bothered me. Like her kind of obsession with Josh throughout the book, even when they were in a relationship. But her friendship with Kurt was great, and I honestly wished there were more male/female friendships in books like that.
The book took place mostly in Paris, at the American school that we read about in Anna, and honestly I wasn't really happy with it. I would have loved a new location, but of course Josh and Isla were still in school and there wasn't really anything we could do about that. I loved their little trip to Barcelona apart from the fact that they basically went there to have sex, after being together for like a month or so? and the holidays spent in America of course.
I have to admit, Isla and Josh's relationship moved fast, perhaps a bit too fast in my eyes. I don't mind them getting together early in the book, but I don't know it kind of felt rushed at some points, so yeah even though they didn't have the typical romance-book relationship, it still wasn't the greatest relationship ever. And when Isla broke up with Josh because of some thing that she'd made up in her head, that bothered me so much. I honestly wouldn't have blamed Josh if he hadn't gotten back together with her at the end.
In the end, I really enjoyed Isla and the Happily Ever After, but honestly I don't think that this book, nor Lola, was as great as the first book. If you love romantic books, and you love Paris, you should definitely pick up this series!
My opinion in one gif:
girlinthepages
Written on Jun 22, 2016
By the time I read Anna and the French Kiss, I was pretty much the last book blogger I knew to start Stephanie Perkin's adorable companion series, and at that time everyone was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Isla. Over the past two years I've slowly made my way through the series, savoring each book yet being disappointed that I hadn't quite found that magic that everyone else seems to see in them. I love the lush settings, the captivating characters, but the romances never made me feel for the couples, never made me swoon or ache in only the way teenage angty love can. So I was blindsided when I was completely and totally captivated by Isla and Josh, the final act in Perkins' series.
I wasn't expecting much more from this book than an enjoyable, fluffy summer read. Isla's story didn't grip me from the synopsis and I Josh didn't leave much of an impact on me when I read Anna. I was excited to return to SOAP and immerse myself in the french culture, but had little expectation of being invested in the romance, especially in the beginning when Isla's crush on Josh is so intense and so unrequited (though we've all been there, it's easy to be jaded about those feelings looking back on them from your 20's). Yet unlike Anna and Lola, where the novel is a slow burn of misunderstandings and tension, Isla and Josh begin their relationship fairly early on and drama free, and I became so immersed in watching their relationship grow and getting to experience the highs and lows of it with them. There's something so intimate and intense between them as a couple, two naturally shy and quiet people who bring out the brightness in each other. And though my high school dating drama is years and years behind me, Perkins' depictions of those specifically high school dating problems (the break-ups, the non-understanding parents, the ghosts of girlfriends past, etc.) were so spot on that I felt myself experiencing the rush of emotions all over again myself.
What always surprises me about Perkins' writing as well is the rawness in it. I always go in expecting "fluffy" but rediscover that she's not afraid to explore intimacy and pain to an extent in her plots. Josh and Isla's night in Spain, and their consequences, really evoked an empathy in me as a reader, and the pain in the aftermath felt genuine and raw. I was also stunned by Perkins' ability to translate Josh's art onto the page through her writing, making it so vivid that I could perfectly visualize his stunning drawings though I don't have a speck of drawing ability. The portrayal of Josh's graphic novel toward the end of the story, which chronicles events from the past three years and references several instances from Anna through his perspective, was a true testament to the brilliance of Perkins' writing ability. It was stunning, and I wish that one day it was a real companion graphic novel to this series.
The heart of this novel for me really lies in the chemistry between Josh and Isla. It's not the slow burn, witty banter, drama fueled chemistry of so many YA couples. It's the chemistry of two people who are so quietly attracted to each other, who's love for each other still burns bright despite their own flaws and immaturity. Sure, they bugged me at times, with Isla's massive insecurities and Josh's inability to commit academically, but I was consciously rooting for BOTH of them, which is how I know I was truly engaged in them as a couple.
Overall: Isla and the Happily Ever After was an adorable conclusion to the Anna and the French Kiss companion series, wrapping everything up across the three books as well as showcasing that Perkins can write different types of romantic relationships. It made me swoon, it made me ache, and most of all it made me at peace with all of the characters when I finished the final page. Isla is definitely my favorite of Perkins' love stories, and it's a series I'm sure I will revisit again and again.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
Chelsea
Written on Nov 18, 2015
1. I think this book was my favourite of the three. I could relate to Isla a lot more than the other characters.
2. I also really loved Josh and how he wasn't this perfect, dreamy guy.
3. The romance started early in this book and I was glad. We actually got to see a lot of their relationship instead of the characters only getting together at the end.
4. I was really grateful for the little surprise at the end of the book! It was adorable!
5. I kind of wish this series continued because I'm going to really miss Paris and SOAP.
maeyuka
Written on Nov 10, 2015
Angie
Written on Oct 7, 2015
My biggest issue with Isla and the Happily Ever After was that there was no build up or relationship development. That awkward, cutesy "I like him, but does he like me?" stage--which is my favorite part of the other books--was entirely missing. Isla and Josh hang out once, he says he wants to be her boyfriend, then they exchange I loves you, and are making plans to attend colleges down the street from each other and getting an apartment. Woah! Slow down! I never had a chance to settle into them as a couple. It was so sudden and made me unable to connect to either of them.
My second issue was Isla herself. There's this big drama in the middle where she and Josh go on a romantic getaway and get in trouble because they left school overnight. Isla completely blames her sister and partially blames her best friend because they didn't cover for her. First of all, she knew Kurt wasn't going to lie to the dorm supervisor. Second, she doesn't even tell her sister that she was leaving. In fact, she specifically states that only Kurt would notice she was gone. Your sister? Hello? Did you forget you have a sister?! No one is to blame but her and Josh. They chose to break the rules, and she chose to not tell her sister, and she should not have put responsibility on anyone other than herself. She forgives Kurt easily, but her sister isn't mentioned again until the very end when Isla realizes that she needs to apologize. Too late.
Then there's the big fight between Isla and Josh. Josh has been working on his graphic memoir, and lets Isla look at his manuscript. It's obviously not done, but what does Isla do? She gets upset that she's not featured in it enough! He hasn't even drawn senior year yet, which is the only time they've had any significant interactions! Is she serious right now?! I completely understand her insecurities in their relationship, but she knew the manuscript was incomplete, she knows how much work it takes him to finish each panel, and yet she goes off on him about it. Of course, this has to get resolved at the end, and under different circumstances, this may have been really cute, instead it just made me roll my eyes.
There are definitely some cute moments in Isla and the Happily Ever After, but overall, I just could not get into this romance at all. We don't get to know either character much at all prior to them jumping into a relationship, which made it hard for me to care about them as a couple. The only parts I really liked were Isla and Kurt. She is fiercely loyal to her best friend, and won't let anyone come between them, especially someone who takes issue with him being autistic. I mean, she's definitely not a perfect friend to him, but I believed their relationship much more than I did her one with Josh.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Jordon
Written on Sep 12, 2015