[Review] Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Tittle : Isla And The Happily Ever After

Author : Stephanie Perkins
Publisher : Usborne Publishing
Published : August 2014
Pages : 384
ISBN : 9781409581130
Price : $ 11.98

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.

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"And that’s when it hits me that this -this- is falling in love"

It’s been a while. A whole week i guess. I just have this kind of lazyness stuff i need to figure out so i won’t stuck in this again. I pissed with myself how i keeped distracting my reading time or allowed myself to be distracted. It’s going to be hard to be back on track but i’m trying. Hopefully it’ll work.

So, if you ever read the first book of this series, you’ll know who Isla and Josh are. We got a glimpse of Isla and many Josh in Anna and the French Kiss. And We’re back in Paris! Yay!

Isla is a shy redhead, that’s what they say, but i’m not really sure. She’s shy, okay, but she’s kind of aggressive too. Does that make sense? She’s not sassy like the other redheads we used to read. She even hate her genes a bit. How she easily blushes, or the inconsistency of her hair, or the lame color of her eyes. What I meant about aggressive is her lustful kind of loving Josh/? In short, she's shy, but you'll learn that she's not really that shy. That's right.

And meet Joshua, again. St. Clair’s bestfriend. The one that skips classes? And likes to draw? Yep,  that's the one.

“The best advice that I can give you is to figure out what comes next, and work towards that.”

Josh and Isla met in Manhattan. Well not really, they went to the same boarding school SOAP (you know what I mean). But because of one and other varieties, they didn't get to know each other until they reached they're senior year. Or until they met at a restaurant in Manhattan called Kismet.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” I say. He frowns. “That doesn’t make sense. The door you had last year worked fine”

Their shyness are adorable. It's like seeing Eleanor and Park again (Some people said comparing is bad but I can't help it,  they're really alike).

When Josh wanted to approach Isla, he was holding himself back because of Kurt, Isla’s bestfriend. He thought Kurt is Isla’s boyfriend, just like everyone else thought. Buy when he learned the truth, he couldn't help but pursuing her.

Isla is somewhat remind me of myself. The one that didn't take risks and keep standing in the safe zone (Well, did for her and does for me). She thought that she isn't lovable, someone that didn't belong everywhere, that she's the one holding Kurt back. She hated being hurt so she hurted others. She thought she was a replacement and she hated it, but she had done the same with other people. It made me frowning all on the Christmas part. But she's in rebellious age, what could I say?

I like that we're back in Paris. And not only that, we -or they- got to travel to Barcelona. I didn't really get the Barcelona part except when they're on the hill. But it was good. The buildings and the city. And I like how Isla described Josh’s drawings. It's so real that it's right before me.

And last touch with the casts in previous books is marvelous. I never knew I missed Etienne this much.

"Maybe it’s okay that my future is unknown."

“Artists are inspired by blank canvases.”

"The way he looked at you? He wasn't distracted. He was consumed."

"You know that because you asked me out, you’re the one who has to pick the place, right?”

"It's a freaking soap opera.”

“You read a lot.”

“Safer than going on a real adventure.”

“Kismet is closing.”
“What’s Kismet?”
“Fate,”