Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins | Rating: ★★★★★

“I’m…getting there. I’m beginning to think that maybe it’s okay to be a blank canvas. Maybe it’s okay that my future is unknown. And maybe,” I say with another smile, “it’s okay to be inspired by the people who do know their future.”

Isla's story is the final installment in the Anna and the French Kiss series and I'm so sad to see it go. I've really grown attached to these couples and I'm still in the process of a major book hangover. That being said, Isla has all the charm of Anna and Lola, but feels a bit more sexy and angsty -- in all the right ways. Once again, we're back in Paris for the ending to this series. It's the perfect place to end it all because it's where it began for other characters.

We've glimpsed Isla in the first book but this story is her chance to shine through. Isla is a very different voice than Anna and Lola, but for me she is the one I see myself in most. She's very lost, she's very in love, she's very fun. There's a lack of self esteem in her that makes her easy to connect to. Although Anna's my favorite of the series, reading from Isla -- about her -- is a true gift; she certainly gives Anna a run or her money.

Seriously, she's just an interesting narrator. And there's something about her that makes me wan to wrap her up in a blanket, snuggle her and protect her from harm.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins | Rating: ★★★★★

He couldn't bring the girl with him, so he brought the stars. When he'd look out his window at night, he would start with one. One star. And the boy would make a wish on it, and the wish would be her name.
At the sound of her name, a second star would appear. And then he'd wish her name again, and the stars would double into four. And four became eight, and eight became sixteen, and so on, in the greatest mathematical equation the universe had ever seen. And by the time an hour had passed, the sky would be filled with so many stars that it would wake the neighbors. People wondered who'd turned on the floodlights.
The boy did. By thinking about the girl.

If you're looking for the next sweet, perfect for sunshine, tale of first loves rekindled and something to follow up Anna and the French Kiss with, I have some good news for you! Lola an the Boy Next Door is immensely charming and definitely the perfect followup to the incredibly popular first installment to this series. It has all the wonderful qualities Anna had and we're fortunate enough to have a glimpse or two of Anna and St. Clair; though the sequel doesn't follow them exclusively we get to see the two lovebirds frequently in Lola's story.

Lola's life is interesting and quite fun to read about: her birth mother is a mess, her two fathers are overly strict (sometimes, rightfully so!) and her boyfriend is far too old for her. Seriously girl, he's too old for you right now. Luckily for us readers, she has that something -- that sparkle, that makes you love her instantly. She's very stylish and creative in her own unique way. It's easy to see yourself or someone you know in Lola because she is special and fun and the perfect narrator.