Review : Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Book: Isla and the Happily Every After

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Pages: 339

I Read: The Kindle version

I Read it in: 3 hours

Plot Summary: 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.

What I Liked: Quick List: 

• Josh: We have met him in Anna and the French Kiss as the artist dude who ends up breaking up with Rashmi, his long-term girlfriend, as she went off to college. Josh is the typical YA romantic hero- slightly intense, slightly fun, all-heart type of a dude who is quite dreamy and eminently likeable. 
• Kurt: He is Isla's best friend has Aspergers. Kurt is very likeable and sweet and is a nice secondary character in the book. 
• I liked the overall arc of how Isla and Josh fall in love. 
• I love the descriptions of Josh's art.. it sounds rather lovely. 
• Anna, St. Clair, Lola and Cricket's surprise appearance in the end is quite nice. 

What I Didn't Like: 

• Isla: I didn't get a handle on who she was and what she was really like in the book. At all. In Perkins' previous books, the key protagonists and their romantic interests were very well sketched out because of which one felt connected to those characters. (You can read our review of Lola and The Boy Next Door here). Isla felt very superficial and disjointed as a character. You don't get a sense of who she really is as a person and what her issues are. (TINY SPOILER) Her issues crop up suddenly, rather unprovoked, and then she freaks out and breaks up with Josh. (END SPOILER). I didn't enjoy her at all. 
• The largest chunk of the book was dull! The Isla-Josh love story went on for about 45% of the book and then there was this massive dull center, which was really pointless. It reduced my enjoyment of the book significantly. 

Rating: 2.5/5 (This book is a good, breezy quick read for Perkins fans.. but it is not as good as Anna and Lola)