"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?"
Stephanie Perkins has dazzled us with Anna and the French Kiss, blown us away with Lola and the Boy Next Door and unfortunately, left us slightly disappointed with Isla and the Happily Ever After. Now, before I delve any further into this, I want to let you know that this was a fantastic book; amazing, in fact; but nowhere near as much of a must-read as both Anna and Lola were. Isla and the Happily Ever After is the companion novel to these two books, and continues with the story of a shy, redheaded girl named Isla. This may sound perfectly fine for any contemporary romance novel aimed at young adults, however, what is certainly not fine is that Isla was not a shy character; she was a self-loathing character.
I have read many books in which the main protagonist is constantly blaming herself for the simplest of things and often blows situations out of proportion. Isla and the Happily Ever After was a similar case to this, which left me in mourning for the perfectly balanced character dynamics that Stephanie Perkins had written in the first two books. It was truly unfortunate because, other than this, there were next to no aspects of this novel that I could fault. It was truly a masterpiece with a regrettably noticeable flaw.
Normally, one small flaw in any given novel would not be enough to affect the rating I choose to give to the book, however, due to the entire story being written in first person retrospective narrative stance, readers could not avoid attention being drawn to Isla's persistent self-pitying monologues. This was not a small flaw for me, and it took a series of debates with myself as to whether I should have let it slide and give this book a 5 star rating. In the end, I settled for 4.
Despite the admittedly irritating narration, Stephanie Perkins is able to paint a gorgeous picture for readers as she brings us back to Paris, reminding us just why we fell in love with Anna and the French Kiss. As always, Perkins delivers a romantic setting on astounding levels and whilst character interactions were still witty and adorable; reminiscent of her previous novels; they are lacking on Isla's side. Isla is somewhat of a nervous wreck throughout this novel, luckily enough, Josh's charming confidence and fleshed out back story were able to keep me flipping the pages. Even Isla's childhood friend Kurt became intriguing and a good source of drama during several scenes.
The dramatic elements were still present in this novel, Stephanie Perkins taking turning over a new leaf and introducing more parental drama was refreshing and well appreciated. This was a contrast to the other companion novels, creating a fairy tale romance with little tension and establishing the main conflict after both Isla and Josh had become committed to one another. It was this that opened up the door for an incredible amount of new possibilities for the story of which Stephanie Perkins makes use of quite well in her execution of writing this novel.
Fans of this series will find solace in the conclusion, however, as Stephanie Perkins ties everything together quite nicely. It is definitely worth reading Anna and Lola before attempting this novel. If you have picked up this novel and struggled to page through it, the first two books will motivate you to finish this one as well. I did have minor issues with this novel, but I was still very much in love with this book. Stephanie Perkins is an amazing author whose unique style of writing envelops her readers in a reality we all strive for. A reality that at times, seems just out of reach but is a tad sweet enough for us to persevere, aiming for it again and again.
Fantastic author, fantastic book. Definitely worth the read.
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
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