Basking In The Creative Side Of Lola And The Boy Next Door By Stephanie Perkins

*All reviews I write are spoiler free*

Finally finaLLY FINALLY!

I’ve finally continued this series beyond the first book!

*Throws glitter into the air*

AND I’m currently reading the last book…so I’ll finally finish this series, after 2 years!

*Throws more glitter confetti*

Let’s talk about Lola and the Boy Next Door!

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Usborne

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Series Status: The 2nd book in the Anna and the French Kiss trilogy

Number of Pages:  373

 

(Found on back cover & Goodreads)

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion… she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit – the more sparkly, more wild – the better. And life is pretty close to perfect for Lola, especially with her hot rocker boyfriend.

That is, until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket return to the neighbourhood and unearth a past of hurt that Lola thought was long buried. So when talented inventor Cricket steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally face up to a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. Could the boy from Lola’s past be the love of her future?

Oh, how gullible I was to think I wasn’t the sort of person who likes a romance story.

I feel like I’ve betrayed myself. BETRAYAL, I TELL YOU.

Here I was, frolicking around for years, happily shouting from the rooftops “I don’t like soppy romance stories!!!”

And yet here I am, reading books called Anne and the French Kiss/ Lola and the Boy Next Door/ Isla and the Happily Ever After. I mean, just their titles make me cringe.

But it stops there.

From then on, nothing else about these books make me cringe. 

Well, I can’t speak for the third book yet, since I’ve only just started it.

Back to this one. I do admit to being hesitant about this book. As much as I loved the 1st book, so so so many people say they didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other two.

Unfortunately I have to agree…but it’s not all bad! I DID enjoy it! DO NOT stop here in my review and think “oh well that’s a shame, I’ll not read it.“

It’s just that I didn’t like the main character as much as I did with the first. Sure, Lola Nolan was fun, quirky, creative, colourful, confident. She was likeable. But for some reason, I just didn’t connect to her as well as I did with Anna. Or as well as I am doing with Isla, now that I’m reading her story. I didn’t like her at all when I first began the book – she was way too clingy and “my boyfriend this/my boyfriend that” for my liking – but don’t you worry, she soon breaks free from that. She soon grew on me.

It didn’t take me long to read this at all. I probably could have read it within a day if, you know, the social part of life didn’t happen. But it’s a very easy story to fly through. The voice and thoughts of Lola were relatable, with the awkwardness and overthinking accurate to each situation. And with the chatty style each book is written in, it’s not very hard to read 100 pages without even realizing.

I was definitely rooting for the couple in this book. But that sort of backfired, because it meant the first half was a bit irritating for me to read. It was a bit too close to the plot of Anna and the French Kiss – relationship status wise. I think it’s different for the last book though, so it doesn’t bother me too much. Also, like I said before the book is really quick to read, so it didn’t irritate me that much since I just whizzed on through.

I just want to applaud this book for all the important things it promotes. Whether accidental or on purpose (or accidentally on purpose), this story holds so many ways for a person to be diverse in personality. You want to put your education before relationships? Great! You have a talent that might not be conventional? Well that’s brilliant! You’re gay? Good for you! You want to dress differently from everyone else? Go for it! You do you! 

If there’s ever a moment some sort of “oddness” is picked out, it’s quickly shut down with a brief “So what? It’s you” attitude that I just love.

*rapid round of applause*

Creativity is key with this book. Every person has their own thing. And I really appreciated that.

So, while I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first, I definitely did enjoy it. It was a lovely, quick read, great for the Summer, and boosts my love for contemporary love stories that little bit more.

Rated 3.5/5 stars

 Order from Amazon!

[Available in Paperback and Kindle Edition]

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Until next time…

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