LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins!

Many of who read The Hiding Spot are aware that I'm totally and completely in love with ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS... I adored it so much that I'm unable to review it, but I still encourage everyone I know to have a copy at home with them. Stephanie Perkins' debut is kind of like one of those essentials that everyone needs in their house... like water... and food... and things like that. Yup. Water, food, and ANNA. I think that's all you really need.


Stephanie recently released the cover for her next novel LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR - and I loooves it so much!

Description:

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.
When the family returns and Cricket—a gifted inventor and engineer—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

NEED IT, WANT IT, LOVE IT.

That pretty much sums up my feelings at the moment.

For more info, check out Steph's blog!

Fragment Friday (1) feat. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS

This Friday I'm trying something a little bit different. It's called a vlog. Some may call it terrifying. Oh, wait... That's just me.

Erica (from the fabulous blog The Book Cellar) convinced me it was time to make a vlog. So you can blame (or thank) her.

Fragment Friday is hosted by James at Book Chic Club!

You can find my post in which I gush about ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS - and try to convince you to read it - here. Stephanie Perkins' super fun website is here.

READ THIS BOOK. You know you want to.

To vlog or not to vlog... Should I do it again? I'll let you decide. Leave a comment with some feedback!

As you can see, there are some issues with video quality. For example, the fact that, in the sceond half of the video, my lips and the sound don't match. I'm not very tech savvy, so I welcome any tips regarding vlogging and things of that nature.

Excerpt taken from an Uncopyedited Sales Galley.

Top 10 Reasons to Read ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS

About a month ago I received a box from Penguin. In this box were 16 arcs. One of these arcs was Stephanie Perkins' debut novel ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. I'd heard of this book and I had read Stephanie's blog, so I was excited to get a copy. I had (have) loads of review books to read, so I put in on my bookshelf with all my other review copies, since it isn't released until December. A week ago, I was in the mood for a love story, so I picked up ANNA and slipped it in my bag. I was having a busy week, so I basically ended up carrying it around with me for days and didn't have a chance to actually start it. Two days ago, at midnight, I decided I was going to read a few chapters before I went to bed. I convinced the lovely Erica, of the Book Cellar, to read it with me, despite the fact that our review copy piles were glaring at us menacingly. Three hours later, bleary-eyed, I read the last few lines. And now, two days later, I'm still carrying it around with me. And no, I don't mean in my head, I mean LITERALLY. This book is so full of awesome that I can't let it go. I unable to stop talking or thinking about it. Which explains this fangirly post. If you aren't jealous that I've read this book, you should be. I'm not bragging, it's simply FACT. It's too early to write a review of ANNA, but I will give you 10 reasons this book should be on your to-be-read pile, if not preordered in your hand right this second.

1. Etienne St. Clair. I never thought this would happen, but St. Clair may have stolen my heart from John After (of Going Too Far by Jen Echols). The best part about St. Clair? He's flawed. And that just makes him more irresistable.
2. Anna. St. Clair is lusted after by nearly every girl at their school, but Anna doesn't compare herself to all those other girls or put herself down. Sure, she has flaws, she just doesn't focus on them constantly. 
3. The characters make mistakes. And then they acknowledge and learn from them. So many characters never actually acknowledge that they've screwed up. Acknowledgement is good.
4. Anna's best friend has a penchant for big words. Like callipygian. Look it up.
5. The romantic tension made my heart beat ridiculously fast. And my head almost explode. I live for romantic tension. Stepanie Perkins is my hero.
6. It's funny. Laugh out loud funny. There are books that make you say, 'Oh, haha' and then there are books that make you laugh aloud and turn to the person next to you and say 'Oh my gosh, listen...' ANNA is the latter.
7. There's a love rhombus. Even better than a love triangle.
8. It's real. There's happiness, sadness, anger, embarrassment... It's a love story, but it isn't all sunny days and rainbows, you see the storm too.
9. Etienne St. Clair. I think he deserves two spots on this list. Need more reasons to love him? He's an American who lives in France and has an English accent. I think that's reason enough.
10. I'm obsessed.

This book needs to be on your radar. But don't just take my word for it, Erica (The Book Cellar), Daisy Whitney (The Mockingbirds), Suzanne Young (The Naughty List) and Lindsey Leavitt (Princess for Hire) all agree. And it's been blurbed by some amazing authors:

"Very sly. Very funny. Very romantic. You should date this book."
— Maureen Johnson
(Truer words have never been spoken.)

"Imagine a mug of rich, thick hot chocolate. Now add a swirl of sweet whipped cream. Yummy? Oui. Well, Anna and the French Kiss is richer, sweeter, and—yes—even hotter. You're in for a very special treat."

— LAUREN MYRACLE, NYT bestselling author of Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks and Let It Snow
(I second that.)

So. Don't take my word for it... take theirs.

For more information about ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS see Stephanie Perkins' website! Be sure to check out her blog too, which is hilarious.

And hop over to Erica blog, The Book Cellar, for her fangirly post. (If you aren't already reading Erica's blog, you should. She's amazing in real life and online!) EDIT: Oddly enough, Erica and I didn't know what the other's post would look like. So the fact that we cite many of the same things only further proves this book's awesomeness.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go pet my copy.

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Dutton Juvenile, December 9, 2010
Description:
It's about a girl. It's about a boy. It's about Parisian boarding school, almond-scented macarons, famous cemeteries, and cinemaphiles. It's about heartache. And it's about true love.

TRUE LOVE. If a book's description says anything about love, you can pretty much guarantee that I'll be picking it up. Plus the cover is absolutely adorable!