“Stephanie Perkins’s characters fall in love the way we all want to, in real time and for good.” —Rainbow Rowell, Award-winning, bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl
A New York Times Bestseller
Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?
Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.
Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
48 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
In the end I was happy with the direction their story went.
By Amazon Customer
I really enjoyed reading Isla and the Happily Ever After. Stephanie Perkins does a great job writing contemporary young adult romance with characters I can't help but love. For those who have like me been saying Isla's name wrong it is pronounced "eye-la". Isla and Josh's relationship was slightly rocky and had its ups and downs. Isla is insecure and unsure of the direction her life should go. Josh is the opposite and has everything figured out. They work through some of their differences together but some of their differences have to be worked through on their own.In the end I was happy with the direction their story went.I loved Isla's best friend Kurt and the relationship the two of them had.As is usually the case with most young adult books I read I wish there had been a little less language and that the sex scenes had been omitted. Despite that content I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.You can read Isla as a stand alone but the characters from the first two books are mentioned several times and make an appearance at the end of the book which is sure to please fans of this series. I would suggest reading the other 2 books prior to reading this one. For those who loved the first two books you are likely to love this one as well.Rating: 5 Stars - I loved it.Content: Not a clean read and I won't be passing it on to my teenager yet - some language including several uses of the F word, 2 short sex scenes.Source: ARC from publisher
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.Perfection!
By Andi (Andi's ABCs)
In 2010 a very good friend of mine said one thing to me that essentially changed my life. She said, ‘read Anna and the French Kiss’. Having only dabbled in reading in the past and slightly getting more into it I agreed and nothing has been the same. I have read that one book 8 times, its companion Lola and the Boy Next Door twice and most recently Isla and the Happily Ever After.Isla was a book that I have been anticipating for years, half scared it would let down, half scared it would be amazing and leave me wanting more. Well I can tell you I was right to be scared…I WANT MORE! Holy swoon worthy fantastic batman. From start to finish it was everything I have come to expect, love and crave from the hands of Stephanie Perkins.Isla and the Happily Ever After is the story of Isla Martin, a shy girl you catch a glimpse of in Anna and the French Kiss, and Josh Wasserstein, Etienne St. Clair’s best friend, also in Anna and the French Kiss. Isla has had a crush on Josh for 3 solid years, always on the outside looking in at he and his friends. But things are different in their senior year. Josh’s friends have all graduated and he is alone and accessible like never before. In a twist of fate Josh and Isla cross paths in an unexpected location that changes things for the both of them in ways they never could have imagined. What once seemed impossible might not be that way. However nothing is ever easy. Especially if the worse things you feel about yourself start to threaten the things you always thought you wanted. And for Josh and Isla those things might just be each other.It’s funny because in Anna and the French Kiss you don’t really even think twice about Isla. If you haven’t read the book as many times as I have you may not even notice her. And Josh, he was a great secondary character and side kick to St. Clair, but not someone you really thought about. But I was super excited when I learned these were our two leads in Isla and the Happily Ever After. There was something that fascinated me about what I did know about them and it peaked my curiosity. Isla was your everyday, uncertain, shy teenage girl that had a crush on a guy she thought was out of reach. And Josh was the guy that seemed to not care about anything when he really cared about everything. He was sad and lonely and needed something to make him say it was okay to feel. There was a connection there that is hard to explain other than saying these two were filled with magic. And as the book progressed they changed as people and grew in ways they never would have. Magic I tell you, magic.Another thing that Perkins does well is the secondary characters. Isla had some great people in her life that taught her things that made her grow as a person separate from her connection with Josh. Kurt was a fascinating addition that was able to be Isla’s voice of reason. He told her things she didn’t want to hear about herself but needed to hear. And then you have her sister Hattie. She was perfect with her pouting and mean façade but really she was a representation that change is scary and people act all sorts of ways when they are scared. These two characters added not only to Isla but to the story as a whole. PerfectionHonestly reviewing this book is hard for me. It’s bittersweet because this trilogy, all of these characters, mean something to me. It sounds weird but reading Isla and the Happily Ever After was the end of an era. It was like graduating and leaving everything behind. I almost felt like Josh did, all alone after losing my friends. But in true Perkins fashion she went out with a bang that made my heart sore, my cheeks hurt from smiling and my heart ache with longing. She gave me two new fantastic characters to love and brought in pieces of ones that I loved from the past. So with that I thank you Ms. Perkins for giving me these books and these characters and for doing something even more important, making me a reader.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.ISLA: dfjksdldfiaugosierfsnarehtoaugio!!
By Jen St. Rand (Fictitious Delicious)
So, here it is. The end of a series that will be in my list of favorite series EVER 4ever. As much as I wanted to take my time and read it slowly and savor it, I ended up eating up in one big gulp. I didn't even get a bellyache! My heart did go through the wringer a bit, though. There are high highs and a low low felt like a squeeze to my heart and made moisture release from my tear ducts.Let's start with Isla and Josh. Their story is as delicious as you'd expect. The first half of the story reminded me of Anna and St. Clair's love story in that they fall in love in Paris and wander the streets and take in all those amazing sights in the City of Light. But their story is unique.Circumstances will test the crushes-turned-to-love that Isla and Josh find in France. And Spain. And New York City. And...I don't really want to say any more than that! I seriously think opening up this book without knowing a lot of details beforehand is the best way to open this sweet package of goodness. Just know we're dealing with Josh, a boy that knows (and has known his entire life) exactly what he wants in his life. Isla is more of the "I don't know what I'm going to do after high school" type. So, you know...they have some THINGS to work through.Next, we get to talk about Anna, St. Clair, Lola and Cricket. Because guess what? You'll get to see them all! Perkins weaves them into the story like the master storyteller that she is. I swear my heart rate goes up by 100 beats per minute at the mere mention of St. Clair. He remains my favorite Perkins hero. Josh is a close second, though.Lastly, lets chat a bit about Stephanie Perkins, okay? Guys. She's effing brilliant. BRILLIANT. This book is pure perfection. It has a heroine who is identifiable in her insecurities, a hero who is a good guy and so incredibly swoon worthy, an autistic secondary character who is written remarkably well and with zero stereotypes. It has adventure. It has sexy times. It has the right amount of angst. It has humor. Stephanie Perkins holds the recipe for the perfect book.I know we've waited a long time for Isla and Josh's story and I know that might worry you--it worried me! The delays were totally understandable and I want to you to understand this one thing: She did the right thing in taking her time with this story. This book may very well be her best book yet. (I say *may* because ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS gets a 1,000,000 points for introducing me to St. Clair.) You won't be disappointed.
