A review by yviie_reads
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

5.0



*4.5 stars*

I'm overwhelmed. I read Lola and the Boy Next Door last year in December and wanted to continue with Isla immediately but had to wait till August so I could get the edition I wanted. The wait was definitely worth it though! Stephanie Perkins is such an amazingly talented writer and has a really easy but addictive writing style. I flew through the pages and couldn't stop reading!

I was pretty excited to get to know Isla Martin and everyone else in her world and thanks to lots of other people telling me it's their favorite of the three books I had high expectations. Very high expectations. I'm happy to say that the book lived up to them!

"I am hard on myself. 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?"


Let's start with Isla ... she's a great character! I adored her right from the beginning but thought of her more as a shy and quiet person - that's at least what I got from the previous books. Then again it's been a while and I'm not sure if I remember correctly. Isla didn't seem to be so shy but that's okay - I liked her personality a lot and even could relate to her at some points. All the insecurities she faced towards the middle of the book are things that have been on my mind too and reading about all of this and her dealing with those problems actually helped a bit and made me understand it better. I have to admit though that I couldn't stand her a few times ... like that middle part. I get it's important and that she struggles with who she is - or wants to be - but the things she did during that time, all her decisions, they were just ... frustrating? Annoying? I wanted to shake her and yell at her for doing something so stupid. *sigh*

Joshua Wasserstein (I love that his name is german!) is absolutely swoon-worthy. I knew I'd like him because I already did in the other 2 books, so of course I couldn't wait to find out more about this talented, gorgeous guy. And oh my god, did he impress me! I have a thing for musicians and obviously also for guys that can draw. I wanted to see those drawings so badly! Stephanie described them perfectly, so I had no problems picturing them. Oh well. He's also extremely cute, funny, charming, understanding and supportive. I mean, damnit. Josh is great, okay? I loved him so, so much!

"Phones are distracting. The internet is distracting.The way he looked at you? He wasn't distracted. He was consumed."


I also liked their relationship a lot! It just worked and even though there was some drama - and, again the middle part - I knew they were meant to be and everything would be fine in the end! It just had to be, I wouldn't have accepted any other outcome! They were sweet, adorable and had great times together ... which leads me to the end.

It was AMAZING. I teared up. I squealed and hugged the book to my chest while I grinned like a cheshire cat. And all that not only thanks to Josh and Isla but also because of the rest of the group. They were all there and it was brilliant! Even thinking about this brings back my huge grin - I can't stop! Seriously though, the ending couldn't have been any better. I thinks it's a perfect closure to this absolutely amazing trilogy. If you haven't read these books yet? First of all: HOOOW?! And secondly, just go buy them immediately and read them as soon as possible! You won't regret it!

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September 21st:
ALL THE FEELS, OH GOD!! The ending was absolutely perfect! I wouldn't want it any other way! *happy sigh* I loved this so, so much! ♥