ARC Review and Interview: Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau (Blog Tour + Giveaway)

Today’s my stop on the blog tour for one of the most anticipated YA Romance books of 2021, Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau! For my stop, there’s an interview with Anne-Sophie as well as a review for this amazing book. There’s also a giveaway, open internationally, to win a copy of Kisses and Croissants! The schedule for the whole tour is at https://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2021/02/kisses-and-croissants-by-anne-sophie.html.

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Kisses and Croissants

Thank you to Jean Book Nerd, Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau and Delacorte Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion and all opinions are my own.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ {4.5}

I first heard about Kisses and Croissants sometime around the end of 2020 and if I’m being honest, covers are what pull me in at first and I loved the cover for Kisses and Croissants and Romances of any sort are my thing so I had to read this and it went straight into my TBR. When I saw there was a blog tour coming up for it, I knew I had to apply even if I didn’t think I had any chances of getting a spot on the tour considering I barely started out then (not that I’m much better now but still). I had really high expectations from this book and I’m so happy to say that it didn’t disappoint.

The story revolves around a seventeen-year-old American, Mia. Ballet has always been her life and she comes to Paris to spend the summer at an elite ballet program. By the end of it, there’ll be auditions and she’ll have to work to achieve her dream of getting accepted into some of the world’s best ballet companies. Add into the mix a cute French boy, Louis, who also happens to be her ballet instructor’s son, and so begins an adorable and fun summer romance.

This book had everything in it. There was dance, (for those of you who don’t know, I’ve loved dance since I was a kid and I took classes as a kid, too. + I’ve got 2 years of ballet under my belt!) romance and even a little bit of family-ancestral mystery. (Can’t tell you what it is but it definitely grabbed my attention!).

I loved how everything was portrayed in the book. I’ve travelled quite a bit in my relatively short life as of now, one of those trips being to France (although not Paris:() and I’ve also been learning French for more than 10 years and the whole French culture and everything revolving it has always been a personal favorite so I loved how it was all shown and integrated into the book. The food, the places, *swoons* and the romance.

“Il est entré dans mon cœur une part de bonheur, dont je connais la cause.”

Translation- “A piece of happiness has entered my heart, and I know the cause of it.”

I feel like the female MCs in a lot of YA novels can come off as whiney or annoying to me quite often but I was so happy that wasn’t the case with Mia. I really liked her personality and her passion for the things that she loved and god, she loved Ballet with her whole heart. And yet, she wasn’t what I’d call uptight, she knew how to live and enjoy life and I loved that about her. As for Louis, I myself might be in love. Although I don’t think we got to know him on a more personal level like in most books where I fall head-over-heels for the guy, I still really liked him and it was obvious how much he came to care for Mia.

Another aspect I loved was watching Mia’s friendship grow with Audrey. They were nemesis at first but I liked watching how they slowly became neutral, to talking to each other about stuff, to friends and finally to what I think I would call being best friends like towards the end. The transition wasn’t abrupt and we watched it play out slowly.

I’m conflicted over how I feel about the twist towards the end of the book. It wasn’t too bad of a thing but every book has a twist at that point in the story if everything is going fine and I felt that even if it was avoided, the story would still be just as meaningful and maybe that part was a little unnecessary.

Otherwise though, I loved this book, the characters, the plot, the mystery, the culture, the food, and Louis of course and I would definitely recommend this book to more people, I hope I’ve covered everything and convinced you to pick up this cute and sweet romance book! And now, lets move onto the interview!

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Interview with Anne-Sophie

Bonjour! Thank you so much for doing this interview with me! (I feel incredibly lucky right now, you have no idea.) Kisses and Croissants hasn’t even published yet and it’s got so much positive publicity. People reading the ARCs love it (including myself), while others are waiting for it to publish so they can finally read it. How do you feel about all this? 

Bonjour! Thank you so much for these kind words. I feel incredibly lucky, too! Kisses and Croissants has received such a warm welcome before publication and it’s all been amazing. Writing and publishing a book is a years-long adventure, and sometimes it feels surreal that things happened exactly how I dreamed they would. When ARCs became available, I started to receive lovely messages from early readers, and it was a pinch-me moment to realize that people I didn’t know were reading (and enjoying) my book. I’m so thankful to anyone who has shown interest in this novel, or taken the time to read it. It means everything to me.

You incorporate romance into your book so well, it’s obvious you love romance. What romance tropes are your favorite, and why?

Thank you! I like all tropes as long as they’re done well. In Kisses and Croissants, I loved writing the scene when Mia and Louis meet, that lust-at-first-sight moment that changes everything for Mia. My favorite part of writing romance is to lean into the swoon, or le swoon as Mia would call it. I liked the idea of creating a very upbeat, oh-so-romantic story, and to make that experience as dreamy as possible for Mia.

Did you have any real life inspirations for the characters? (Like Mia and Louis) Or were they completely imaginative?

I went to Paris to do research for the book—any excuse to go, really! —and attended a ballet class at a well-known dance school. I was fascinated by the instructor and immediately knew he was going to be my Monsieur Dabrowski. His looks and even lines of dialogue were taken straight from that one hour. I looked up the (real life) instructor afterward and found videos as well as interviews, which helped me further define my fictional one.

I learned a lot about Misty Copeland, which helped inspire the story of Myriam Ayed, the famous danseuse étoile at Mia’s school.

And while Louis wasn’t based on anyone in particular, I definitely modelled him after the dream French boyfriend I never had, ha.

What did you intend to keep as the whole centre of the story? A message that you hope the readers get and take away form your book?

I don’t think it was a specific intention from the start but, with every draft, the story became more and more about chasing one’s dreams. I’m not a dancer, but I could really relate to Mia’s dedication to her passion, even as she grapples with the fact that it’s going to take incredible hard work to achieve what she wants. But you’re going to live your life no matter what, so why not spend in pursuit of something that’s meaningful to you?

We absolutely loved Kisses and croissants and I cannot wait to see what else you come up with. Are there any other books and projects that you’re already working on? And are there any spoilers you can give us about them??? (We’d love to know! Kisses and Croissants isn’t even out yet and I already want your next book!)

I’m so happy to hear that, thank you! I’m currently revising another standalone YA romance novel, which is coming out in fall 2022. I don’t know how much I can reveal yet, but I’ll say that food is a big theme, especially French food. And not just croissants 😉 

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About the Author

Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau is a bilingual French author of young adult fiction and nonfiction. Her books have been translated into seven languages. Kisses and Croissants (Delacorte Press, 2021) is her U.S. debut. After graduating university in France, she moved to Amsterdam to begin a career in advertising. She then spent a few years in Melbourne before settling in New York City, where she lives with her Australian husband and their American cat.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

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Giveaway

Open Internationally! 1 Winner will receive a Copy of Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau.

Giveaway ends on April 19, 2021!

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

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Do you think Kisses and Croissants is the type of book you’d like? Are there any cute summer romances like this that you love? Let me know below!