The Messenger Reviews

I was skeptical about this book, given it's title. I'm generally not one for super mushy books, which I assumed this book would be. But, when John Green raved about it on his YouTube channel, I felt like I had to read it, and I'm certainly glad I did. Much to my surprise, I found it one of my favorite contemporary romances.
There are many things that I love about this book. Namely, the characters. I'm a sucker for good characters, and this book didn't let me down. I fell in love with St. Clair at first sight, and my fondness for Anna came almost as quickly. I'll admit that sometimes I found Anna a bit whiny, but her complaints were generally reasonable, so it didn't change my feelings for her too much. I liked that she had a personality, but she didn't overdo it. Additionally, I found Étienne a great character who could always make me laugh, though I appreciated that he had a side that went deeper than pure humor. The characters were relatively complex, and I found them rather real and relateable. It was nearly impossible not to feel sympathetic to the characters, which made me feel far more invested in the plot.
If I had one complaint, it was that Anna and Étienne spent the whole book not being in a relationship. They would get so close, and then something would conveniently (for the plot, not for me) come along and screw it up. I understand that the whole point of the book was that they had feelings for each other but weren't dating, but I would have preferred that they be together for a little longer, or at least acted more like a couple. Other than the fact that, as far as I'm concerned, there could have been more romance, the romance that was there was absolutely superb, which made up for it. 
Even though this book failed to be perfect, I still found that I enjoyed it immensely. Paris was a great setting for an even greater romance, and the characters grabbed me in a way that some characters failed to do in other books. I would have liked a little less beating around the bush as far as their relationship was concerned, the romance that was there made up for it, cancelling out my only complaint.
Five out of Five Stars