Margot meets a cute American boy under the Eiffel Tower and spends an incredible, romance filled night under the Parisian sky. They make a promise to each other that they will meet in Times Square in a year when Margot moves to New York and Zach finishes his backpacking trip.

New York is everything that Margot dreamt of, now she just needs to find Zach to have that perfect dream life. With her perseverance, she finds a job at a trendy restaurant and meets Ben, who takes her around New York to find Zach. The book is filled with delicious food and glamorous New York sights, as we follow Margot on her path to achieve her dreams.

<i> French Kissing in New York</i> describes the feeling of being in New York and the reality of our ideal dream perfectly. The pacing is rather slow at the beginning and picks up much faster towards the end, which took me a while to finish it.

I enjoyed her book Kisses and Croissants but this latest one just missed the mark for me.

P.S. The Review will have some spoilers!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Margot who has recently moved to New York to live with her dad and take on the big city in the restaurant industry as well as find a guy she had one romantic night with in Paris. It was a super interesting premise and one that I was really fascinated by.

Margot is a very driven young woman. It doesn’t feel like no is in her vocabulary. I wouldn’t say that her attitude is well received by those around her because she can seem to come off as pretentious, one character even calls her this. It’s not bad to feel the way she does and want to chase her dreams with no brakes but sometimes she doesn’t see what is right in front of her. I feel like she wanted it all without realizing there would be consequences.

She isn’t the only character that I felt like rolling my eyes at often either. Cue the spoilers here! Ben, a love interest but also not the right one at the time, wants to help her find the guy she had met in Paris. I think this was nice of him to do but also why would he if he doesn’t even know her? I guess it is to spend time with her but kind of a weird way to go about it. Anyways, when she does end up finding the guy, Zach, she completely ditches Ben and still wants him to go to her dad’s wedding with her but also with Zach. Ben gets upset by this and also the fact that she found him but he should have figured it would be a possibility. I think that they were both kind of dumb in their feelings. End of the spoilers!

There is a lot of drama surrounding secrets and it just goes to show that secrets don’t make friends. The consequences for the secrets were also very brief so it kind of felt very lackluster.

Although I had a lot of issues with certain parts of the book, I still think that Ben and Margot had cute moments together. I was rooting for them from the beginning, even when they were being dumb about it. This book also made me very hungry with all of the food talk!

Overall, this was a mixed bag for me. I wish there would have been more I did like.

Rating: 2.5 stars

After reading (and loving!) Kisses & Croissants, I was thrilled to hear Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau had another book coming out. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me, but I'm certain lots of others will love this! Her writing is, as always, enchanting and her vivid descriptions make it easy to imagine I'm in the story itself. I did love reading about the food tour & want to try a few of the places next time I'm in NYC!!

This book was very cute, I’ll give it that. As someone who also happens to have been born & raised in New York….. I thought it was a sweet love letter of sorts to the city, and I thoroughly enjoyed how heavily the vibrant food & restaurant scene in NY was featured here, almost as is if it was its own character.. That said, I think I’m just a bit too old to fully enjoy stories like these sometimes. Margot was just fine as a MC, and while I can understand how someone at her age would think & act the way that she does throughout the novel….. she definitely still got on my nerves sometimes lol. I won’t pick her apart too hard though, because we do get some decent character development by the end. Overall, this book was a quick, lighthearted read, and though I wish the overall execution of the story was a bit better, I still had a fun time.

Thank you Netgalley and Delacorte Press for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"That's what they say about New York. It doesn't matter what you've done elsewhere. You get here and you're a nobody, no matter who you think you are."

Kisses and Croissants is such a super cute read. I fell in love with the descriptions of France and the ballet and I was excited for Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau's sophomore book: French Kissing in New York.

I am super disappointed.

Margot is a French girl who meets American boy Zach on his adventures through Europe. On the last day they make a promise to meet on August 1st, at midnight, in Times Square. A year later, she leaves for New York to live with her father and to finally see Zach. On August 1st she's twenty minutes late and doesn't know if Zach was there. Ben, a co worker at the restaurant Margot works at, offers to help her find Zach and be her tour guide to the busy city.

Margot has a one-tracked mind. All she thinks about for the entirety of the book is: Zach, finding Zach, and being in New York. I'm originally from New York and this book has made me sick of my home state. I understand the wonders of being in New York, I get it but I was hoping to feel the awe-inspiring wonders I felt when reading Kisses and Croissants.

Margot is insufferable, selfish, and oblivious. I felt so flippin bad for Ben. By 50% I wanted to shake Margot for not seeing Ben and only having blinders on for Zach. I had a hard time rooting for Margot because I didn't care for Zach. He was a blip in the prologue and there was nothing special about him. We were constantly told about Margot's dreams of living in New York, working at a restaurant and being with Zach. Maybe if he had more depth or development then I'd root for her but I couldn't for the life of me back her up on it.

I liked Ben and the food tour we got throughout the book. I love reading about culinary endeavors and the food mentioned made me very hungry. I liked learning more about French culture and cuisine. I did like the outings Margot went on with Ben and her cousin Luz.

"Then he's gone, and I don't think I've felt more alone since I arrived in this city."

Ben, you deserved better.

The writing is good but the execution leaves much to be desired. I really wanted to like this book but I think this one was just not for me.

2 stars

This is literally the French food tour of New York meets a YA version of sweet bitter(which i unfortunately hated). Kisses and croissants was so, cute and painted a picture of the France I loved living in once upon a time. I was hoping that this would paint a similar picture of New York. Unfortunately this fell a little flat. Without the mention of being in NYC every other sentence, I would have thought Margot and Ben are wandering around France. Zach's story line was, well, too predictable and Ben and Margot's friendship was a foregone conclusion from the first adventure.

The foodie tour that occurred has definitely padded my to do list for when I eventually make it to new york, so I for sure don't recommend reading this on an empty stomach 🤣 I would have loved to see some recipes at the end (Ben's onion soup anyone?? 🤤🤤) I love a good YA but I think this was really targeted more for the younger teen set and just wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Really cute and fun romance. I loved the characters and the story. I am looking forward to reading more of her work!

Margot meets—who she believes to be—the love of her life one fateful night in Paris. The problem is, he’s an American only in town for the night and she still has high school to finish in the French countryside. Since they are going their separate ways in the morning, the two set a time and a place and vow to meet back up in New York City the following summer. When Zach doesn’t show, Margot hatches a plan to try to find him anyway.

I loved the culinary aspect of this and the NYC setting. I have never worked in a high-intensity restaurant nor have I been to NYC, so it is always fun to get to explore new experiences like these through a book.

Unfortunately, I thought Margot was a tad annoying. She has some very idealistic plans as to what her perfect NYC life will look like, but as we all discover eventually, life sometimes sets its own path for us. As a fresh-faced 18-year-old kid from the countryside, it was unsurprising that she was written this way because I do think it fit with the story. I did appreciate the character growth we see throughout as she learns a lesson or two (or five lol). 3/5

Thank you Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau & Delacorte Press for providing a Netgalley ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Fun, sweet, cute contemporary romance. A love letter to New York (as you can see by the title). I found the main character insufferable during most of the book, but I enjoyed the food aspect. Definitely ended up hungry.

Margot was a hard character for me to vibe with. I think I screamed at her to "just let it go" at least 20 times. But this was a cute read and I enjoyed the message in the end.

This book was super cute! I loved seeing their friendship develop and seeing them help each other with their dreams. I wish that there was an epilogue where we actually get to see them together.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

French Kissing in New York is a YA Contemporary Romance and when I say YA, I mean on the young side of YA. Like, to the point where it's almost hard to review. I found the characters to be almost painfully naive and the plot was something out of a Disney Channel original movie. Which is probably perfect for the target audience, but not for me. Giving this a fairly neutral rating as I do think it'd be popular with the intended reader.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Childrens for allowing me to read this book!
I was so excited for this book but Unfortunately did not love it. It was intriguing and fun to read. Margot bothered me by how obsessed she seemed with Zach the entire time especially considering he’s not the main love interest.She let a random guy that she spent one day with ruin all of New York for her. Margot seemed snooty and selfish to me. I will say the food talks are mouthwatering and will make you hungry! I loved Ben and actually felt like he deserved better! I will say I did not like Margot’s immaturity but I think Ben really helped her grow. I don’t necessarily feel like Zach was a bad person just not the right person for Margot. The author did choose a great ending for these characters. I ate this book up in one sitting!

I absolutely adored Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau's Kisses and Croissants, and so I was instantly intrigued when I saw the title and cover for French Kissing in New York. While this novel couldn't eclipse my love for Kisses and Croissants thanks to my ballet- and travel-loving heart, French Kissing in New York was still enjoyable -- and almost lived up to my expectations. Jouhanneau's language is absolutely compelling that had me intrigued right off the bat. It's a love letter to NYC and it was beyond easy to get sucked in. It's an absolutely adorable and fun coming of age story and a tale of fate -- but not the fate you expect.

I'm surprised how I undecided I feel about this. Because none of it was bad. I didn't dislike any of it. I just didn't like much of it either. The setting was cute, and I guess the characters were as well, but I didn't care about any of it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

French Kissing in New York by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau was a sweet YA love story that had me swooning and loving everything about this story.

Ok! So it's official. I need to read Anne-Sophie's backlist.

I loved the storytelling aspect that came through in Margot's journey.
She was so good at it and I hung on her every word! This was a brilliantly done contemporary romance.
I very much enjoyed my reading experience.
The characters are well written and the plot is engaging throughout.
Jouhanneau writes characters so authentic and realistic it feels like they could just step off the pages and right into the world! Every character in this book was so well written.
They each brought something into the story.
The storyline had me hooked from the beginning and this was one of those I didn't want it to end.
The writing is incredibly authentic, and the plot totally unique.
A completely amazing book, from a superbly-talented author.
I look forward to reading more from Anne-Sophie.

I absolutely cannot wait to read any other romances Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau writes!
You all need to make sure you get your hands on this beauty
An adorable, uplifting romance… Easily one of the best romances I have read in the past year.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Delacorte Press,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

American-born Margot has been living in France with her mother since she was two, but now that she's 18 she can't wait to return to New York City where her father lives. First, she will start her cooking career at a fabulous NYC restaurant and reunite with Zach, the cute stranger she spent a day with in Paris. Everything was planned for their reunion: Midnight, Times Square bleachers. But this conflicts with her first night at work, and you know what they say about the best-laid plans - they do not always work out as expected. Determined to find Zach, Margot sets off on a tour of the city with her new co-worker, Ben, visiting all the places he told her about on their one night together. But, perhaps the journey is more important than the destination.

Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau has done New York proud with her descriptions of the food scene - both from a restaurant point of view and a tourist point of view. My first rule for books about NYC is that they need to make sense and this one does, except for a few minor details. Baseball. If the Yankees are playing in late, late October - that's the playoffs or World Series. And Ben is from Queens - where the Mets play. But those were the only deviations from the reality of NYC, and, perhaps, this is just me being critical. This story is absolute perfection and 100% appropriate for middle school romance fans.

This book was really cute. It seemed like it took me forever to get into however. This is the first book I've read by anne- Stephanie jouhanneau.

This story starts as Margot meets Zach in Paris and they have an amazing night. They make plans to meet in one year in New York in time Square. What could go wrong?

So.. I loved Jouhanneau’s first novel Kisses and Croissants! I was SO excited for French Kissing in New York and man oh man! She did not disappoint.. all the things I loved about Croissants was here in this novel too. Adorable characters, relatable story lines and most importantly— a city that comes to life. I DEVOURED this one and you will too. PS- the food descriptions will have you hopping on a plane to NYC asap.

This book was everything I needed at the moment. I have to admit I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. Such a light and easy read and I absolutely loved the MC's. Definitely recommend this one.