Book Review: 100 Kisses by Malia Ann Haberman
The Details
I have received a copy of this book, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.
Media Type: Ebook
Title: 100 Kisses
Author: Malia Ann Haberman
Publisher: Self-published
Pages/Length: Ebook; 270
Release Date: October 2, 2020
Source: Author
Kylee Jones will be sixteen in two months, and she’s never kissed a boy. Her best friend Colleen has decided that she doesn’t want Kylee to be that girl who turns “sweet sixteen and never been kissed.” When her scheming twin brother tricks Colleen into making a crazy bet that Kylee has to kiss thirteen boys before her birthday, things go from not-so-bad to terrible. And now this crazy bet could ruin her chances with the only boy she actually wants to kiss.
Emerson McKay is the new guy at school, with a terrible secret about why he had to leave his old town. He just wants to make it through the year with no more bad choices so he can have a normal life again…but he never planned on falling head over heels for a girl he’s not allowed to date.
Kylee’s let other people push her around for too long. Will she finally find enough confidence to stand up for herself and what she wants?
Emerson can’t let Kylee find out about his troublemaking past. Is he a true bad boy, or did he just make one dumb, life-altering mistake?
And will either of them finally tell the other one the truth?
The Review
I purposely held this book to read this month because I love a good romantic read around this time of year. Let’s be honest, I am a sucker for a happy ending. This is the time of year that I surround myself with romantic comedies, and I felt like 100 Kisses fit snugly into that category. Happily, I can report out that I was correct!
Kylee is our protagonist, and my past self immediately identified with her. The girl who prefers to fade into the background, who has unrequited crushes, and whose friends lovingly, albeit obnoxiously, are trying to pull her out of her shell. This girl had my heart from page one, and I would be lying if I told you that I was not rooting for her to get her special kiss. I am a happy ending addict after all.
This book has a pretty good pace, as Kylee and her friends navigate the rocky terrain of school life and understanding the opposite sex. There were a few times that I felt things slow down a little much, but then they would pick right back up again. It was also nice to see things from both Kylee and Emerson’s points of view. I am not always a fan of dual POV books, but 100 Kisses does it well. Both characters have their own distinct personalities, and bring a different kind of humor to the overall story. It was especially good to slowly unravel Emerson’s back story from his memories. I liked that it wasn’t all laid out at the beginning, as it leant an extra intrigue to the story.
So why the three star rating? Like most of the romantic comedies that we love, this book was a fairly formulaic. It was simple to put together when funny scenes would be inserted, or where the point was that the two characters would get into a fight. I would have loved to have it mixed up a bit more. My other big issue falls into the same category, in that the characters felt like they were just filling a preset role. With the exception of Kylee and Emerson, most of them felt a bit like cardboard cutouts. It felt like they were there to simply fill space. I would have loved a little more vividness from them. I feel it would have filled in Kylee’s story even better.
Keep in mind that none of that kept me from devouring this book, or cheering at the ending. Happy endings are always cheer worthy after all. Bottom line? If you are looking for a read that it sweet, heartfelt, and full of that coming of age vibe? This is your next read.
