*I was given a copy of First Kiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Indie Ink and Mocha VonBee*
Synopsis:
Love or Music…
Which should they choose and what price will they have to pay?
When new guy, Tully, falls for sixteen-year-old Kit, he needs to find a way to win her over. Because, right now, she only has eyes for scorching hot lead-singer, Mac Whitehead, who’s turning every head in town.
Neither believe a half-forgotten legend is true, but once a sleeping Celtic god awakes, it’s too late to turn back, too late to refuse his offer…
Love or Music…
Review:
I was quite excited to read First Kiss as the cover looked super cute and I thought it would be a fun, quick read. Well, it was quick. Not so much fun.
Tully is a bit of a douchebag, to put it nicely. I don’t care that he helped Spike after he was attacked, he isn’t a likeable character. The thing that really got me was him saying Kit “doesn’t strike him as an academic” and thinking she doesn’t know how lucky she is when he finds out she’s being forced into studying law by her parents.
He’s also very rude and a bit misogynistic. He thinks Kit’s mom looks more like her granny and is older-looking than her husband despite them being the same age. This really bugged me. I get he’s a teenager and he’s supposed to have flaws but he’s like 19 so there’s not much of an excuse really. There’s a difference between flaws and common decency.
The writing style is very juvenile. There was a lot of “this happened, then this happened” going on. But then there are other moments where the writing was pretty decent. I’m assuming this is a debut so the author hasn’t quite found their voice yet, so honestly no hate. It’s mostly personal opinion and preference, a lot of people will enjoy this style of writing. It’s very easy to read.
There is so much repetition of information that just isn’t needed. I understood that the band has no money the first time you told me, it doesn’t need to be repeated multiple times in one chapter. This is probably mentioned about eight times in First Kiss and the book isn’t very long so it gets taxing after a while.
The synopsis made this sound way more exciting than it was. Which is incredibly savage to say, but entirely true. I thought it was going to take a fantasy-style turn with the mentioning of a Celtic god, but no. It’s only talked about in reference and never actually makes an appearance.
I hate to give such a negative review, but First Kiss really was not for me. Potentially this isn’t targeted at me and is meant for a younger audience. I don’t know. The best part about this book was the nostalgia of the video rental store, but unfortunately, that was it for me.
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