Author: Rachel Vail
Series: If We Kiss, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 25, 2006
Goodreads||The Book Depository
What would happen if we kiss?
Kevin led me quickly around the side of the building, then stopped. I managed not to crash into him. I tried to look calm, cool, unperturbed. I told myself not to laugh, especially not a snorting kind of laugh. "Wha . . . what did . . ."
And then he kissed me.
If We Kiss is the story of Charlotte (Charlie to her friends), who finds herself falling for a boy who is off-limits. Her best friend is in love with him, and her mother and his father are dating. Still, Charlie can't help but wonder, what would happen if we kiss?
She seemed really normal, you know? Not that I don't love YA's extraordinary characters thing, but I'm *le gasp* weirdly normal. So it was refreshing to read about a character that I could imagine goofing off with. Some of the interactions with her friends seemed strangely familiar (similar jokes between me and mine) and they made me like her even more. She had a fantastic sense of humor.
The one thing that killed me about If We Kiss was the insta-love, though. By the end of the first chapter, Charlie thinks herself in love with Kevin-- and I just wasn't feeling it. They had one kiss, then suddenly Charlie just can't wait to see him again, she wants to kiss him again, she thinks she's in love with him-- it just didn't work for me. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, but...no way. I'm no fan of insta-love.
I am, however, a fan of forbidden love. Kevin and Charlie's romance falls nicely into that category, so of course after I got over the insta I was going to enjoy it. And I did. They're so sweet together, and I honestly don't think that they ever meant to hurt anyone. They were just confused, and young, and...hormonal? Yeah, that's it. Hormonal. *snickers*
All in all, If We Kiss was a really sweet contemporary, but it's ending left me wanting more.
I do like George, I guess. There's nothing not to like. I feel bad for him, though. He has this idea of me that he likes a whole lot more than he'd ever like the actual, secret, horrible me. He thinks I have values and standards and morals, that I'm "mature" that I'm "deep". But I'm not the person he and my mother think I am, or at least I'm not anymore. ~ Pg. 36
= I didn't like it.
= It was okay.
= I liked it.
= I really liked it.
= LOVE!
Yay for a normal character even with her unbalanced maturity level. But I guess that is a realistic teen for you sometimes seems to young and sometimes too old.
ReplyDeleteBrandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Haha, I agree. YAY! :D I think that's true-- I can be overly mature sometimes, and immature others. ;P
DeleteThis sounds so sweet and as the mom of two teens I can tell you ..one minute they act like a mature thirty year old and two seconds later they have the maturity level of a seven year old!
ReplyDeleteIt was adorable. And LOL, I know what you mean! It just bothers me in books, for whatever reason. I don't know why. Thanks for commenting! (:
DeleteI like a character that you can connect with in some ways :) But sometimes we all have those maturity level flips, so I won't judge lol I hate insta-love, but forbidden love is SO MY THING! Something about forbidden love just draws me in :) Awesome review Megan!
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
Me too. (: Hahaha, I know! But it was just too weird, sometimes! I LOVE the forbidden stuff!! It's my favorite kind in contemporary, because it always turns out so well. ;) Thank you! (:
DeleteBrilliant review, Megan! Insta-love aside, you have me wanting to read this one! I can never get enough of the forbidden love, and this one sounds awesome and oh-so-sweet! I'm sorry the ending was disappointing, but I'm definitely going to give it a try. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by - your comment was so lovely! *hugs*
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think that insta-love might be an opinion, honestly. ;) Me either! The forbidden is absolutely my favorite!! It was really sweet, that's for sure. It wasn't exactly disappointing, it was more that I wanted to finish the entire story with one book. Thank you for reading! *hugs back* (:
DeleteI agree with you completely about the normal characters. What's wrong with just being or looking normal? Or, you know, now having insta! love? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! :)
I know, right? I'd love to see more normal characters! As for the insta-love, I think it's really just an easy out. Thank you! (:
DeleteHa, I've been wanting to read this one for a while, but idk, it seemed a little gushy and shallow...but I think I'm going to give it a try, you made it sound better than I thought it would be.
ReplyDeleteI guess it could be seen as that, but it really depends on how you look at it. (: Thanks! I hope that you like it, Aly! (:
DeleteForbidden love, for whatever reason, has always been one of my favorites too. (: She has a really good sense of humor! It's actually a two book series-- I think you could read it as a standalone, but I want to read the ending. LOL. Thank you! (:
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a cute read. And I like that you mention the characters are normal. I love when the characters feel real. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty cute. I really love that too! It's a fabulous feeling, you know? Thank you! (:
DeleteFor some reason I thought this was a series, so thanks for setting me straight!
ReplyDeleteYou can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics
It's a two book series-- so I guess it could go either way, really. (:
DeleteRachel Vail, Rachel Vail. Hmm, sound familiar but I don't think I've read anything by her. Insta-love is so tricky, I find that sometimes I can ignore it if the plot is good though. Sounds like a cute, fun read!
ReplyDeleteI've read another one of her books that I really didn't like, but I enjoyed this one. I agree, insta is totally tricky! For whatever reason, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Situation, I guess? Oh, and I don't know how you would recognize her name, but I hope you figure it out! (:
DeleteThis one really seems like such a cute contemporary read! And I absolutely love Rachel Vail so this is definetly no doubt about it going on my TBR list! :)
ReplyDeleteLily
It's a totally cute contemp! Haha, I've read another one of her books-- I was actually disappointed by it, but I really liked this one. Thanks for commenting! (:
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