Series: Kissing Creek, Book 1
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Entangled
Welcome to Kissing Creek, where everything has a romance-themed pun for a name and love is lurking around every corner…
Audrey Miller doesn’t believe in happily-ever-after, so she is definitely living in the wrong town. But she’s never getting out of Kissing Creek, because playing pseudo-mom for her younger siblings doesn’t leave time for much else. She’ll do anything to make sure they don’t end up stuck like she is, working as a barista in a college town, serving Pink Passion mochas with Chocolate Smooch donuts.
Then Ronan Walsh, a new young professor and walking cliché, right down to the elbow patches on his blazer, steps in for a coffee and into her life. She knows his type—intelligent and charming, yet sweet as a cinnamon roll, the sort of man she’s inevitably attracted to but is always out of her league. So why does someone like him have any interest in a worker bee with no future?
Her bland-as-oatmeal existence has nothing to offer, but Ronan’s temporary teaching position is only a stepping stone on his way to somewhere else. He isn’t here to put down roots, Audrey’s roots are firmly planted—neither of them is looking for love. And maybe that’s just perfect.
But in a small town called Kissing Creek, sometimes love can be impossible to avoid…
A hero and heroine with sizeable emotional baggage and an aversion to romantic commitment have no chance against love when they live in a town called Kissing Creek. Author Stefanie London ups the charm with this cute small town without becoming cloying, but don’t expect all fluff just because Kissing Lessons takes place at locations like the Kisspresso Café.
Audrey has had a difficult life, but she maintains (outwardly at least) a positive disposition. After her mother’s death and her father’s downward spiral, Audrey dropped out of high school to raise her siblings. She’s put her dreams on hold for over a decade, worked multiple jobs, and stretches herself to the limits in order to give her four siblings a chance to grow, thrive, and eventually leave Kissing Creek. The only thing she does for herself is secretly take a night class at the local college. Audrey’s love of learning, the joy she takes in it purely for its own sake, made her sparkle. But otherwise it just plain broke my heart watching her struggle and sacrifice. To make matters worse, her father is abusive and Audrey has to shield and protect her siblings. She’s seen what love and loss can do to a person and has no interest in it. But Ronan Walsh knocks Audrey off her carefully-trod path when he first walks into Kisspresso Café. The handsome, young professor is Audrey’s idea of a perfect guy. Too bad she has no time to date…and that’s before the fact that dating her new professor would be strictly off-limits.
Ronan is on a fast-track to success and has his eyes on the prize of a teaching position at an Ivy League school. Kissing Creek is just a temporary stop so he can be near his family after his grandmother takes a bad fall. Sparks fly between Ronan and Audrey from the first, but he too has had an upbringing that makes him wary of opening his heart. All the odds are stacked against these two, and yet they can’t keep from being drawn to one another. I enjoyed Audrey and Ronan together; their shared love of learning alone could easily endear me to them. Though there are a number of heavy topics in this book, there’s a brightness to the romance (and some of the situations they find themselves in) that lifted the story up. The trivia they traded back and forth made me smile and on the whole I found their romance satisfying.
Kissing Lessons is a tough book for me to rate. I really liked Audrey and Ronan and I always enjoy Ms. London’s writing. Still, the book was slow at times and not all the heavier issues were resolved in a satisfying manner. I can’t quite put my finger on why the story dragged at times, but it wasn’t as engaging as Ms. London’s books usually are. There are ups and downs in the love story and the arguments that occurred felt natural to the characters, their histories, and their fears. All in all, I liked the main characters a lot and the more humorous moments in this story ensure that I’ll be back for more Kissing Creek romances.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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