C.A. Popovich always seems to have great story ideas. She also creates settings for her books that make me want to visit those places. Both of these things are true for her latest novel, The Kiss.
The premise of this book sounded really interesting. There are so many things you can do with the story of a woman fleeing an abusive relationship with her three-year-old daughter only to find herself being stalked by the ex, just as she finds someone who might be “The One” for her. The trouble is, I had several reservations about the actual story as it is written.
My first problem was with “the kiss” itself. We don’t really get to see it in the tale. The prologue shows Kate packing and leaving secretly with her daughter Portia. The first chapter of the book happens a year later after they are settled and living near her sister in Michigan. The kiss occurs six months after they leave and six months before Chapter One. I don’t like that. While not technically wrong, I think the reader should be able to see the day Kate and Leslie meet and have their first kiss. It’s important enough to use as the title of the book. It bothered me that I could only see this through brief flashbacks in the plot. I was also unhappy with some of the decisions Kate and Leslie made about dating while they knew Kate’s ex had found her and was stalking them both. Actually, I didn’t agree with many of Kate’s actions in the novel.
The book as a whole kept my interest, and I liked the ending. However, the problems mentioned above keep me from being able to recommend it.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections 