kiss the girl – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Retelling
Length: 320 pages
Author: Zoraida Cordova
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue
Release Date: August 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A modern tale of unexpectedly falling in love and finding your voice, Kiss the Girl is the highly anticipated third installment in the acclaimed and best-selling Meant to Be collection.

Ariel del Mar is one of the most famous singers in the world. She and her sisters—together, known as the band Siren Seven—have been a pop culture phenomenon since they were kids. On stage, wearing her iconic red wig and sequined costumes, staring out at a sea of fans, is where she shines. Anyone would think she’s the girl who has everything.

But lately, she wants more . Siren Seven is wrapping up their farewell tour, and Ariel can’t wait to spend the summer just living a normal life—part of a world she’s only ever seen from the outside. But her father, the head of Atlantica Records, has other begin her breakout solo career immediately, starting with a splashy announcement on a morning talk show.

The night before, Ariel and her sisters sneak out of their Manhattan penthouse for a night of incognito fun at a rock concert in Brooklyn. It’s there that Ariel crosses paths with Eric Reyes, dreamy lead singer of an up-and-coming band. Unaware of her true identity, Eric spontaneously invites her on the road for the summer. And for the first time in her life, Ariel disobeys her father—and goes with him.

Caught between the world she longs for and the one she’s left behind, can Ariel follow her dreams, fall in love, and, somehow, find her own voice?

Thank you to Disney Hyperion for the ARC.

A CUTE RETELLING.

This is one of those books where the three star rating might make it seem like a don’t read this book, but honestly, I think it was a me thing and that a lot of others will enjoy this. I won’t say run out and buy it, but I’m also not saying skip it either.

I thought the retelling aspects were subtle and connected well. I noticed nuanced things (as well as big picture) that were fun to see how The Little Mermaid was woven into a contemporary rock star romance. Eric being a hopeless romantic was cuuute. I loved his personality and his optimism. While the insta-attraction didn’t work for me I did like some aspects of the chemistry between Eric and Ariel.

The plot is filled with kind found family band mates and some humorous antics that happen on tour. I did like seeing Ariel find her voice (see what I did there), and stand up to her Dad. AND I absolutely LOVED that her sisters were continually supportive and helpful. I looove tight sibling relationships and that might have been my favorite part of the book.

It’s a sweet book, easy to fly through, a bit of a third act break and a grand gesture to bring it all back together. Take this as you will.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance Retelling
Language: light (but strong)
Romance: closed door
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a Mother (mentioned), strained parent relationships

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 277 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: November 3rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Not even the hottest teacher in town can convince Grace to date a small-town guy.

At 26, Grace Winters must her promising career on pause to run her dad’s hardware store. She can’t wait to leave Creekville again, and she’ll keep everyone at arm’s length until she’s out of there. That especially means the new high school coach…no matter how cute and charming he is.

Noah Redmond knows Creekville is just a detour for Grace, the funniest—and sexiest—woman he’s ever met. He even joins forces with her to defeat the matchmaking schemes of . . . well, just about everyone trying to get them together. But when he and Grace must also tackle building a Christmas booth for the town’s biggest event of the year, he sees his chance for escape from the friend zone.

When Grace agrees to a fake relationship to convince Noah’s boss he’s ready for a promotion, the plan works perfectly until they share an unplanned kiss that changes everything. With the lines between friendship and romance blurred, is their undeniable chemistry worth risking their friendship when their future is anything but certain?

NOT MY FAVORITE.

I really wanted to love this, and I thought I might, but many things held me back.

What I did like was the fake dating trope. Always a good one that guarantees some forced proximity moments I’m not mad about. There’s a lot of holiday spirit to go around here and those vibes were alive and well too.

I almost hated the way the male love interest, Noah, was written. I cringed multiple times at how he described Grace and would have DNF based off of that alone if I wasn’t finishing this for a buddy read. Noah had a few good, sweet moments, but holy cow, he needed a major rewrite.

Grace was cool! I liked that she worked as an engineer and was well versed in wood working and other hardware based activities. She’s a pretty well rounded character and I enjoyed her much more than Noah.

There’s sweet moments between the two and some good swoony kisses. I liked how things worked out in the end for them. The plot made things way too easy at times and random scenes truly felt like filler rather than part of the flow of the story. Not to mention, Grace’s Mom and Sister drove me up a wall. Another holiday let down for me.

Overall audience notes: