Usually, I reword the official synopses, but in this case I feel using the official synopsis actually helps potential readers get a feel for the book. Without further ado, here’s the slightly confusing summary from Goodreads:
“Aphrodite kissed a mortal once by the light of this moon, many thousands of years ago. It drove him crazy. The next person that he kissed — boum. The craziness traveled like this from person to person. It traveled through time. Everywhere — boum! Tu comprends?’ ‘Where did it end up?’ I whisper. His lips are on my cheek now. ‘It ended with me. And now I am going to pass it to you. You will like that, mermaid?’ Imagine the perfect kiss. A legendary kiss that makes people crazy with love. Imagine a summer’s night, on a moonlit beach in the South of France, as French boy Laurent kisses 16-year-old Delilah after the best chat-up line she’s ever heard. BOOM! Delilah is pretty sure the Kiss is fiction, despite her head-spinning holiday fling. But with all the sudden crushes, break-ups and melt-downs happening back at home, the Kiss starts looking a little too real for comfort. If only Delilah could keep track of where it’s gone … Who knew one kiss could cause this much trouble? A hilarious rom-com that will delight Geek Girls everywhere!”
Though Delilah and I are the same age, she often acts as if she’s 10-years-old masquerading as a teenager. She’s incredibly immature at best and completely boy-crazy at worst. In short, she doesn’t act like an actual teenager. Sure, romance may be a part of everyone’s life, but our lives are much too complicated to be categorized under one thing. The author oversimplifies Delilah’s character, ultimately rendering her unrelatable and underdeveloped. This being said, Delilah does do something unrelated to romance towards the end of the book, and that development made me happy in a way that words cannot express.
My biggest complaint about “The Kiss” is that there’s way too much romance. Now, of course rom-coms and chick-lit novels are supposed to have romance, but they’re also supposed to contain other elements. The characters are supposed to develop who they are outside of their romantic endeavors, as well as finding themselves a relationship. Unfortunately, all the characters of “The Kiss” lack significant emotional development. Their lives center around romance, Aphrodite’s kisses and more kisses.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Publisher: Hachette Children’s Group (July 2nd, 2015)
Length: 336 pages (Paperback)
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ISBN #: 9781444922868
Source: Netgalley
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