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faithl's review against another edition
4.0
MY RATING:
I was both like this:
And this:
Don't get me the wrong, the romance was totally sweet but my inner sense was going off about something.
Eva was too trusting. Her expectations of love came straight of romance novels and she over analysed way too much. I have to admit, Will was sweet and daydreamy with his poetry writing and confident swagger but there was just something wrong......
I did kind of enjoy Eva's character. She was down-to-earth realistic. She didn't lie to herself about her father's death and even though I will probably try to deny it, I would act the same as she did if I had that kind of whirlwind romance. I REALLY loved Margo's style of writing. She depicted the awkward girl teen life so accurately and I related to that so much since that is the story of my life.
Now, to the road trip part!
Surprisingly, the road trip section of the book was briefer than I expected. I love road-trips and I love when books are about them. There's always that laid-back humor and funny anecdotes and while this book had them, I wanted it to be uniquer.
There were those fun bits on the bus, listening to crazy ladies, visiting even crazier relatives but it just lacked this tiny bit to make it even more interesting than it already were. Adding to that, I wanted more out of Annie and Eva's best friend relationship. I got that they were super close but I wanted more development of how and why they were close.
This book did great of depicting a mother/daughter relationship, though! Almost perfectly actually. I loved how through their arguments and fighting, they still end up going back to each other and reconciling their relationship.
Overrall, it was a super, great book! Lesson of this story; don't a guy overwhelm your life. I LOVE IT! It was a great open ending that still gave me closure. It drew me from the very first page but I wanted more of the friendship development.
kalbone's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so unexpected. I thought I was going into yet another YA romance that would be lots of fun to read but mostly just brain fluff. Sometimes you need that. What I got was so much better than that. It's a story of immense grief, love, and rebellion. It goes into the finer points of immense misunderstandings between a single mother and her daughter caused by the different ways in which they deal with grief over the loss of a husband and father. It deals with the effects of falling in love incredibly quickly and then all at once having that love removed. It deals with rebellion on a road trip between two best friends and the betrayal that sometimes accompanies infatuation. It was so much better than I could have imagined it would be. It's a seriously deep book that uses poetry to bring the reader even more into the mind of the character narrating the story, Eva. It asks the question, what happens when your priorities aren't what you always believed they would be? When the direct cause of death is unknown, do you want to know how it happened? How do you put death to rest and attempt to move on with your life? And finally, what happens when you meet the right person and the timing is all wrong? It delves deeply into the misunderstandings caused by perception and lack of communication from all sides and leaves the reader feeling slightly unsettled during the reading process wondering if anyone in this story is going to get a happy ending. Read it, you won't be sorry you did.
kawarwick's review against another edition
4.0
Eva is a teenage girl who loves reading cheesy romantic novels. She's also fallen in love for the first time and wants to help her best friend get a scholarship to MIT. However the really huge thing Eva is dealing with is the loss of her father. Eva's journey will make you laugh and will bring tears to your eyes.
afretts's review against another edition
1.0
I really disliked this. It was boring and the protagonist was unbearable.
bjoiner's review against another edition
1.0
Based on the description of this book and reviews that I read, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Mostly I just found it disappointing. One star may be a little harsh, but I felt as though there was no real “meat” to the story. I never felt like I really knew the characters. The only thing that saved this book was Eva’s relationship with her mother. It seemed honest and real and the blow out they had at the end was really the only part of this story I thought was done well.
It was entertaining enough, but if you’re looking for a good book, then I’d pass on this one.
It was entertaining enough, but if you’re looking for a good book, then I’d pass on this one.
rachelwrites007's review against another edition
5.0
I think this book was written especially for me. I want to hand this beautiful, important, brilliant, funny, sweet novel to every woman/girl I know.
allibruns's review against another edition
2.0
It's not that this is a bad book per se, it just didn't work for me. I couldn't connect with Eva and I had no interest in her journey.
hmonkeyreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
About a teen girl struggling with the death of her father, her relationship with her mom in the aftermath, and her first love. There’s also trivia, romance novels, a game show, and a cross country road trip. It’s sweet and funny and made me think a lot about my Dad who passed when I was young.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
colecordium's review against another edition
4.0
Full review on Books and Starlight.
I'd like to start my review with saying it again, that about 95% or more books I'm reading nowadays are totally not about what it promises in the summary. They're different but usually, a good different. Here, I'm not sure. I expected a cheesy cute teen romance that was focused on a couple and what I got was a much deeper self discovery, an awesome roadtrip and a really good coming of age story. It was so very different, but it was an awesome different!
I thought Kissing in America will be more about the romance between our two characters, but it was focused on the road trip and the discovery the girls had on their journey to LA. I haven't been to America yet but the descriptions of each state they've been to have me craving to just hop on a plane to the States, rent a car or get on a bus and just go. On their journey, the girls met friends, family, cowboys (much to Eva's pleasure, who has been reading books about cowboys for a long time), snakes, thieves, and everything you can think of. It was an adventure of a lifetime.
I have to tell you all, the first thing that caught me was the cover. I already loved it when I first spotted it on Goodreads and wanted to get an advance copy. It was so so beautiful and I'm ashamed I only realized that all the styles from the states' they've been to are represented in some way. That makes it even more incredible and with this knowledge, it made itself a more permanent spot on my favorite covers list. Cannot wait to get my physical copy.
Kissing in America was a surprise because I didn't expect to get a this emotional and deep story. It has everything a good story needs: family, good friendship, a bit romance (though I wouldn't have said no to a bit more, especially with Trent, the cowboy haha), diversity, feminism. I expected it to end in one of the two ways I was imagining and it actually ended in the middle of it. If you'd like to read about diversity, girl power and road trips, I highly recommend Kissing in America for you. Pick this one up and let's get on the road to LA. ;)
* I recieved this book from Edelweiss as a part of the blog tour in an exchange for an honest review. *
I'd like to start my review with saying it again, that about 95% or more books I'm reading nowadays are totally not about what it promises in the summary. They're different but usually, a good different. Here, I'm not sure. I expected a cheesy cute teen romance that was focused on a couple and what I got was a much deeper self discovery, an awesome roadtrip and a really good coming of age story. It was so very different, but it was an awesome different!
I thought Kissing in America will be more about the romance between our two characters, but it was focused on the road trip and the discovery the girls had on their journey to LA. I haven't been to America yet but the descriptions of each state they've been to have me craving to just hop on a plane to the States, rent a car or get on a bus and just go. On their journey, the girls met friends, family, cowboys (much to Eva's pleasure, who has been reading books about cowboys for a long time), snakes, thieves, and everything you can think of. It was an adventure of a lifetime.
I have to tell you all, the first thing that caught me was the cover. I already loved it when I first spotted it on Goodreads and wanted to get an advance copy. It was so so beautiful and I'm ashamed I only realized that all the styles from the states' they've been to are represented in some way. That makes it even more incredible and with this knowledge, it made itself a more permanent spot on my favorite covers list. Cannot wait to get my physical copy.
Kissing in America was a surprise because I didn't expect to get a this emotional and deep story. It has everything a good story needs: family, good friendship, a bit romance (though I wouldn't have said no to a bit more, especially with Trent, the cowboy haha), diversity, feminism. I expected it to end in one of the two ways I was imagining and it actually ended in the middle of it. If you'd like to read about diversity, girl power and road trips, I highly recommend Kissing in America for you. Pick this one up and let's get on the road to LA. ;)
* I recieved this book from Edelweiss as a part of the blog tour in an exchange for an honest review. *