Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Review: Kiss It by Erin Downing

Kiss It by Erin Downing

A girl's gotta do who a girl's gotta do.

Chastity Bryan has never been shy about going after what she wants. And when sexy, mysterious, so-not-from-this-town Sebastian walks into Chaz's life, she knows in an instant that what she wants next is him. Chaz has no intention of playing for keeps—but she most definitely has intentions. Who needs true love when you've got true lust?

Sebastian has no idea what he's in for—but maybe neither does Chaz?


Review:

Erin Downing was nice enough to send me a copy of Kiss It to review, and I’m really glad I picked it up so soon after receiving it. The summary was a bit vague, so I didn't really know what to expect, but Kiss It turned out to be a really great read.

Chaz was an outgoing, witty main character and her personality and spirit added a lot to Kiss It. She never held back with what she wanted to say and always spoke her mind. Chaz was an original and unique character and was still trying to find herself. Kiss It was not just the light hearted read it first appeared. Cancer, teen pregnancy, sex, and more were all tackled throughout the novel. Chaz had to deal with a lot of emotional experiences and understand that she couldn’t always put herself first. Her best friend Sadie was sweet and seemed the complete opposite of Chaz, yet they went together really well. Without Chaz, I don’t know how Sadie would have dealt with what happened to her.

Some things were a bit predictable, but the plot was overall interesting and it was a quick enough read that I finished it in a day. Erin Downing has a nice writing style and really got inside Chaz’s character- she was very well developed within the first few chapters. Chaz’s parents were also good characters who played big roles. I was surprised how emotional Chaz’s family issues made me. The fellow workers at the restaurant Chaz waitressed were interesting, too. There were a wide variety of characters that had enough individuality to make them really stand out.

At first, Chaz just thought of sex as just a bridge she needed to cross, something quick and unimportant. She never thought of loving someone. When Sebastian came along I realized he was a good guy for Chaz. Although their relationship started a bit swiftly and awkwardly, it soon developed into something more. Both Sebastian and Chaz were dealing with a lot, and they each helped the other overcome the hurtles life was throwing at them.

Kiss It did deal with some mature themes and didn’t always have the best morals, but by the end most of the characters had learned their lessons. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 13 though.

This was an overall well done, if a bit quirky, novel, and Downing introduced a wide variety of topics that certain teenagers could relate to. While I never felt a connection with Chaz and felt there were a few downsides to Kiss It, I overall enjoyed it and will definitely be picking up Erin Downing’s past and future releases.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars

June 15, 2010/Simon Pulse/273 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Author (Paperback)

3 comments:

  1. Great review! The plot sounded cute, and I'm glad that you still enjoyed it though there were downsides. I'll try to pick this one up sometime, though it probably won't be at the top of my list. Thanks! :D

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  2. Thanks for the review! I'm glad that the book is more than what the given plot summary reveals. I like that it's tackling a lot of topics that affects us now as teens. And it's nice to see that everyone learned their lessons in the end. :)

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  3. As, ever a real honest review that highlights the strengthts and weaknesses. Thanks for this!- It sounds like a good read!

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