How to Keep a Boy From Kissing You | ||
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Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Genre: Young Adult Romance Publication Date: October 25th 2016 Series: Aurora Skye, #1 Standalone: Yes  
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| Categories: | ||
| Sweet Romance, Alter Ego, Enemies to Lovers, Stuck With You, Creatives in Love (Shakespeare Play) | ||
| Description from Publisher: | ||
| Executor of the Find a Prince Program™ and future author, sixteen-year-old Aurora Skye is dedicated to helping others navigate the minefield that is teenage dating. Counsellor-in-residence at home, where her post-divorce ad-agency father has transformed into a NAD (New Age Dad) intent on stripping his life bare of ‘the illusionary’ (i.e. the removal of home furnishings to the point where all after-hours work must be done in lotus position on a hemp cushion) Aurora literally lives and breathes Self-Help.
When the beginning of the school year heralds the arrival of two Potential Princes™ who seem perfect for her best friends Cassie (lighthouse beacon for emotionally fragile boys suffering from traumatic breakups) and Jelena (eye-catching, elegant and intent on implementing systems of serfdom at their school) it seems as if Aurora’s fast on her way to becoming the next Dr Phil. As Aurora discovers, however, Self-Help is far from simple. Aurora’s mother arrives home from her extended ‘holiday’ (four years solo in Spain following the infamous ‘Answering Machine Incident’) throwing the NAD into further existential crisis. With Valentine’s Day drawing closer and the new Potential Princes not stepping up to the mark, Aurora is literally forced to take to the stage to throw two couples together. However, being cast opposite Hayden Paris (boy next door and bane-of-Aurora’s life) in the school production of Much Ado about Nothing brings challenges of its own. Not only does Hayden doubt that Cupid is understaffed and thus in dire need of Aurora’s help, but playing Beatrice to his Benedict throws her carefully preserved first kiss for a Prince into jeopardy. As Aurora races to save love’s first kiss and put a stop to the NAD’s increasingly intimate relationship with her Interpretive dance teacher (guilty of putting Aurora on detention for a ‘black aura’) she is left wondering who can a self help guru turn to for help? Can she practice what she preaches? And can long-assumed frogs become Potential Princes? | ||
My Rating:
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Heat Rating:
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| My Musings: | ||
| Awww. Such a sweet and downright adorable romance. I loved Hayden! He was such a sweetheart of a character, despite the fact that Aurora thought he was a jerk. Aurora was also a fun lead for this and a great match for Hayden. The banter between these two was a blast and had me chuckling whenever they were sparring. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of Shakespeare and this story.
Nothing in this surprised me, which I think was the point. Like one of the Bard's comedies, we the audience are privy to things the characters re not. It made for a great read where I grinned at what I was seeing with my "insider's eyes." The characters were very Shakespearean/Oscar-Wilde-esque as well, with their own, albeit shallow, dramas. I think that it translated well to high school and was very charming. I also thought the kiss was cute and, as a hopeless romantic, thought the build up of the first was great. The one thing I wasn't big on was the "rules" and game playing that happened, though that was very "comedic play" trope. And very naive high school girl matchmaker, so I could let it slide. I did keep hoping it would all bite her in the butt though! This is a fantastic story for anyone who enjoys Young Adult Romance with a bit of a Shakespearean twist! | ||
| My Source: I received a digital ARC from the publisher to voluntarily review. This in no way influenced my review. My opinion is unbiased and my 100% own. | ||
| About the Author: Tara Eglington | |
| Tara Eglington grew up in Byron Bay, New South Wales. Surrounded by crystals, chakras and sound-based healing, Tara's only option for teen rebellion was to complete a non-arts degree and move to Sydney for a 'normal' career, but she wound up in a creative industry anyway. Tara is the author of three YA novels: How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You, How to Convince a Boy to Kiss You and My Best Friend is a Goddess. Her hobbies when she's not writing include watching endless cat videos on YouTube, planning pretend holidays to the Maldives, and daydreaming about who would play Hayden Paris is the film adaption of How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You. |  |
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