Kiss Collector

by Wendy Higgins

[Sam@WLABB]

After finding her boyfriend with another girl and finding out her dad left the family for another woman, Zae's faith in love was pretty weak. Her revenge on the institution was to kiss and walk away from as many boys as possible during spring break. To make it even more fun, she challenged her three best friends to do the same, and though it was amusing at first, things got complicated quick once emotions played a part.

• Pro: This book surprised me in a good way. I will admit I struggled a little with the beginning, but once it got into the thick of the plot - the kissing, it was fun, like a teen movie, and then it turned into a much more meaningful story, which I really enjoyed.

• Pro: Zae and her friends were a robust and vivacious group of young women. They shared a fantastic friendship, which was tested over the course of this book, but they were also about supporting other women. The focus on the highs and lows of friendship was done well, and a good female friendship will always capture my attention.

• Pro: If you look at the cover of the book, you can tell it included a lot of ethnic diversity, but there was also diversity with respect to family structure, which is something I connect with. One character was adopted and lived in a two parent home, another lived with multiple generations of women in her home, and the other two were from single parent homes.

• Pro: Zae was not only struggling with the changes in her home life, she was also grappling with worries about her future and her feelings of being left behind by her friends. I really liked where Higgins went with this subplot, because it gave the story a good dose of substance, and I loved the way it played out.

• Pro: Even though she was down with love, Zae did find some romance, and I loved the paring and the way their relationship evolved. He was more complex, than he first appeared, and this was a slooooooow burn, but so satisfying.

• Pro: What a great epilogue! Not only did Higgins wrap up Zae's story for us, she caught us up with everyone, who played a significant part in the story. And, let me tell you, there was some super-sweet-awesome stuff that transpired in that epilogue.

Overall: A revenge turned romance turned self-realization story, which made me giggle, smile, swoon, and shed happy tears.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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