Kissing Lessons by Sophie Jordan

Kissing Lessons

by Sophie Jordan

Wild, beautiful, and (as rumor has it) experienced, Hayden Vargas doesn’t have time for love or relationships. She’s learned the hard way that the only person you can count on is yourself, and she’s hell-bent on earning enough money to leave her small, judgy Texas town as fast as possible. So when nerdy Emmaline Martin offers to pay Hayden for lessons in seduction, the money is so easy, there must be a catch. Enter the catch: Emmaline’s older brother, popular, all-around nice guy™ Nolan Martin, who doesn’t want his sister’s reputation tarnished by the school’s resident bad girl.

But Hayden should know that looks can be deceiving. Nolan may seem like a golden boy, but like Hayden, he has a few secrets of his own. And the more he meddles in her lessons with Emmaline, the more these polar opposites clash—and the more sparks fly. Turns out Nolan may have some lessons to teach Hayden, but only if she’s willing to learn.

Reviewed by Leigha on

2 of 5 stars

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I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Hayden Vargas agrees to teach seduction lessons to some underclassman in this surprisingly serious young adult romance.

I’m disappointed – I expected more rom-com in this title. The cover and synopsis make it seem like a fun and flirty romance, not a drama. It’s also told from four narrators. The narrative felt disjointed and slow as it moved from one character to the next. Scenes are told from multiple perspectives, bogging it down in too many details to make an impactful story.

The characters and romances could have saved the story for me. Alas, I found all of them tedious and boring. Hayden, in particular, didn’t get nearly enough character-development. I couldn’t tell you her sexual experience beyond kissing Beau in the 8th Grade. Perhaps she is experienced, perhaps not, but it should have been more apparent to the reader if not the other main characters. The entire premise is built on her supposed sexuality, it seems off for the book not to go into those details.

tl;dr Too little rom-com and one-dimensional characters kept me from enjoying this fun premise.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 16 December, 2019: Reviewed