Thursday, October 27, 2016

How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You by Tara Eglington ~ Review & Giveaway



"Aurora’s indefatigable enthusiasm permeates Eglington’s writing, and keeps every plot twist frothy and fun, whether it involves family, boys, or the production of Much Ado About Nothing Hayden and Aurora star in…Eglington celebrates female friendship and loyalty, too, and Aurora’s sunny outlook will satisfy readers looking for a romantic comedy with a dash of Shakespeare." 
Publishers Weekly

"If you've been looking for Clueless: The Next Generation, your search ends here! HOW TO KEEP A BOY FROM KISSING YOU is a candy-coated read with all of the drama and plenty of heart." 
—Sandy Hall, author of A Little Something Different and Signs Point to Yes 

"Like Aurora, you will find yourself unable to resist the romance and laughter of HOW TO KEEP A BOY FROM KISSING YOU. Funny and sharp, Shakespeare lovers and resisters alike will fall for this swoon worthy story." 
—Michelle Ray, author of Falling for Hamlet 

"This book is full of all the best things—zany misunderstandings, strong friendships, cute boys, and the fun, fresh, and fantastic Aurora Skye, who you're rooting for as soon as she falls in a puddle trying to implement Operation Stop Kiss. HOW TO KEEP A BOY FROM KISSING YOU is an absolute delight." 
—Jessica Love, author of In Real Life 


How to Keep a Boy from 
Kissing You 
By Tara Eglington 



From talented debut YA author Tara Eglington comes a page-turning, funny and delicious romp of a book, HOW TO KEEP A BOY FROM KISSING YOU (Thomas Dunne Books; October 25, 2016). Tara wonderfully captures the hopes that are so often woven around first kisses. Everybody wants their first kiss to be perfect, and to the delight of readers, the vivacious protagonist Aurora goes farther than most to achieve this. 

Sweet sixteen and never been kissed—and that’s the way Aurora Skye wants it to be. She’s too busy finding guys for her two best friends, counseling her sensitive New Age dad (the NAD), and dealing with the unexpected return of her long-absent mom. But always in the background there’s Hayden Paris, the boy next door, the bane of Aurora’s existence. Smart, funny, and always around to see her at her worst, he ‘gets’ her like no-one else... and that’s what makes him so infuriating. 

When Aurora and Hayden are coerced into the lead roles in the school production of Much Ado About Nothing, things can only get worse. How is Aurora going to save her first kiss for the secret admirer who wooed her with poetry and a spectacular bunch of flowers on Valentine’s Day if she doesn’t know who he is and she’s obligated to lock lips with Hayden in the play’s final dramatic clinch? 

Aurora’s clever maneuvers can keep her away from kisses, but they can’t seem to bring her any closer to her secret admirer – a potential prince. A humorous take on the trials and tribulations of crushes, secret admirers, and first loves, HOW TO KEEP A BOY FROM KISSING YOU will keep you laughing up until the final page. 




Excerpt





About the Author 
Tara Eglington grew up in Byron Bay, Australia. Her hobbies when she’s not writing include watching endless cat videos on YouTube, planning pretend holidays to the Maldives, and day-dreaming about who would play Hayden Paris in a film adaptation of How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You. The novel’s sequel will be published in 2017




HOW TO KEEP A BOY FROM KISSING YOU 
By Tara Eglington 
Published by Thomas Dunne Books 
**On Sale October 25, 2016** 
Hardcover | $18.99 

ISBN: 9781250049537| Ebook ISBN: 9781466850538 








This is a charming tale of little girl who decided her first kiss was to be given only to her prince.  She guarded that kiss for years to come looking for that prince to give it to.  When she was in her junior year of high school, she was on a hunt to find him before she had to give that kiss to the leading man in the school play.  All the while she hunts, she avoids the advances of frogs and her annoying neighbor.  To her utter shock, her prince has been beside her all along waiting for her to wake enough to realize he was there.

Aurora is sweet sixteen and never been kissed.  She also thinks she understands relationships even though her parents marriage was a poor example and her ideas of romance are filtered through her teenage brain.  I found her to be oblivious.  Drama seems to follow her and not only because she is cast in the school play.  She wants all of her friends to have the perfect romance so she sets about to make it happen.  I wasn't a fan of this part of the story at all.  She seems to be a busy body who can't figure out her own secret admirer.  The cloud of drama was overly dramatic and that's coming from a teacher that knows her girl drama.

I enjoyed Hayden.  It seemed that he understood Aurora better than the girl did herself.  He respected her choices and he honored her.  His patience is beyond what one might find from a teen.  Their star-crossed romance was charming as it mirrored some aspects of the play they were performing.  

It was a bit long.  I'm not sure how long a sixteen year can possibly wait for their first kiss but I'm betting not this long.  

Though the story was sweet, I didn't really buy it as realistic.  It felt as if it were how an adult hopes teens would act like or a lesson that adults would like teens to absorb.  Taking it as the charming, unrealistic story that it was, it was enjoyable.

This one is Shakespeare thrown into high school, not quite how things are but still an fun read. 

  


            






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12 comments:

  1. I was 14 when I received my first "real" kiss (and, let me tell you, it was NOT what I was expecting ...LOTS of tongue LOL, more tongue than one could even imagine. Thanks! :)

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  2. I was 13 and I didn't see it coming.

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  3. I was 15 and I was not impressed with the kiss I got.

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  4. You know, I'm so old I don't remember.

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  5. Maybe 20? I didn't really date when I was younger, too busy with school and my own hobbies.

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  6. I think I was about 13, it was 7th or 8th grade.
    Dianna

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  7. I'm 17 and have never been kissed. I'm perfectly okay with this, haha :)

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