Review: A Kiss by Design by Christy Hayes

A Kiss by Design 
by Christy Hayes
Released Date: Published November 27th 2013 by Cah LLC
Series: Kiss & Tell #1
Pages: 244
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

What's a girl to do when her best friend is making a mistake? Stop him, of course. College sophomore Emily Dilbert has been best friends with Dylan Chamberlain since they were kids. All she wants is for him to be happy and she knows him better than anyone. That's why when she finds an engagement ring in his backpack she has to stop him from marrying the wrong girl. Dylan Chamberlain has been in love with his brother's girlfriend, Emily, since the second grade. When his brother asks for help planning a surprise proposal, Dylan knows it's time to bury his feelings and finally let Emily go. Too bad his heart refuses to cooperate. All of Emily's attempts to lure Dylan away from his girlfriend fail, forcing her to turn up the heat on their friendship. Will Dylan reveal his long-buried secret and tell Emily how he feels? Or will Emily be forced to use any means necessary to show him the error of his ways?
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

I really enjoyed reading A Kiss by Design, it had an interesting plot and characters. Christy Hayes did a good job executing the story as well as describing what each other the main characters were feeling/thinking by adding their point-of-views as well. 

Emily Dilbert is a college sophomore, who is content with her boyfriend and friends. She knows that whenever she is in need of help her best friend, Dylan, will always be there. But it all soon starts to change when she finds an engagement ring in his backpack. That's when she realizes that the time with her friend is almost over. Emily cares deeply for Dylan, they have been friends since they were kids and she knows him more than anymore else, and all she wants is his happiness. With that in mind, she formulates a plan to get him to see reality before he makes a great mistake by marrying someone that he is not going to make him happy. 

Dylan Chamberlain has been in love with his brother's girlfriend ever since they were kids. He knows her more than anyone else and he hates to see his brother with Emily and not treat her right. But when his brother asks him to keep the engagement ring safe for him, he realizes that his love for Emily has to stop and that he needs to move on. He tries to ignore her to keep his sanity safe, but he can't ignore her for long before he starts to miss her. As Emily's plan is in the works, she does everything she can to get Dylan to realize that he is making a mistake. But the close they get, the more they start to see that their friendship can turn into something more.

The way the story is executed was great. I liked how it started and overall idea. I had some issues with Emily as a character, she doesn't make the smartest decisions in the story. I enjoyed reading Dylan's point-of-view the best, he is adorable and charming. I liked him a lot in the story and how caring he is. What I didn't like as much was the end, it felt too rushed for me. The last couple of chapters could have been executed differently. It's predictable how everything is going to turn out, but I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend anyone to give it a try. I'm most definitely be reading the second book in the series. 

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

My Rating: