Kiss Me Not by Emma Hart
Release Date: August 27th 2019
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
What do you do when you’re the reigning kissing booth champion but the only person you want to kiss is your best friend’s brother?
Let me make this clear right here, right now: I, Halley Dawson, do not care that Preston Wright is kissing other women.
Not a lick. Not at all. Nuh-uh-freakin’-uh.
I do care that he’s doing it six feet away from me behind a gaudy velvet curtain—making him my competition in this year’s kissing contest.
Why do I care, you ask? Because I’ve had an unfortunate crush on the insufferable idiot since I was sixteen years old, but I also know it’s never going to happen.
He’s the Creek Falls bachelor to die for, and I’m the Creek Falls racoon lady who puts peanut butter sandwiches out for them every night.
I’m not going to let him break my four-year-long reign—no matter how many times he breaks the rules and slides the curtain across to do the one thing he’s not allowed to:
Kiss me.
My Review:
Having read and loved previous books by Emma Hart, I couldn’t wait to read her newest book, Kiss Me Not. It’s the first book in the Kiss Me Series, about three best friends and their hilariously love stories.
At the beginning of the story we get to meet Halley Dawson, a librarian and Creek Falls Kissing Booth Champion. For the fifth year in a row she is going to participate in the contest that gives all their proceeds to charity. No one has been able to beat her and she intends to keep her championship. But between organizing the booth, her job and feeding peanut butter sandwiches to her raccoons every night, there is no time for her to date. She is known as the raccoon lady of Creek Falls and being the mayor’s daughter keeps everyone at a distance. When she finds out that she will be competing against non other than Preston Wright himself, she doesn’t know what to do. He caught her eye ever since she was sixteen and she has had a crush on him ever since. So it’s difficult to see him kissing other woman, they are total opposites and there is no way he might be interested in her. It’s when the contest begins that their banter and teasing moments start to become so much more. She knows that he doesn’t really date so when he asks her to go out her whole world turns upside down. Now she has to figure out if he truly wants her for her with raccoons and all.
Preston Wright has it all, the looks, money and woman at his beck-and-call. He had to interest in joining the contest, but when he finds out that no one stepped in to compete against Halley, he decides to join in. But the minute he sees her again, it’s banter after banter between the two of them. She has a sass to her that he is attracted to and he can’t stop thinking about her. It only took one kiss between the two of them to make him want her even more and he will no stop until he makes her see that they are destined for each other.
I absolutely loved reading this book! Emma Hart always manages to make her stories swoon worthy and entertaining. Halley was by far my favorite character, she has a sassy and caring personality. The way she interacts with the raccoons was funny and heartwarming. She is dedicated to the kissing booth and has to win every time. We can get to see her interactions with her parents and friends. She truly cares for her two best friends and they have her back as well. She doesn’t have the best relationship with her mom, but leans on her dad and stepmother. On the other hand, Preston loves what he has but doesn’t love the attention that he gets in town. Everyone wants him for his money and he has his guard up at all times. But when he is with Halley, he wants her and wants to give dating a chance. Yet, there is more to her than what people see and he is about to change their lives forever. Told in dual POV, Kiss Me Not is not your typical rom-com and is one that will leave you wanting for more. I would highly recommend checking out this book and any others by the author. I cannot wait to read the rest of the books in the series! <3
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review**
My Rating:
{EXCERPT}
“I never answered your question.”
“What question?” I darted my eyes to the side.
“Just now. You asked me if I wanted to kiss you.”
I did, didn’t I? Right. “Oh,” was all I said.
Slowly, he moved his hand to my chin and gently lifted it. Still, I didn’t look at him, keeping my eyes firmly trained on the front of the tent, even though I was facing him.
“Halley.”
“Yeah?”
“I want to kiss you.”
My eyes darted to his.
“I thought that’d do it.” His lips twitched, and he lowered his head until I had to fight the urge to close my eyes in anticipation of the kiss that was coming.
I swallowed, my lips parting.
Preston moved closer.
And he kissed my cheek.
I jerked out of whatever trance I’d just been in. “What the hell?”
He jumped off the stage, grinning. “I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to break the stalemate, won’t we?”
“Oh, hell no!” I jumped off, stalking him to his side of the stage. “You just stood there in front of me and told me you want to kiss me, then kiss my cheek? The hell was that?”
His eyebrows shot up, amusement flashing in his eyes. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you wanted to kiss me, too.”
“Irrelevant,” I shot back. “But you’re a special kind of asshole to tell a girl you wanna kiss her and then not do it.” I turned around, then stopped. “You know what? When I beat you tomorrow, you can kiss my ass.”
“You’re way too mad about this.”
“I’m not mad!” My voice raised a few octaves. “I couldn’t care if you want to kiss me or not. I most certainly don’t want to kiss you.”
“Why are you shouting at me?”
“I’m not—” I was shouting at him. “Whatever,” I said in a normal voice. “Make sure you take that money to the bank. Tell Tish I sent you.”
I left him on his side of the curtain and went to get my purse. He could get fucked. After all that where I think I was so damn nervous I broke a sweat, he didn’t even kiss me.
I wasn’t lying with what I said.
He could kiss my ass.
I’d even wear my good panties and bend over for him.
About Emma Hart
Emma Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels and has been translated into several different languages.
She is a mother, wife, lover of wine, Pink Goddess, and valiant rescuer of wild baby hedgehogs.
Emma prides herself on her realistic, snarky smut, with comebacks that would make a PMS-ing teenage girl proud.
Yes, really. She's that sarcastic.
Thanks for stopping by! ;)
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