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| My gorgeous copy - on my bed-side table! |
Book: It Started With A Kiss
Genre: Chick Lit / Romantic Comedy/ Contemporary Fiction
Author: Miranda Dickinson
The cover looks fabulous, definitely one of my favourite covers of this year! With little twinkling stars on the pink and white background, the packaging has a magical feel to it, just like the story inside! I LOVE it!
Book Blurb:
From the author that gave you the Sunday Times top 10 selling title, “Fairytale of New York”, join our heroine Romily as she discovers how far she will go to find the man of her dreams.
As the singer in a wedding band, Romily Parker has seen her fair share of happy endings, even though her own love life isn't quite as simple.
On the last Saturday before Christmas, (shortly after disastrously declaring her love for best friend Charlie), Romily has a brief encounter with a handsome stranger whose heart-stopping kiss changes everything.
Determined to find him again, Romily embarks on a yearlong quest, helped (and sometimes hindered) by enthusiastic Uncle Dudley, cake-making Auntie Mags and flamboyant Wren. Will she find the man of her dreams? Or could true love be closer than she thinks?
Review:
While browsing for books to read in the wintry Christmas time, I saw this book in WHSmith, as the pretty cover and the title grabbed my attention, I picked it up to get a glance of what’s inside. There and then, ignoring the other shopkeepers looking at me, I found myself totally enveloped by the story as I read the first two chapters standing in front of the book shelf. Unfortunately, it was closing time and I could not get to the billing queue.
Anyways, I came home and desperate to read the rest, ordered it from Amazon. The moment it came, I curled up with the book and finished it in one sitting! Before you hear my final verdict, let me give you a glimpse of how it begins.
The story starts with Romily confessing love to her long time best friend, Charlie. To the heroine’s dismay, the guy does not take it the way she thought he would, when he tells her that he does not feel the same way. Feeling utterly embarrassed and humiliated, she runs away from him. While riding on this emotional “high tide”, she bumps into a Christmas Stall in the market area.
But something wonderful just happens; a mysterious passer-by (who happens to be a very handsome looking fella!) ends up kissing her in the next few moments. Shocked and surprised by this sudden acknowledgement of her “beauty” by a stranger, Romily finds herself “clean-bowled” by that guy’s charm! (Yes, we are talking about the same girl who had strong feelings for another guy only a few minutes ago! Strange, right?) But as they say, “love is blind”. So let’s not be so judgemental here and cut her some slack!
The book has got a superb storyline and I think that there could not have been a better beginning than the way Miranda (the author) wrote it. Her witty overtures and interesting narrative is brilliant! It made me want to know what will happen next? Will she long for Charlie or will she keep on going in her quest to find that “phantom kisser”?
The author throws in the rest of the cast to help Romily in her search for the “mystery man”. It includes her BFF, Wren, her Uncle Dudley and Aunt Mags, and the rest of her wedding band members, Jack, Tom and Soph.
I especially loved the character of Wren. She is always supportive, caring, makes fast decisions and most of all, cracked me up with her jokes and one-liners! She is like a “genie” from a bottle who knows how to get things done and solve problems. The author beautifully highlighted the importance of having great friends through Wren’s character.
All the supporting characters are well-sketched and brilliantly portrayed by the author. While I enjoyed the gigs and events by the band, “The Pinstripes”, I think that they covered a lot more space in the book than was required as they did not do much to progress the story. Some events were not of any significance to the main plot. The middle of the book could have benefited with some editing to save it from getting repetitive.
Other than that, I liked the idea of using blog posts, facebooking and getting an article published about her hunt, to give the story a modern and fresh approach. My favorite part in the book would be when Romily places an ad and a crazy guy named “Sebastian” responds. The situation gets so funny when he turns up at the meeting place and tries to convince her that he is the same guy she is looking for.
The ending took me by surprise and was a perfect way to finish the story. Overall, an enjoyable read for Christmas. Though, the book can be read any time of the year as it does not carry the theme of Christmas throughout the story. But nonetheless, it has lots of romance, comedy and magical moments to keep you entertained. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you loved movies like “While you were sleeping” and “Serendipity”, then you will definitely love this book!
Review Girl Rating: 9/10
To buy this book on Amazon, click here.
To know about the author, visit Miranda's website here.
Hope you enjoyed my "Christmas Special" book review. Please leave your comments to let me know which books you are loving this Christmas and which ones are on your "to-read" list for 2012.
To read my previous "Christmas Special" book review, click here.
To take part in the third installment of "Holiday Season Giveaways", click here.
Happy Holidays everyone!
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