Kiss the Girl (Soho Loft #1) by Melissa Brayden
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, 2014
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook
- Page Count: 305 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐ (2/5)
Brooklyn Campbell and Jessica Lennox are rivals in the New York advertising scene, but neither of them knows that when they run into each other at a bar. The attraction is evident, but then they need to work against the odds if they want to stay in the business and together.
This is my first try on Melissa Brayden’s books! I don’t know what took me so long to pick one up, but I am so glad I eventually did. Kiss the Girl is light and cute and everything you need for a mood lift.
Can we not tell the others about the Jessica stuff? Mallory wouldn’t understand, and Hunter would high-five me and then forget that she wasn’t supposed to tell Mallory.
Brooklyn (to Sam)
On a grand scale, Brayden executed the rival-turned-lover plot nicely. Apart from their relationship, Brooklyn and Jessica were both were dealing with a lot of things in life – Brooklyn’s birth family and Jessica’s neighbours among others. The subplots were good and added a lot to the book.
Brooklyn is very disorganised and tends to jump to conclusions, but she can also be very calm and focused when she wanted to. Even though I did not like her much, I have to say her vices made her more human. I suspect they were self-protections from feeling rejected in life. Now that she found love in Jessica, I hope she feels safer and will be more wonderful in future books.
While I did enjoy this book, the overall plot line and story flow did not work for me. The opening and some parts of the story were cringey; the closing of the book felt rushed and was deeply confusing for me – the emotional shift was too quick and resolution too abrupt. This particular shock solidified the 2-star rating despite the book being mostly enoyable.
There were a few minor issues. One was the inconspicuous switches between points of view. It was less like stream of consciousness and more like jumps from person to person. I had to stop and reread the preceding paragraphs to make sure if there was a change. While confusing at times, it was a non-issue after being accustomed to the writing style. Another was the problematic usage of the word ‘exotic’ on Hunter. I can only hope that 2014 is the last year Brayden makes this mistake.
Apart from some blemishes, Kiss the Girl is a good book. I cannot wait to read Soho Loft #2 on Sam and Hunter! [25 Feb 2020]
