Official Review: The Kiss by Michelle Bolanger
Posted: 23 Apr 2016, 15:59
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Kiss" by Michelle Bolanger.]
3 out of 4 stars
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The Kiss, by Michelle Bolanger, is a paranormal fantasy novel with a new twist on the young vampire tropes from more popular books like Twilight or The Vampire Diaries. Leisel and Baden were promised to each other since birth and they don’t question the reasoning behind the match, even though they are not attracted to each other in the slightest. This changes when the two go off to college together and Leisel meets Koen, who is the most gorgeous 20-something with asthma. This attraction sparks a need to dig into the reasons why Baden and Leisel were promised to each other. Leisel is shocked to find out that Koen is one of her kind; her community had taught that they were the last of their kind and questions why it was assumed no others existed. They begin to uncover secrets about Res, Baden’s grandmother and enforcer of the “match” between Leisel and Baden, as well as the society that they are a part of. The three of them have to find a way to reveal the truth they discover before it is too late and they are silenced.
The Kiss didn’t leave any amazing impressions on me. In fact, the only thing that I remember being excited about is the next book in the series. I felt that the characters and their story are more promising in that book than in The Kiss.
Overall, Leisel and Baden where nothing special. I had thought it was refreshing that Leisel couldn’t smell for the first third of the book, but her miraculous recovery killed any interest I had in her after that. It made it too easy for her to figure out that she was “meant to be” with Koen. What would have happened if she never smelled him? Would she still have fallen in love and defied her culture/society or would she have gone through marrying Baden even though she hadn’t wanted to?
I also thought that the way that vampires are introduced into this novel was interesting. The need for blood to make a deeper connection rather than as a means of sustaining their lives (food) was practical and romantic while not being over the top. It also made it easier to explain how they were able to blend into society easier. Other than that bit of blood sharing, they exhibited none of the typical vampire characteristics like sun-burning or a distaste of garlic. The only distaste Leisel showed towards food was for mint and lilac.
While The Kiss is categorized as a paranormal fantasy because of the vampire aspect, I consider this to be more contemporary new adult. Yes, they were vampires, but they only share blood with their spouses and otherwise eat food like humans. They didn’t have special powers, unless you count their ability to live for hundreds or thousands of years and that they can “hear” their soulmate’s emotions. Other than that, these 18-20 year olds had the same problems that any college student had and it felt very New Adult. There was less sexual content, which makes it more YA in that regard, otherwise it was standard to the new adult genre.
All of this being said, my disappointment stemmed from the fact that I thought there would be more fantasy mixed into the paranormal fantasy. I thought it was a bit lazy to make them “vampire” spin-offs and count that as enough for the paranormal fantasy genre, especially when they behaved like humans.
The only other aspect that detracted from the overall experience of reading The Kiss was the difficulty I had getting into the story in the beginning. It starts off pretty typical of two kids wanting to go to college and then dealing with college life. The exception was Leisel’s mother being unsupportive of the decision and verbally abusive towards Leisel. Every single time her mother spoke, I felt less inclined to continue reading because that type of relationship wasn’t one that I wanted to read about and it was there right from the beginning.
Overall, The Kiss, by Michelle Bolanger, was an okay read. It took a while to get going, but by the end of the book, I was ready to go right into the second book. The characters are typical to what I would assume are college students, even if the situations that they found themselves in where unconventional. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes easier fantasy novels, where there is less complexity in the world building and situations of the characters. I would also recommend this to teenagers that are 16+ or anyone who enjoys New Adult books; this book is definitely worth a shot. Due to the strength of the story’s ending and the simplicity and ease with how the story read, after the fumbling start, I would give The Kiss, by Michelle Bolanger, a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The Kiss
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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The Kiss, by Michelle Bolanger, is a paranormal fantasy novel with a new twist on the young vampire tropes from more popular books like Twilight or The Vampire Diaries. Leisel and Baden were promised to each other since birth and they don’t question the reasoning behind the match, even though they are not attracted to each other in the slightest. This changes when the two go off to college together and Leisel meets Koen, who is the most gorgeous 20-something with asthma. This attraction sparks a need to dig into the reasons why Baden and Leisel were promised to each other. Leisel is shocked to find out that Koen is one of her kind; her community had taught that they were the last of their kind and questions why it was assumed no others existed. They begin to uncover secrets about Res, Baden’s grandmother and enforcer of the “match” between Leisel and Baden, as well as the society that they are a part of. The three of them have to find a way to reveal the truth they discover before it is too late and they are silenced.
The Kiss didn’t leave any amazing impressions on me. In fact, the only thing that I remember being excited about is the next book in the series. I felt that the characters and their story are more promising in that book than in The Kiss.
Overall, Leisel and Baden where nothing special. I had thought it was refreshing that Leisel couldn’t smell for the first third of the book, but her miraculous recovery killed any interest I had in her after that. It made it too easy for her to figure out that she was “meant to be” with Koen. What would have happened if she never smelled him? Would she still have fallen in love and defied her culture/society or would she have gone through marrying Baden even though she hadn’t wanted to?
I also thought that the way that vampires are introduced into this novel was interesting. The need for blood to make a deeper connection rather than as a means of sustaining their lives (food) was practical and romantic while not being over the top. It also made it easier to explain how they were able to blend into society easier. Other than that bit of blood sharing, they exhibited none of the typical vampire characteristics like sun-burning or a distaste of garlic. The only distaste Leisel showed towards food was for mint and lilac.
While The Kiss is categorized as a paranormal fantasy because of the vampire aspect, I consider this to be more contemporary new adult. Yes, they were vampires, but they only share blood with their spouses and otherwise eat food like humans. They didn’t have special powers, unless you count their ability to live for hundreds or thousands of years and that they can “hear” their soulmate’s emotions. Other than that, these 18-20 year olds had the same problems that any college student had and it felt very New Adult. There was less sexual content, which makes it more YA in that regard, otherwise it was standard to the new adult genre.
All of this being said, my disappointment stemmed from the fact that I thought there would be more fantasy mixed into the paranormal fantasy. I thought it was a bit lazy to make them “vampire” spin-offs and count that as enough for the paranormal fantasy genre, especially when they behaved like humans.
The only other aspect that detracted from the overall experience of reading The Kiss was the difficulty I had getting into the story in the beginning. It starts off pretty typical of two kids wanting to go to college and then dealing with college life. The exception was Leisel’s mother being unsupportive of the decision and verbally abusive towards Leisel. Every single time her mother spoke, I felt less inclined to continue reading because that type of relationship wasn’t one that I wanted to read about and it was there right from the beginning.
Overall, The Kiss, by Michelle Bolanger, was an okay read. It took a while to get going, but by the end of the book, I was ready to go right into the second book. The characters are typical to what I would assume are college students, even if the situations that they found themselves in where unconventional. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes easier fantasy novels, where there is less complexity in the world building and situations of the characters. I would also recommend this to teenagers that are 16+ or anyone who enjoys New Adult books; this book is definitely worth a shot. Due to the strength of the story’s ending and the simplicity and ease with how the story read, after the fumbling start, I would give The Kiss, by Michelle Bolanger, a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The Kiss
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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