Kiss Me First: A Novel - Lottie Moggach SPOILERS

[SarahPapesh]

So, I am new to the forum - forgive me if I am not following protocol as of yet, but I will do my best. I am an avid reader, so I have just signed up to be an official reviewer, so these upcoming posts will be practice until I "officially review" anything.

I just finished Kiss Me First: A Novel by Lottie Moggach. It was touted as a "psychological thriller," but was really lacking in that department. The best way to describe this book is just run of the mill, time-killing fiction. It was not a waste of time in the sense that it was entertaining, but it by no means will turn into a classic or something that will have a movie or television adaptation.

The book focuses on a rather anti-social young woman. After the death of her mother, her entire life becomes dependent upon the internet. She stumbles upon a new social site devoted to philosophical discussions. She is immediately entranced by this open forum and the discussion possibilities and the opportunity to share her complex opinions and thoughts. The impressive and charismatic founder of this website builds upon her trust and then ultimately approaches her with one of the most highly debated philosophical dilemmas of our time: Would you assist in someone's suicide?

Ultimately, she is not asked to assist in the actual death, rather the "life" of the person afterward. She is asked to impersonate the woman who wishes to kill herself to make it easier on her family and ultimately transition from their lives. She willingly accepts this "job" (she is actually paid weekly for it) and does research with the assistance of her "client" in order to accurately depict her personality. Once she has gained enough information to adequately impersonate her via social media and emails, her "client" stages a move to Canada and she then takes over.

However, the police soon learn of this - what they call a suicide pact - and our protagonist is arrested (she actually turns herself in). They have discovered that the charismatic leader of the website has actually hired several (possibly hundreds) of people to help impersonate others after they kill themselves.

Overall, the book as a whole is well-written. It does not rush, there is an entertaining plot, and the characters are believable. However, whether this is intentional or not is left to be answered, the protagonist is actually quite annoying and frustrating, and I do not like that as a consistent character trait when I read. (It can be useful in some stories, but in this it just brings down the story in my opinion). The logic is a bit flawed, especially considering that the premise of the website is to include rational thinking.

If I had to give it a rating, I would say better than Twilight but not nearly as good as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

[Zannie]

Thank you for your review. I have started practicing too. Only nothing I would be confident posting. Good on you

[SarahPapesh]

I say just go for it - you can get feedback that way

[Misaela]

Yeah! You only know how good you are when you get feedback.

[rae_lewis]

I really enjoyed the character in this book as a lot of books I read tend to have a relatively normal/relatable narrative character, whereas she was different in this book as she had quite an annoyingly lazy and negative perspective on things. I feel the book would have been a lot different if the character was more likable, but I don't nessasarily thinkg it would have been better for the story line.
The book in general was good and well written, but I agree that it was a bit of a time passer rather than something I felt actually involved in.

[SarahPapesh]

I agree that it would have been better with a more likable protagonist. I do think it makes her a bit more "human," but I still prefer when the main characters are easy to like and you want them to succeed and reach their goals.