Friday, December 31

Book Review: Countdown to a Kiss







Author: Colleen Gleason, Holli Bertram, Mara Jacobs, Liz Kelly
Title: Countdown To A Kiss
(Heroes of Henderson #0.5)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Anthology, Fiction
Format: ebook
Pages: 300
Published: November 24th 2012
Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon)

Summary: 
Four stories by four authors…one fateful New Year’s Eve
Four kisses at midnight…
Three different sisters…
Two old flames…
One bet that drives it all!
The Devine sisters return to their hometown for New Year’s Eve each year to attend the annual ball. Part of the tradition is their decade-old bet: whoever has no date at midnight has to kiss their nerdy neighbor Lewis Kampmueller.
Tess—burned by love, the glamorous Broadway star isn’t interested in a repeat performance…until she encounters an old flame.
Annabelle—when the local etiquette expert gets caught breaking the law, her heart might have to pay the price.
Grace—the tough FBI agent has an easy time being one of guys, but is she woman enough to keep a man?
Lewis—the shy nerd has made millions over the years…but is he smart enough to catch the woman of his dreams?
Who will lose the bet but win out in love? Four charming stories written by four different authors about one fateful New Year’s Eve.
The champagne is poured. The clock is ticking. Join the countdown!




Review:
Been saving this for the last book of the year!! How could you not? 

We have four different stories for four different people but they are all connected and the same location....The Devine Ball. 

Story 1 - What are You Doing New Year's Eve

First, we follow Tess who is a Broadway star. She has been burned by love so many times that she has lost count. She is part of the tradition between her and her sisters. Whoever has no date at midnight has to kiss their school friend and neighbor Lewis Kempmueller. Sadly, it looks like Tess may not have a date this year, which goes against her plans to have Lewis and her sister, Grace, kiss. Luckily...or unluckily an old flame shows up.

I did not like Tess at all. 

Honestly? I am not 100% liking the other sisters either. I think they are mean to Lewis. Sure he's agreed to this decades-old bet. But still....he doesn't deserve to be a "punishment". Sighs. 

Anyway...Tess bumps into her old flame. Which, of course, she'll end up with him. Second chances and all that. I hope it works out. I kinda liked Johnny and I personally think he deserves better, but hopefully, this works out for them.

Ya - this wasn't my favorite. It was hard to look past my dislike of Tess though. 2 stars

Story 2 - The Keeper of the Debutantes

Now, we follow Annabelle. She is the perfect doll and perfect southern belle. She is even the local etiquette expert, but she got caught breaking the law. She doesn't have time to be dealing with this ticket. She has to get to the party early and she has to get a date before midnight. 

I liked Annabelle much more than Tess. Thank goodness. I still think it is mean to treat Lewis like that. :/ 

Can I just say I'm jealous that she got pulled over by Duncan?? ;) BUT they are perfect for each other!! They are so sweet and so funny. Their quips were amusing. 

The ending was fun. This is my 3rd favorite one. 3 stars from me. 

Story 3 - Kiss of a Lifetime

Best sister saved for last!! Grace!! She works for the FBI and is coming home with a date so she doesn't have to kiss Lewis this year. Maybe this is the year she breaks it...especially when Leo, her partner, shows up too. Two dates! One of them has to kiss her at midnight! Right? 

Loved Grace. I even was happy when she admitted she didn't really mind kissing Lewis. So that added a few points to her. 

There was so strong chemistry between Leo and Grace. I loved them as a couple!! Took a long time for Leo to get over his dumb rules. No long-term relationships and no dating co-workers. Booo! But he does get over it....of course...took a minute though. 

Loved them and I loved this story the most. 5 stars. 

Story 4 - The Perfect Kiss

Last, but not least, is Lewis' story! He is one of the biggest nerds in town. So much of a nerd that he capitalized on that and created his own company. He has been in love with Grace for years and this is the year - when he kisses her again - that he will tell her his feelings! Until he gets stuck with taking care of Darcy who is his bestie's little sister. Maybe it won't be that bad...she is now fully grown and they have a lot of similarities. 

Yayy nerdy Lewis! Loved him from the others and I was hoping he would get a HEA. He certainly does deserve it after being used for years and trying to hide his feelings for Grace. Bless his little heart. 

I liked Darcy and it broke my heart she has been in love with Lewis since she was like 4. Poor thing. He never noticed her, but this year he for sure does! Yayy. They are perfect for each other. 

Def my 2nd favorite. 

This was a good way to end the anthology! 4 stars. 


Overall - 

Overall, this was a good anthology. I struggled with book 1. I really could not get myself to like Tess. Maybe if I had a longer book? IDK. It was nice seeing Lewis, who was the butt of the bet, actually get a HEA. That was a nice touch and it wrapped up their stories perfectly! 

After doing complicated mathage, I'll stamp this with an overall........3 stars. 





4 comments:

Sophia Rose said...

Definitely perfect for a New Year's Eve read. Bummer about the first heroine, but glad the other stories were much more to your liking.

Carole Rae said...

Yesss I am so glad I found it and I didn't stop after book 1.

Blodeuedd said...

Yes, anthologies can be tricky. Some great, some good ones, some meh ones

Carole Rae said...

Agreed. They can be tricky.