⭐⭐
The Kissing Game
Marie Harte
320 pages | Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Rena is completely ready for the next phase of her life - finally able to ditch her bartending job for her brand new hair salon, she is ready to settle down and find The One. Axel, tall, tough, and very German, has been in love with Rena since day one but struggles to open up and take action. But one daring move from Axel has their relationship moving forward at top speed.
I really liked Rena as a character. She felt strong, yet refreshingly honest for a romantic lead. So often characters are fierce and independent and refuse to admit that they want to find love, or to be cared for. I appreciated that Rena could take charge, stand up for herself, but at the end of the day was completely upfront about what she wants out of life.
This was my first book from Marie Harte - and I felt a little lost. This book is listed as a stand-alone, but looking at her other series I can tell that she writes in this world a lot, which meant that a lot of context was missing. I felt dropped into a world and struggled to understand the connections between all of the characters. I needed more backstory to feel fully invested in Rena & Axel.
While I liked Axel as a love interest, I couldn't understand why he seemed to be so clueless. I understand that he is German, but he seemed to be written as a "dumb foreigner." A language barrier I can understand, but he seemed genuinely confused by a lot that just didn't feel realistic to me.
I love a HEA, and was glad to see that Axel and Rena found happiness by the end, but it seemed to escalate too quickly. This book took place over the course of about a month, leading up to Valentine's Day, so I was shocked that it ended with an engagement.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review!
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