The Holiday Kiss by Maggie Dallen

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Title: The Holiday Kiss
Author: Maggie Dallen
Series: Briarwood High #4
Published by: Indie
Release Date: May 25th 2018
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 165
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Holiday
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER With Friends
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

When an uptight nerd is forced to spend her holiday vacation with a cocky jock...well, let's just say Christmas at the beach has never been so hot.

With early acceptance to Harvard under her belt and graduation just months away, life is good for Maya Rivero. She's ready to celebrate Christmas in Mexico with her mother, like every year, leaving behind the Briarwood classmates who've never understood her. She can't wait to say adios to Luke Perona, in particular. Archnemesis, captain of the swim team, and all-around arrogant jerk, he's become more of a nuisance than ever now that her mom has befriended Luke's newly divorced mother. They've become such good friends, in fact, that Maya's mother feels compelled to invite the entire Perona family to join them on vacation. Including Luke.

Her vacation is ruined with one fateful invite. But when these two polar opposites are forced to spend time together outside the confines of Briarwood High, the truth becomes startlingly clear. They have more in common than they'd thought. In fact...these long-time rivals might even like each other. And it only takes one major holiday, two meddling mothers, and an epic holiday kiss to make them see it.

Each Briarwood High novel is a completely standalone romance and they can be read in any order.

My Review:

4.5 stars — Wow, I think Ms. Dallen has a formula.  As with The Candy Cane Kiss, I was dismayed with the attitude and inner thoughts of Luke at the beginning of this story.  He was…not nice.  He was seriously insensitive (probably from being a bit self-involved), and hence a bit of a bully and a douchebag.  It’s like, I get what Ms. Dallen is trying to do with these characters, make them realistic teenagers subject to cliques and all the harshness of high school…but I kind of hated that there wasn’t really much of a glimmer of more to him in those moments…it made the transition feel rushed, and I had a hard time buying it.  Though obviously I did in the end.

In the end I honestly don’t understand how this author sucks me in and has me completely wrapped up in the story with that kind of beginning…but I was!!  I was soooo invested.  I think it’s because Luke truly does confront his mean aspects and the consequences of the things that he (and his friends) say and do.  And he really does think about it.  I mean, sure, the only reason he gives it a chance is because he sees a different version of Maya and he’s attracted…but he gets there all the same.  He pursues it because he’s confused by it and he wants to understand her and her experiences.  That was genuine.

And then there’s Maya!  Wow, what an interesting character.  Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s on the autism spectrum, what with her difficulty dealing with emotions and connecting with others.  I kind of loved the fact that we really got to see into her brain, and how she saw the world and interpreted it.  I loved seeing how her cold persona was a result of not wanting to deal with strong emotions, and thus closing herself.  Fascinating (especially for a girl who is the exact opposite, and totally overly emotional).

I really loved the way their relationship evolved…and how they managed to connect with one another through all that hostility, because of being forced together (sort of).  I really felt their chemistry, and I loved hearing about how it was more than just physical (kissing), and how they started to get to know one another and what made the other one tick.

Part of me wouldn’t have minded if we’d also gotten to see a bit more of the reactions of the kids at school to this new development.  Did Luke just ditch his friends, or did he win them over?

But yeah…other than a shaky start, I really ended up loving this one.  I think I’ll just have to keep Ms. Allen’s style in mind for future books so that I make sure I keep reading even if I’m worried about a character.  It’s not ideal, but I’ll take it.