Title: Stolen Kisses
Author: Annie Rains
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept
Date of publication: October 3rd, 2017
Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Number of pages: 265
POV: 3rd person
Series: Blushing Bay
Forbidden Kisses – Book 1 (review here)
Stolen Kisses – Book 2
Kissing in the Rain – Book 2.5 (short story)
Where you can find Stolen Kisses: Barnes and Noble | Amazon
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
Krista Nelson loves being a pediatric nurse. What she doesn’t love is her demanding boss and stressful workload. Fortunately, Krista knows she can count on a water-front happy hour every Wednesday with her childhood best friend, Noah Sawyer, the one part of her life she never wants to change. But, like it or not, things are changing—because Krista can’t stop wondering what would happen if she grabbed Noah by the collar and kissed him like it was her job.
Bored of the superficial women he’s been dating, Noah’s putting his love life on hold so he can focus on his family’s high-end fishing business. Sure, there are moments when he’s tempted by Krista’s soft lips and killer smile—but her friendship is too important to Noah. How could he let himself jeopardize everything they share? The trouble is, if he doesn’t take the real risk of opening his heart, Noah might just let the perfect catch get away.
Trigger Warning: None
My review:
Stolen Kisses tugged at my heart-strings. I wasn’t ready to enjoy this book as much as I did. Also figuring in my surprise is that the sophomore books in a series usually aren’t as good as the first books. It’s like the author’s creative juices got sucked up by the first one. Then when writing the second one, they were doing enough to get by. Let me make it clear that Stolen Kisses is not such a case. The author had plenty of creative juice to write this book.
The plotline of Stolen Kisses was pretty straightforward. It is a story about two best friends who finally fall for each other. There are some drama and tears in realizing that they want each other and that they were in love with each other. It was that story that made it so much fun to read.
Stolen Kisses is most definitely a romance. Everything about this book screamed it. The storyline reflected it. What also made this book so good to read is that there was nothing else to distract from the plot line. I do like it when books are multi-genre, but sometimes I need a good romance that I can sink my teeth into. I got that with Stolen Kisses.
Krista was the main reason I started reading the book. I couldn’t imagine crushing on my best friend and having to hide it. I liked that she was a pediatric nurse who loved her job. My oldest was hospitalized when she was 2 1/2 months old and I had the most miserable nurse…ever. So, when I read the Krista loved her job, I started to love her a teeny bit. I completely loved her when she decided to face her feelings for Noah. I did a mental version of a fist pump when she did that.
I liked Noah but wish that he had realized his feeling for Krista sooner. I also wish that he had gotten over his chip on his shoulder and his near miss a tad bit sooner too. I was a little surprised when he didn’t tell Krista what happened in college. His relationship with Krista’s brother was hilarious. My cheeks hurt from giggle fits as I was reading their interactions. From now on, I will never think of the phrase “supersonic hearing” the same way. I also liked the dynamics in his relationships with his own brothers. It reminded me of the way I interact with my sisters.
Noah and Krista have a lot of sex. It did take them a while to get to that moment but when they did, they were like bunnies. All over the cabin and using the spiky condoms that were part of a bridal gift for Grace and Jack. They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other and that was super hot.
I don’t have any complaints that will take points off of my review. I do think it was unfair to end the epilogue where it ended. If there is a book 3 (please let Abby and Sam have their time!!), I will have to wait until then to find out what happened.
The end of the book was everything that I thought it would be. Like I said above, I can’t wait to read book 3!!
4 stars
My Summary of Stolen Kisses:
Stolen Kisses is a sweet romance that will sweep you away. I couldn’t get enough of Krista and Noah’s story. This has to be one of my favorite books that I have read to date!!
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and sex
I would like to thank Annie Rains, Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept and NetGalley for allowing me to review Stolen Kisses
All opinions expressed in this review of Stolen Kisses are mine and mine alone
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**