Publisher: Walker
Pages: 400pgs
The Story
Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. And they've always agreed on one goal: to get out of tiny Paris, Texas, and see the world. The school's foreign exchange program seems like the perfect escape: Piper will go to the original Paris; Mei will go to China; Cassidy will go to Australia; and Izzy, unable to afford the program, will stay at home. To add spice to their semester away, and to stay connected to their best friends, the girls start The International Kissing Club, a Facebook page where they can anonymously update one another and brag about all the amazing guys they're meeting. After all, these girls are traveling abroad: amazing guys abound at every turn! But sometimes fun, flirty vacation flings turn into more serious romances, and sometimes you don't return from abroad the same person you were. Will the girls' relationships-and their friendships-be able to survive?
The Review
A big thanks to Bloomsbury Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!
A big thanks to Bloomsbury Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!
Reminding me of the likes of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and Anna and the French Kiss, Ivy Adams's - a pseudonym for three different female authors - THE INTERNATIONAL KISSING CLUB is the kind of read you're either going to really love or really hate. Unfortunately for this light and girly read I was the reader who just couldn't get into this book no matter how hard I tried to. While I do appreciate the different character perspectives offered by these three different authors, but the book itself just wasn't something I would normally read nor usually enjoy as much my other preferred contemporary YA books. But I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a review copy of the book anyway because I liked reading something a little out of my own comfort zone.
Personally this book had a lot of problems. At with me. For the majority of the book I quite often found the characters were a little too cliche for my own liking (especially with the romance parts) and most of them I just couldn't relate to . . . to put it simply for you. It also didn't help that the book was really slowly paced, which dragged down the entire storyline as sad as it is. Though, what I did enjoy and eventually came to like, was one of the girl's perspectives - that being Mei's perspective, who'd offered some funny moments here and there. But other than that, this book just wasn't for me.
Overall, while this book didn't do much for me but for a light, fluffy and a very girly read, I think THE INTERNATIONAL KISSING CLUB would appeal to those readers of a younger audience, especially for those who enjoy reading about light romances, travelling, and the friendships we cannot ever forget in our lives.
The Rating
1/5 stars
Ahh you had me quite excited at the mention of Anna and the French Kiss (a book that I adored!), but then I'm not too fond of clichéd characters or an excessive slow pace. It's a shame this didn't work for you, but lovely honest review, Erin!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam. I wished the book worked for me but . . . sadly it didn't. :/
DeleteI think that this book is targeted more at younger teens and ones that love cliche romances and contemporaries. I also got excited at the mention of Anna and the french kiss because I put that contemporary novel in the top of my favorites list.
ReplyDeletesad this wasn't that great, but all the issues you had I am sure I will have.
great review,
- Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf
Thank Juhina! I think it's more a younger teen book as well which is probably why I didn't like it.
DeleteThis kinds me a little of "I made lattes for a love god"...I think you mentioned you didn't quite like it? Anyway, I'm not a big fan of cliched characters but somtimes if I'm in the mood for a light and fluffy read, I might enjoy them. I'll probably pass this one up but thanks for the honest review Erin!<3
ReplyDeleteYeah 'I Made Lattes for a Love God' had the same vibe as this book here . . . both books were just 'meh' reads but I can see people who like the fluffy reads will totally love this book. It just wasn't for me sadly. Thanks Shirley!
DeleteI definitely don't think this book is for me. I find cliched characters so cringey that the book is just painful to read! Sorry you didn't enjoy it, but glad you liked reading something out of your comfort zone. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI like books out of my comfort zone but yeah . . . this book just wasn't for me. I tried to like it but couldn't. Thanks Liz!
DeleteI'm so sorry that you didn't enjoy this book. I have an ARC of this but never got around to reading it. It looks like something a middle grader would enjoy much more. Thanks for the honest review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristina!
ReplyDelete