A Kiss By Design
Kiss & Tell #1
ARC provided to facilitate this review
What's a girl to do when her best friend is making a mistake? Stop him, of course.
College sophomore Emily Dilbert has been best friends with Dylan Chamberlain since they were kids. All she wants is for him to be happy and she knows him better than anyone. That's why when she finds an engagement ring in his backpack she has to stop him from marrying the wrong girl.
Dylan Chamberlain has been in love with his brother's girlfriend, Emily, since the second grade. When his brother asks for help planning a surprise proposal, Dylan knows it's time to bury his feelings and finally let Emily go. Too bad his heart refuses to cooperate. All of Emily's attempts to lure Dylan away from his girlfriend fail, forcing her to turn up the heat on their friendship. Will Dylan reveal his long-buried secret and tell Emily how he feels? Or will Emily be forced to use any means necessary to show him the error of his ways?
**Sigh** What a sweet story Christy Hayes has given us. I hadn’t read any of her previous work, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. The blurb sounded interesting, so I wanted to give it a go, and I’m glad I did.
Dylan and Emily have been best friends since second grade. Dylan has been in love with her pretty much the entire time. Unfortunately for Dylan, Emily has been dating his older brother, Zach, for the past five years.
All hell breaks loose when Zach decides to ask Emily to marry him, and asks Dylan to hold the ring for him until he’s ready to pop the question. Of course, Emily finds the ring, and the scheming and hijinks ensue.
During Emily’s escapades to make sure her best friend doesn’t make a huge mistake and ask someone he barely knows to marry him, she begins to come to grips with the depth of her feelings for him, and becomes aware of his feelings for her in the process.
I really enjoyed this story. It was fun, sweet, and…well, I want to say “fluffy”, but can I say that without sounding condescending? I hope so. While their situation was complicated, and sometimes intense, this read was light on the drama and angst, and was just right for a lazy weekend read.
Christy Hayes’ writing is such that we really can feel the emotion from the characters (seriously, Emily was making me anxious! LOL), but it’s not a “heavy” read, where you’re getting bogged down by them. There were plenty of light, funny moments to even out the tone of the book, and the secondary characters added a great dimension to the story.
If you’re looking for a fun, escapist, New Adult read, I definitely recommend this one. I’m anxious for the next book in the series, as I’m anxious to learn what happens to the “brother that was left behind”. There’s definitely more story there! I look forward to reading more of Christy Hayes’ work!
Giveaway!
Meet Christy Hayes
Christy Hayes lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children, and two dogs. She has a journalism degree from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). She’s a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Women’s Fiction chapter of Romance Writers of America, and the Contemporary Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America. Christy has been writing seriously since 2004 and made the decision to indie publish in 2011. When not working on her next novel, Christy can be found walking her dogs through her neighborhood or at one of her kids sporting events.
Connect with the Author: Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Website | Goodreads
Thanks for the great review, Mo! So excited to be on your site!
Christy Hayes recently posted…Welcome to my new website!
Thank you for this giveaway!!