Review: Unforgettable Kiss

REVIEW: From the first kiss to last, the path to true love doesn’t necessarily run smooth. Raini Blue is enduring a shift in the coffee shop attached to the bookstore where she works when the newly elected mayor, Tre LaSalle, walks in. As much as Raini doesn’t want to react to Tre’s handsome face and effortlessly smooth demeanour, she can’t stop the teen girl she used to be, who had a huge crush on one of the coolest boys in school, from blooming to life. The boy with whom she shared her first kiss, who she thought genuinely liked her, and who treated her like she was invisible the very next day. Consequently, no matter how good he still looks or how interested in her he again seems to be, Raini is determined to keep her head on straight and not fall under his spell again. The best laid plans…. The connection between Tre and Raini is too strong and they start seeing each other but their union is tested. Raini is an artist with a complicated past who currently lives a down-to-earth but avant-garde life that doesn’t mesh so easily with Tre’s more posh, professional and familial one. As they move down the road of a relationship they are confronted with potholes and detours that threaten their happily ever after.

The pace of UNFORGETTABLE KISS is great. Raini and Tre connect within the first five pages and Ms. Love moves the relationship between the two at a nice clip but in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or unbelievable. Throughout the story she weaves present and past effortlessly, providing character information and backstory without it being jarring or causing the narrative to become disjointed.

From Raini’s bestie, Royalty, to her artist colleagues in the French Market – Pierre and Lila – to Tre’s eight-year-old daughter, Tracie, and, of course, the two leads, every character in the novel is well written. They are all genuine and the relationships and conversations between them natural and believable. In the case of Tre, at times, he is written with perhaps a little too much realism, since at times his somewhat domineering manner required a few cleansing breaths for my part but, nobody’s perfect.

All in all, UNFORGETTABLE KISS is a good, fun novel. The story has depth, passion, and romance. Neither the heroine nor hero are without their flaws but that helps you to care for them even more. Normally I don’t enjoy books written in first person narrative but in this case, I think it adds to the whole feel of the story in a positive way. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Royalty but with regard to UNFORGETTABLE KISS, I would say, is a definite buy.

7th May 2020 | romcol@caribsurf.com