Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach

3 Star

When Leila discovers the Web site Red Pill, she feels she has finally found people who understand her. A sheltered young woman raised by her mother, Leila has often struggled to connect with the girls at school; but on Red Pill, a chat forum for ethical debate, Leila comes into her own, impressing the Web site's founder, a brilliant and elusive man named Adrian. Leila is thrilled when Adrian asks to meet her, flattered when he invites her to be part of "Project Tess." Tess is a woman Leila might never have met in real life. She is beautiful, urbane, witty, and damaged. As they e-mail, chat, and Skype, Leila becomes enveloped in the world of Tess, learning every single thing she can about this other woman—because soon, Leila will have to become her. 

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Sabrina-Kate - 3 Star

What a strange book. When I thought about how to review it, that is the first thing that came to mind and stayed there consistently. I can't say I disliked the book but I definitely didn't love it. The characters were definitely strange types though I can see them existing in real life however they would not be people who would interest me in reality.

I struggled to read Kiss Me First many times though I was very compelled to continue at other times which was odd for me. Usually I am very much one way or the other in regards to a book but this one was very up and down. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster reading this book but it definitely wasn't due to excitement unfortunately.

I do have to commend Moggach on writing a book with a character that obviously had a lot of issues, perhaps even agoraphobia, but definitely was socially inept. It must be challenging to write a character into life that embodies characteristics of that type and she was well formulated.

Kiss Me First did gather momentum around 2/3 of the way through, and I did enjoy the last bit quite a lot. I also feel that the conclusion was satisfactory as I was at a loss as to how it could be tied up. But the fact still remains that despite the good ending and the quality writing, the lag of action at the beginning just made it less than it could have been. This novel was interesting and perhaps some people will love it but it just missed something essential for me.

Thank you to Random House Canada for our review copy. All opinions are our own. 

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