Probably The Best Kiss In The World.
Probably The Best Kiss In The World
By Pernille Hughes
An unwanted engagement, a handsome stranger and beer!
Book Review, no spoilers I swear!
Published: One More Chapter (June 2019) Out in both ebook and paperback.
I was out searching on amazon's kindle store to look for a sweet, funny, and swoon-worthy romance when I came across this little gem of a book. To me it ticked all the bloody boxes. Pernille Hughes is an author I haven't come across before so I wasn't sure what to expect from the author but I can tell you now that this book was exactly what I was looking for. But before I delve into this book further and give you my thoughts, how about I give you an idea of what it's actually about...
The Blurb:
Jen Attison likes her life Just So. But being fished out of a canal in Copenhagen by her knickers is definitely NOT on her to do list.
From cinnamon swirls to a spontaneous night of laughter and fireworks, Jen’s city break with the girls takes a turn for the unexpected because of her gorgeous, mystery rescuer.
Back home, Jen faces a choice. A surprise proposal from her boyfriend, ‘boring’ Robert has offered Jen the safety net she always thought she wanted.
But with the memories of her Danish adventure proving hard to forget, maybe it’s time for Jen to stop listening to her head and start following her heart…
Thoughts:
This was a cracking little book that explores love, loss, grief, family and taking chances. Although it has a slow start and it takes a while before Jen meets her stranger, there is an establishment of the relationship between Jen and her sister, her friends and the long-term boyfriend Robert. It's important that these relationships are established early on so that as a reader we can see the development and the understanding of how these characters will interact with Jen as well as influence her story. I really liked the relationships between Jen and the people close to her especially as the relationships aren't smooth going but has its bums in the road which gave the story line a realistic feel.
As the story follows Jen who is strictly all plans and lists but has a passion of beer brewing, and dreams of opening her own brewery, Jen isn't exactly living the dream. Working a job she loaths while her dreams remain dreams. Following sensibility is what she does, being spontaneous is not an option especially since her parent's tragic death and she became guardian to her younger sister Lydia.
Jen is in a relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Robert who is mister boring but guaranteed a safe future with. When Robert pops the question to Jen its almost as if she owes it to him to say yes. Which is certainly not something you should do and Lydia is anything but quiet about. When they go to Copenhagen for the weekend for Jen's hen do the last thing she expects to do is come across a very handsome and charming stranger who pulls her out of the canal when she falls in. Meeting the man named Yakob changes Jen's life as the chemistry between them is undoubtedly swoon-worthy!! And the kiss! oh my it was probably the best kiss scene I have ever read and boy have I read some amazing kiss scenes.
But its just that. A kiss. One spectacular kiss that happened only the one time. But a kiss Jen cannot stop thinking about but then there is Robert and the guilt of what she did on that weekend.
I loved the character development of Jen who although I found frustrating at times as she made a lot of mistakes, I understood that Jen had to go through a lot in order to finally realise what she wants. Lydia was another character who I felt was beautifully represented. Lydia being someone who grabs life by the balls and doesn't apologise for how she chooses to live is fun and inspiring to read about that I would gladly read a sequel of Lydia and her adventures.
Another thing I loved about this book is that there was a florist, this I loved as I was a florist for four years, although my florist was much more colder and we had to wear 5 layers of clothes if we wanted to stay warm but thats besides the point. The point is that Hughes highlights the troubles that come with owning a local, independent shop and the lack of a bustling high street which is something I know all to well about. Showing that it is important to support your local high street.
Overall, I found this books to be everything it said it would be, it was sweet, fun, heart warming and brimming with romance. I loved how Jen was a character that wasn't one dimensional but had multiple sides that made her a realistic and relevant character. If you like Sophie Kinsella or Holly Martin then I'm sure you will like this book.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5* I loved it but felt like there was something missing from it to be a 4. (opinions my own) Although, after reading this I would most definitely read more from this author! So how about you go and check it out if it sounds like your kind of story!
After all tomorrow is another day spent reading,
Till next time,
Phoebe x