Book Blog--KISS ME AGAIN by Rachel Vail

Charlie Collins doesn't know what to do about Kevin Lazarus, her crush and, awkwardly, her new stepbrother. Things were complicated enough when their parents were only dating and when Kevin was going out with Charlie's best friend, Tess. Now, post-wedding, Charlie and Kevin are crossing paths and crossing lines, and then they have to eat breakfast . . . together.

If only Charlie could get some time away from Kevin and her annoyingly happy and strange stepfamily, she might be able to deal. Yet first she has to make things right with George, her sort-of boyfriend, and Tess, whose trust she broke. But while Charlie struggles to be the perfect friend and daughter, at the end of the day Kevin is the one waiting for her at home. Would it really be so bad if they kissed again?

It's Valentine's week, so I wanted to throw a little romance into the mix!  KISS ME AGAIN is a fresh, funny look at what it means to be in love and what it's like to start a new family, and how to blend the two.  Or not.  There were a couple of passages where I laughed out loud (mostly recognizing myself in the scenes where Charlie is training for her new job as a barista in an independent coffee house), a couple of passages where I cried and through the entire book, I wondered if Charlie and Kevin could pull off a romantic relationship as well as living in the same house as new step-siblings.  Vail has a talent for writing tension on every page and this book definitely kept me turning them.