Can you ever really outrun your past?
Krissy Mullins, an overworked, obsessive-compulsive publicist has been giving it her best shot for the past ten years. Throwing herself into her work and devoting all her time to her teenage starlet client, Krissy finds little time for anything else. But as fate would have it, her world is turned upside down when she falls in love with laid-back California native, Ben Torres. Unfortunately, her only frame of reference on love and marriage is her parents and they weren’t exactly the poster children for a happy relationship.
As Krissy attempts to navigate the precarious world of love, acceptance, and compromise, her past comes flooding back like she never expected. An ex-boyfriend returns from a life she has tried to forget, stirring up feelings in Krissy she had thought were long gone. Pulled in opposite directions as her past and present collide, she makes a rash decision that will forever change her life
Krissy Mullins, an overworked, obsessive-compulsive publicist has been giving it her best shot for the past ten years. Throwing herself into her work and devoting all her time to her teenage starlet client, Krissy finds little time for anything else. But as fate would have it, her world is turned upside down when she falls in love with laid-back California native, Ben Torres. Unfortunately, her only frame of reference on love and marriage is her parents and they weren’t exactly the poster children for a happy relationship.
As Krissy attempts to navigate the precarious world of love, acceptance, and compromise, her past comes flooding back like she never expected. An ex-boyfriend returns from a life she has tried to forget, stirring up feelings in Krissy she had thought were long gone. Pulled in opposite directions as her past and present collide, she makes a rash decision that will forever change her life
My Rating: Kiss Me Now (3.5 stars)
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction
Steam Level: warm
A story of love, loss, and the consequences of decisions
that will grab your attention from the prologue. This is Kristin’s story, it’s
the story of her life, of her mistakes, of her compassion, and ultimately of
her happy ending that is a long time in the making.
I loved that the author spent some time in the
first few chapters to explain Kristin’s past and personality, why she is the
way she is. It really helped me as a reader to better understand and relate to
her as the story progressed. I don’t want to say too much about the plot
because I don’t want to give anything away. Kristin is happy with her relationship
with Ben until the past and present collide and then things and people start to
fall apart.
“Even though I know without reservation that
Ben is damaged, I can’t bring myself to bear anyone else’s burden, too. So the
past stays silent.”
This book is not so much angsty as it is frustrating, but
in a good way…I think. My feelings are all over the place upon finishing; I
loved parts of it and hated parts. It’ll definitely make you want to bitch slap
the heroine a time or ten. I actually liked her but just go so frustrated that
she knew exactly how wrong everything was but didn’t try to change anything until
it reaches a ridiculously horrendous level. And when you finally think Kristin
has learned her lesson and is ‘free’, the past heartbreakingly repeats itself.
Again.
“You do need to move on, but are you moving
in the right direction?”
To an extent I understood why Kristin made some of the
decisions she did, she was raised in a home that showed NO love so she doesn’t
know what real love is supposed to look like. Only after she had lost it and
replaced it with something much worse did she realize what she had and had
thrown away. She really wants a normal, happy life but is afraid of it at the
same time.
I loved Ben and my heart really hurt for him through a
lot of this story. He is one of those rare people that truly has a pure heart
and is able to put any jealously or anger aside and just help whoever needs it and does it selflessly.
“He (Ben) is the kindest, gentlest, and
sweetest person I know. He’s perfect, perfectly wonderful. And I’m pretty sure
he loves me. It is killing me.”
And then Tyler, Kristen’s ex-boyfriend from a past she is
trying to forget comes into the picture. I never really understood her complete all-consuming obsession with Tyler. Their relationship was volatile but passionate;
it was unequal and unhealthy most of the time. For example:
“I feel myself becoming obsessed with him
(Tyler) and wanting to please him, something I’ve never had any desire to do,
but here I am thinking about how I can make him love me more.”
The writing was beautiful and the descriptions really
made me feel what the characters were feeling, but there were a few parts where
I thought too much detail was given and there was a lot of repetition making
the book feel a bit lengthy. We get a swoon worth HEA in the end but after all
of the heartache and frustration I really needed to see more happy. It came on so quickly that it felt rushed and left me a
little unsatisfied.
Overall an entertaining and frustratingly heartbreaking
read about love, mistakes, and
finding happiness.
A Life More Complete is Ms. Young's first novel and can't wait to see what she does in the future!
A Life More Complete is Ms. Young's first novel and can't wait to see what she does in the future!
An ARC was kindly
provided for an honest review.
Author Bio:
Nikki Young was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago where she still currently lives with her husband and two boys. She is a third grade teacher and spends her days forcing her love of reading and writing onto a group of poor unsuspecting eight year old.
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~ERIN
Thanks so much for the review. I appreciate all the book love! XO
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