One Little Kiss - Kaylee Baldwin

Date of Reading: 30/09/2018

Author: Kaylee Baldwin

Publisher: Suite Sisters Publishing

Publication Year: 2018

Source: I am a Reader 

Rating: 5/5

About the book:

Tessa has her future planned to perfection. First get into medical school and become a doctor like everyone else in her family—despite her queasiness around blood. Second meet and marry someone who is just as successful as her brother—the new, handsome doctor in her ward will be just right. And last, prove to her brother that, despite what he thinks, she has it all together. Easy, right? Except that she’s just been called to be the ward road show director for the upcoming stake singles activity, a distraction she doesn’t need. And when a mix-up means that she’s partnered with her bug-eating, the seventies dressing home teacher? It’s a disaster with a capital D, and she knows that no one in her family can ever find out about this.

As a PhD student studying insects, Henry White has had his fair share of girls try to change him into someone more socially acceptable—including his ex-fiancé. When his sister convinces him to join the singles ward for his last year of school, he decides to play up his oddness in order to keep the singles at a distance. When he begins to work with Tessa on the road show, he finds that she’s managed to get past his defences. One little stage kiss is all it takes to make him question everything. But then his ex-fiancé comes home from her mission with one goal in mind: win Henry back, no matter what it takes.

Tessa is soon faced with a choice. Go for the perfect life she’s always pushed herself to have or find the courage to look past appearances and figure out what she really wants.  

My Review:

       This is the second book I am reading of Kaylee Baldwin and she has thoroughly outsmarted the first one so far. It also marks my first experience with LDS fiction and had me glued to the Kindle the whole time. The perfect weekend read to curl up on your couch!

       The premise is something that can be easily related by anyone who works in the field of arts and literature. We are always looked down by the scientific minds and there are many like Tessa who is swallowed by the pressure to opt for something like the medical field. I get it, in arts fame is hard to earn. By the time you get a proper recognition you might be well beyond your youthful days and the ones that you want to impress (your parents and of course the meddling relatives) may not even be there. Since your only consolation is going to be the pleasure that you derive from your work, it is not surprising that most opt to disregard their heart in pursuit of money. One sure needs inspirational stories like these compelling to chase our dreams however unconventional they might be.

       The other prominent theme Baldwin handles throughout is judging someone by their appearance. Isn't this one of the worst flaws of humanity? The one I doubt we will ever recover from. Henry is the embodiment of this idea but Baldwin seems to be reluctant in taking this idea too far. He is shabby with zero fashion sense but that doesn't mean he is not handsome. He is the prince, impersonating the frog for some time. And as readers, we are happy with his appearance since we know what lies underneath. How shallow that can be? Will we be interested in the story if the hero was ugly but intelligent? Obviously, it will go to award books basket, but I wonder whether it can be a light, funny romance.

         Well, as you can see this book had me thinking about so many things. A hard to put down swoon-worthy romance that will make you smile and your thinking caps heating up. Highly recommended!!!

Meet the author:

A glamorous day in the life of Kaylee Baldwin includes: chasing after her four children, checking for a new season of Serial, writing her latest book, binge-watching reality cooking shows, hanging out with her husband, and reading in every spare second she can find. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in English lit and currently lives in southern Arizona with her family.

Her books include the Whitney Finalist Meg's Melody, Hearts in Peril, a story in the Timeless Romance Anthology: California Dreamin' which was recently translated into Norwegian, and Take a Chance on Me. You can follow her on Instagram @kayleebaldwinwrites.