Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Kiss the Girl
SERIES: Soho Loft #1
AUTHOR: Melissa Brayden
PUBLISHER: Bold Strokes Books
LENGTH: 305 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2014
BLURB:
Sleeping with the enemy has never been so complicated.
Twenty-eight-year-old Brooklyn Campbell is having a bad day. A speeding ticket, a towed car, and a broken heel are all working against her laid-back vibe. To top it all off, her birth mother, whom she’s never met, has requested contact. The only bright spot is an impromptu date with a beautiful and mysterious brunette.
Jessica Lennox is what you would call a high-powered executive. She’s the head of a multimillion-dollar advertising firm in New York City, and it didn’t happen by accident. But when the blonde head turner from the wine bistro turns out to be her number one competitor, her life gets infinitely more complex.
Is New York big enough for both Brooklyn and Jessica? Maybe it’s just time they experienced it together…
REVIEW:
When discussing lesfic of the last five years, the most popular author among diehard fans would undoubtedly be Melissa Brayden. She had already written several now-classics before this book, the first in the much-loved “Soho Loft” series, and she has written over half a dozen more since. For many, this was their first favorite, and it is certainly one of her sharpest, funniest, most heartfelt stories so far.
While this begins as somewhat of an enemies-to-lovers romance between easy-breezy, laidback Brooklyn and structured, business-savvy Jessica, there’s too much sweetness for them to be rivals outside the workplace for long. As they go head-to-head with competing advertising campaigns, they melt when they’re alone, and their chemistry is undeniable. But the story gets really good when Brooklyn, who is cagey about her past even with her best friends, invites Jessica to go meet her birth mother, and things don’t go very well. These two women are opposites in temperament, but somehow, they always figure out what the other one truly needs.
I tend to get bored with contemporary love stories from other, less-capable authors, but Brayden manages to make the most mundane situations funny, colorful, and memorable. One of the best ways she does that is through her supporting characters. We fall in love with Brooklyn’s friends Sam, Hunter, and Mallory from the moment we meet them. They all feel distinct and fun in their own ways, and it makes us all excited for the rest of the books in the series from their points of view. Brayden is really good at writing supporting characters in general, giving them all a chance to shine without overpowering the main duo.
Dee, who is both a guest reviewer here on Love Bytes and a familiar face in the lesfic community, gave the book an excellent rating in 2014, and I wholeheartedly agree! This is just an awesome story with a strong romance and loveable characters. It definitely stands up to time, and I can see myself revisiting it again and again when I need a true comfort read.
RATING: 
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