Kiss Crush Collide

May 09, 2012 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was so very excited to read this book because it was compared to the likeness of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles! But it wasn’t.

I had a hard time feeling anything toward the main character Leah. She is a girl that has everything that she could ever want and more. Sure her parents have expectations for her, I feel so bad that her parents loved her enough to want the best for her. In case that didn’t come across as sarcastic, it was meant to be. Leah’s parents weren’t perfect but I didn’t fe...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Crystal rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Oh where to even start?? I really had high hopes for this one, I mean just look at that cover! Unfortunately the contents of the book does not live up to the awesomeness that is that cover.

Characters...well there really isn't much to say about any of them. Even Leah the main character is still a mystery to me except for the fact that she hates the life that is being handed to her on a silver platter. I understand wanting more out of your life but I mean come on she didn't have to study, she had...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, arc, read-in-2011

Just couldn't get into this book. I won't be reviewing it on my blog but it just wasn't for me.

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Jun 03, 2012 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. How many times have we seen this story?

Leah is perfect; perfect body, perfect grades, perfect parents, perfect sisters, perfect friends, perfect boyfriend, perfect activities, perfect life, blah, blah, blaahhhhh. Then comes the boy from the "wrong side of the tracks" who makes her open her eyes to her cardboard existence, the boy no one in her life will approve of, the boy she lurves. Sound familiar?

I think the most ridiculous part of this story is that the love interest, Jon Duffy, is only gu...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Tee loves Kyle Jacobson added it

Shelves: december-2011

This book is a must read!!! Shot December please come :)

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Jun 26, 2012 Alex Bennett added it

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I don’t know quite what I was expecting with Kiss Crush Collide. It was being compared to both John Green and Simone Elkeles in the blurb I read for it, so of course I wanted to give it a try since I love John Green and have heard great things about Simone Elkeles. Unfortunately, however, I was just disappointed by Kiss Crush Collide.

The story in Kiss Crush Collide really isn’t anything special...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Rose rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, romance, ya-winter-challenge-4-2011, young-adult, pretty-cover, great-premise-lacking-execution, tbr-challenge

Lesson learned from "Kiss Crush Collide" - vivid, telling descriptions do not make a cohesive story between two characters, especially if your two primary leads are about as interesting as watching paint dry. No, I wouldn't say they're that uninteresting, but I don't think they ever realized their full potential to make the work amount to more than what it offered. It didn't live up to the description of the book all that much.

The cover of this, in my opinion, is breathtakingly beautiful. I coul...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: other

Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

(3.5 stars)

Rich, beautiful, bright and girlfriend to an elite; Leah Johnson has it all - or that's what it seems like on the outside. With two perfect sisters, Leah's expected to follow in their footsteps, becoming Homecoming Queen, the school Valedictorian and leading a grand, successful life after high school. Kiss Crush Collide isn't as much a romance as it is a contemporary about growing up, learning to stand up for yourself and finding your ow...more Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

(3.5 stars)

Rich, beautiful, bright and girlfriend to an elite; Leah Johnson has it all - or that's what it seems like on the outside. With two perfect sisters, Leah's expected to follow in their footsteps, becoming Homecoming Queen, the school Valedictorian and leading a grand, successful life after high school. Kiss Crush Collide isn't as much a romance as it is a contemporary about growing up, learning to stand up for yourself and finding your own purpose in life. As a porter catches Leah by surprise with his impulse and passion, she learns what she wants and what she's willing to do to get it.

Leah's transformation as a character is the novel's main focus. Throughout the book, you'll see her belittled by her family and completely unhappy with her moulded life - it's tough! The story will ring true with some, while it'll be thought-provoking to others. Christina Meredith writes this very well, as Leah's emotions jump out of the pages and have you crossing your fingers for her freedom. Leah's quite likeable because we see her vulnerability and kind heart. She's aware that everything is effortless for her - boys, grades, looks, friends - and is ashamed that everyone else has to try so hard. No popular brat will you find here!

While she tries to avoid getting intimate with her boyfriend, Shane, as much as possible, no one is more surprised than Leah when she ends up kissing Porter on the fairway soon after they first meet. He ignites something in her she's never felt before and she's addicted to the feeling of being carefree and able to do whatever she wants. I loved every single scene where Porter drove by in a borrowed car, teasing Leah and taking her to random spots. They're sweet together, though I was a bit saddened that the romance wasn't more prominent. It's a small element of the book, I would say, so the comparison to Perfect Chemistry on the back cover doesn't really make sense! Other than the "forbidden love" part.........

Overall, Kiss Crush Collide endorses the idea of going after your own wants but disappointingly isn't the epic romance the synopsis makes it out to be. However, the subtle and slow romance paired with the realistic family issues make the book a pleasant experience. It would've earned more points if the characterisation had been more in-depth, but there are several moments to be appreciated throughout the book! Give it a go and you might find yourself loving it. (less)

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May 05, 2013 Abbie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, ya-romance, ya-contemporary, reading-from-a-z, never-read-again

KISS.
CRUSH.
COLLIDE.

I'm sorry but for me it was just okay. I thought I'd get into it because of Leah's family dysfunctions but I really just ended up getting bored and skimming through a few parts. I tried to like Leah and Duffy's relationship but it happened too quickly for me. It was instant love. They met, had sex, and formed a relationship just like that. There was no development or courtship. It was all purely physical.

Leah wasn't even that likable. I couldn't relate to her at all. She had e...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Ariel rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I first decided to read this book, I thought I would be getting something great, that was not the case here. The book was never coherent enough for me to keep up with. I could never tell when I was in the present, or past. I couldn't even get to like the characters because of the way that the book was written.The story was a good idea, but it just was not strong enough for me.
Leah is going through life by living the same exact life her two older sisters did and their mother. She meets a b...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Krissy P (Kris) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ya-contemporary

I would like to start this review by saying that I did not hate this book. The problem for me was that it's hard to really like a book when you despise the heroine who also happens to be the narrator of the story.

Leah is a spoiled rich little brat. She constantly whines about her life. She has the perfect life, home, boyfriend, sisters, family, etc. the list goes on, but she's just not satisfied with any of it. Her sisters are snotty, egotistical and self-absorbed bitches. Leah and her sisters a...more
I would like to start this review by saying that I did not hate this book. The problem for me was that it's hard to really like a book when you despise the heroine who also happens to be the narrator of the story.

Leah is a spoiled rich little brat. She constantly whines about her life. She has the perfect life, home, boyfriend, sisters, family, etc. the list goes on, but she's just not satisfied with any of it. Her sisters are snotty, egotistical and self-absorbed bitches. Leah and her sisters are micro-managed by the matriarch of the family, their capricious mother, who is nothing but a controlling shrew. Add their father, who by all means is a nice guy, but he is just sort of oblivious to everything going on around him. Leah's boyfriend Shane is your typical horny teenage boy, not necessarily a bad guy, but does seem like he wouldn't mind a little something from her sister, Freddie, on the side. Her mother is absolutely shameful around him. Her cougar claws are full force around Shane. She seems to care more for him than she does her own daughter.

It is appalling how Leah belittles her former friend, Valerie, about every aspect of the girl's personality and way of dressing. The more I got to know Leah, the less I liked her.

Leah meets Duffy, a porter who works at the country club her family goes to for dinner on Friday nights. She is instantly attracted to him but he is considered a bad boy and off limits and would not be accepted by her family. Let's get this straight. He's no bad boy. He parks cars at the country club for a living and likes to drive around in the members' cars. That's pretty vanilla considering they are comparing this book to Perfect Chemistry. Now the hero in that book is my definition of a bad boy. Duffy is to me, a nice guy, he falls for Leah, they start seeing each other on the sly. She cheats on Shane, sneaks away whenever possible so that she can meet up with Duffy. He eventually finds out she has a boyfriend and she is given an ultimatum, which seems perfectly reasonable to me. Leah must decide whether she will follow in her sisters' footsteps and continue the carefully planned out future her mother sees fit for her or will she finally stand up for herself and choose the boy and the life that she desires. (less)

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Jun 27, 2012 Lacey Weatherford rated it 3 of 5 stars

I neither loved nor hated this, but I liked it enough, I guess. I will say, after reading the other reviews for this book, that I think perhaps the beautiful cover, title, and back cover blurb, are wrong for this. It suggests to the reader that it is something other than what it is. I was expecting a hot, torrid, romance between two kids coming together from both sides of the track. It isn't that at all, and honestly, the guy is hardly in the story. I kept waiting for something to "happen," and...more I neither loved nor hated this, but I liked it enough, I guess. I will say, after reading the other reviews for this book, that I think perhaps the beautiful cover, title, and back cover blurb, are wrong for this. It suggests to the reader that it is something other than what it is. I was expecting a hot, torrid, romance between two kids coming together from both sides of the track. It isn't that at all, and honestly, the guy is hardly in the story. I kept waiting for something to "happen," and it never did.

That being said, there was a great message to the story that is inside. This book was more a coming into one's self kind of tale. I appreciated that the main character, Leah, could see that her life was not what she wanted it to be, and she could tell she was not going in any kind of direction to make it different. Her inner thoughts and dialog about what to do were hesitant, which is realistic for teens today who are often being pressured by outside choices.

What little bits of romance the story had was good, though I found it mildly distracting that the protagonist was often remembering what she did with people instead of actually experiencing it. That approach was weird for me because it left out all the build up, longing, and heart fluttering moments that make attraction stories so good. There was a killer love triangle in this tale that could've really been played up well, yet all the characters seemed content to stand by and do nothing about anything. Perhaps the author wished to portray that though, that everyone was kind of stuck on this revolving carousel that they didn't know how to get off of and they're all just going through the motions.

I really was excited to read this book, and even though it didn't turn out to be what I expected, it was well written and there is definitely potential there. I think the title, cover, and blurb, lead people astray though. I'd change those to fit the story and see if it got better reviews because people would know what to expect. This almost seems like a case of mis-advertising which isn't allowing the story to hit its proper target audience.(less)

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Jun 24, 2012 V.E. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: blah-blah-blah

I was going to put this one my was-reading-but-changed-my-mind list but the book was short enough that I had to create a blah-blah-blah list just for it. Seriously, this book read like a cheesy teen movie complete with the cliche one-sided characters and OMG melodramatic secrets that really weren't that dramatic (view spoiler)

And Leah's whining was just endlessly a...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Jing rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was in fact, extremely disappointing. I guess I was looking for a deep romance novel, and judging from the title and cover, I thought I found what I was looking for. But instead of a steamy romance, I got a shallow, unrealistic story of the two supposedly protagonists. This isn't a story of Leah and Duffy or Porter, whatever his name is, this is a story of a girl who's sick of walking in her sister's footprints. Given that, I still think it needs some work. The writing in general, is n...more

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Apr 02, 2012 BAYA Librarian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sisters Leah, Yorke, and Freddie are picture-perfect…beautiful, ambitious, competitive cheerleaders and valedictorians, just like their mother. Leah, the youngest, is expected to step into the Barbie shoes of her two older sisters who have set the mold for her as high school achievers, dating football stars who dress to match their cars.

Leah is shocked out of her cushy world when a sexy and swarthy valet at her family’s country club gets her attention and makes her doubt her commitment to becom...more Sisters Leah, Yorke, and Freddie are picture-perfect…beautiful, ambitious, competitive cheerleaders and valedictorians, just like their mother. Leah, the youngest, is expected to step into the Barbie shoes of her two older sisters who have set the mold for her as high school achievers, dating football stars who dress to match their cars.

Leah is shocked out of her cushy world when a sexy and swarthy valet at her family’s country club gets her attention and makes her doubt her commitment to becoming another cookie cut-out of her mother. The story of a girl breaking the mold and finding her own way unwinds and Leah learns to let go of the trappings of wealth, beauty, and achievement and pursue the cool “bad boy” from the other side of the tracks.

Leah’s only friend in this story, Valerie, is a dorky “runner up”, always coming in second place, maligned and berated by Leah throughout the story. Although they were close in grammar school, they grew apart as Leah began to perceive her social superiority over Valerie. Valerie’s impulses to help Leah and hang out with her all summer, despite Leah’s neglect and verbal abuse, are hard to understand. She seems driven to rekindle their childhood friendship despite the cruelty.

Unfortunately, Leah is unlikeable from start to finish and has few redeeming qualities (the same could be said for the sisters and mother). She’s dismissive, selfish, friendless, except for poor Valerie, and the reader may have more sympathy for all the people in her life that she disregards and disrespects. There doesn’t even seem to be a real connection between Leah and the valet; the sparks just don’t sizzle. The conflicts that could arise due to their social differences never get a chance to present themselves because the pace is so slow; the relationship has no trajectory and no resolution…is just skims along from page to page between Leah’s mood swings. If the reader can get past the one-dimensional, mechanical and unlikeable characters, there is some vitality to the story that keeps the momentum and can make for an enjoyable quick read, especially for a reluctant readers, but the lack of depth, meaningfulness and humor prevent this title from being strongly recommended. With some sexual situations and language, this book is more suitable for mature teens.

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Mar 20, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Kiss Crush Collide
by Christina Meredith
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780062062246
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 12/27/2011
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 132,138
Age range: 14 years
Product dimensions: 5.76 (w) x 8.54 (h) x 1.06 (d)
Summary:
When we meet Leah, she is a junior in high school. It is the end of the year and her sister is valedictorian, just like her sister before that. She has a cute boyfriend that plays on the football team, and her life is fairly predictable. All sh...more Kiss Crush Collide
by Christina Meredith
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780062062246
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 12/27/2011
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 132,138
Age range: 14 years
Product dimensions: 5.76 (w) x 8.54 (h) x 1.06 (d)
Summary:
When we meet Leah, she is a junior in high school. It is the end of the year and her sister is valedictorian, just like her sister before that. She has a cute boyfriend that plays on the football team, and her life is fairly predictable. All she has to do is follow in the same footsteps as her two older sisters. Her mother has orchestrated the family so that each girl knows exactly what is expected from them. Leah is not happy, but not altogether unhappy either, until they go to the club to have dinner and celebrate her sister’s achievements. At the club, Leah runs into a porter. When she sneaks away from her family, and drunken boyfriend, she is swept up into the porter’s embrace as he is “borrowing” Leah’s sister’s fiancé’s car. They end up making out in the grass and being reckless. It’s something that Leah is not used to and it exhilarates her. Unfortunately, she has to go back to her normal life and help her oldest sister plan a wedding that will happen before the end of the summer.
Leah also works as a lifeguard at the local pool. While working, she has to deal with her competition for valedictorian, Valerie. Valerie brings all of the recommended reading with her each day to the pool and follows Leah from station to station. At first it is beyond annoying, but eventually Leah begins to expect and possibly enjoy their meetings. Porter also shows up at random times in a different car each time. Leah and Porter’s relationship is constantly hot and heavy, but she continues to go home and act like the good daughter that she is supposed to. When everything catches up to her, what will she do?
My thoughts:
I think I would have liked this better if Leah was not so one-dimensional. She literally reads like a robot. I understand that the “perfect” girl situation means that there is not a ton of depth, but even goody goods need to have some internal personalities. Most of this book takes place in Leah’s very boring head. There is supposed to be this ongoing tension between family, what she thinks is right, and rebellion, but the tension is flat. There is nothing gripping to keep me wanting to read the book. The mother is vilified, but the author only tells us about the fear Leah seems to have of upsetting her, there is no connection made between the reader and the characters. Why should I care if Leah upsets her mother or not? I usually like these types of stories because I like seeing characters break away and make their own lives, but it’s because those character driven stories are often the ones that make you really fall in love with the characters. This one just did not deliver.
3 Stars
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Dec 27, 2011 Kym McNabney rated it 4 of 5 stars

What first drew me to KISS CRUSH COLLIDE by CHRISTINA MEREDITH, was in fact the cover. The title, not so great, yet it sounded interesting enough. I’ve been increasingly attracted to young adult books since my teenage daughter got me hooked on one. Each one she’s suggested was wonderfully written. KISS CRUSH COLLIDE was no exception.

Leah Johnson had her life planned out. Not that she did any of the planning. Nope, there was no need for that when she had a mother and two sisters before you that...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Whatchyareading added it

Shelves: christine, contemporary, young-adult

I love love stories. And it’s no wonder with how many romance books I read in a month that I wanted to read Kiss Crush Collide as soon as I read the summary. It fit my love of forbidden romances and bad boys who fall for good girls, so I’m so glad I was able to get a hold of an ARC thanks to Around the World ARC Tours.

This book is told through Leah’s eyes. She’s just finished her Junior year of high school, has a cute boyfriend, gets good grades, is popular herself… she seems to have everything....more I love love stories. And it’s no wonder with how many romance books I read in a month that I wanted to read Kiss Crush Collide as soon as I read the summary. It fit my love of forbidden romances and bad boys who fall for good girls, so I’m so glad I was able to get a hold of an ARC thanks to Around the World ARC Tours.

This book is told through Leah’s eyes. She’s just finished her Junior year of high school, has a cute boyfriend, gets good grades, is popular herself… she seems to have everything. But from the first page, you can tell Leah’s not all there. She’s not fully participating in her life, just letting others (mainly her mother) dictate it for her while she sails along.

She says several times that people expect her to live like her two older sisters — Freddie, who just graduated from high school, and Yorke, who just got engaged after her first year at college. First Yorke does it, then Freddie and then her. Every time. Her entire life has been laid out for her. But when have you ever heard of a person who’s happy with having their choices taken away from them?

Maybe that’s why the mysterious boy who parks their car attracts so much of her attention. Maybe that’s why she goes with him when he offers her a ride and then moments later they’re making out. Maybe that’s why she continues to see him.

I can see why Leah would choose to rebel from her life. Cookie cutter lives never work out well for people who don’t want it, as movies and books have shown us time and time again. What your parents want for you is not necessarily what you want or what will make you happy, as Leah starts to realize over the course of the summer between her Junior and Senior year.

I can even see why Leah didn’t want to mix her life with her side excursions with mystery boy, since to her, they are two separate things and he’s the one thing she’s ever chosen for herself.

What I didn’t like is the fact that after all this growth we see in Leah, we never got any firm feelings from her about her life or what she wants. There’s one argument in the book where she stands up for herself, but it’s quickly over and never really talked about again. Leah never really makes a solid stand. I didn’t get a feeling of closure that she was going to be alright by herself with both her sisters gone, but then, maybe it’ll help with them being gone. I don’t know. I just wish we’d gotten something definite about Leah being her own person now.

Apart from that, this was a fast and light read that I liked. There is some underage drinking, just so you know. And also, this book is not just about some forbidden romance with a boy from “the wrong side of the tracks”. It’s more about Leah and her growing into a person who makes her own choices in life. The summary is a bit misleading, but the romance is still there, if that’s what draws you in.

Kiss Crush Collide will be released on December 27th from Greenwillow Books, aka HarperCollins.

Reviewed at WhatchYAreading on October 11, 2011.(less)

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Dec 06, 2011 Laci rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

I received this book among many others from NCTE. I saw that they had put them out and I read the back and I liked the synopsis. I thought that the book had a good plot line and if could be a very easy read. I mean come on....I girl in high school who has it all.... I need her life.

This book was such an easy read that when I would sit down to read it, I would read like 100 pages in 45 minutes. I don't normally read that fast but the book helped me through it. The main character Leah has it all....more I received this book among many others from NCTE. I saw that they had put them out and I read the back and I liked the synopsis. I thought that the book had a good plot line and if could be a very easy read. I mean come on....I girl in high school who has it all.... I need her life.

This book was such an easy read that when I would sit down to read it, I would read like 100 pages in 45 minutes. I don't normally read that fast but the book helped me through it. The main character Leah has it all. The parents with a lot of money, the awesome sisters that are there for everything, and the best boyfriend in the world. I actually when I first started reading this book, I couldn't get past the fact that Leah was a spoiled little brat. I mean she got everything. On her 16th birthday she got a brand new car! But guess what, she never drives it! She has her awesome boyfriend that drives her around. Shoot sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get my husband to drive from our house to the store....lol Any who, after sometime the character got better because she started to act like a normal teenager. She started to have normal teenager problems. I like books that have this. I feel that the readers really connect with the characters better. They feel like what they are reading could be true in their life.

But her world is starting to turn upside down. Her sister is moving to Paris for a year, her other sister is getting married, and her parents are still picky as ever. But it is just not her family that is changing, her relationship with her boyfriend is too. She is starting to fall for another guy and she doesn't know why. Should she give the new fling a chance or should she stay with the boyfriend that the family loves?

For me the hardest part in reading this book was that it was kind of a dull story. They was nothing to it. I mean there was a cute story but that was about it. I need a little action in my stories. I need to be on the edge of my seat. This story just didn't do that for me. Some might think that this book was a really good swoon, but I would have to disagree.

But the story kept me going. I had to know what she decided to do. Was she going to pick Shane -the boyfriend the family likes, or Duffy -the kid on the block? I just needed to know. So that did keep me going. (less)

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Oct 07, 2011 Jennifer Howell / Late Bloomer Online rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was excited to read Kiss Crush Collide. The back of the book compares itself to Perfect Chemistry which is a book I love. I admit I was disappointed. The storyline is girl is living a life shadowed by her two older sisters. She is expected to be as 'perfect' as they are and follow in their footsteps. She has a neurotic over bearing Mother and a clueless Father. It appears she has the perfect life, perfect friends, perfect boyfriend. Then one night at the country club a porter that takes the ca...more I was excited to read Kiss Crush Collide. The back of the book compares itself to Perfect Chemistry which is a book I love. I admit I was disappointed. The storyline is girl is living a life shadowed by her two older sisters. She is expected to be as 'perfect' as they are and follow in their footsteps. She has a neurotic over bearing Mother and a clueless Father. It appears she has the perfect life, perfect friends, perfect boyfriend. Then one night at the country club a porter that takes the car for them grabs her hand to help her out of the car and instant chemistry occurs complete with tingly fingers. Girl can't stop thinking about boy, but given his job at the country club etc., he isn't the kind of boy she is expected to associate with.

The premise of the book is great, although it has a familiar theme. The thing is that I felt like Leah and Duffy had zero substance. I closed the final page and felt like I never really even got to know Duffy and I'm not really sure what is redeeming about Leah. She barely scratches the surface of her feelings when she finally admits a little about how she's feeling to her Mother, her family life is never discussed with Duffy, and Leah is mean to the one girl that "gets" her the whole book practically. I wanted to fall for Duffy too... I wanted to feel the tingles and anticipation that Leah was feeling when she would see Duffy, but the story just never put me, as the reader, there.

Bottom line, Kiss Crush Collide was okay. Definitely not in the same league as Perfect Chemistry in my opinion. If you are looking for a quick read that gives you an escape for a few hours then check it out. I just think that if Christina Meredith had developed the characters and Leah and Duffy's relationship more, I would have liked the story much better. Instead, I was left scratching my head at what not only Duffy's appeal was but what Duffy saw in Leah... other than just physical attraction.

Kiss Crush Collide is due to release in December 27, 2011. Let me know what you all think if you read it.

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Oct 26, 2012 Krystal rated it 2 of 5 stars

Quickly Sizzling Out

This book, Kiss Crush Collide by Christina Meredith, really did not live up to the expectation I thought it would, being a cute romantic, girly type of book that I'd usually pick up and read. I was recommended this book by a friend when she knew I read Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, thinking I'd enjoy this. I had a really hard time connecting or even feeling to sympathetic with the main character,Leah,and problems she faces throughout the book. Most of her problems cou...more Quickly Sizzling Out

This book, Kiss Crush Collide by Christina Meredith, really did not live up to the expectation I thought it would, being a cute romantic, girly type of book that I'd usually pick up and read. I was recommended this book by a friend when she knew I read Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, thinking I'd enjoy this. I had a really hard time connecting or even feeling to sympathetic with the main character,Leah,and problems she faces throughout the book. Most of her problems could have had simple solutions to it but the way the author went about the book it felt as though she dragged it on a lot longer than she needed to to possibly fill up space with pointless descriptions.
Pretty much this book is about a girl named Leah, who one night at the country club ended up hooking up with this guy,who get her second-guessing the thoughts she has about her "perfect put together" life. Throughout the entire story she whines about her boyfriend, family, her school life, refusing to drive, etc. which bothers me only because she didn't even seem to put any effort at all into trying to change anything, so after a while it just got really boring and repetitive.
Her family consists of narcissistic perfectionists. The only person that barely even fits into that description is her dad, since he seems like a pretty good guy despite the fact he's pretty much oblivious to anything going on, and is always at work. Her mother is a controlling perfectionist who cares about what everyone one thinks, making her just HAVE to make family all prim and perfect. Her sisters Yorke and Frankie exclude Leah in whatever secrets they partake in, if Yorke can even keep it a secret...
Overall it was ok, just the characters felt a bit unrealistic at times and just come off as a bit cliche. Though it gives some descriptive detail it just went into detail of the wrong things and didn't let Leah show more potential than the author could have to make her a better character and more "likable" to readers. Add in a pretty simple boring plot to this story and that pretty much is this book altogether.(less)

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Mar 25, 2012 Meaganr rated it 2 of 5 stars

I liked the cover of this book so much that I was going to read it no matter what it was about. I love the intimacy that you can see between the two people on the cover, and so I assumed there would be the same kind of connection between the characters in the book... I was wrong.
This book was all about a girl breaking out of her country-club, rich-girl mold, and running around behind everyone's back with a boy she meets when she's out to dinner with her family.

The main character is hard to rel...more I liked the cover of this book so much that I was going to read it no matter what it was about. I love the intimacy that you can see between the two people on the cover, and so I assumed there would be the same kind of connection between the characters in the book... I was wrong.
This book was all about a girl breaking out of her country-club, rich-girl mold, and running around behind everyone's back with a boy she meets when she's out to dinner with her family.

The main character is hard to relate to but honestly I liked that about her because that is exactly how she is supposed to be. She has grown up knowing that she is better than everyone else and that she can get whatever she wants and that is exactly how she acts. She also seems to be very distanced from everything in her life, like she is just going through the motions, which I think is why she is able to break away from her family's mold; her character I thought was developed pretty well. We really don't ever find out much about Porter or Duffy or whatever the male lead is supposed to be called though, so he just becomes the mysterious boy that we know nothing about that has someone how changed Leah's whole life.

The reason that I did not like this book as much as I wanted to was because the relationship was kind of odd. When they first start fooling around, it is fine because the whole point is that they are just fooling around. But then all of the sudden they are acting like they are in a monogamous relationship when all they do is fool around and for a majority of the book they don't even know each other's names AND she has a boyfriend. I don't know, I just wasn't feeling it. I know the whole point was that she was trying to be her own person and I feel like the author portrayed that okay-ish by showing her new friendship with the class nerd and her realization that she really isn't perfect, but the book just didn't seem to be fully developed to me, especially the relationship (which was what the whole book was centered around). (less)

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Nov 03, 2011 Asheley rated it 4 of 5 stars

(a similar version of this review can be found here at Into the Hall of Books: http://intothehallofbooks.blogspot.co...)

Kiss Crush Collide is a contemporary YA romance that I read in one day and enjoyed quite a bit. It was fun and engaging, but there are a few things I wish were a little bit more developed. In my opinion, there were three main storylines in the book that I'll mention here and talk about a little bit:

1. Leah & Porter. Leah is so lucky - she's beautiful, popular, and rich. Sh...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Zulekha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

At first I thought the story was a complete and utter waste of time but I believe I base an opinion on a book way to early which results in me not giving the book a chance to interest me and achieve my expectations.

Leah, a girl who has everything made out in life, all she has to is follow the foot steps of her sisters- simple.
She realises there is more to life than becoming prom queen and living up to her mothers expectations.
And obviously, your expecting a guy to turn up that makes her feel li...more At first I thought the story was a complete and utter waste of time but I believe I base an opinion on a book way to early which results in me not giving the book a chance to interest me and achieve my expectations.

Leah, a girl who has everything made out in life, all she has to is follow the foot steps of her sisters- simple.
She realises there is more to life than becoming prom queen and living up to her mothers expectations.
And obviously, your expecting a guy to turn up that makes her feel like she's different- not just a younger version of her sisters- Porter. Cute, handsome and altogether makes Leah tingle, with his beautiful emerald green eyes. What's not to like?

Although I liked the book I think it's just too similar to most books, always involving a guy that comes to fix things, and I know it's not the same all the time, but as I read page after page of the book I kept on thinking how it lacks originality.
Nevertheless, I do believe the story is highly relatable to in reality which is a plus. The fact that Leah eventually realises that she has a right to live life the way she wants, not always look back, comparing her to her siblings, because everyone is different, they may not look it from the outside. To realise, you need to come in close!

Moreover, I like the name Valerie and the role she plays- showing kindness and guidance to Leah. I know what it feels like to be second most of the time- it SUCKS! Fighting to be the best, yet not quite getting there cause there's always someone better than you, achieving higher.

Also, how predictable it is that Yorke follows the foot steps of her mother, but I have hope that Freddie will do better, and Leah- she'll get far...

For a first book, I think it was good, maybe not the best if books but this is not my book genre so who am I to judge. I'd definitely would read the next book by the author, as I think I was way too prejudiced to even have gave the book a chance. :)

I also intend to discover 'How fun is it to drive if you always know exactly where you're going to end up?' and I shall get back to you on it Christina Meredith. :)
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Mar 07, 2012 Erin O'Riordan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine-picks, young-adults-books

I really hesitate to state that I didn't enjoy a novel, especially since this is Christina Meredith's first novel and I really don't want to discourage her. Her writing style isn't bad, but I disliked this book for specific reasons that have to do with character development. The main character and narrator is Leah Johnson, the youngest of the three gorgeous, wealthy, high-achieving Johnson sisters. Meredith does not make her narrator an easy one to sympathize with. Other authors have made the su...more I really hesitate to state that I didn't enjoy a novel, especially since this is Christina Meredith's first novel and I really don't want to discourage her. Her writing style isn't bad, but I disliked this book for specific reasons that have to do with character development. The main character and narrator is Leah Johnson, the youngest of the three gorgeous, wealthy, high-achieving Johnson sisters. Meredith does not make her narrator an easy one to sympathize with. Other authors have made the supermodel-like blonde teen their heroines, including L.J. Smith in the Vampire Diaries series - but while everyone in Smith's series universally loves Elena Gilbert, Leah Johnson is universally hated by her (jealous) classmates. Yet she's far from a sympathetic underdog. The biggest problem in Leah's privileged life is the pressure she feels to conform to the expectations of her shallow, self-centered mother. This is the primary motivator of the action in the novel. Yet, even as she complains about her somewhat overbearing older sisters being clones of her mother, Leah's actions toward others show her to be every bit as shallow and self-centered as the mother she supposedly opposes. The pivotal moment of conflict in the novel calls for Leah to go against her mother's wishes. Once Leah decides to do that, she becomes a tiny bit more sympathetic to her rival, Valerie, but there's no sense that either Leah or her mother are changed in any significant way by Leah's decision.

Leah reveals in the early pages of the novel that she suddenly finds herself unable to do math, something she's been good at up until her junior year of high school. She knows how to drive and owns a car, but has no confidence in her abilities to drive, so she chooses not to. These are but two examples of how Leah is presently as a helpless, childlike young woman - a stereotype young women have worked long and hard to overcome.

The character of Valerie is also problematic to feminist readers. Valerie is competing with Leah to be the class valedictorian. Her focus is on reading and schoolwork rather than fashion, and up until the very end of the book when Valerie proves to be useful to Leah, Leah reviles her for being smart. As a reader, I like to root for the smart girl. I felt really bad for Valerie, and also for the woman who appears at the pool in one chapter whom Leah mocks for looking too athletic. These are more examples of female stereotyping, and of how much Leah has internalized her mother's shallow viewpoint (which the plot supposedly turns on Leah opposing). It feels like Meredith bet on the wrong horse - a book from Valerie's point of view would have been much more interesting.

The other thing I disliked about this novel is that the plot is also shallow. Not much happens. Leah's life is so perfect, her problems all seem trivial. Since not much is ever at stake for her, there's no sense of urgency to her narrative. It simply meanders along, going through the motions as Leah does when she's helping her oldest sister plan her wedding. I really enjoy the romance genre, so I wanted something grand and dramatic to happen in the Leah-Shane-Duffy love triangle. It never does. Duffy exits briefly, Leah claims to be devastated (not very convincingly), but then Duffy comes back and all is well again. With a few more rewrites, this novel could be something. As it stands, it relies too heavily on stereotypes of girls and not nearly enough on real, recognizable human emotions. (less)

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Apr 13, 2013 Kat rated it 1 of 5 stars

Bien, acabo de terminar Soul Love (el cual me dejo como: "bueno
vale, ahora puedo seguir con mi vida." Ugh.)Y me puse con este,
ahora QUIERO patear cualquier cosa que me pongan por delante.

Este libro ha sido uno de los que mas malditamente se me han
hecho eternos, y eso que el jodido no llega ni a las 200 páginas.
Empecé con este libro hace muuuucho, pero el principio era tan lento,
TAN JODIDAMENTE lento, que lo deje. Y hoy lo retome. Y pude
al final terminarlo.. pero con un esfuerzo sobre humano.

Quie...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Melissa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: meh-didnt-get-it, teenage-love-cuteness

*sigh*.... this was probably one of the most infuriating books I have ever read. The story went absolutely no where for me, there were SO many words and yet NOTHING! There was a beginning, a bunch of pretty words and then and ending. Which btw, was pretty lack luster.

It felt like metaphor after metaphor… a steady lull of nothingness. I found myself having to re-read several paragraphs because I lost where the author wanted to take me. One minute she is standing outside her house remembering her...more *sigh*.... this was probably one of the most infuriating books I have ever read. The story went absolutely no where for me, there were SO many words and yet NOTHING! There was a beginning, a bunch of pretty words and then and ending. Which btw, was pretty lack luster.

It felt like metaphor after metaphor… a steady lull of nothingness. I found myself having to re-read several paragraphs because I lost where the author wanted to take me. One minute she is standing outside her house remembering her past, the next she is in his car taking off to the unknown.

The character development was…odd. I felt there was so much more under the surface which I desperately wanted to break through, it just never happened. Yes, Leah was hard to relate to. Rich, popular, smart girl with the perfect life… however I do somewhat see where the author wanted to go. Leah finding her own way out of a sea of perfection set forth by her ever so beautiful sisters. She wanted more out of her life, not the one mapped out for her.
There was zero dialogue between Leah and Duffy. I didn’t understand how they fell so hard so fast. There was no peek into him. Random cars and random make out sessions. I love me a good mysterious bad boy, this guy was not. So what he stole cars... not bad boy enough for me.

I felt on more than one occasion the dirty nasty family secrets that plague every seemingly perfect family were going to bust through. And then in the same sense, a lot of things just came out of left field. I honestly didn’t pick up on the fact Yorke was pregnant and that is why she was getting married. I never once picked up on that. Perhaps I skimmed too many of the over descriptive paragraphs therefore missing the cues…. ?? I thought there was going to be an overly emotional explosive moment when Leah’s mom caught her in the barn with Duffy. I don’t know, like she was going to pour her heart out and explain that she too was at 1 time in love with the “hired help” ( and BTW- since when does the country club’s members kids become the low life help anyways? ) and they had to go their separate ways and now she has more than she could ever want blah blah,…Nope. Just a simple- let him go and boom- Leah is home in bed.

I felt this book COULD have been great. With stronger character development, a deeper emotional connection between Leah and Duffy and a more dramatic ending. Something where she completely goes against her Parents wishes, breaks up with Shane, ditches her popular friends, Freddie and Yorke both confide they wish they could have done what she had, actually has a real life battle of wits with Valerie and dates Duffy. Hmm.. if only.
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Jan 04, 2012 Chucha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-girl-falls-for-bad-boy, unmet-expectations

I have been waiting for Kiss Crush Collide since I had it on my Recommendation List at Goodreads, and liken it to Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry – I just knew I had to read it ASAP. But I was bound for a big disappointment.

Kiss Crush Collide is a quick read, about a perfect girl from a perfect family who fell in love with a not so perfect boy. The cover was stunning, it was sweet, I was expecting a romantic interlude between a boy and a girl. Instead, the story focused more on Leah and her dy...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Christina (Reading Extensively) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2011, romance, ya

Kiss Crush Collide is touted by the publishers as a book that would appeal to fans of Perfect Chemistry, John Green, and Sarah Dessen. I think this sets the reader up for unrealistically high expectations. The novel may have that theme of forbidden romance like Perfect Chemistry but that is where similarities end. We don't really get to see the romance develop between the characters. Instead there is instant attraction and stolen kisses in borrowed cars. They make out the first time they meet an...more Kiss Crush Collide is touted by the publishers as a book that would appeal to fans of Perfect Chemistry, John Green, and Sarah Dessen. I think this sets the reader up for unrealistically high expectations. The novel may have that theme of forbidden romance like Perfect Chemistry but that is where similarities end. We don't really get to see the romance develop between the characters. Instead there is instant attraction and stolen kisses in borrowed cars. They make out the first time they meet and their relationship doesn't seem to have much substance. We don't really get to know Duffy either. There are snippets of information about his background and home life but not much. Unlike Perfect Chemistry where readers get to know Alex Fuentes through the chapters from his point of view, we don't really learn much about Duffy by the end of the book. It isn't really clear what Leah likes about him either.

Where the novel has its strength is the family dynamics between Leah, her sisters, and her unbearable mother. While we still don't see any motivation for the way her mother behaves, it does give us some understanding of why Leah acts like she does. I found it hard to connect with Leah because she is somewhat spoiled and privileged and she complains about her life. She cheats on her boyfriend and isn't fair to Duffy. She is also really rude to Valerie, her academic rival (though that isn't very believable-Leah isn't convincingly portrayed as a smart student but rather someone who is allowed to slide by virtue of her family name). Valerie shows up every day at the pool where Leah works and she calls Leah out on her behavior and lack of effort in school. Of all the characters in the book I liked Valerie the most. She is quirky, different, she loves to read and study, and she doesn't seem to care about popularity. The two eventually become friends as Leah becomes more mature. In the end Leah does grow up a little and assert some independence which was nice to see.

I think Kiss Crush Collide shouldn't have been marketed the way it was. Comparing the book to those by such major YA authors as Sarah Dessen and John Green did not do it any favors. Without those comparisons I think the book was not bad for a debut novel and I liked how the author wrote the scenes involving Leah and her family. Kiss Crush Collide does have some flaws and would have benefited from more character development or even alternating chapters between Leah and Duffy. If you are in the mood for a romance with lots of chemistry and don't mind the flaws then Kiss Crush Collide might appeal to you. It is certainly entertaining and the author definitely has potential. I think that with time her books will rival the works of authors like Simone Elkeles and Jennifer Echols. Some fans of Perfect Chemistry and Forget You might even enjoy Kiss Crush Collide as long as they don't read it expecting it to be just like those books.(less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Yona rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-and-new-adult-romance

When i first saw this book I couldn't wait for it to come out so I can read it and now when i did I'm really disappointed, the plot sounded so interesting and now i can't think of even one think i liked in the whole book, it really boring with nothing happening, the storyline is good but this book can be better like to know more about Duffy and Leah, there was not explanation about how they had fallen for each other, there was nothing about Duffy's life, his feelings, there wasn't dialogue betwe...more

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