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414th out of 424 books
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1,238 voters
Kiss & Make Up
Emerson Taylor, a 16-year-old lip gloss addict with a secret gift: she can read the mind of anyone who kisses her. Though puckering up with brainy boys to get test answers helps her grades, a scholarship competition and a new crush compel Emerson to stifle her gift and study the honest – if old-fashioned – way. With support from her family, including her aunt/guardian who...more
Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published
October 2nd 2012
by Amazon Publishing
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Kiss & Make Up is a sweet YA read to lift anyone's mood with its cute and funny storyline. It's the kind of book where you smile, laugh, groan, shudder and blush with shame from totally ridiculous and amusing moments that you'd wish to rather run a hundred miles marathon wearing heels than having to face them.
Emerson Taylor starts by being a very insecure girl, despite her popularity. She makes rash decisions using her unique gift, messing up a bit her life, but growing so much along the way...more
Emerson Taylor starts by being a very insecure girl, despite her popularity. She makes rash decisions using her unique gift, messing up a bit her life, but growing so much along the way...more
The premise for this sounded really clever, but it just didn't deliver. I considered giving up on this every time I picked it up. I wish that I would have. I was hoping there would just be something more to explain Emerson's gift, but there just isn't. The writing annoyed me to no end. First of all, I felt that the author was dumbing it down to sound like a teenager, so it didn't sound sincere. The lack of description in parts was really weird, such as the hair was supposed to be such a big deal...more
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Sixteen-year-old Emerson Taylor has never kissed a boy. Though this seems to be a big problem, a bigger one is brewing. Emerson's grades are slipping and her guardian, her Aunt Arch, is threatening to pull her out of the private school she attends. Emerson needs to turn things around fast. Luckily, Emerson learns she has the ability to read the mind of anyone she kisses. Emerson decides to kiss the nerdiest boys in school. Problem solved. But when she starts to fall for one of the boys, Emerson'...more
this quick ya read is 3.5 to 4 stars. I thought it was a fun twist on the teenage years. the aunt was really wonderful character although a little too surfacey for my tastes. there was a lot to read between the lines (mother's story, piper's story) amongst the main story... maybe I am cynical but I feel like there was some darkness in the characters unmentioned ... that alone is pretty remarkable from a general ya "fluff" book!
I loved the jazz storyline and truly bringing outthe magicof makeup!...more
I loved the jazz storyline and truly bringing outthe magicof makeup!...more
Fun, fun, fun YA book! Emerson is such a fun and normal teen, except this one little thing... She can absorb things from people she kisses. Of course she doesn't know this at first because she's never kissed a boy.
She is a fun-loving teen wrapped up in all the teen angst but still a great kid. Loved the cast of characters surrounding her. The popular kids, nerds, band geeks, gamers and her BFF. Katie handles them all delicately and totally true to type.
Emerson uses her gifts for evil (grades) bu...more
She is a fun-loving teen wrapped up in all the teen angst but still a great kid. Loved the cast of characters surrounding her. The popular kids, nerds, band geeks, gamers and her BFF. Katie handles them all delicately and totally true to type.
Emerson uses her gifts for evil (grades) bu...more
This young adult novel was about a 16 year old girl that had a special power to read people’s minds when she would kiss them. She was not very smart in school, and she took advantage of her power by kissing most of the smartest guys in her grade. This way, she was able to achieve good grades and continue attending her expensive private school. However, this power takes over her and gets involved with her love life which has a very shocking turn in the end. I really enjoyed reading this book, it...more
Although it is promoted as a YA novel, I would shelve this under MG. Emerson's voice is young and naive and never quite rises above the 14-year-old girl the first chapter shows (even though she is 16 for the rest of the novel). Each chapter is cleverly titled after a cosmetic. I wanted the element of magic to feel more important-- it just never felt genuine to me. The pace is slowed by almost excruciating detail, but the sweet theme and adorable nature of the novel will appeal to girls from age...more
(Review originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)
Kiss & Make Up is pretty adorable! Though the thought of kissing so many guys in a short time period was weird to me, I enjoyed this book because the premise was very interesting.
I didn’t like Emerson much at first, but towards the end, she grew up and learned a few important things. I especially love how she discovered the source of her “power” and figured out how to use it for a good cause. The romance was pretty cute, if a little too instant...more
Kiss & Make Up is pretty adorable! Though the thought of kissing so many guys in a short time period was weird to me, I enjoyed this book because the premise was very interesting.
I didn’t like Emerson much at first, but towards the end, she grew up and learned a few important things. I especially love how she discovered the source of her “power” and figured out how to use it for a good cause. The romance was pretty cute, if a little too instant...more
I was expecting to like this book some what but I didn't, I actually fell in love with it instead. It was so cute and funny, I found myself either grinning or laughing out loud while reading it!! I loved the good message it gave off as well with the use of make up as a power tool and not something to hide behind. I think I'll be reading this one again, it's found a home on my Kindle.
I'm gifting it to my younger sister because I know she love it like I did.
I'm gifting it to my younger sister because I know she love it like I did.
I really could not stand this book. It progressed extremely slowly, and I ended up skipping to the last few chapters just to get it over with. While the idea was cute, I think the Author could've done more. This was definitely light reading, so light I felt like I was reading a 320 page summary. The characters lacked depth and I didn't connect at all. I'm a bit disappointed, I thought this would be a very fun book to read. Now I just feel grumpy :P
Obviously I knew this was going to be a really fluffy book. The title is spelled out in make up after all. But I thought with the positive reviews, it would be fun, like a Saved by the Bell episode. Unfortunately, it didn't even have the quality of a Saved by the Bell episode. It was just stupid. The main character's "power" made absolutely no sense in the way it worked. I will just stop now because I could rail against it forever.
I finished it in a few hours :D !!! It's a funny book for teenage girls who are helplessly boy-crazy! Edwin McNeely is my new book character crush and I'd love to have a power like Emerson--of course I wouldn't go around kissing boys though. It's not suited for those readers who are very philosophical and books that students would usually read. Overall, it's an awesome book and teaches a great lesson to many young girls.
I absolutely loved this book (and so did my thirteen-year-old daughter)! Katie Anderson is a master at nailing the voice, fears, insecurities and humor of a teenage girl who is finding her way.
The tone of the book is light and fun, but don't let that fool you. There's a deeper, positive message within the pages.
Read this book and you will be smiling for days!
The tone of the book is light and fun, but don't let that fool you. There's a deeper, positive message within the pages.
Read this book and you will be smiling for days!
I thought that this book was so adorable! I love dorky guys like Edwin and it was just pure innocence! That was the best part. I didn't have to worry about any super bad language or overly sexy scenes. It's genuinely a good wholesome book that I read in a day. Plus it was free from amazon!
This book is well-written story of a coming of age...I bought it because it was a 1.99 on kindle and the thought of a girl being able to read people's minds as she kisses them was intriguing. Katie Anderson does a good job of describing what a teen feels and making us love her characters.
Perhaps other readers will enjoy this story of Emerson and her ability to read things (like thoughts and memories) when she kisses people - a trait that apparently she shares with her mother and aunt. Her mother was probably more adept, which drove her to suicide. Her aunt, Arch, can't read much but is gifted with being a major seller of Stellar Cosmetics (an Avon/Mary Kay mash-up). Hence the title.
We read about Emerson's struggles in school, her finding it easy to "study" by kissing boys expert...more
We read about Emerson's struggles in school, her finding it easy to "study" by kissing boys expert...more
I think I get it now. This story shows a journey to maturity, but in my opinion, the journey took longer than I would have liked. also, things like her sister and Silas and her mom's suicide were gloosed over more than I would have liked. Not horrible, though.
I thought kiss & make up was adorable! I bought the book after talking to the author at a conference last month and I'm glad I did! Emerson learns a great lesson in the book that makes this a good book for tern girls. I already know exactly who I plan to recommend it to!
I read this because I'm going to an event featuring the author. It is probably better for a younger audience, but I thought it was fun. The main character's gift is a quirky twist on a typical YA novel.
It was much more juvenile than I expected from the reviews. It was a cute book, but it was not one of those books for teenagers that everyone would enjoy. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone out of high school.
This book is cute and fun, a great YA read. Just the right amount of character development and teen angst, in a fun way. I highly recommend this one. The writing style is great.
Fun read about teen years. A strong aunt helps the story along with the mystical ways. There is definitely a lot of kissing and not always for god reasons. Teen drama abounds and good decisions are not always made.
I really enjoyed reading about Emerson as she struggled with first kisses, grades, and high school cliques. I don't want to say to much more and spoil the story.
Pleasantly surprised by this cheap kindle read. It's definitely geared more towards the teenage audience...but cute.
I thought it was pretty good. I did not like the main character in the beginning. but in the end I liked her.
Meh- thought it was going to be more interesting than it turned out to be. Quick read though
This book was adorable. Made me smile. I love how its a great message with a paranormal twist.
I accidentally downloaded this to my Kindle so I gave it a shot. A sweet teen romance.
it was interesting. i like the way she got rid of her gift doe..
Cute story. I love me some nerdy boys.
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Katie Anderson is a full time writer living in the literary mecca of Oxford, Mississippi where she believes she somehow inhaled the desire to write from the trees lining William Faulkner's front yard, or maybe ingested it in the sweet tea that flows around the city like a delicious amber river. Whatever the case, one day after stumbling upon Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, Katie realized sh...more
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“We will go to her party tomorrow, not because of her but because of the fact that everyone else will be there, including Vance. Conversely, Frances wouldn't dare not invite us, because she will want to appear to be inclusive, not to mention want to rub in our faces that she is hosting the first party of the semester. It’s pretty twisted, but that’s life.”
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