A Kiss for Emily [Paperback]

Your first love is always the hardest. This is more true for Emily Stokes than possibly for anyone else. A Kiss For Emily is a story about first loves, crushes, mystery and the paranormal. Paranormal what exactly? Well that I won't ruin for you but I can tell you it is not vampires or werewolves.

A Kiss For Emily, is different from other YA Paranormal Romances out in the market right now. Not only does it have a different paranormal being that the main character falls in love with, but it also takes you on a wild ride of saving her from the people that are supposed to be helping her. I think this is one of the main reasons I really enjoyed this book. The bad guys are not your normal "bad guys".

I also really enjoyed reading from the different POV's in the book. In most YA books you are stuck in the tedious inner monologue of the main character. Sometimes, this can be effective to explain what the character is going through but other times it can get extremely annoying. In A Kiss For Emily, I thought that Emily's inner monologue was well balanced with the POV of other characters like Sam, Alex and most importantly Emily's parents. I personally loved that Emily's parents were involved in the story because usually the parents in these novels are completely oblivious as to what is going on with their children. I think that in real life if I started to date a vampire or a werewolf my parents would start to realize that something was different.

A Kiss For Emily has a lot exciting plot twists that I really didn't see coming. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, a dramatic twists happens and I was taken in a whole different direction than I expected. It was these twists and turns that kept me reading and wanting to know what happens next. I think my favorite twist was trying to figure out what Sam really was and if Emily is insane or not.

I certainly recommend this book for fellow YA paranormal romance fans looking for a great read. I am extremely happy that I found J.P. Galuska and I cannot wait to see where she takes us next with this series. The possibilities are endless!

What starts out feeling like a simple teenage romance story quickly morphs into one with mystery, intrigue and some paranormal elements that are introduced in quite an unexpected and unique way. Emily is a typical sixteen year old girl, prone to crushes, snarky and petty behaviors, and all wrapped up in her own life as she sees it. While a family upheaval throws her life into chaos, and a move away from her crush, she is wandering about a little lost until she comes upon a `new' love interest who is not exactly what he seems.

Throughout the book we are treated to Emily's point of view, and we see her as intelligent, resourceful and perhaps a little more mature than her age or some behavior might indicate. Other characters also present their view of the scene, providing a needed perspective that keeps the story moving forward, and allows us to develop a relationship with them beyond their interactions with Emily. Tightly written with a plot that is easy to follow, conversations that feel present and real, and easy to appreciate characters drawn with an attention to detail that often is missed in all but the main character in a YA story, this book is a great start to a series that follows Emily.

I received an eBook copy from author for purpose of honest review for FMB Tours. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Mystery, intrigue, romance. That is what you will get when stepping into A Kiss For Emily, but that's not all, there is also an element of the paranormal. You may ask, what? But all I can say is that it's not vampires, werewolves, or fae.

I wasn't completely enamored of Emily, but I did like her. She was smart, but also naive. She was strong, but also weak(not in physical terms). She was deep, but also shallow. In other words, she seemed real, at times outshining my expectations, others falling into them. There was one thing in particular that I absolutely detested about Emily. I'll try to be as vague as possible. When Emily finds out something unappealing she cringes away instead of reaching out to help, she judges on a level that she has no right to and she does all this basically because she's too wrapped up in something else to think properly. She does end up feeling remorse, but it was too little, too late and she easily drops the issue without a second thought. That was my only major dislike, the part that won't allow me to completely love Emily as a character.

The other characters, I absolutely adored. Galuska has captured family dynamics in a way that simply catapults the story. Often times in YA books the parents are either absent or oblivious, Emily's parents are neither. They were the glue that held this book together, the family stuck together as they worked together. The reader can feel the effusion of family love as it seeps off the pages and into our hearts.

The plot was so incredibly twisted that when each new twist would appear, I was left shocked. The first part of A Kiss For Emily was somewhat slow as the reader is allowed to acclimatize to the characters, gaining few insights as to what the paranormal may be. Once the twists start piling up, they hit hard. The reader will easily be swept away by the intrigue. The romance was just pure sweet, the take-your-breath-away kind that is pure swoonable. Humor is also laced within, adding a needed reprieve from the many serious situations that present themselves.

Once the book ends the reader will be eager for the next, I know I am. Recommended to all paranormal lovers that are itching for a new, refreshing story to blow your mind.