The Kiss Instructor

by V. Anton

For Alana Summer, ballet dancer and magnet for awkward moments, life is far from simple. She struggles with an alcoholic father and an abused mother. She vents her frustration through dancing
and spending time with her two best friends: Chris and the hot looking Adin.

She has been secretly in love with Adin for as long as she can remember and is pretty sure he feels something for her. So she concocts a plan to make him confess his feelings for her. But when one of her biggest fears come true, she is forced to leave the ones that keep her sane. Choosing between her family and her heart, she has to make tough decisions, even when the one she loves the most, loves her back.

Genres: Young Adult

ebook

First published November 19, 2012

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super sweet story about growing up and finding your way. Alana is struggling at home with an abusive father and an abused mother. Not knowing what she can do to help, she tries to stay out of the way, having no one to turn to but her best friends, Adin and Chris. The three of them have been friends for years. The only problem…Alana is in love with Adin. Afraid to tell him her feelings and potentially ruin their friendship, Alana concocts a plan to get him to realize that maybe…just maybe…he is in love with her, too. When life gets in the way of Alana's plans, she has to learn to choose her own path and find her own happiness.

I love that this story was told from Alana and Chris's POV and left out Adin's. We get enough of the story through those two characters that having Adin added in would have been repetitious while leaving him out left a bit of mystery to the story. Plus, I really like Chris. He is the kind of friend everyone needs at least one of.

All of the characters in this story were great. From Alana, Adin, and Chris, whose friendship was completely believable, to the Alana's relations in Puerto Rico, including Med, they made the story come to life. The other thing I really loved was the descriptiveness the author used. Though you get this throughout the story, this was most notable after Alana arrived in Puerto Rico, almost like that is when her life really started. The descriptions were vivid and bright on the pages.

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited when I saw this book was available to review in the Making Connections YA Edition group on Goodreads. I signed up right away, and was not disappointed. What a cute story this ended up being. It was such a sweet story of love and friendship, and was just what I needed to put a smile on my face. A big thanks to the author for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of three friends, Alana, Adin, and Chris. They have been best friends since childhood. But for Alana and Adin it may be a little bit more if they can admit it to themselves. Adin is such a gentleman, and believes he is too old for her since he is a little more than a year older. So Alana devises a plan to pretend she needs a kiss instructor for her date with another boy. Adin is a little reluctant, but gives in so she won't go to someone else. From here they both realize what they mean to each other. What ensues is one of the sweetest love stories I have read. But it wasn't without it's hardships. Alana's home is not the happiest of places, and what happens there may just tear Alana and Adin apart.

I really liked Alana. She was a little funny, sweet, and has the craziest hair with a mind of it's own. Adin. I loved him. V. Anton did very well at writing a character you could fall for and feel how he felt for Alana. And Chris was a wonderful best friend. Alana could always count on him and talk to him, and they were like brother and sister. Part of the story is from his perspective which I really enjoyed. It was interesting seeing the relationships from his eyes. It made me want friends just like Chris and Adin.


A few favorite quotes:


"...A blanket? For what? Is this kissing thing complicated? Will I get cold?" pg. 138 on iBooks

"It occurs to me that kissing makes me feel like dancing, free and happy. It's like
baring your soul to the other person." pg. 141 on iBooks


"It is like we are suffering from the same thing: the dangerous smiling virus. A virus that makes the muscles of your face sore. What a great way of getting hurt!" pg. 215 on iBooks


This was a fun light read that I recommend to everyone! I look forward to future books by V. Anton

[Jonel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those novellas that catch you right from the get go and don’t let go. You also forget that you are reading a novella rather than an actual novel. It is so well and fully developed that it really tells a whole story. This story didn’t just bring tears to my eyes, it made me cry.

With this novel Anton brings verbal abuse to the forefront in a shockingly vivid way. She takes a hard hitting subject and turns it into a brilliant tale of surviving, overcoming, and loving. She also doesn’t mince words and really puts it out there. She also shows the topic in vivid realism and clarity. Characters involved react in realistic ways. But above all, she shows how difficult it can be to overcome the situation in a story that keeps you captivated.

The characters in this novella were extremely well developed. I couldn’t believe how real each and every one of them became. I also appreciated how Anton develops each to fit their role in the story as well as their backgrounds, both sociologically and culturally. I love how the author switches perspectives from character to character, giving the reader everyone’s point of view. It really adds to the impact of the story.

This was a phenomenal novella that I couldn’t put down. I was so wrapped up in the lives of the characters that I didn’t want it to end, but yet was thrilled with the ending. It was the perfect story.

Please note that I received this novel free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Snigdha Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 maybe....
Okay...This book is a pretty teenage romance....sweet and simple.
The writing of the author is amazingly easy to flow with and so is the storyline.
You fall in love with the characters almost immediately....
I mean,it's impossible not to...what with Alana's vivacious character who is full of life and spirit and Adin with his sweet and caring and lovable himself. And Chris??? Chris is awesome! :P I guess,he is my favourite character amongst the three... I absolutely love his narration part in the story...it's outright hilarious!
Med is good too. He comes in for a short time,but I like his character.
The only teeny tiny drawback was that...I wanted more of conversations there in the story..I mean instead of explaining things in the passive form...I would have loved to read dialogues instead.

But nevertheless, this book has a very sweet touch to it... Those who are in search of a simple romantic story..this boom is highly recommended.

[Jennifer Madero (Boricuan Bookworms) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book. Loved it. Review to come soon! :D

Ebook copy provided by author via Making Connections YA Edition on Goodreads in exchange of an honest review

You can find this review and others on my shared blog http://boricuanbookworms.wordpress.com/

Rating: 4.5 stars

Alana Summer is a ballet dancer. You’d think life would be easy for her, like on of those fairy tales. Not quite so. Having to live with an alcoholic father that abuses verbally of her mother, she liberates through her dancing. And her two best friends, Adin and Chris. Alana has been in love with Adin since childhood, but she’s never gotten the guts to say her true feelings to him, or the other way around because she’s very sure he feels the same towards her. Decided to give Adin a push, and to show him how she feels, she makes a plan: that he becomes her kiss instructor. When life starts to look more positive against the abuse of her father, she’s faced with having to abandon him for good. And Adin, and life as she knew it, to start again.

This is one of those stories that start with life being normal, or as normal as it could be. We have an insight of how Alana’s life is when she has a father that’s an alcoholic. This isn’t one of those stories that things seem unrealistic or of fantasy. No mean girls, boys, or anything like that. It’s a true story of how life can be for a teen with an abusing parent. But not only that. Adin’s father left him, so we have insight too of how women can go on in life to raise kids with a missing father, or the other way around. We have Chris’ parents that are married but those aren’t mentioned as Adin’s and Alana’s. I’d say this is a book to have in a list with The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book I’d recommend to anyone going through a hard time when it comes to a having parents in a dysfunctional marriage, or would like to know a side of how it can be.

Alana is a very enjoyable character. Caring and funny, she stands for the ones she loves the most and herself. But even heroes need some help some time; Adin was always there for her, and Chris. She’s this strong person that even with the difficulties in life, she strives to give more for her and her mother, to not succumb to the sadness and frustration of living with her father brings.

The other characters were good, funny, comprehensive, and most of all, the important ones to Alana always stood by her side even if they were miles away. The one I loved the most was Adin. Even though we see him in some parts as the perfect gentleman, he has his faults that make him even more sighworthy.

Another thing I loved of this book were the descriptions of Puerto Rico. Half the story is located in Long Island, but the other half or so, Alana fins herself in Puerto Rico. The descriptions are so vivid, colorful, and amazing it makes me love my island more, to really appreciate its beauty.

“Today I have seen the greenest of mountains and the bluest ocean of water of all my life. Traveling on the roads of Puerto Rico is like watching a live slide show about nature. One minute you are seeing big mountains and in the next you are captured by a view of waves crashing on the shore.”

V. Anton takes the verbal abuse topic and domestic abuse, delivering it to the reader in the most vivid way. It was like I could feel what Alana was going through, though I can barely start to imagine how it would be to live with that all my life. But not all is of that. The story has its stages. After we see this abuse, how both daughter and mother leave for a better life, we see how life moves on if we really put our minds into it. It gives us hope, that we can’t always let ourselves in the ground and instead to stand up and face it. That there will come a moment when we have to say “enough”.

“In that second, I realized that in life you can’t take anything for granted. The good news is you can depend on your family and on good friends–that are usually few–to lean on them, to take a respite when your life seems to be running ahead of you, leaving your exhausted self behind.”

And now, a few quotes I really liked from the book–other than the ones above:

“People are like living encyclopedias, each about a unique and distinct world.”

“They showed me it’s okay to feel despair, to be angry with life, to feel fatigue. The important thing is not to succumb to those feelings. To not let them direct your life. You need to be able to see through them and stand like a victorious soldier after a battle. There are gonna be injuries but they will heal and when you see the scars you will feel proud because you are still there, stronger, ready for whatever life may put in your way.”

“Some say that life is like a game of chance–that you win or lose but when you have God on your side you will always win.”

“Your heart will always help you see hat your mind is too afraid of.”

PS. I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to read a ARR of this amazing book. Thank you! :D

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is one of those books where i just don't quite know how to rate it. when i opened it i was expecting a light fluffy romance (obviously did not read the blurb closely enough). it may have been this expectation or my lack of connection with the characters in the book or quite possibly something completely different but personally i was not a HUGE fan of this book. that being said i can think of a good 20 people off the top of my head that would love this. and even though it was not my thing i still needed to finish the book to see how it would end. there were many things in this book that i found refreshingly enjoyable. i LOVED how it was Chris and not Adin that told the other perspective of this story... that being said it was kind of weird how focused he was on their romance and it would have been nice to get to know him that little bit better because he was one of my favorite characters. the other interesting and different choices made by the author was that from the beginning Alana "knew" that Adin "loved" her... while this was an interesting choice personally i like all the angst that comes from the does he or doesn't he, although that does leave the question if she knew he loved her (and is therefor so perceptive) why would she be so worried about Lauren? i found the pacing a bit funny with time jumping a month at a time with seemingly no warning, which i must admit i found slightly disappointing as V. Anton successfully managed to skip Alana and Adin's whole relationship in one of these jumps (which may be one of the reasons i failed to connect with him at all). Alana had a tendency to make stupid choices which i just didn't understand at all, not to say that is unrealistic but just that i didn't really understand her. which is the crux of the matter reading this book (for me) was like hearing about the relationship of a girl you smiled at once at a party, you are happy for her but you don't really care, that being said there will be people who know her better who will care a lot (These people will LOVE this book)

[Trish at Between My Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

True rating - a very high 3.

This is a very sweet, frothy read and I really liked it. And that cover, from the colours to the dance pose, wow, I love it.

Alana is a ballet dancer who has to cope with an alcoholic father and an abused mother. 2 things save her from the awful reality of her home life - her ballet dancing and her 2 besties Chris & Adin. A time comes where she has to choose between her life and saving her mother and the choice she made rose her several levels in my estimation.

My big fear about this book was that it was going to be yet another book about a love triangle. Thankfully it's not! It's also not insta love which is my pet hate. Instead the mutual love between Alana and Adin feels real, passionate and totally believable. My favourite part of the book was the bits in Puerto Rico, it sounds amazing from the scenery to people, I fell in love with it a little. The humour that was scattered throughout the book was another plus for me too, Alana's awkwardness at times made me smile knowingly, been there, done that!

The only downside for me was that I would have liked the story to move a little faster. At times it was a little too drawn out for me.

Overall though, a fun read and recommended to fans of YA books.

Thanks to V. Anton for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Χρύσα Αναστασίου · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 stars.
I liked the characters and the story in general. It was an easy book to read and I even understood the Spanish sentences even though I don't speak Spanish.

*THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS*

I liked that the perspective changed from Alana to Chris because I liked Chris the most.
I didn't really like that Alana was soooo sensitive and was about to cry in every situation, good or bad. I'm sensitive too and I've been through some stuff and I kind of understand her, to a point of course, but I'm not like that. Maybe it's just how she is but I thought I'd point that out.
I also thought that the confusion about Lauren was not so good. Why is that? Because if I was going out with someone my best friends would ask me if he was my boyfriend or what's going on with him and me and not just asume we were a couple.
The best part for me was the Puerto Rico part. I liked the descriptions of the place and I'd love to read more of that. I liked the way Alana communicated with Adin and how he found her. I liked that she became more independent in Puerto Rico and started making her life the way she wanted and stopped waiting for others to do it for her.
To sum up, I like the book and I reccomend it to those who like young-adult books in general.

[Anne Conley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alana, a high school girl with an abusive father, is trying her best to convince one of her best friends, Adin, that they were meant to be together. Told from the first person point of view, from Alana's and her other best friend, Chris' perspective, the simple prose of this story painted a lovely picture of a young girl. Growing up, and coming to terms with the sins of her father, she eventually has to learn to love herself and let go of hurts beyond her control, in order to be happy with the love of her life.

This story was a rare jewel for me to read. From Long Island to Puerto Rico, the women in this story reminded me of women in my own family that I have heard stories about for years. Strong, opinionated, and obstinate, they are wonderful secondary characters, adding a dimension to this story that was unexpected.

This author broke several narrative "rules," but in this particular story, it worked to help tell the story as a whole. There were a few issues with the writing that a good editor could fix, but it certainly didn't detract from the story. I loved this novel, and would recommend it to anyone looking for something to do on a rainy day.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

together, you can beat anything

a very sweet story of friendship, love and the ties that go deeper and stronger than blood.

But it's also a story about about abuse and alcoholism and how that can tear apart and destroy a family.

I loved the 3 different viewpoints. Hearing the story told from Alana, Adin and Chris' POV was a great switch and made the story flow easily. The different views added a deeper meeting to the story and wasn't confusing at all.

Even the addition of Spanish language added a lyrical beauty to the writing and story that I also enjoyed (although I was glad to see my many Spanish language classes and my travels helped me to not entirely rely on the translation glossary in the back! But it was so nice to have it there, just in case!)

it was easy to love these characters and to enjoy their story. There were moments when it was heartbreaking to still read, but the story is well worth it.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because the characters are genuine. They are not perfect. The story is about a spirited girl named Alana that struggled with her father's alcoholism and abuse toward her mother. Here is where Adin (his prince in shining armor...sigh) and Chris (the awesome and funny best friend) come into the picture. They support her in an amazing way. I love both characters.

Of course Alana falls for the handsome Adin.

The story is beautiful, romantic and humorous although it touched a delicate theme as domestic violence. There are many emotional scenes in the story that made my eyes water but the end is totally wonderful.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, I really enjoyed this, it was a simple easy to get into story and I enjoyed it from the very first page.
Alana was different from all her friends but I think that's what Adin and Chris like the most about her. Adin and Chris are Alanas two closest friends and she relys on them and dancing a lot when
her life gets a tad hard to deal with. I was pleased when Alanas mum left her dad but was shocked when he died.
I really enjoyed The kiss instructor and give it 5 stars. would certainly recommend.

[LK Hunsaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't catch that this was a YA read when I bought it and I'm not sure if it was meant to be, but it is a nice clean (PG) read with likeable, if not very deep, characters. It could have been tightened to remove some repetition and extra explanation that felt like overkill, but I did enjoy the scenery in the second part of the book and the pace quickened a bit. Fairly predictable, but a fun one day escapist read and nice first book by a new indie author.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I found this novel pretty kick ass. It had romance, drama, passion and a lot of dark evil type things such as abuse.. verbal, physical and emotional that is. But I was still impressed with the novels content and especially the happy ending. It was totally worth the read!