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Just One Kiss
“You don’t know how much you meant to me.”
Despite the present, I can’t forget my past.
Eight years ago, seventeen-year-old Robby St. James was on a path of self-destruction. Only the guidance of his teacher kept him alive—until one devastating kiss ruined everything. Now Robby is working his dream job as a rising star in broadcast journalism. It’s only at night that he lets himself indulge in fantasies about the man who got away.
What doesn’t ruin you makes you stronger.
Dean Hartnett has two rules: loose lips sink ships, and the past belongs behind you. Eight years ago he lost his job and was viciously outed when a student’s crush went too far. Now he’s climbed back to the top of his field to become an award-winning reporter—and he won’t let anyone or anything get in his way. Sometimes that means his love life suffers, but as his ex-boyfriends like to remind Dean, he lives to work.
We can’t go down this path again.
One fateful day, Robby is assigned to Dean’s news division. Robby wants nothing more than a second chance—and Dean just wants to keep the past buried. With so much heat and so many broken promises between them, coming together is inevitable.
This time, it may ruin them both.
Just One Kiss is a steamy second chance gay romance, with no cliffhangers!
Despite the present, I can’t forget my past.
Eight years ago, seventeen-year-old Robby St. James was on a path of self-destruction. Only the guidance of his teacher kept him alive—until one devastating kiss ruined everything. Now Robby is working his dream job as a rising star in broadcast journalism. It’s only at night that he lets himself indulge in fantasies about the man who got away.
What doesn’t ruin you makes you stronger.
Dean Hartnett has two rules: loose lips sink ships, and the past belongs behind you. Eight years ago he lost his job and was viciously outed when a student’s crush went too far. Now he’s climbed back to the top of his field to become an award-winning reporter—and he won’t let anyone or anything get in his way. Sometimes that means his love life suffers, but as his ex-boyfriends like to remind Dean, he lives to work.
We can’t go down this path again.
One fateful day, Robby is assigned to Dean’s news division. Robby wants nothing more than a second chance—and Dean just wants to keep the past buried. With so much heat and so many broken promises between them, coming together is inevitable.
This time, it may ruin them both.
Just One Kiss is a steamy second chance gay romance, with no cliffhangers!
187 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2017
13 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 13, 2017
One kiss from high school teacher Matthew's(Dean) troubled student Robby almost ruined Dean's life. Eight years later Dean's life is back on track, somewhat. He's reinvented himself and just got promoted. Then on the first day of his new position he gets a new coworker, Robby. How do you work with the man who almost ruined your life, the man you've compared every other man to since that one kiss? Both Dean and Robby are still somewhat stuck in the past, still trying to cope with that one kiss Robby forced on Dean. A sweet and touching story about coming to terms with your past and forgiveness that I really enjoyed. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
April 13, 2017
I loved this contemporary romance by M.H. Silver. The characters were nicely developed and I liked the storyline. I am a sucker for a taboo student/teacher story and so I was thrilled that Just One Kiss started out the way that it did and that it then evolved into a second chance at love romance, which is my second favorite trope to read. I enjoyed both Robby and Dean and found them to be loveable characters. I can't wait to see what M.H. Silver writes about next. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
April 26, 2017
I am pretty sure that this is the first contemporary, non-shifter book I have read from this author, and I really enjoyed it!
I personally am still not sure how I feel still about teacher/student relationships happening. Like, I can see the appeal in it being all taboo and hot, but at the same time, I'm just like "it's wrong, wrong, wrong" in my mind and I can't fully enjoy it. Anyway, we learn about what happened between Dean and Robby 8 years ago when Dean was a teacher at Robby's school, and the fallout of what happened between them.
I do think that Dean and Robby had great chemistry from the start, both in the flashbacks to high school and the present. Also, I'm a HUGE sucker for second chance/reunion love stories, and I love that these two were able to work together professionally and sensibly, and could get to know each other more as equals rather than teacher/student. I also enjoyed the investigation going on that they were were working on together. I really enjoyed the realism to it, how they talked to each other, how they were cautious in the relationship and in bed together even, it felt very grounded and real.
Looking forward to more from this author!
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I personally am still not sure how I feel still about teacher/student relationships happening. Like, I can see the appeal in it being all taboo and hot, but at the same time, I'm just like "it's wrong, wrong, wrong" in my mind and I can't fully enjoy it. Anyway, we learn about what happened between Dean and Robby 8 years ago when Dean was a teacher at Robby's school, and the fallout of what happened between them.
I do think that Dean and Robby had great chemistry from the start, both in the flashbacks to high school and the present. Also, I'm a HUGE sucker for second chance/reunion love stories, and I love that these two were able to work together professionally and sensibly, and could get to know each other more as equals rather than teacher/student. I also enjoyed the investigation going on that they were were working on together. I really enjoyed the realism to it, how they talked to each other, how they were cautious in the relationship and in bed together even, it felt very grounded and real.
Looking forward to more from this author!
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 26, 2017
Sometimes Just One Kiss is One Kiss Too Many
Second-Chance Romances are on my top-reads list all the time. I love how the impetus behind a story where the characters have already met, already had a chance at "first" love, has to shift to being about what the characters find in each other or in themselves which makes them want to give their relationship another shot. There's usually some kind of lifestyle change or a shift in personality or perspective to bring about the desire for offering another chance at love to a partner who was found lacking in some way before.
On that note, Just One Kiss by Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver) failed to capture the idea of a "second chance" for me as a reader because the characters were not actually "together" a first time to have a "second chance." There's a lot of student-teacher romance books out there. I get this. It's a hot topic in terms of taboo relationship constructs. Student-Teacher pairings are among my favorite taboo constructs as well so when an author takes on two of my favorite topics at once? It's generally an instant Grand Slam in the reading enjoyment department for me; I feel as if I'm winning the reading lottery when I get two of my favorites in the same book. I knew going into the book the student-teacher relationship was the basis for the teacher, Dean, losing his job, being outed as a gay man, and it was stated the student, Robby, had been going through a self-destructive phase when he tried to initiate something more intimate with Dean than a student-teacher relationship.
I didn't realize how uncomfortable it would make me to read about this teenager fantasizing about his adult teacher after having set the guy up for financial and professional ruin by kissing him out of hand while he's underage. I can generally deal with age differences better. I think it's a testament to Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver)'s skill as an author for her to have made me feel so very uncomfortable when Robby was seventeen and only a bit shy of being a legal adult. She did such a magnificent job capturing Robby's broken desperation for acceptance from anyone, validation from anyone, positive feelings of any kind from anyone, all I could think was anyone in an authority role who did take him up on his desperate grab for love would be almost predatory in nature.
Dean hardly reads like a predator. Don't get me wrong. He did not encourage Robby. He didn't want to respond to Robby. He knew he was the adult. It truly was only one kiss between them which went no further than one kiss. Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver) did a great job making him a Good Guy. The reaction Dean has to Robby when meeting him again as an adult is mixed in terms of feelings in a way I understood. I didn't understand how things simply fell together for him with Robby after all the evidence to Robby's remaining immaturity is presented to him as a slap in the face. Robby is "legal" now, but is his age enough to really make it okay to get involved with him when he's clearly still a lot like the desperate youth who simply needed someone to validate him?
My main issue with Just One Kiss was the importance of the "one kiss" was alternately emphasized in an appropriate manner and then dismissed almost out of hand at the same time. Dean resolutely reads as the Good Guy to Robby's Damaged Teen then to Robby's Career Climber status. I had a hard time just simply liking Robby as a character. In all fairness, I did read this after reading the second book in this same universe -Hollywood Secrets which focuses on Dean's former boyfriend, Kip- so I knew the outcome already going into it. I don't think knowing how their relationship ended up influenced my overall enjoyment of the work. I do think knowing the outcome influenced how easy it was for me to read as it took a long while for me to finish due to a combination of not enjoying Robby as a character and not feeling that desperate drive to seek a resolution to the story by reading through to the end.
Overall, I'm grateful for having the chance to read Robby and Dean's story through Kindle Unlimited, but I only found the story enjoyable rather than stellar which is what I typically get from Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver). I'd rate it 3.5 stars which I rounded up to 4 based on the author's storytelling skills rather than the story itself. I would recommend reading this work before Hollywood Secrets for best potential reading enjoyment.
Second-Chance Romances are on my top-reads list all the time. I love how the impetus behind a story where the characters have already met, already had a chance at "first" love, has to shift to being about what the characters find in each other or in themselves which makes them want to give their relationship another shot. There's usually some kind of lifestyle change or a shift in personality or perspective to bring about the desire for offering another chance at love to a partner who was found lacking in some way before.
On that note, Just One Kiss by Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver) failed to capture the idea of a "second chance" for me as a reader because the characters were not actually "together" a first time to have a "second chance." There's a lot of student-teacher romance books out there. I get this. It's a hot topic in terms of taboo relationship constructs. Student-Teacher pairings are among my favorite taboo constructs as well so when an author takes on two of my favorite topics at once? It's generally an instant Grand Slam in the reading enjoyment department for me; I feel as if I'm winning the reading lottery when I get two of my favorites in the same book. I knew going into the book the student-teacher relationship was the basis for the teacher, Dean, losing his job, being outed as a gay man, and it was stated the student, Robby, had been going through a self-destructive phase when he tried to initiate something more intimate with Dean than a student-teacher relationship.
I didn't realize how uncomfortable it would make me to read about this teenager fantasizing about his adult teacher after having set the guy up for financial and professional ruin by kissing him out of hand while he's underage. I can generally deal with age differences better. I think it's a testament to Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver)'s skill as an author for her to have made me feel so very uncomfortable when Robby was seventeen and only a bit shy of being a legal adult. She did such a magnificent job capturing Robby's broken desperation for acceptance from anyone, validation from anyone, positive feelings of any kind from anyone, all I could think was anyone in an authority role who did take him up on his desperate grab for love would be almost predatory in nature.
Dean hardly reads like a predator. Don't get me wrong. He did not encourage Robby. He didn't want to respond to Robby. He knew he was the adult. It truly was only one kiss between them which went no further than one kiss. Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver) did a great job making him a Good Guy. The reaction Dean has to Robby when meeting him again as an adult is mixed in terms of feelings in a way I understood. I didn't understand how things simply fell together for him with Robby after all the evidence to Robby's remaining immaturity is presented to him as a slap in the face. Robby is "legal" now, but is his age enough to really make it okay to get involved with him when he's clearly still a lot like the desperate youth who simply needed someone to validate him?
My main issue with Just One Kiss was the importance of the "one kiss" was alternately emphasized in an appropriate manner and then dismissed almost out of hand at the same time. Dean resolutely reads as the Good Guy to Robby's Damaged Teen then to Robby's Career Climber status. I had a hard time just simply liking Robby as a character. In all fairness, I did read this after reading the second book in this same universe -Hollywood Secrets which focuses on Dean's former boyfriend, Kip- so I knew the outcome already going into it. I don't think knowing how their relationship ended up influenced my overall enjoyment of the work. I do think knowing the outcome influenced how easy it was for me to read as it took a long while for me to finish due to a combination of not enjoying Robby as a character and not feeling that desperate drive to seek a resolution to the story by reading through to the end.
Overall, I'm grateful for having the chance to read Robby and Dean's story through Kindle Unlimited, but I only found the story enjoyable rather than stellar which is what I typically get from Nora McKinley (M.H. Silver). I'd rate it 3.5 stars which I rounded up to 4 based on the author's storytelling skills rather than the story itself. I would recommend reading this work before Hollywood Secrets for best potential reading enjoyment.
May 8, 2017
holy hottness and yummy teacher/college studen world. lol i love all of this.. it was wondeerfully written.. it was sexy.. it was amazing.. it was wonderful and of course the writing was amazing. i am so glad i got to reviw it
July 2, 2017
2,5 stars
April 9, 2017
Forgiveness; hard to offer, hard to accept, hard to go on. Long ago Dean was Robbie's teacher. Robbie was a hard nut to crack as he didn't have a good home life and Dean seemed to be the only one who was willing to give Robbie a chance to better himself. Robbie was striking out at everyone and anyone. A slip of the tongue to his best friend resulted in Dean being thrown out of his teaching job. Years later Dean had settled himself into a respectable job and had come out to his employer and co-workers. Even the public knew he was gay. He was expecting a new co-worker but didn't think it would be Robbie. Both must learn to face their intermingled pasts and jump their respective hurdles so each can live with themselves and each other. Forgiveness is a hard lesson to learn. A great character study of each. This story really held my interest; it's not paranormal but something that could happen in the real world.
April 12, 2017
Robby is a lost teenager who is ‘rescued’ by his teacher, Dean. They are attracted toward each other, but nothing can come of it because of the student/teacher relationship. One day, though, they slip up and kiss. It backfires completely as it gets Dean fired from his job.
Years later Dean is an out and proud man working at a news station. His new co-worker is no other than Robby, who left his troubled teen years behind and followed in his idol’s footsteps of becoming a journalist. Their first re-encounter is kind of akward, but they don’t hold grudges and can both be professional. They are still very much attracted toward each other and steady but slowly their relationship unfold.
This story was well written with a fluid and pleasing writing style. The author lets the characters tell their stories from past to present. You get a good feeling for their thoughts and why they made their decisions. Dean and Robby are both strong and real characters, with flaws and insecurities, but also with the will to forgive and move on. There is a bit of suspense as they uncover some shady business. Both men will do anything to help and protect the other without losing their sense of integrity.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the author.
Years later Dean is an out and proud man working at a news station. His new co-worker is no other than Robby, who left his troubled teen years behind and followed in his idol’s footsteps of becoming a journalist. Their first re-encounter is kind of akward, but they don’t hold grudges and can both be professional. They are still very much attracted toward each other and steady but slowly their relationship unfold.
This story was well written with a fluid and pleasing writing style. The author lets the characters tell their stories from past to present. You get a good feeling for their thoughts and why they made their decisions. Dean and Robby are both strong and real characters, with flaws and insecurities, but also with the will to forgive and move on. There is a bit of suspense as they uncover some shady business. Both men will do anything to help and protect the other without losing their sense of integrity.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the author.
April 18, 2017
Steaming flaming volcano hot
Do not miss this second chance at love story involving a teacher and his almost 18 year old student Robby. Robby can't think of anything but his teacher and one impulsive kiss ruins everything when the teacher, Dean, is outed and fired from his job.
Years later they meet again when employed by the same TV station. Do they have any chance at all?
This is a story of suspense and explicit passion with a very satisfying ending.
Do not miss this second chance at love story involving a teacher and his almost 18 year old student Robby. Robby can't think of anything but his teacher and one impulsive kiss ruins everything when the teacher, Dean, is outed and fired from his job.
Years later they meet again when employed by the same TV station. Do they have any chance at all?
This is a story of suspense and explicit passion with a very satisfying ending.
dnf
May 17, 2017DNF. Just kinda boring.
Read
June 24, 2017DNF @ 45%
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews