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Notting Hill Diaries #1
The Art of Kissing Frogs
Bad dates? Kate’s had ‘em. As an American in London she’s discovered not every Englishman is Tom Hiddleston. There was the guy who wanted to suck her toes in public, and the guy who thought he was an alien. As in the kind from outer space.
Broken heart? Kate’s been there. After her husband left her for a hot Brazilian, her world came crashing down. Her heart and her confidence pretty much got thrown in a blender set to “chop.” Her only options were to run home to America with her tail between her legs, or put on her big girl panties and get on with life. She chose the latter.
Faith in men? Surprisingly restored by the dreamy Adam Wentworth whose kindness and wicked sense of humor send Kate’s damaged heart fluttering once again. After kissing so many frogs, she’s determined not to let this prince get away.
Broken heart? Kate’s been there. After her husband left her for a hot Brazilian, her world came crashing down. Her heart and her confidence pretty much got thrown in a blender set to “chop.” Her only options were to run home to America with her tail between her legs, or put on her big girl panties and get on with life. She chose the latter.
Faith in men? Surprisingly restored by the dreamy Adam Wentworth whose kindness and wicked sense of humor send Kate’s damaged heart fluttering once again. After kissing so many frogs, she’s determined not to let this prince get away.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2015
184 people are currently reading
479 people want to read
About the author
Shéa MacLeod
134 books454 followersShéa MacLeod has dreamed of writing novels since before she could hold a crayon. She totally blames her mother.
Her favorite poem as a child was ‘Jabberwocky’, and Her favorite authors were Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe. Which probably explains a lot.
After a six year sojourn in London, England, a dearth of good donuts has driven her back to her hometown. She now resides in the leafy green hills outside Portland, Oregon where she indulges in her fondness for strong coffee, Ancient Aliens reruns, lemon curd, and dragons.
Because everything's better with dragons.
Shéa is the author of the SUNWALKER SAGA (a fast paced urban fantasy series with a kick-ass heroine published by Montlake) and DRAGON WARS (a post-apocalyptic series with dragons)as well as the Cupcake Goddess novelettes.
Her favorite poem as a child was ‘Jabberwocky’, and Her favorite authors were Agatha Christie and Edgar Allan Poe. Which probably explains a lot.
After a six year sojourn in London, England, a dearth of good donuts has driven her back to her hometown. She now resides in the leafy green hills outside Portland, Oregon where she indulges in her fondness for strong coffee, Ancient Aliens reruns, lemon curd, and dragons.
Because everything's better with dragons.
Shéa is the author of the SUNWALKER SAGA (a fast paced urban fantasy series with a kick-ass heroine published by Montlake) and DRAGON WARS (a post-apocalyptic series with dragons)as well as the Cupcake Goddess novelettes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 21, 2015
Kissing frogs is a 5 Star Must Read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this comical romance thru and thru.
Kate, a curvy American woman who is witty, beautiful, funny and hard-working, finds herself kicked out of the house she called a home in London, with her cheating asshole of a husband.
With her head on her shoulders Kate leans on her great friend Chloe who is charismatic, open-minded, fierce, funny and all around kick ass.
After a little bit of going through the tides of the initial heart break that her soon to be (ex) Husband put her through, Kate is back up on her feet determined to get on with her life, follow her dreams and start dating again.
I absolutely loved being the fly on the wall to her many dating adventures.
Poor Kate is the Queen of being nice and giving the guy the benefit of the doubt even when the date literally sucked the life out of her or thought she and everyone around her was an alien.
I felt for her when a few of the jerks could care less about her or her thoughts just to then end up without their wallets, leaving her to pay while they went off with another woman. At the same time I was so glad that Kate wasn't a hussy, wanting anything with anyone she could.
Kate grew stronger with each bad date, but she was still her, at times waiting up to an hour for her date to arrive, only to end up with already downed coffee, or aching feet, trying to find an exit.
The day that a gorgeous stranger with green eyes on the Tube overhears one of her bad dates gone bad she steals a few glances of him, while trying to figure out what the heck her date just asked if he could do.
Then she's off the Tube thinking of the green eyed stranger and how grateful she is to have ended the date.
To her surprise the green eyed man is standing in front of her engaging her in conversation about her bad date. From his charming smile, to eyes that smiled, the description of him makes my knees weak.
" A beautiful lady like you should only date Prince Charmings."
I found myself smirking and giggling and couldn't turn the pages fast enough to go on the roller-coaster ride of doom with her and her not worth a second chance dates lol.
Then as if it couldn't get any worse for Kate, her soon to be (ex) husband stirs the pot a bit more and she finds herself with time ticking away.
As the story progresses I love that Kate gets stronger, she sticks up for herself, she follows her dreams and finds herself moving in with the coolest gay men in London.
Kev one of her room-mates was one of my favorite characters. He loved gossip, he loved Kate for who she was and was there for her at every turn.
I loved how he owned himself. He was down to earth, open-minded, non-judgmental and the answer to all her problems. Sure Chloe was a great friend to her but Kev, Kev is the one that was there when Chloe couldn't be and showed Kate how to own her curves. He had her back in more ways than one, and I loved the encounters the two of them shared together.
Adam, who I am going to call -the green eyed Prince Charming- couldn't have came into Kate's life at a more difficult time.
This man exuded Dominance.
He was charming, good looking, intuitive, down to earth, had a sexy accent and the things that he would say had me swooning all night long.
He is Mr.McDreamy.
I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
When Kates life is in turmoil because time ran out thanks to her soon to be (ex) husband, her whole world is shattered. Leaving her alone, screwed over, heart broken, and back on American soil.
She moves on with her life in certain ways, and is blindsided by the events that take hold when she is back in America.
The ending I never saw coming. I didn't know what was in store for Kate's future and I wish i could take her and her friend Chloe out for drinks lol.
I loved this story and can't wait to dive into book two!
Shea MacLeod is a terrific writer who gave Bridget Jones a run for her money.
If you love romance with comedy and real life experiences thrown in this story is a must read!
I'll be updating this review with graphics to come :)
I thoroughly enjoyed this comical romance thru and thru.
Kate, a curvy American woman who is witty, beautiful, funny and hard-working, finds herself kicked out of the house she called a home in London, with her cheating asshole of a husband.
With her head on her shoulders Kate leans on her great friend Chloe who is charismatic, open-minded, fierce, funny and all around kick ass.
After a little bit of going through the tides of the initial heart break that her soon to be (ex) Husband put her through, Kate is back up on her feet determined to get on with her life, follow her dreams and start dating again.
I absolutely loved being the fly on the wall to her many dating adventures.
Poor Kate is the Queen of being nice and giving the guy the benefit of the doubt even when the date literally sucked the life out of her or thought she and everyone around her was an alien.
I felt for her when a few of the jerks could care less about her or her thoughts just to then end up without their wallets, leaving her to pay while they went off with another woman. At the same time I was so glad that Kate wasn't a hussy, wanting anything with anyone she could.
Kate grew stronger with each bad date, but she was still her, at times waiting up to an hour for her date to arrive, only to end up with already downed coffee, or aching feet, trying to find an exit.
The day that a gorgeous stranger with green eyes on the Tube overhears one of her bad dates gone bad she steals a few glances of him, while trying to figure out what the heck her date just asked if he could do.
Then she's off the Tube thinking of the green eyed stranger and how grateful she is to have ended the date.
To her surprise the green eyed man is standing in front of her engaging her in conversation about her bad date. From his charming smile, to eyes that smiled, the description of him makes my knees weak.
" A beautiful lady like you should only date Prince Charmings."
I found myself smirking and giggling and couldn't turn the pages fast enough to go on the roller-coaster ride of doom with her and her not worth a second chance dates lol.
Then as if it couldn't get any worse for Kate, her soon to be (ex) husband stirs the pot a bit more and she finds herself with time ticking away.
As the story progresses I love that Kate gets stronger, she sticks up for herself, she follows her dreams and finds herself moving in with the coolest gay men in London.
Kev one of her room-mates was one of my favorite characters. He loved gossip, he loved Kate for who she was and was there for her at every turn.
I loved how he owned himself. He was down to earth, open-minded, non-judgmental and the answer to all her problems. Sure Chloe was a great friend to her but Kev, Kev is the one that was there when Chloe couldn't be and showed Kate how to own her curves. He had her back in more ways than one, and I loved the encounters the two of them shared together.
Adam, who I am going to call -the green eyed Prince Charming- couldn't have came into Kate's life at a more difficult time.
This man exuded Dominance.
He was charming, good looking, intuitive, down to earth, had a sexy accent and the things that he would say had me swooning all night long.
He is Mr.McDreamy.
I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
When Kates life is in turmoil because time ran out thanks to her soon to be (ex) husband, her whole world is shattered. Leaving her alone, screwed over, heart broken, and back on American soil.
She moves on with her life in certain ways, and is blindsided by the events that take hold when she is back in America.
The ending I never saw coming. I didn't know what was in store for Kate's future and I wish i could take her and her friend Chloe out for drinks lol.
I loved this story and can't wait to dive into book two!
Shea MacLeod is a terrific writer who gave Bridget Jones a run for her money.
If you love romance with comedy and real life experiences thrown in this story is a must read!
I'll be updating this review with graphics to come :)
December 27, 2021
This book is hilarious. I had so much fun reading this. But I don't really like the ending sksksksks but still, it was a good read
March 10, 2022
The Art Of Kissing Frogs
I really enjoyed reading this. I like it when I can get lost in the story. I enjoyed all the characters. It was funny, and a feel good story.
I really enjoyed reading this. I like it when I can get lost in the story. I enjoyed all the characters. It was funny, and a feel good story.
January 24, 2022
3.5 stars.
Fun, fast read.
This book was about all of the frogs you had to kiss before finding your Prince Charming. And you know what? Not one mention of it in the epilogue. No closure to the basis of the book. No conclusion to her quest on finding love after a failed marriage. And no comments on how complete and loved Adam made her feel. Disappointed.
I was really looking forward to the Adam part of the book. But it was so short lived. I knew that eventually she’d have to go back to the states, but I didn’t like the way things ended.
She hadn’t spoken to Adam in over 7 months. He shows up asking for forgiveness, which neither of them should be asking in the first place, they go with a very basic “of course I forgive you”, and live happily ever after?
Make them sweat, make them work for the relationship. They knew each other for what? 3 weeks? There needs to be more of a base line if you want your characters to still want to be together all those months later.
I think the author could’ve played with them in so many ways, rather than finishing the book because you don’t want to keep going.
Fun, fast read.
This book was about all of the frogs you had to kiss before finding your Prince Charming. And you know what? Not one mention of it in the epilogue. No closure to the basis of the book. No conclusion to her quest on finding love after a failed marriage. And no comments on how complete and loved Adam made her feel. Disappointed.
I was really looking forward to the Adam part of the book. But it was so short lived. I knew that eventually she’d have to go back to the states, but I didn’t like the way things ended.
She hadn’t spoken to Adam in over 7 months. He shows up asking for forgiveness, which neither of them should be asking in the first place, they go with a very basic “of course I forgive you”, and live happily ever after?
Make them sweat, make them work for the relationship. They knew each other for what? 3 weeks? There needs to be more of a base line if you want your characters to still want to be together all those months later.
I think the author could’ve played with them in so many ways, rather than finishing the book because you don’t want to keep going.
July 28, 2023
Brilliant
I love Shea's Season of the Witch books and am so impatient for the next one I thought I'd catch up on some of her other books and the Notting Hill Diaries are amazing. I read book 2 first and loved it then I got this and although it's a series they're all standalone stories. The characters are so well written I can just imagine having them as best friends or hating them. The books are happy, sad and such fun reading I'll be getting the next one as you can never have too many great books.
I love Shea's Season of the Witch books and am so impatient for the next one I thought I'd catch up on some of her other books and the Notting Hill Diaries are amazing. I read book 2 first and loved it then I got this and although it's a series they're all standalone stories. The characters are so well written I can just imagine having them as best friends or hating them. The books are happy, sad and such fun reading I'll be getting the next one as you can never have too many great books.
January 2, 2022
Review of The Art of Kissing Frogs
The author is a clever and funny writer. I liked the creative atmosphere. I liked the romance and how much nonsense the main character went through to find her true love. As a reader, I'm appreciative of learning new vocabulary, slang, cultural or otherwise...which led me to researching a few British phrases. As a reader, clean language and closed door romances are my thing and this story had neither.
The author is a clever and funny writer. I liked the creative atmosphere. I liked the romance and how much nonsense the main character went through to find her true love. As a reader, I'm appreciative of learning new vocabulary, slang, cultural or otherwise...which led me to researching a few British phrases. As a reader, clean language and closed door romances are my thing and this story had neither.
February 5, 2022
GREAT!
I wonderful book of two people from different circles in life. One on the rise and one with secrets and falling fast. They did not seem to be the perfect match, but you don't always know what is in a person's heart and what their real dreams are. Kate doesn't want the glitter and Adam is buried in it. They face impossible obstacles when the secret ultimately drives them apart. But love can heal wounds.
I wonderful book of two people from different circles in life. One on the rise and one with secrets and falling fast. They did not seem to be the perfect match, but you don't always know what is in a person's heart and what their real dreams are. Kate doesn't want the glitter and Adam is buried in it. They face impossible obstacles when the secret ultimately drives them apart. But love can heal wounds.
February 28, 2022
Al-most totally enjoyable but spoiled for me
So TRAGIC that most modern authors have such a Very Limited Vocabulary! They - for some unknown reason - abuse words that belong only to GOD viz. HOLY, JESUS, GOD, CHRIST. In this context, they also use horrific oxymorons. This is blasphemy and Will be severely punished in due course. Believe it!
So TRAGIC that most modern authors have such a Very Limited Vocabulary! They - for some unknown reason - abuse words that belong only to GOD viz. HOLY, JESUS, GOD, CHRIST. In this context, they also use horrific oxymorons. This is blasphemy and Will be severely punished in due course. Believe it!
Read
January 11, 2024Do not finish. This was a little boring. A book that had been on my to-read list for a long time became available at the library and I read it after I started this, and I just didn't feel like finishing this after reading that. I made it 20%.
Content: a little on the crude side. Has profanity and innuendo.
Content: a little on the crude side. Has profanity and innuendo.
June 19, 2021
The beginning of this book was fun and quite different, but towards the end, when everything should be more intense, it declined so much that the last three chapters felt like an abrupt cut and rushed nonsense making it lose its essence. Too bad.
January 4, 2022
So relatable!
This story was a pure pleasure to read. It is so funny to read about all the toads the heroine went through to find her prince. The characters and their insecurities are something I recognized in myself and others. We all have flaws but need to embrace them and get over ourselves.
This story was a pure pleasure to read. It is so funny to read about all the toads the heroine went through to find her prince. The characters and their insecurities are something I recognized in myself and others. We all have flaws but need to embrace them and get over ourselves.
January 16, 2023
Frogs
Loved this story! A must to read! Lol funny! Curvy girl had put lots of time spent with toads, or frogs to find her prince. If you like to laugh out loud with a likeable and deserving heroine given her HEA, this is the story for you!
Loved this story! A must to read! Lol funny! Curvy girl had put lots of time spent with toads, or frogs to find her prince. If you like to laugh out loud with a likeable and deserving heroine given her HEA, this is the story for you!
October 13, 2024
The art of kissing frogs
A nice light hearted read. A read of silly first dates, that were all so bad. To meet accidentally her love and not see him again for weeks inbetween more ridiculous first dates
A nice light hearted read. A read of silly first dates, that were all so bad. To meet accidentally her love and not see him again for weeks inbetween more ridiculous first dates
January 30, 2025
I wanted to enjoy this book so badly but the writing was amateurish at best. Felt like a book written by a teenager or a novice writer. I cannot believe how highly rated it is. Premise of the book is fun but the writing...ugh
November 5, 2021
A fun book...rom com to a tee!
January 2, 2022
Cute and Free!!
That was a great free kindle read to start the year. Like a hallmark movie, it was a cute romantic comedy, easy to read and quick moving.
That was a great free kindle read to start the year. Like a hallmark movie, it was a cute romantic comedy, easy to read and quick moving.
February 10, 2022
Loads of fun. Some odd and silly dates and a happy ever after. A light hearted read. I will definitely read more by this new to me author.
March 2, 2022
Funny ,feel good romance with a bit of heartbreak thrown in ,what's not to love .
Great characters ,easy reading ,loved it
Great characters ,easy reading ,loved it
Read
March 11, 2022Fun light romance
Captivating and heart warming. A very enjoyable story about an American woman living in England who doesn't want to lose her visa status. Very enjoyable.
Captivating and heart warming. A very enjoyable story about an American woman living in England who doesn't want to lose her visa status. Very enjoyable.
April 7, 2022
Brilliant.
This story has me gripped from the first paragraph. I enjoyed every word, and I love a happy ending.
You'd have to be very boring not to enjoy it.
This story has me gripped from the first paragraph. I enjoyed every word, and I love a happy ending.
You'd have to be very boring not to enjoy it.
April 7, 2022
Funny and sad
Some chapter's were in the wrong place. Good story when trying to get everything in the right order. Too many mistakes.
Some chapter's were in the wrong place. Good story when trying to get everything in the right order. Too many mistakes.
June 19, 2022
Too much self-hate
It soon becomes annoying and nearing the end, I had to skip pages. Didn’t find it very funny either. No sex, it’s a very chaste book.
It soon becomes annoying and nearing the end, I had to skip pages. Didn’t find it very funny either. No sex, it’s a very chaste book.
June 29, 2022
Kissing Frogs
A terrific book by an author I’ve never read before. This is book 1 in a series, and I can’t wait to read the rest of them‼️👌🏼
A terrific book by an author I’ve never read before. This is book 1 in a series, and I can’t wait to read the rest of them‼️👌🏼
July 9, 2022
Fun Read
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but am glad I read it. It was fun and the story was sweet.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but am glad I read it. It was fun and the story was sweet.
July 10, 2022
An entertaining story - enjoyed reading it.
July 17, 2022
Amusing story of Kate's attempts at online dating. The men she meets that way all have issues. But then she meets Adam while on a train. There's a lot more to him than it seems.
Nice relationship
Nice relationship
July 19, 2022
Each frog funnier than the next
Funny, super cute. Lively characters. Going to have to get the next in the series in the Notting Hill Diaries.
Funny, super cute. Lively characters. Going to have to get the next in the series in the Notting Hill Diaries.
April 3, 2023
I like a book I can relate to & laugh at. Thank you.
September 6, 2023
Fun read
The dating scene in london sounds scary. And Kate's first husband an absolute looser. The characters in this story a great! I look forward to the next book.
The dating scene in london sounds scary. And Kate's first husband an absolute looser. The characters in this story a great! I look forward to the next book.
September 16, 2023
Readable. Solidly readable. But uninspired and not especially romantic. Honestly, the best thing about this book is it's title.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews