5 STARS!!! Delicious, Swoony and So Full of Heart!

O.M.G. This BOOK! I LOVE this book so much I don’t even know where to begin. Kissing Max Holden is just so raw and real and beautifully written.

I’ve been on a YA contemporary romance binge lately so when I saw the cover and title, I was super excited for a cutesy teen love story. I definitely did some major swooning and there were many mind-blowing kisses that gave me all the FEELS...But my heart was not prepared to be torn in pieces. My emotions are seriously all over the place right now… but in the best kind of way.

Max and Jilly are so perfect. I absolutely ADORED them and rooted for them so hard. They're next door neighbors and longtime friends, but drifted apart after a life-changing misfortune. That is, until one very steamy KISS. A kiss that sparks an unexpected attraction they both can't ignore. And damn THAT KISS was hot... Actually all the kisses were sizzling and lit my senses on fire! Oh and the chemistry between Max and Jilly –RIDICULOUSLY AHH-MA-ZING!! I honestly could not get enough. They are just so darn cute together!

The plot is so well written, realistic and deeply moving. The characters are complex and flawed, but you love them anyway because they're so real and relatable. Most of them are dealing with some of the most difficult life situations that you just can’t help but feel for them. Katy Upperman definitely does not shy away from showing you the hardest parts of life. But, amidst all the pain and heartaches, she also gives you that sense of hope that life can and does get better. And just in case you were wondering, there were definitely some tears... I love it when a book can make me cry.

This book holds such special place in my heart and I've absolutely fallen in love with Upperman's gorgeous storytelling. She does such a great job delivering an unforgettable heart-wrenching story about first love, heartbreak, tragedy, forgiveness and hope. I seriously can't recommend this book enough and I'm so excited to read whatever she writes next.

Review has been posted.

When I first saw this book I never thought that I would read it because of the cover and the synopsis didn't interest me at all. Kids getting caught by the parent because they can't stop kissing, really? But then I saw from the author that it took place in Seattle aka one of my favorite places ever and baking and art and that is just a combination of a lot of things I love so I had to read it then. But the characters were very annoying and immature yes they are young and definitely stupid and I just want to cry on how disappointed I am! The whole book is basically and girl pinning over a guy who has a girlfriend and the boy then having drama with his girlfriend then runs to the girl who he knew was pining for him so basically just a bunch of unnecessary drama ensues. CHEATING IN ANY FORM IS NEVER OKAY this was like a newer version of Anna and the French Kiss which obviously I did not enjoy either I'm so annoyed and done with this book and now I'm going to erase it fro me mind because I should have listened to my initial thoughts.

Jillian Eldridge has lived next door to Max Holden for years. They grew up together, going through life as friends who just happened to live close. But lately, they haven’t been so close. Not since Max’s dad had a stroke, and Max took a dark detour as he struggled to deal with the way his life has changed. When Max climbs through her window one night, lost and looking for a friend, Jill just can’t turn her back on him, and he dad catches them kissing.

Jillian knew it was a terrible idea even before her dad caught them. Max has issues. And a girlfriend. But the lost look in her friend’s eyes made her forget all of them. Her parents are fighting all the time, and she has a new sibling on the way, so Jillian needs someone she can turn to. She’s not sure Max is the right person for that, but she’s not sure she can resist finding out.

A lot of people think YA books just deal with romance and popularity contests, but that just isn’t the case. Kissing Max Holden does have romance, of course, but it deals with deep issues: family tragedy, troubled marriages, hard decisions. Jillian is a great character, driven and determined, who faces obstacles to her dreams that she never imagined. Max is struggling with almost losing his father, and the immense changes in his family, and he copes by turning to things he knows he shouldn’t. Max and Jillian help each other with the battles they face, as their friendship turns to something more. Sweet with the spice of adversity, Kissing Max Holden is a great read that will keep you turning the pages long after you should be sleeping (ask me how I know).

Ah, teenage angst. Nope, I don't miss it but I did enjoy reading about Max and Jill and a friendship that falters and eventually blossoms. Books like this are why adults enjoy reading YA; solid writing and interesting, complex characters.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. I had some issues with this one. I knew from the synopsis that there was a kiss while Max was in a relationship. I didn't know that Max would still BE in that relationship majority of the book. The main characters really bothered me. Max was obnoxious and immature and Jill couldn't ever stand up for herself. It was just one pointless drama scene after another. Also don't get me started on Jill's dad. I wanted to just punch him this whole book.

Coming from someone who had a disabled father growing up, I would have liked more of Max's dad in the story more than just being a vegetable who moves his head sometimes. This plot point was the reason I wanted to pick it up the most because maybe I could finally come across a character who kind of understood what I had to go through with a sick father -- but nope, not really.

I can say that I'm sure this is a book that a lot of other contemporary fans would love. I'm sure that I'm just judging this one way too harshly. Maybe it's because I hyped it up in my head or maybe I was just feeling extra salty that day. Either way, this wasn't my favorite read and I really, really, really hate that.

Let’s start this off on a positive note. I actually liked this a lot more than I was expecting. I was a little nervous going in, because cheating is one of my least favorite things in YA books. But I actually ended up enjoying this book quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, the cheating still annoyed me, but I didn’t hate the characters, which I a big step up for me. Kissing Max Holden follows childhood friends Jillian Eldridge and Max Holden as they navigate family troubles, high school drama, and growing feelings.

Things I Liked
I actually really loved Jillian and Max’s relationship. They have so much history from family BBQs and holiday parties, to vacationing together, you feel their connection. I love that Max made an effort to be more involved in her hobbies, because she supported his football. It was a really genuine moment that showed their friendship and care for one another. Plus, the friends-to-lovers tropes is always a favorite.

This story was filled with so much emotion and tension. Max and Jillian are not afraid to get angry with each other and call each other out. Or tell the other when they are upset. I like they really talk to each other, and Max apologizes for acting kind of awful in the beginning of the story, it showed some nice growth on his part.

I love baking, and I love when I encounter characters who love baking too! Jillian’s passion and enthusiasm for all things baking was a lot of fun for me personally.

Things I Didn’t Like
I said it before, and I’ll say it again now: I hate cheating in YA books, the characters always come off as selfish and unlikeable. While I did still hate the cheating here, I like that the characters discuss the cheating and don’t excuse it.

I felt like Jillian had a pretty bad attitude. She was snarky about her stepmom and future baby sister (both of these tension points are resolved nicely), a little girl shame-y, and selfish. But as I said, she does have some growth and moments where I did genuinely like her.

Kissin Max Holden is a swoony read filled with love, drama, and friendship. The incredibly well established relationship won me over, and I found myself flying through the story. It was a really fun read that was extremely entertaining.

Neighbors and former best friends Jillian and Max haven’t really talked since Max’s dad suffered a major stroke. Rather than dealing with his changed family dynamic, Max buried himself in an unhealthy relationship and the high school party scene. Now, instead of hanging out with Jillian, he spends his weekends getting drunk and making bad decisions.

Jillian knows that something’s up when Max knocks on her window late at night. She also knows that no good will come from letting him in. But there’s something in his sad, defeated expression that forces her to unlock the window, and it’s not long before they’re making out on her bedroom floor. It’s also not long before her dad walks in on them and forbids her from seeing Max anymore.

Though she swears that she’ll never kiss Max Holden again, her heart might not let her walk away so easily.

Minor spoilers below --

First things first, this is not some kind of cute, friends-to-lovers book about kissing neighbors. This is a book about infidelity in not just one, but multiple relationships. Infidelity is a tricky thing to write about. I’d venture a guess that most people are anti-cheating -- I know I am. I just don’t see a point to it. So for me to enjoy a book that has a cheating component, it better be pretty well done. It can’t just be someone stringing along their partner for the sake of the plot.

Unfortunately, I felt like the cheating plot line was never really resolved here. Both characters acknowledge that what they’re doing is wrong but spend the majority of the book excusing it. The cheating is fine because Max’s girlfriend is a bad person. The cheating is fine because Max’s dad had a stroke. The cheating is fine because Jill has a lot going on right now. The cheating is not fine. These characters are old enough to drive. Old enough to get drunk at parties. They are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.

There’s a lot of misogyny in this book. Max’s girlfriend, Becky, is painted as the crazy, over-the-top, sexually promiscuous villain. Now, Becky can be problematic at times. She’s quick to anger. She's physically aggressive. She tries to control Max’s behavior. But does that justify Max cheating on her? No, it doesn’t. Max never seems to particularly like Becky. Why not just break up with her? Their continued (strained) relationship feels like just another hurdle for him and Jill to overcome. Becky’s bad behavior feels like just another way to prove how much better of a person Jill is.

But is Jill really a better person? I’m not convinced. Jillian is so selfish. She knows that what she’s doing is wrong, but she doesn’t care. Not really. She gets mad at Max for not breaking up with Becky, but she continues to hook up with him. She gets mad at her father for keeping secrets from his wife, but she takes a bribe from him in exchange for her silence. She makes excuse after excuse for why she can’t tell her father that she and Max are together, and Max is the unreasonable one for expecting her to be honest. Any time there’s a conflict, Jillian has to get her way because her life is just so complicated. Because her father would be so stressed out if she were to air her teenage melodrama.

Over the course of the book, I thought that Max really grew as a person. He became less reckless and more responsible. (I also admittedly have a soft spot for bad boys who are trying to be better.) Jillian, unfortunately, did not. When I first finished this book, I thought I’d enjoyed it. Looking back, I realize how many issues I had with the plot and the characters. I’m actually surprised at the number of glowing reviews I’ve seen for this book. All I can figure is that I’m no longer the target demographic.

Final rating: ★★☆☆☆

I received a free ARC of Kissing Max Holden from Macmillan/Swoon Reads via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Jillian and Max pretty much grew up together. They were great friends until they got older and then grew apart. Max was currently dating a horrible girl that treated him badly but yet he stayed with her. Max is having family problems as his once vibrant father had a stroke and his whole world is in upheaval. On Halloween night he knocks on Jillian’s window as he used to do and they talk. Max is drunk (yes, he’s only 17) and then he ends up kissing her. She’s shocked but into it until her father finds them and is livid. He kicks Max out and tells Jillian to stay away from Max as he’s no good.

Jillian’s not sure how to feel about Max. She knows he has a girlfriend and she shouldn’t have feelings for him but she does. Max comes clean to his girlfriend about the kiss and the girlfriend, Becky, actually treats Jillian worse than before, which she didn’t think was possible. Jillian’s life at school and with Max is frustrating as she’s not sure how Max feels and all of the mixed signals he’s throwing her way.

As if the situation with Max wasn’t confusing enough her father and step-mother Meredith, who are expecting a child, are fighting constantly. Her father is always gone at work and when he’s home he works on his computer or fights with Meredith. Jillian finds out that her college money was spent and while she wants to hate the “leech-baby” as she calls it, she just can’t. Jillian ends up being there for her step-mom when her father can’t be found and this creates a bond between the two that hadn’t been there before. Jill also ends up loving her little sister to death and that made me smile. Oh, the power of an infant. :) Meredith also understands about Max and feels that Jill should be with him if that’s what she wants.

This was a cute and sweet story about teenage angst. To Max and Jillian trying to figure out the ins and outs of their relationship were major issues – and they were to the average teenager. They were frustrating and unclear and while they were working them out it set them both into turmoil. I really liked how Jill was there for Max when he needed her. She made him understand that his father having a stroke wasn’t his fault and that drinking himself into oblivion all the time wasn’t the answer. Max truly had a good head on his shoulders, his emotions overwhelmed him regularly and that’s what sent him into his tailspins.

The issue with Jillian’s dad was, to me at least, quite obvious. I was sad for Meredith as she was such an innocent in the whole situation. I didn’t like that man at all and it was hard to see what Mer ever saw in him. With the book being from Jillian’s POV only it was hard to look at it from other angles.

The POV was frustrating at times in this book. When the book first starts and Max is knocking on Jill’s window it’s so out of character and something that he hasn’t done in a long while. We never find out what he’s thinking or why he decided to knock at that time. I wanted so badly to get into Max’s head, but alas it never happened. Despite that I thought the author did a decent job of telling Max and Jill’s story and enjoyed the book overall.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This will post as a guest review on Book Binge.
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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-galley of this book.

I'm going to be honest and admit that this gets 4 stars based on the strength of the chemistry between Jill and Max.

This isn't a great book, but it was an enjoyable one. I liked that the book started out by getting to the point (one of them at least), and wasting no time to establish the relationship between Jill and Max. That isn't to say that there still isn't a whole lot of "will they or won't they?" throughout, but it was nice to establish the attraction immediately.

This book also has a theme that I sort of love, the whole "best friends to more than friends" plot. I don't know why I have always been attracted to that kind of story, but I cannot deny it. And that combined with how great Jill and Max were together...it's a win.

But...there were also things that bugged me. Most of them involved Jill. One of the most frustrating things for me in a story is when people don't communicate. Out of fear of hurting someone, or because they assume the opposite of the other person's intention....it drives me crazy. Yes, it creates tension in a story, but I still find it so annoying. And Jill did so much of that...keeping secrets and not facing things when it would have just been so much easier to deal with them. I got so frustrated with her at times.

I also would have liked a little more of Kyle and Leah, since they were established early on as Jill's best friends. I liked when they popped up, but didn't think they did enough. I did, however, love the way I sort of fell in love with Meredith by the end, despite not being fan early on.

This is a worthwhile read, if you're looking for a lighter, fun YA romance.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I'm a little disappointed.
I struggle with reading books that deal with cheating, I usually have no interest in reading them at all, but I thought I'd give Kissing Max Holden a chance. Wrong move, Kristy! The cheating felt like an unnecessary plot device to keep Jill and Max apart and I was not for it. It made me dislike both Jill and Max because even though they know what they are doing is wrong. . . THEY KEEP DOING IT AND it was like? never? really? resolved? and when it "kind of" was.. it didn't feel genuine.
*sigh* just not for me.. If you like that sort of drama then this book is more up your alley than mine.

I had some issues with this books. The premise sounded like something I would mostly enjoy, and I did like some things that happened in the story, but I have mayor issues with the characters and their decisions.
I think it used some well-known tropes in a very harmful way and without explaining why it was bad, like cheating or girl shamming, and that was a big turn of for me. The main characters was quite annoying sometimes, and there were some scenes that didn't made a lot of sense to me.
Hiwever, there were times when I found myself enjoying a bit more the story, so I have very mixed feelings when it comes to the book.

If you love Sarah Dessen, Kasie West, and the HEA, this book is for you. So much kissing, push & pull, and did I mention kissing? Because there is kissing.

What's It About: Jillian Eldridge has lived across the street from Max Holden since she was ten years old.  They were best friends and partners in crime until they slowly drifted apart in their teen years.  Then one night Max knocks on Jillian's window and in a drunken moment (Max not Jillian) they share a kiss.  Now, Jillian is unable to stay away from Max even though Max has a girlfriend and her father forbids them spending time together Jillian needs Max.  As Max deals with the fall out of his father's stroke and Jillian her parents' marriage problems they form a connection that neither of them can deny.  Now, Jillian needs to decide if she wants more then to just kiss Max Holden.

The Good: This is the newest book from Swoon Reads (if you don't know about Swoon Reads and it's nifty contest check it out here) and it lives up to the swoon worthy promise.  The relationship between Jillian and Max has many dreamy swoony moments filled with them being of them being cute and flirting.  These are the moments that make this book worth reading.  These are the moments of classic YA romance.  Plus, Max is one of those characters.  You know, the type of character with all their baggage and self doubt that just needs the love of a good woman to heal him that I personally love in my romance books.

The Not So Good: There was a lot of family drama in this book which, I get it, is designed to move the plot along however it just became a little too much drama for me.  It seemed like Max's family issues added to Jillian's family issues, added to Jillian's college issues, added to Max's girlfriend issues seemed a little much for me.  Plus, in the midst of all this drama there were a few moments of Max teeter on the edge of jerky guy that doesn't really deserve our heroine.  He quickly redeemed himself but there still moments when I wasn't quite feeling him as a romantic lead.

Bottomline: "Kissing Max Holden" is a solid romance with a dreamy, damaged main character that perfectly fills the role of broody male lead combine with to the swoony romance with it's sizzling moments "Kissing Max Holden" is a book that will satisfy most teen romance readers.

Kissing Max Holden was not your average boy-next-door trope. It is much more real, dramatic and heartbreaking. Jillian kisses Max, unfortunately, he's already got a girlfriend. Then what happens? Well, a LOT. There's kissing, crying, lying, betrayal, OH MAN, life freaking happens, and my heart hurts so hard from this book.

The Romance-Really, boy next door is usually fool proof for me. I will always read (and probably adore) boy next door stories. This one really takes it to the next level. I wouldn't say it's the HBO version because it stays pretty PG13, however, it's definitely not the charming story you find on the Hallmark channel either.

The Characters-I love that Max sort of was like this bad boy, but wasn't really. There were real reasons to why he was acting out and a friendship between Jillian and him that was grounds for their romance to take off. All the characters were incredibly endearing and added to the story.

I can't really say much more about the book without giving away spoilers. But let me just say, that there is a lot of hurt happening in this book. A lot of the time, I felt just as bad as Jillian knowing that she helped a guy cheat on his girlfriend. No one wants to be that other girl. My heart broke with hers throughout the book.

The only reason why I docked it a star was just because there was a lull I had to drag myself out of around 60-80% through the book. But it honestly wrapped up nicely. Excuse me while I go find all my family and friends and tell them I love them.

Kissing Max Holden is as much as a summer read that you can get. Around this time of the year, I read a lot of swoony stories. Why? They are fast, light-hearted and just simple fun. Kissing Max Molden is all of those with a dash of drama.

The relationship between the lead, Jillian and Max has been a thing for years but they have crossed that line, to something more; in this book that’s what happens. Jillian’s family is a mess let just put it that way. I don’t want to say too much about this as it plays a HUGE part of this book. It was nice to see a change in a story of family relationships. The relationship between Jillian and her stepmother could be my family part of the story, because it goes through the most change, and develops the more. Jillian and her father also go through a change too, that plays a lot into this book. You also get to learn a lot about Max and his family, and things can impact people differently.

There was ‘teenage girl drama’ but it was overplayed and affect the story in the right ways. I felt like I didn’t really get to know Max as much as I wanted to. There are a few flashbacks to when they were kids and that’s also fun to read. Max is someone who seems to hide his true feelings. One of my favorite part of this book was the Jillian is a backer, that’s her dream. And with everything that’s going on she has this to ground her, but when something happens she could of easily of given up on her dream, but I’m glad to see a young adult girl not doing that and thinking outside of the box on how she could still get to her dream

Overall, this is a great summer read; looking for a fast easy, swoon book than this could be the books for you!

This review was part of a blog tour, these thoughts are what I personally think about this book.

**I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars because the more I think about it, I didn't like this book.

I did not enjoy this book very much to be honest. It had a lot of harmful tropes that to me weren't resolved and could've been at least lessened, but I'll get to that later. Kissing Max Holden was enjoyable at least, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. (Usually I would include a short summary of the plot, but you can just read the publisher's.)

First off, I feel like Jill spent way too much of the book excusing Max's actions, actions that he never really apologized for. They used to be best friends, but she's always had a bit of a crush on him (or maybe not, I really cannot remember). Anyway, Max would be really rude or he would get drunk, and Jill would just think, Oh! he's going through so much right now, it's understandable why he acts this way. And, honestly, at first it was fine, but the longer I read in the book, the more it felt so fake. I'm sure Max apologizes at some point, but it never felt real, which is probably why I don't remember it tbh. Jill just seemed so blinded by her capital-L Love that she never called any of these actions out. Not that Max is verbally abusive or anything. It just felt like everything he did was fine to Jill. [Like??? He's with his girlfriend for almost more than half the book and doesn't break up with her yet kinda messes around with Jill. They do recognize this, but I spent so much of the book thinking, why doesn't he just break up with Becky? They're almost never together, so they could easily break up tbh. His relationship with her just served as an unnecessary obstacle for Jill and Max to me. (hide spoiler)]

Another thing that probably bothered me most, especially towards the end, was the portrayal of the female characters. Becky was extremely aggressive towards Jill, which was understandable at some points, like yeah, she's making a move on your boyfriend so you can be upset. But she has virtually no other characteristics than being bossy, manipulative, and controlling. Basically, Becky was The Ex-Girlfriend who You Have to Fight and Be Better Than. It was unnecessary to me, and I could've looked it over if she had literally any other aspect to her character that didn't serve to make her an antagonist.

I had a problem with another female character, but it's very spoilery, so don't click if you don't want to read it. [So. Turns out Jill's dad was cheating on her stepmom, Meredith, WITH THEIR NEIGHBOR AND MEREDITH'S FRIEND. The cheating part was hinted at throughout the book, so I wasn't surprised, BUT I was surprised by Jill's reaction. She's understandably upset, but her dad basically bribes her to pay for her culinary school if she doesn't tell Meredith. AND JILL ACCEPTS. And then later when she finds out who the other woman is? She calls her a bitch, a homewrecker, etc. I totally understand that she would be upset. I don't have a problem with Jill being mad towards the neighbor. What I do have a problem is that Jill never seems to hold her dad fully responsible; I felt her hate towards the woman (in three pages, mind you!) twice as much as her gradual dislike of her dad ending in anger (throughout the entire book). I know that her dad raised her and everything, but she was angry with him for like 10 pages, and then just kind of cooled off. But she despises the other woman. So yeah, did not enjoy that part. (hide spoiler)]

I really do feel bad rating this book so low, but the more I think about the book, I realize how little I enjoyed it. I feel like it could've focused more on Jill's dad's disapproval towards her and Max's relationship or her sudden struggle with where to go to college or even her cooking and baking (which already took up a lot of the book okay) rather than the three things I mentioned above. This is actually the first time I've rated something two stars that I actually finished; I usually only rate two stars or below with books I didn't even finish. However, this is my opinion, so you can use your own judgment on whether to read the book or not.

Some of the things I did like were Jill's friends, her happy moments with Max, her growing relationship with her stepmom, and her baking/cooking. But overall, there were too many things I didn't like.

To be honest, I didn't hold any expectations previous to reading the book. I just knew that, despite the not-so-different summary, stories from Swoon Reads are usually well edited. And that goes far with e when it comes to YA's.

Jillian and Max are neighbors, strained childhood friends and they see their relationship get a second chance when a drunk Max climbs Jillian's window and kisses her. The problem is that he has a girlfriend and his erratic behavior ever since his father's stroke hasn't earned any points with her own father.

From the way the story starts, I knew I wouldn't like Max and I was ready for him to be the worst. But here is something good, although I really didn't fall for him, I think he fared generally well. So many times I was almost going "aha! I knew you weren't worth it!" and then, Max would either act differently or take it back in time. I'm sorry for being so abstract but of course I couldn't spoil anything. Just know you can trust Max to be at least decent.

Jillian is a also a nice girl but not a character I liked much. I think her best feature for me was not finding out she is an innate child whisperer. Don't you all hate how the YA heroine will from no previous experience be the best thing to ever happen whenever her love interest's little brother needs a sitter? For once, Jill is far from that. She actually ringed very true, aside from her super gift when it came to baking, and well some people do have a gift. I liked her reactions, I think those would have been mine back when I was her age—perhaps, even nowadays.

But not being so into the main couple kind of doomed the romance into apathy from my part. And while I liked the side story, I think it fell out of sync with the main story. I can't say the author came up with too late to adapt the scene sequence but I still suspect of something of the sort. No matter what went on backstage, in the book, we saw the main plot be more or less concluded right after the half mark. Then we were left with tiresome drama between the main couple, so the side story had time to develop and be solved. I think that kind of planning is a little boring, being it deliberate or not.

Unfortunately, it all meant I was reading about a third of the book just to get it done with. Not a good feeling when you're not that warm about the main characters. At least, the conclusion was just what I wanted, so I'm satisfied.

Still, it's an above-average YA. The main plot is a little too common, the characters weren't all that enchanting to me but the book was well written and that side story I mentioned even more delicious than the main one. It was worth my time, and it'll be yours if the plot is your thing. Unbelievably, this seems to have been her debut novel, I can't wait for Katy Upperman's next work, The Impossibility of Us.

Cute and fast read. Pretty swoony, which is really all I'm looking for in a contemporary YA.

Katy Uppeman takes her own unique twist on the classic boy next door story in her debut novel. It’s the perfect amount of fun, witty, and serious, and I think that Upperman did a fantastic job. She created lovable characters, hatable characters, a ship that everyone will enjoy, and some seriously awesome make out scenes without making the book too cringe or too unbelievable.

A majority of the Contemporary YA Romances set in high school read as completely unbelievable or fake, but thats not an issue I had at all with Kissing Max Holden. By the title alone I thought I was gonna be in for another cheesy teen romance, but I ended up finding so much more. Both Max and Jill have a lot of shit going on in there personal lives, and Upperman does not skip over that. She goes into deep detail on how Max’s father’s stoke has effected him and how the strained relationship of Jill’s parents (and her father in particular) change her over the course of the novel. I feel this is something most typical YA romances lack, and I found it rather nice.

One aspect I believe Upperman did particularly well was create sone truly incredible characters. There was Jill and Max and Betsy and ivy and Leah and the parents and so so many more. Max as well as Jill go through some major character development throughout the story that really helps to build their personalities past the cliche good girl and bad boy. i especially loved how Jill was a pastry chef–I found myself craving cookies and brownies and cakes on more than one occasion. Upperman didn’t skip out on the side characters as well, all of Jills friends had interesting characteristics and I would kill to have a friend as great as Kylie. Also, I think that families/family dynamics that Upperman created were just outstanding. With Jill's family, I thought that having a new baby on the way which caused some financial issues helped to set up for later….things (I WANT TO RANT SO BADLY BUT NO SPOILERS!), and that Meredith and Jills relationship wasn’t terrible like the normal stereotype of stepmother/stepdaughter relationships. Now, Jills father may be my least favor character. He just has no bounds, and even though I could see where Upperman was going with his character I still hated him so, so much. Max’s dad (Bill), on the other hand, I really felt for. Having had a friends father go through a similar thing (a stroke that lead to him just living in a vegetative state for years) really helped me imagine Max’s family and understand them better. Max and Ivy (his younger sister) both act out in response to this, their poor mother tries to keep their family together, and their old sister treats Bill like he can’t do anything on his own. I found all of the character so intriguing and I really have to give Upperman major props for this feat.

The story itself was fantastic, but as I stated with Jills father, I could see some major plot points coming from a mile away. This isn’t a terrible thing, but I found some things to be very predictable and almost wished that Upperman went in a different direction to change things up to make a fantastic thing even better. She did manage, however, to throw me off guard with sever things as well. One thing in particular that had me literally scream out “HOW COULD THEY!” has to do with Meredith’s medical bills–you’ll just have to read and see. To summarize things, it was just really cute, fun, and I really enjoyed it.


In conclusion, I give Kissing Max Holden four out of five stars. It was really adorable and fun, but also believable with interesting characters. The only issue I found with it was there were some predictable plot points. I highly suggest Kissing Max Holden to anyone looking for a fun contemporary read, and if you go pre-order Kissing Max Holden by Katy Upperman there’s a pre-oder giveaway going on for it right now, and everyone gets a prize if you email proof of purchase.

I really enjoyed this story! It was sweet and funny with just the right amount of angst for a YA read. The characters were great - likeable, while being flawed enough to feel real. Can't wait to read more from Katy Upperman.