This book has a lot going for it- small town with a cute name and theme. Quirky secondary characters and yes, even a feisty llama. However, all that is overshadowed by Audrey and Ronan’s family situations. Bad parents, personal sacrifices - it’s so prominent it really casts a depressing pall over the story. This was not my cup of tea simply because I prefer a little more escapism and lightness in my romances.

I have read other books by this author and enjoy her writing. Even though I thought this book was just ok, I would like to read more stories in this town.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

Thank you to @entangled_publishing and @netgalley for a copy of the book. This was a sweet small town romance. I love the meet cute of Ronan and Audrey and how their story developed. I adored the fun facts that started each chapter and how it was part of the story. My heart broke for Audrey for all that she sacrificed for her family and how she felt about her future. Overall, this was a fun romance and I look forward to more of this series. ⁣

A cute and sweet romance, that had a few more darker threads then would be expected in a true rom-com story. I liked the characters. They both had growth. There were some laughs and tears with this story. Overall, a good story. *I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

I really adore this author & everything I’ve read for her! This book did NOT disappoint! I’m a huge fan of all the plus size/curvy heroine stories!! So I knew I had to read this one! Audrey is our hard working, random fact, witty heroine. She works to support her siblings. Ronan is our sexy professor hero. These two have the BEST meet cute ever guys! At the coffee shop Audrey works at, we’re she accuses Ronan of lying to get a discount! She doesn’t believe he’s really a teacher. But she gets a surprise when he’s her teacher! OMG! Love! These two are wonderful & have their own personal struggles to overcome. They are strong characters I won’t forget. I loved this sweet, fun, and steamy story! I hope we get to come back to this adorable small town again!

Thank you NetGalley, Entangled Publishing and Stafanie London for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Is there anything better than a book blowing away your expectations?! I love going into a book expecting one thing and getting so much more. A small town with a cutesy romance name, young woman working in a coffee shop supporting her younger siblings and alcoholic father and out of town hottie professor? I expected this book to be light and fluffy and more than a little cheesy. Stefanie London color me surprised because you took an old idea and made it feel brand new!
When her mother died and her father slipped into alcoholism, Audrey dropped out of high school to work and keep her younger siblings on track for a better life. Her own dreams and goals came to a full stop in order to raise her siblings and keep her drunk father out of jail and a roof over their heads. She’s brilliant and a trivia wiz so between working multiple jobs and taking care of her family, she secretly takes one class a semester at the local college. She isn’t working towards a degree, she doesn’t even have a GED, but her thirst for new information is the one thing she has for herself.
New professor Ronan is at the small town’s college for only a year as a fill in. He moved back to Boston from England when his grandmother’s health started to decline and he’s not sure what his next move is. He’s never been one to spend much time in one place and with a detached relationship with his family, he’s itching to get to his next place. Audrey has no plans to leave and Ronan has no plans to stay, but their chemistry is instant and their connection only grows stronger until neither one of them can deny it.
The teacher-student trope can easily turn into a cheesy, pervy mess but the ages, maturity and circumstances in this felt perfect! Not only was the relationship between Audrey and Ronan believable, it felt very realistic.The way their relationship unfolded and evolved felt organic andStefanie London kept things cheese free throughout! Their personalities really balanced each other and their witty banter and random trivia were such cute moments. This book wasn't just a sweet romance though. Readers get to grow with Audrey as she learned to fight for herself and reach for her own dreams. She’s terrified of the future and hoping for more, but Ronan is so supportive and truly just wants what’s best for her. Ronan’s family dynamic was interesting and I would’ve loved to hear a little more into the situation with his mother and his relationship with his grandmother, but I really liked him!
If you’re in the mood for a sweet romance with swoon worthy chemistry and a story that will tug at your heart strings, look no further!

When going into this book I thought I was heading into a sweet, rom-com type of a read. Oh boy, was I wrong! This story was so emotionally charged it had me completely addicted.

Audrey and Ronan, two people so deserving of love but neither of them realizing that was exactly what they needed, stumble across each other in a bustling cafe where Audrey makes an absolute fool of herself. (Something that Ronan will never let her forget.)

While there were some laugh-out-loud moments this story was more about mending broken hearts and discovering that there is so much more out of life than what we sometimes believe we are destined to have. It showed that a chance encounter can absolutely be life-altering.

I adored these two! Their attraction was off the charts and their banter, both witty and extremely intelligent, had me enthralled from the very beginning. I couldn't get enough of their story, both the good and the bad moments they'd endured - their tragic pasts making them the closed-off individuals they are when they first meet. I really felt for these two.

Stefanie has written another hit here and I recommend you all learn a Kissing Lesson and give it a read! Beautifully written.

A hero and heroine with sizeable emotional baggage and an aversion to romantic commitment have no chance against love when they live in a town called Kissing Creek. Author Stefanie London ups the charm with this cute small town without becoming cloying, but don’t expect all fluff just because Kissing Lessons takes place at locations like the Kisspresso Café.

Audrey has had a difficult life, but she maintains (outwardly at least) a positive disposition. After her mother’s death and her father’s downward spiral, Audrey dropped out of high school to raise her siblings. She’s put her dreams on hold for over a decade, worked multiple jobs, and stretches herself to the limits in order to give her four siblings a chance to grow, thrive, and eventually leave Kissing Creek. The only thing she does for herself is secretly take a night class at the local college. Audrey’s love of learning, the joy she takes in it purely for its own sake, made her sparkle. But otherwise it just plain broke my heart watching her struggle and sacrifice. To make matters worse, her father is abusive and Audrey has to shield and protect her siblings. She’s seen what love and loss can do to a person and has no interest in it. But Ronan Walsh knocks Audrey off her carefully-trod path when he first walks into Kisspresso Café. The handsome, young professor is Audrey’s idea of a perfect guy. Too bad she has no time to date…and that’s before the fact that dating her new professor would be strictly off-limits.

Ronan is on a fast-track to success and has his eyes on the prize of a teaching position at an Ivy League school. Kissing Creek is just a temporary stop so he can be near his family after his grandmother takes a bad fall. Sparks fly between Ronan and Audrey from the first, but he too has had an upbringing that makes him wary of opening his heart. All the odds are stacked against these two, and yet they can’t keep from being drawn to one another. I enjoyed Audrey and Ronan together; their shared love of learning alone could easily endear me to them. Though there are a number of heavy topics in this book, there’s a brightness to the romance (and some of the situations they find themselves in) that lifted the story up. The trivia they traded back and forth made me smile and on the whole I found their romance satisfying.

Kissing Lessons is a tough book for me to rate. I really liked Audrey and Ronan and I always enjoy Ms. London’s writing. Still, the book was slow at times and not all the heavier issues were resolved in a satisfying manner. I can’t quite put my finger on why the story dragged at times, but it wasn’t as engaging as Ms. London’s books usually are. There are ups and downs in the love story and the arguments that occurred felt natural to the characters, their histories, and their fears. All in all, I liked the main characters a lot and the more humorous moments in this story ensure that I’ll be back for more Kissing Creek romances.

This book was cute! And fun! It definitely wasn't my favorite Stefanie London book, and it did have some moments were I just wanted to skim through, but I really did love our hero and heroine. Audrey was feisty, she was strong, and she was stubborn, but sometimes too much so. Ronan wasn't the best hero I've ever read, but he was still pretty charming and definitely a fun counterpart to Audrey.

It was a fine book. It wasn't the best it wasn't the worst. I enjoyed it, but I wanted more. Definitely not that memorable, but I would still recommend it to people looking for a quick, light, hallmark-movie-esque romance.

A delightful small town romance that made me giggle on plenty of occasions, Stefanie London’s Kissing Lessons is sure to steal your heart!

When you live in a town called Kissing Creek, you are surrounded by love and romance, but Audrey Miller does not believe in happy ever after. And besides, Audrey has got enough on her plate without having to worry about relationships. With her siblings to look after and care for, not to mention trying to work every spare possible hour to keep herself and her family fed, clothed and watered, Audrey is far too busy to even think about dating let alone actually go on a date. However, when a sexy young professor walks through the doors of the coffee shop she works at, Audrey’s resolve to stay stubbornly single begins to melt away…

Ronan Walsh looks like he stepped out of one of Audrey’s romantic fantasies. Devastatingly attractive, immensely intelligent and sweet and charming, Ronan has everybody in Kissing Creek getting all hot and bothered – and Audrey is certainly no different. As the two find themselves drawn to one another, sparks quickly begin to fly between Ronan and Audrey even though their lives couldn’t be more different. While Ronan has his sights set on getting to the top of the academia ladder, Audrey’s responsibilities will keep her in Kissing Creek for the foreseeable future. Audrey knows that she should give Ronan a wide berth and stick to serving him hot drinks, however, resisting his tempting kisses soon proves easier said than done.

A future for the two of them might seem out of the question, but when Ronan and Audrey’s feelings for one another deepen, will they keep their relationship strictly casual? Or will they let this unexpected chance at happiness in Kissing Creek slip through their fingers?

Stefanie London’s Kissing Lessons is a joy to read from beginning to end. An irresistible contemporary romance that tickles the funny bone and warms the heartstrings, Kissing Lessons sparkles with delicious banter, intense emotional drama and sizzling chemistry. Audrey is a brilliant heroine readers would love to have as a friend and Ronan is a charismatic and intelligent hero who is as delectable as one of the Chocolate Smooch donuts Audrey serves at the coffee shop.

A terrific romance that will brighten up your day, Stefanie London’s Kissing Lessons is one treat you don’t want to deny yourself!

Kissing Lessons

This was a cute book, exposing some deep issues for the characters that really could have improved with more discussion and explanation. I think the author wanted to have these issues as a background reason for some actions and thinking, but it was too surface described for me. I wasn’t expecting anything too deep, but I did need a little bit more. If I put that aside, I enjoyed the story. I just felt it should have been either a fully light story, or one that explored these issues more.

I adored Stefanie London's "Kissing Lessons," a laugh-out-loud funny, sweet, emotional story that gave me all the feels. Main characters Audrey and Ronan were both incredibly likeable and well-developed, but I found it particularly easy to relate to Audrey because of her occasional awkwardness and love of learning. I enjoyed her obsession with random facts and trivia and the way she used it to connect with her younger siblings. Her love for them was so apparent, and she gave up a lot to care for and protect them. It broke my heart to see the way her father mistreated her and took advantage of her caring nature!

Audrey and Ronan's flirty, witty banter was a highlight of the book for me, and I very much enjoyed the slow burn of their relationship development. It was easy to see how smitten they were with each other from the very beginning, but for valid reasons, they tried to resist their feelings. Neither of them was looking for a serious relationship, but no one can choose when to fall in love, and the pull of their attraction proved to be too much to resist. I found it very easy to root for them to overcome all of the obstacles standing in their way and end up happily together.

There were several delightful secondary characters featured in this book, most notably Ronan's blunt-speaking grandmother, his sister Keira, Audrey's youngest sister Deanna, and her best friend Nicole. I would love to see Nicole star in a future book in this series; there must be a reason she hates her job so much!

I finished this book with a happy sigh and a smile on my face. I loved "Kissing Lessons" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I can't wait to see what Stefanie London writes next.

*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was just kind of meh for me. Nothing awful nothing great. I think the author should have done some more research since I'm pretty sure a girl dropping out at the age Audrey did would be cause for some legal intervention.

It was a beautiful and very emotional journey that these two characters went on. I loved it. This author is one of my favorites and I look forward to reading more stories from her.

While I loved Audrey and Ronan with their banter the book focused a bit too much on their family dramas for me. The lightheartedness of the couple was a plus and I needed a light read but the family drama brought it down for me personally. I would rate this a 3.5 due to it being marketed as a fun, light read and it had dark drama to it.

4 1/2 STARS!

An adorably funny yet deeply emotional romantic tale! With the first book in her quirky small town series Kissing Creek, Stefanie London takes her reader quickly into the heart of the story of a barista who is raising her younger siblings. The story line is fairly fast paced with a lot of heart throughout. I am looking forward to more in the series!

Audrey has the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she's a delightful person full of hopes and dreams. I enjoyed her so much!

Ronan is dreamy. He's a sweetheart who sees the wonderful person that Audrey is, but he's got his heart set on not getting attached.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quaint little town filled with quirky tidbits and a close-knit community along with a sweet happily ever after.

Although this cover isn’t really something that speaks to me or calls my name, after I read the book description of ‘Kissing Lessons’ I found myself very intrigued with this read and requested a copy. I was lucky enough to receive a copy and started reading as soon as I could.

In ‘Kissing Lessons’ we meet Audrey. Audrey has been living in Kissing Creek all her life. Funny really, since this town is all about romance and she definitely isn’t one to believe in love or anything of that romantic stuff. Ever since Audrey’s mom died, she is the one who had to give up on her future plans to take care of her younger siblings. Audrey works two jobs to make sure everything is payed for and her siblings have food on the table. The one thing Audrey does for herself is take an evening class at the local college. But when she meets her new professor Ronan Walsh, Audrey finds herself wanting more from life. Something that is very dangerous for her.

When I read the book description of ‘Kissing Lessons’, and saw the title of this book I had a certain idea of this book. I thought it would be a funny, easy, not to complicated read. It definitely gave me a romcom vibe. But after I started reading, I found this book to have much more depth than I thought it would be. This book is definitely sweet, romantic, sexy and above all very touching. Much more of a Contemporary Romance novel than a rom com. Although it did made me laugh at times.

The two main characters Audrey and Ronan are very amazing. I couldn’t have loved them more. Both characters are readers, and they really challenge each other intellectually. They had these fun banters and they asked each other these knowledge questions which made their conversations super fun. (And made me learn some fun facts too!! ;) )

But this book was also very touching, and made my very pregnant self almost cry at times. Audrey just had to face so many hard things, and she was such a brave and strong person. I was so glad for her to find Ronan, because she really needed someone by her side. And Ronan’s character was definitely swoon worthy. I loved how we got to read this book from both their sides.

‘Kissing Lessons’ was a book I loved from start to finish. The characters where definitely some of my favorites, and I would have easily read more about these two. Since this was my first book by Stefanie London, I’d definitely like to read more by her and I totally recommend you go and read this book!

I really enjoyed this story. A story that was fun to read and an little angsty and a bit of everything.

I really adored Ronan, intelligent and interesting and handsome and loving.

Audrey is a super strong woman and I adored not only her strength but her intelligent quirks and sacrifices.

I really enjoyed the town of Kissing Creek and it’s array or quirky characters

The little quizzes and trivia brought a fun note to the story.

All up I really enjoyed this book. It is a far cry from what I usually read and enjoyed the step out of my comfort zone.

I ended up really enjoying Kissing Lessons. Both of the main characters had heartbreaking backgrounds that hurt my heart. Audrey deserved the world but she kept putting her dreams on hold to raise her siblings. Ronan was just who she needed to realize she was worth everything. I was rooting for them. One of my favorite parts of the book was the little trivia tidbits that were included at the beginning of each chapter. I learned some new fun facts about things I never knew I needed to know. It was fun. I definitely recommend this one.

Audrey has had a really rough life. Losing her mom at 15yrs old, having to pitch in and help raise her siblings because her dad is so bogged down with grief...But to Audrey, family is EVERYTHING! She makes the ultimate sacrifice when putting her life on hold in order to keep her family together. She does have one “selfish” indulgence-she takes one class per semester at the community college. She‘s not taking classes working towards a degree, but because she truly enjoys learning. But she begins to wonder what she may be missing out on when she meets the handsome, new college professor.

Ronan loves teaching! When his grandma suffers a health crisis, Ronan decides to temporarily move back to the Boston area, to Kissing Creek. Ronan accepts a job as a professor at the area community college where he can continue to teach and work on his book. Although his family (sister and grandma) are important to him, his work is his LIFE. Ronan has no intentions of EVER settling down. HIs flighty mom all but guaranteed that. Until he stops by for coffee and meets Audrey...

Love, loss, and life....This story had all the feels. I laughed, cried, and wanted to strangle a few people along the way. The quirky facts were AWESOME. I loved that education was highly valued! Ronan’s support of Audrey and her dreams was endearing. I also enjoyed that Audrey wasn’t your typical “skinny, perfect girl”. She was NORMAL and was very accepting of herself. Ronan’s grandma was gruff, but a softy too. This was a feel good, huggable story with forgiveness being key in moving towards happiness. I read a gifted copy and all opinions stated are my own.

Favorite Quotes:

Ronan didn’t date much these days—he’d tried it once or twice, and it always ended up in tears. Never his.

The llama let out the same bleating, hollering sound, which could only be described as Chewbacca on helium crossed with angry cat gurgling. In other words, a sound that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He loved his grandmother to bits… But her stubborn Irish blood made her tough as nails and twice as sharp.

Maybe it was the worry festering in his brain about his grandmother getting old. But his resentment was hot and angry, and it was so close to the surface he was sure that if he turned his wrist over he would see it bubbling in his veins.

She had dark hair and darker eyes and looked so effortlessly glamorous that Audrey suddenly felt like a cave troll having a bad hair day.

“…their coffee tastes like dishwater.” “That’s putting it mildly,” Audrey quipped. “I would have said it tastes like Satan’s backwash.”

My Review:

I enjoyed this kickoff installment for a new series; it was a fun and cleverly amusing read, yet it hit all the feels with insightful observations, realistic issues, heartbreaking family concerns, delicious sensual steam, and enigmatic personalities. The characters were appealing and endearing as well as earnest, hard-working, and sincere. I loved that the Rubenesque and uneducated high school dropout Audrey was a trivia genius with a brain bulging with obscure facts on an endless array of topics that could stump a panel of college professors on their best days. I gleaned a considerable amount of UBIs from Audrey that may prove useful someday such as the fact that babies have extra bones, wombats poo in cubical form, and male elephants have highly impressive personal units… all information that was previously unknown to me. I had such a good time with this one I am eager to see what Ms. London does with the rest of the series.