2.75 Lucky Stars!

So basically, Remy is part of a long line of women that have magical kisses. Each woman in the family has her “season” in which all her kisses become lucky for the recipients. With great power comes great responsibility, which Remy disregards, kissing her crush, knowing it is against the rules.

Now her crush and her season are cursed until further notice. Adamant about not kissing anyone else, Remy tries to figure out how to undo the bad luck. Too bad the new kid in town is just her type and smitten on site.

This concept was interesting and had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I feel it was underutilized, in favor of focusing on Remy’s angst and inner turmoil. The focus would’ve been better on the history of the magic kisses, the incidents in town, the breakdowns in Remy’s relationships (in detail, not the constant “I’m just going to be mad and not doing anything about it” vibe that was happening). I feel like this was supposed to be light, but it was pretty moody?

Toward the last quarter of the book, I felt like I was reading different versions of the same sentences over and over again and it really dragged. There was a lot of Remy’s thoughts and feelings, but not enough actually happening. Which made her character come off as whiny and melodramatic.

Now to the good, again, great concept! The setting was well done, lots of good visuals given. The neighbor kids were a highlight for sure, well developed and a comedic relief. Good level of snark and sarcasm. The build-up of Remy’s relationship with Tobin was well paced and felt authentic.

Overall this was good, I just wish their was more kissing and less brooding.
Keep in mind this is an ARC and this will not be published for few months, so changes could be made.

Check it out, when it hits shelves, 6/7/22!
A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute story with solid writing and character development, but I am not the target audience. At first I thought the premise was cute, but the more I read the story the more disturbed I became at the idea of a sixteen year old girl kissing random people for an entire year, and being encouraged by everyone (including her parents) to do so. I have a sixteen year old daughter and no way would this be a realistic thing. Nope. Not even close. The concept of the “kissing season”, kissing people to spread good luck, was just too bizarre for me to wrap my head around. I could maybe get behind it more if the MC was older and not a teenage girl. That being said, I do think that younger readers would really like the story because of the magical realism throughout. I liked the characters for the most part, especially Tobin and Juliet, who were great characters. I was not a fan of Remy’s sister Maggie. In my opinion, Maggie was very selfish and self-centered throughout the majority of the book. She didn’t listen to Remy’s concerns and was trying to manipulate the situation behind her back. I felt that Maggie was the one who owed Remy a huge apology. The girls did end up making up but I don’t feel that Maggie really owned up to her part of the problem. Also the parents are kind of clueless which as a parent of teens I find disappointing. They were sweet, loving parents, but they didn't really "listen" to their daughter during her struggles. I did like the character growth of Remy who becomes more confident in the person she is. Overall a cute story for younger readers and lots of goodies being baked. I have a serious craving for Whoopie Pies now! Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebook Fire, and author Susan Bishop Crispell for an advanced copy of the Holloway Girls! All opinions are my own and do not reflect those of any brands I represent.

During the kissing season if a Holloway girl kisses someone it will bring them good luck. There are rules to be followed though. Remy's first kiss of her season ends in disaster and she is certain that her season is cursed. I loved the concept of this book and I have read other books by this author and loved them. This, however, is not my favorite book of hers.
I liked the sisters in the story Remy and Maggie and I also liked that their family had a baked goods food truck. Remy loves to bake and she uses baking when she is upset to make the most delicious creations. I would've loved to read more about this. The majority of the book centers around Remy feeling horrible about her kissing season and trying to right the wrong she has done. She pushes everyone away with both hands and is very hard on herself. It just makes the book kind of a downer and it drags on.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When your kiss is good luck, the wrong kiss could change everything...

During the kissing season, one kiss from Remy or her older sister Maggie will give the boy—or girl—good luck. Or so it has been for all the Holloway girls before. But this year, Remy's first season, she doesn't follow the rules, dooming the boy she kisses to bad luck that almost kills him and leaving Remy with a cursed kissing season.

Now Remy is adamant about keeping her lips to herself. But the new boy in town is making it hard to keep her promise. Especially because he seems to really want to get to know her, and isn't just using her for the Holloway luck. But before she can even think about kissing someone else, she'll have to find a way to fix the curse, or else her family's legacy will be tainted forever.

This book was a quick fun mystical read! I was expecting this book to be more magic focused however is was more romance geared. I still enjoyed this book quite a bit however I would have preferred to learn more about the Holloway's sisters magic.I was also not a large fan of the insta love aspect, it just wasn't for me. I would still recommend this if you want a quick contemporary read.!

Fun YA read - a bit of romance, a bit of magic, a bit of summer lovin!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Romance isn’t usually my type of book. I don’t go out of my way to avoid them, the way I go out of my way to avoid all those books like They Both Die at the End and Goodbye Days which everyone is always like “oh mah gawd, you gotta read this, I cried like a baby…”. No thanks! But this one I picked up despite the obvious romantic overtones, because the premise was interesting.

A family in which magic is carried - each girl in the family gets her “season”; one year in which every single person she willingly kisses gets good luck for the rest of their lives. It was nice to have some female-led magic that the general population was aware of, and not scared of! So often, we see the trope of magical women being less than, or hated and feared, much like witches of old. In this book however, everyone wants their own little piece of the Holloway Magic, and the girls have been willing to share it for generations.

This book was sweet, and funny, and depressing enough that you wanted things to turn out well for Remy. We are tossed straight into the heart of the novel, with Remy starting her season while her older sister Maggie finishes hers. Maggie’s season was perfect, she kissed everyone she wanted to, and enjoyed her time of making people's lives better. Things… don’t go so well for Remy.

When her magic turns on her, twisting its purpose into something darker, bringing nothing but bad luck to the boy she kisses, Remy decides she won’t kiss anyone else until she figures out how to break the curse. What comes next was much more than I expected. Remy withdraws from everyone in her family, but in particular, she withdraws from Maggie. Where once they were closer than twins, MaggieandRemy, there is now a wedge between them - Maggie thinks Remy needs to let go of her worries, and trust the magic. But Remy just can’t.

The interpersonal dynamics and relationships in this book are really good. Remy’s parents aren’t a huge focus, but they are around, and they do offer their opinions when asked.I loved the way Remy retreated into her baking and music, as this is 100% something people do in real life. The weaving of the magic into the real world was done well as well. It was subtle and gentle and wholly believable.

I came into this book expecting a fluffy romance, but what I got was a surprisingly complex book about learning to stand for what you believe in, and how to reconnect with important people when you know you are to blame for the rift. Oh, and all I wanted after reading this book, other than both the hot neighbors to come to life, was whoopie pies! Warning, this book will make you hungry.

Content Warnings: injuries from falls, bullying.
Overall Rating: 5 stars

The Holloway Girls is the punch in the gut I didn’t know I needed. The moral of the story is don't kiss someone if you don't mean it or it could have dire consequences. Who hasn't kissed someone and didn't mean it? Who hasn't at some point suffered from or caused someone harm because of meaningless kissing? Throw in some magic and some family drama and you have a wonderful book that you can truly get lost in.

Remy is a Holloway and about to enter her kissing season. Her family has a book of luck, their magic Bible, that documents their family experiences. Kisses from Holloway girls bring luck, but break the rules of the season and it can bring curses.
Remy kisses a long time crush and it goes badly. He gets injured, his dad moves away, and he has to repeat a class for the summer.
Remy and her sister Maggie gets new neighbors, Tobin and Juliet, that is where everything starts to change.

I don't know why but as I read this book I kept being reminded of Louise Rennison and the Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging books. Hannah, the mean girlfriend/ex of Isaac, the guy Remy kisses, is a lot like Lindsey who is such a bully to Georgia Nicholson. Tobin reminds me of Dave the laugh but with the edge of Robbie the musical heartthrob. Rom-com heaven is how I would describe this book.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is Remy herself who is a wonderful narrator and her inner voice is one I have been needing for ages. She is in an identity crisis and much like Georgia, must do weird things to try to figure out who she or who she is not. I also enjoy Maggie, her sister and their dynamic. I am pleased that they had a realistic and complicated relationship. Maggie, being bisexual offers readers diversity and representation in the story. These aspects made the story more enjoyable and were not thrown in just to be inclusive.

Overall I would rate it a solid 9/10. This would be great for high school book clubs. You can buy this book June 7th!! Pre-order now!!

First and foremost thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!


The first 15% of this book was … confusing? But I figured Out it was our main characters natural chaos flowing through the book. An easy, cute, fun to read book- I think this will be a hit for those who liked books like dash and lily, Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist, it’s an adventure, fast, cute romancey style book that was really a nice breath of fresh air. Also gave me some Practical Magic vibes for a younger audience, and I appreciated that .

Remy is ready for the summer of her life! However, when her lucky kiss turns into a curse her whole life flips upside down. The story follows Remy as she tries to navigate love, friendship and discovering who she is without her sister at her side. The mystery of the Holloway magic with intriguing characters makes this book a winner.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into the book, and it took effort to finish.

I liked the premise at first, but none of the characters felt engaging and I didn't feel compelled to care about what happened.

What would've been interesting was the history of the magic, and how it became so prevalent and known in the community.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a super quick and fun read. It’s a heartwarming story that follows teenage Remy during her “kissing season.” When Remy’s first kiss of the season goes horribly wrong, she loses herself in trying to set everything right again. However, her friends turn on her, she has a falling out with her sister, and it seems as if she can’t catch a break. This story follows Remy on a journey to find herself again.

Pros:
✏️ This book was just fun! It was light hearted and nostalgic.
✏️ The music - so many great music references.
✏️ Love. Need I say more? I love love.

Cons (not many):
✏️Honestly the only thing I didn’t enjoy about this book is the author describes things with three words separated by slashes. It happens a lot throughout the book and I just found it annoying.

thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for accepting this advanced copy from me in exchange for an honest review.
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During kissing season, a kiss from Remy or her big sister Maggie will bring the boy or girl good luck. Or so it has been for all the Holloway girls before.But this year, Remy's first season, she doesn't follow the rules, dooming the boy she kisses to bad luck that nearly kills him and after that Remy's season becomes cursed and she vows never to kiss anyone again. unless someone else comes along to prove her wrong.
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Rate 3.5⭐
is an enjoyable and entertaining read, the beginning of the story gives you a hint that certain things are going to happen, but I must say that I wanted it to focus a little more on the Holloway sisters magic thing and the whole good luck kissing season thing; but I must say that it veered into being a young adult romance book with magical touches with a very different beginning.

but i must make it clear that there were things that i didn't think were right and that detracted points from the story. first of all you know that i don't like the cliché of instalove and this appears in the story and is used to justify the actions of the prota; and i say, ok she is a girl, she makes mistakes, but this girl makes them one after another that you say this is done intentionally haha.

Besides, the main problem as the story puts it has a very sad solution and it's just to clear the conscience of the main character.

The truth is that the story had a lot of potential if it had been taken in a different way.
I don't detract from the fact that it was entertaining and a light read.

I'm so happy right now cause this book was very enjoyable. It's a quick and funny read but I enjoyed the simplicity of it.
I was expecting something different, I think there was so much potential for it, but for a book this short is quite normal. Tobin is the boy of my dreams: he sing, he write songs about me and also play instruments.
Also I liked the realistic representation of teen-agers.
In conclusion I enjoyed this book and I rate it 3 stars ✨

I received a digital ARC of “The Holloway Girls” through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

“The Holloway Girls” is a fun, lighthearted read about a family who’s girls have magic in their kisses when they turn 16. During their kissing season, anyone the girls kiss will receive good luck. When it’s time for Remy Holloway’s kissing season, she expects the same will happen to the first boy she kisses. Instead, the boy receives bad luck and Remy’s kiss is considered “cursed.”

Over the course of the book, Remy works to find a way to undo his bad luck and the restore her family’s legacy. She also finds herself along the way, distinguishing herself beyond her relationships with her sister and friends while also developing new friendships with a new boy in town who makes it difficult for Remy to keep her promise to not curse anyone else with an unlucky kiss.

I really loved that “The Holloway Girls,” although rooted on the fantastical premise of Holloway girls’s kiss bestowing good luck, is so relatable. When Remy’s first kiss of her kissing season goes awry, her friends and all the other teens in her world turn on her. They pull cruel pranks on her, say awful things to her and about her, and make Remy’s life miserable for several months.

It’s been a few years since I was Remy’s age, but I still remember how fickle loyalty and friendship was at that age. Crispell was able to perfectly capture this and transport me back to high school. It added a unique sense of realism to the story, making it perfectly believable that a small town in North Carolina had a family with luck-bestowing magic kisses, because all the characters felt real.

In addition to the realistic portrayal of bullies, Crispell did a great job of capturing what teenagers are like. Since the book is written from Remy’s perspective, we see into her thoughts and can see how dramatic she is over giving a boy bad luck through her kiss. She internalizes a lot of angst and constantly pushes away those she’s closest to because she doesn’t feel that they understand the situation. That’s exactly how teenagers act! It added another layer of realism to the story, which made it a fun read.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the novel. I am rating this book with my own opinion and have not received anything in return.

The story is really cute with a touch of magic. I like it overall the setting, the characters were all good. I would have liked to know more about the background of magic in general. And maybe a more reliable narrator or the protagonist would have been better.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, I really liked this book. I like the cover, the writing, Remy and her parents. I really liked the concept of the story and I did not get dissapointed at all.

I really liked the maincharacter Remy (the others not so much tho syke). She went from being this populair mean girl ish type to a 'darker' character that shit happened to and she deals with it with humor.

Now about the other characters. Everyone around her could see how badly what happened scared her and instead of leaving it be (why should she have to kiss anyone anyway) they kepts pushing her ir even pushing the dudes in their town to kiss her. I honestly didnt like any of them.

The book itself was a nice, quick read with a cool story, it should probably be knows that is is mostly a romantic story.

This was a fun, interesting YA book. I really enjoyed the concept of this story. I thought it was written really well, the writing flowed easily. I found myself not having any issue paying attention like i might have with another YA. Remy was my favorite character, i liked her humor and the way she handled what happened to her. Overall, a pleasant enjoyable book.

I would probably give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me a copy of this book for my honest review.

I thought the pacing of the book was well done the characters where easy to connect with and I overall thought it was a good read!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read and review this title! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Holloway Girls is about:
When your kiss is good luck, the wrong kiss could change everything...

During the kissing season, one kiss from Remy or her older sister Maggie will give the boy—or girl—good luck. Or so it has been for all the Holloway girls before. But this year, Remy's first season, she doesn't follow the rules, dooming the boy she kisses to bad luck that almost kills him and leaving Remy with a cursed kissing season.

Now Remy is adamant about keeping her lips to herself. But the new boy in town is making it hard to keep her promise. Especially because he seems to really want to get to know her, and isn't just using her for the Holloway luck. But before she can even think about kissing someone else, she'll have to find a way to fix the curse, or else her family's legacy will be tainted forever.

My thoughts:
I wanted to like this book more. I really did. The premise sounded like it would be so much more fun and maybe a little fluffy supernatural-like read but I wasn't too much of a fan of Remy. For a debut author, the writing is very good and I liked the kiss-curse and how Remy wanted to fix what she had done but it was just her personality I couldn't get behind. I liked the "love interests" that popped up. I would like to see what Susan Crispell will have in store for us in the future but this was a slight miss for me.

3 stars