Rounded up from 3.5
Poppy and Rune have been friends ever since they were kids. He moves away to Norway for a while, but when he comes back 2 years later, at 17, all he thinks about is Poppy, because while he was away, she completely cut him off of her life without telling him why. And when he finally knows why, his heart is shattered.
This is a YA romance that broke my heart into a million pieces. I felt like it was redundant and dragged at times, but I cried my eyes out in the last 25%. If you don't want to cry, don't read this. But a good cry can sometimes be good for the soul. This version contains a bonus epilogue.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A THOUSAND BOY KISSES broke my heart over and over again. Poppy is from a small town in Georgia. Rune is from Norway. I’m so mad at myself for taking so long to read this heart tugging and emotional story! A THOUSAND BOY KISSES opens up with Rune moving next door to Poppy and they are both five years old. They are each other’s soul mates, even at five years old! Both of their families can even see it. They become inseparable over the years, one never without the other, until one day when Rune must return to Norway. It is only for a few years because of his Pappa’s job, but you just won’t believe what happens to Rune and Poppy after this. You are going to fall in love with Rune right away. He is very protective of Poppy and you are going to swoon over him on almost every page. He would love her forever if he had the chance to. I honestly didn’t think I would be able to finish this fabulous story. I cried and cried and cried.

Tillie Cole owes me a box of tissues! A THOUSAND BOY KISSES broke my heart over and over again! What an emotional story this is! When I was finished reading I couldn’t get Rune and Poppy out of my head and went through half a box of tissues thinking about them! I can honestly tell you this, I am going to read everything that Tillie Cole has written and she will be an auto buy for me from now on. A THOUSAND BOY KISSES had my emotions all over the place and near the end, I was afraid to keep reading. I thought I knew what was coming, knew it was going to shatter my heart and took a four hour break to prepare myself for what was going to wreck me! To say that this heartbreaking story gave me all the feels would be such a huge understatement!

A THOUSAND BOY KISSES is an unforgettable story that will grab you from the very first page. I was crying so much, happy and sad tears, while praying for Poppy and Rune. The emotions and feelings from the characters become your own. While reading I was even holding my breath at some parts and I was afraid to keep going. How much more heartache and grief could Rune put up with? Tillie Cole’s writing has made me a forever fan and I’m sure I will devour everything she has written or has yet to write. Her characters are not perfect, they all come with flaws but that won’t stop you from falling in love with them. I can not wait to read more by this fabulous author and have my heart broken all over again.

“I’ll give you a thousand kisses, Poppymin. All of them. No one will kiss you ever, but me.”

This book is an emotional rollercoaster that requires boxes and boxes of tissues. I felt uncomfortable in the early part of the book with a child kissing a child, but it is the basis of the story. Rune and Poppy become friends, and more, due to the immovable force that is Poppy. A strong woman who is not physically large or imposing, her will carries them forward. And, when dealing with the unthinkable, finding a way around the mistakes and misunderstandings, lies on her shoulders.
Did I love the book? No. But I'll purchase it for my high school library and I already know several girls that want to read it right away.

This book has a deceivingly cute and innocent cover - don’t be fooled (but do go in blind!) Painfully beautiful and heartfelt, this is a book that validates young love, and the love between Poppy and Rune was wholesome and pure, and so damn sweet. A moonbeam hearts + sunshine smiles kinda love (iykyk).

‘𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚, 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙘, 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪.’

The beginning of the book was cute, and the ending heart-SHATTERING. If you can put aside the cheesy teenage dialogue of first love, the middle wasn’t BAD but I found myself occasionally skimming pages- I felt there wasn’t much happening, just a lot of kisses and talking.

HOWEVER. The last quarter of this book DESTROYED me. Honestly thought I was going to pass out from crying. Cole had no business ripping apart my heart like that. I haven’t cried so hard since UGLY LOVE. This was the kind of book you finish and your heart still aches for days after (the epilogue adding insult to injury whilst you’re already ugly crying in a puddle of your own tears.)

This is one of the saddest and most emotional book I’ve read this year!
The plot might be simple, predictable and the writing style also feels a bit cheesy, but there’s something about this story that really captivate my heart.
The idea of a thousand boy kisses jar is really sweet and I love it!

Poppy is my most favorite character in this story. She's a wonderful character and I love the way she views this life, instead of being angry or sad she remains cheerful and always view things in a positive way – I really admire her for that.

While I like most parts of the story, there are some things that I wish for more. Like Ruhn, I didn’t agree with how he behaves when something didn’t go his way. Compare to Poppy, he’s not very mature but I’m glad to see that he’s starting to see things the way Poppy does a little bit.

I also wish things are a bit different for the epilogue, nevertheless it’s still a quite satisfying end for Poppy and Ruhn story.

Overall, this is a really good story and I recommend it if you’re in the mood for a good cry and you don’t mind reading YA books.
This book will stay with me for a long time cause it delivers a really good message about how to view this short life as an adventure, a short trip before we go back to our real home.

I will definitely check out other books from this author and I'm waiting for any new release books from this author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley, Publisher and author for sending me this review copy and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

When I tell you this book broke me, I mean it in a soul-crushing way and I loved every second of it. It’s a coming of age, childhood sweethearts story about Rune and Poppy, who are like soulmates since they were little. They kissed a thousand times and swore to be together forever. But then something awful happened and Poppy stopped talking to him. 😭

Rune came back to find out why, but he was not ready for what he learned. It was so sad and heartbreaking, I can’t even. 😭😭😭

This book made me ugly cry so hard, but it also made me smile and feel things. It’s such a beautiful story of love and loss, you won’t regret reading it. Trust me. ❤️

But be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s for ages fourteen and up, and you’ll need a lot of tissues. And maybe some chocolate. 🍫

This was an adorable and moving story that I 100% recommended to any romance reader. Rune and Poppy go through all of love’s ups and downs at a young age and learn about themselves and each other along the way.

I have never cried so hard while reading a book. This book BROKE me.

A Thousand Boy Kisses tore my heart out and stepped on it a thousand times. I was crying as soon as I read the first chapter up until the end of the last chapter, No book that I have ever read has ever evoked so much emotion out of me. Poppy and Rune's story was so heartbreaking and to me they felt like real characters and real people. Also, the life lessons the author included and just the way she wrote how Poppy saw the world and the person that she was was so sweet and they are life lessons that will stay with me forever.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I’m a bookseller, I read this book solely because I’m asked about this title at least once a week. The pressure got to me, I kind of regret it. At least this was pretty short

I don’t have a problem with romances that aren’t HEAs necessarily, even though they aren’t my preference and I didn’t realize that’s what this would be. I do have a problem with books that are weirdly preachy (I don’t even have the energy to get into all the things I found strangely judgmental and condescending about the overall attitude of this book) as well as extremely cheesy and overdramatic.

I found the dialogue odd and unrealistic, I thought the characters were poorly developed (were there even side characters? Rune and Poppy’s parents had barely a handful of lines each) and it irritated me that the concept of the book was so sad when ultimately the story didn’t feel good enough to have warranted that sort of empathetic response. I spent the whole book rolling my eyes and waiting for it to end, then was just depressed and angry about it at the end because -
*SPOILER* - in no world is the thought of a kid dying of cancer not depressing, even when the rest of the story was ridiculous uneventful.

Really, I would hands down just recommend anyone who wants to read this pick up The Fault in our Stars instead. At least that’s a book worth putting up with the pain for.