Review: “Kiss to Remember” by Anna B. Doe

Series: Blairwood University, #4

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥

Release Date: November 19th, 2021

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Some moments define the trajectory of your life.

Grace Shelton has experienced her fair share of loss and trauma, but moving to Blairwood is her chance for a new beginning.

For Trent Remington, going to college is a chance to break free of his overprotective parents and finally play basketball.

Some moments will change it forever.

When Grace collides into Trent by accident, she sees the last person she ever expected to find – the boy that’s been haunting her dreams for the past two years. Trent might belong to another girl, but he can’t seem to get the redhead with the sad eyes out of his mind no matter how hard he tries.

Together, they might risk everything for a chance at love, but will a kiss be enough to make him remember? 

 

After I was introduced to the Blairwood gang in Kiss to Defy, I was really excited about meeting the other characters. And when Anna announced that she had one coming later this year, I jumped at the chance to read it. Please note, it is important to read the prequel novella Kiss Before Midnight (Anna has made it available for free!) to enjoy the full story in Kiss to Remember. 

In the novella, we meet Grace Shelton and Mason LeBlanc as they slowly, but surely fall in love with each other. For Grace, crushing on Mason has been the one thing that’s holding her together. They use the same community centre and she’s watched him play basketball with his friends. But one day, when she’s sneaking a peek, he sees her and comes over. They talk and flirt and he asks her out. Despite her overprotective brother’s concerns, Grace goes out with Mason and they share the most magical kiss of her young life. With promises to see each other again, they part ways and then silence. Grace doesn’t hear from Mason and no matter how much she searches for him, she can’t seem to find him anywhere.

Fast forward to two years later and Grace is at Blairwood University when Kiss to Remember opens. She’s finally moving on from Mason and finding the little things in life that bring her joy. She’s taking life by the horns, except…Mason is there too. Under a different name––Trent. And he has no clue who she is.

I have to say, I was absolutely thrilled by the developments of this story. I did not expect half the twists and turns and I honestly predicted something else from the start, but I love how wonderfully Anna crafted this tale. Grace and Trent are such fantastic characters individually, but their friendship (and then relationship) is so beautifully written. There’s a lot of push and pull, a lot of fighting with yourself because neither of them know what is going on or how to handle the situation they find themselves in. Trent doesn’t know who Grace is––but he feels drawn to her. Grace doesn’t know how to separate her Mason and this Trent––because she sees the boy she loves in the eyes of this new guy. It’s angsty, it’s complicated and it’s so stressful too!

Writing a long review would give away so much of the story, but I’ll keep it simple. Grace’s pain and her struggles as she fought to keep her heart steady and her head on straight were so powerful. You can feel what she’s going through and for an author to suck you into the life of that character and make you feel her feels is a feat. She’s strong, though. For all the things that shake her up, Grace is a strong woman who loves her family and her friends, but loves fiercely in general. She’s a good person, offering to help even when it hurts her and standing by someone even if it wears her out. I also really liked Trent and his turmoil and confusion, this pull towards Grace––it’s all so intense.

Kiss to Remember was a different kind of second chance and I enjoyed watching it all come together. Grace’s friends are truly the best and I honestly want friends like that too. They were supportive and generous, they helped her make sense of her life and stood by her side through the good and the bad. I’m a big fan of characters having the best support group in stories and Grace had them in spades.

I can’t wait to read more Blairwood University stories and I can’t wait to meet more of the gang! Also, I am greedy for Jade’s story, because she seems like such a firecracker and whoever falls for her, better brace themselves.

Thanks to Anna B. Doe for generously providing me with an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.