Friends with ARCs | A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca

Collaborative feature with Alexa. We read ARCs together and post our reviews on the same date.

A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca
pub 3/6/18 by Simon Pulse
Young Adult - Contemporary
Received ARC from pub

Plot • A Kiss in the Dark alternates between Macy Atwood’s past (junior year) and present (senior year). In the present, she gets randomly kissed when the lights go out at a Georgia high school football game but the guy is gone before she can see who it is. She feels like she knows him though and this is where past and present begin to interweave. It could either be Noah Granger, the newest transfer student who’s made his interest in her obvious or it could be former star football player Joel Hargrove, who she had a complicated relationship with last year. It’s because of that relationship that her friendships with Meredith Kopala and Ben Collins blew and are no longer a part of her present. As she tries to find out who the mystery kisser is and slowly but surely tries to reconnect with former friends, we (and Macy) start unravel what really happened last year.

Characters • I can’t say I truly connected with any of the characters. But throughout the whole convoluted mess of this drama, Macy had the best intentions at heart and mostly felt like a victim of miscommunication (and a really annoying best friend). I think that’s why she started to frustrate me a bit. She kept being a bystander and it’s once she begins to truly seek answers that I felt more invested. (Also, her mom is pretty awesome.)

Writing • The writing was engaging and the author certainly hooked me enough that I wanted to know who the mystery kisser was and what actually happened last year. It managed to be both predictable and surprising but I did think a bit too much was happening and certain “twists” didn’t feel necessary.

Overall feelings • It’s not a favorite but if you want a quick contemporary read with angst and drama, this might be worth checking out.

Share a photo of your favorite high school memory • I have a few but since I already shared photos from one of them (prom!), I sharing a photo from graduation this time. It was such a wonderful day! I was Valedictorian and my best friend Mary Ann was Salutatorian which was our goal entering high school. This was also the day I first met Estelle in person (we had only talked online prior to this). I just remember feeling so excited for summer plans with friends and the freedom I knew college would provide me. This day will always hold a special place in my memories.