Review: Price of a Kiss by Linda Kage

Summary/Cover Image from Author's Website:

I don’t care what my cousin says; I am not the queen of impossible relationships. I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean—

Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever.

It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate...except for one teeny tiny glitch.

He's a gigolo.

Review:

After reading last year's The Color of Grace, Linda Kage officially became one of my favorite contemporary authors. Therefore, as soon as I heard about Price of a Kiss, her newest book, I knew I had to read it. It had an interesting premise. Plus I was curious to see how well she would transition to New Adult. Luckily, Price of a Kiss was a spectacular read, one that has made me remember once again just how good a New Adult book can be.

Price of a Kiss begins the story of Reese, a girl who's had to run across the country and change her name to get away from a horrible ex-boyfriend. It wasn't just that he was mean and possessive, but he also tried to kill her, leaving her with the nastiest of all scars on her neck. Deciding it's best to stay away from boys in her new life, Reese throws herself into starting classes in her new town's local community college and hanging out with her cousin. However, everything changes the moment Mason Lowe walks into her life. There's just something that attracts Reese to him, no matter how much he and she try to stop it. Plus his much talked about secret job doesn't help anything. But what happens when these two are thrown together in a surprising way? Will they get past the self-built walls and be together? Only time and more pages can tell!

My ABSOLUTE favorite part of this book was hands down the characters! Reese was so naive and bubbly, but I still really liked her. I love how she didn't let anything get her down, not even the fact that her crazy ex-boyfriend was after her. She just kept living her life to the fullest, and learned from her past and mistakes in the process. Then there was Mason. Sexy, adorable, and kind of bookish, I LOVED Mason, even though he did have some shifty parts about him. I loved seeing him and Reese interact with each other, because not only did it lead to some steamy moments but it also led to some hilarious banter. The side characters in this one where also pretty great. I enjoyed seeing Mason's family as well as Reese's cousin.

The plot in this was equally good. As mentioned in the book's summary, Mason is in all ways a gigolo, so it lead for some pretty intense and suspenseful parts in the book, as he tried to figure out whether he should stay with it, or give it up. I probably should have been more disgusted by Mason's profession, but I couldn't help but feel sad for him for getting involved in it more than anything. Throughout the book, I was continually rooting for him to leave it all behind. The parts about Mason's sister and mom where also great. I loved seeing Reese get close to Mason's sister, because it led to some pretty cute moments and character development. Lastly, the romance between Mason and Reese was EPIC. It was a constant "will they or won't they?" and I love every single second of it. There was so much suspense to their relationship and build up, all of which led them to be a well developed pair to tell the truth.

Kage's writing was also great. She did a good job of capturing Reese's voice, and she did a great job of handling Mason's profession. She never once sugar coated anything, and I admired her for that. The only part of the book, though, I wasn't to wild about was the ending. It was adorable, but everything sort of fell together too perfectly.

Sexy, suspenseful, and funny, Price of a Kiss is a FANTASTIC addition to NA.

Grade: A+ 

Price of a Kiss (Amazon, BN, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: eARC provided by author for review