Rachael Allen

In this incandescent page-turner, sixteen-year-old Claire learns the unfortunate truth that sometimes a girl has to kiss a lot of frogs. . . . Brilliantly capturing the complexities of friendship, the struggles of self-discovery, and the difficulties of trying to find love in high school, Rachael Allen has crafted a rich debut that's impossible to put down. No matter how many boys Claire kisses, she can't seem to find a decent boyfriend—someone who isn't afraid of her family's tragic past or her own aspirations for the future . . . until she meets Luke. But Megan, Claire's closest friend, is falling for Luke, too, and if there's one thing Claire knows for sure, it's that Megan is pretty much irresistible. With true love and best friendship on the line, Claire suddenly has everything to lose. And what she learns—about her crush, her friends, and most of all herself—makes the choices even harder.

17 First Kisses

Sofie

This book was sweet. Really sweet! It embodied all the highs and lows of being a teenager. 

I loved the friendship between Claire and Megan. It was real. And it was so refreshing to have a popular cheerleader character who was not the antagonist. Well, there was, but it wasn't the Queen Bee. Britney and Amanda felt like means to an end, which is fine by me - they merely created drama and moved the story forward. This book, for the most part, defied stereotypes. Amberly, the busty, slightly swanky girl with a good heart and kind nature. Sam, the chubby kid turned jock who never forgot what was truly important to him. Megan, the most popular girl in school who, while still following some cliches, had dreams bigger and beyond high school. 

This is the sort of book that needs an epilogue. Obviously, the ending was a new leaf for Claire. But from the beginning, I was rooting for Sam. And they were so close! But alas, they made a pact and went their separate ways. Still, I wish for some sort of glimpse into the future, of Claire coming back from her college graduation, of Sam coming back into her life, of their epic reunion. What can I say? I'm a sap.

My only problems with the book, aside from the handful of assholes Claire always fell for, were the fights between Megan and Claire. Megan gets all mad because (view spoiler)[ Claire starts seeing Luke after they had broken up when A) Megan had started seeing Eric while he and Claire were still together, B) broke the rules and initiated her relationship with Luke, and C) can dish it out but can't take it. So Megan can date anyone's ex but no-one else can do the same? Megan can steal a boyfriend, but gets mad when Claire starts dating Luke, even though they had already broken up? She was just a big hypocrite. And I get it, to make someone interesting, they have to have character flaws. But it got to the point when I was done feeling bad for her.  (hide spoiler)] That being said, Megan went through some great character development, and in the end, I was grateful for her and Claire's friendship.

That's really my only problem with this book. Obviously there were some characters I wasn't meant to like, so the author succeeded there. I'd recommend this book. I'd read more if it became a series.

(Please, Rachel Allen, release an epilogue! I'm dying!)

ashley hopkins

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Quick Thought (or not)
This is a book I actually read for a tour, and believe it or not I read it in a bout a day and a half. Okay, so you're thinking big deal I do it all the time. Well for me it is, as much as I enjoy reading sometimes the only time I can read is on my break at work, or while I'm taking a nice bubble bath. It's sad I know, but life gets in the way, unfortunately. So I was super excited to actually be able to finish it quickly and enjoy the cuteness of it. 

There were things in 17 First Kisses that you rarely see in YA. Parents. Both parents to be exact. Although, they were distraught over some stuff there they were. #yeaforbothparentsbeingpresent
The whole family dynamic for Claire's family is really good. They are just like any other family they have their ups and downs, but they stick together. I love seeing Claire interact with her siblings 

Pacing
I don't think the pacing in this story really affected me to much because the POVs were past and present. In this case that combination worked well for the story being told. In the past we got to flash back to why Claire's family, or rather her mother and father seem to be in a depressed state. We also got the back stories on Claire's first kisses. 
In the present we got to see a family that was struck by tragedy heal, a friendship go through the ups and downs of high school drama, characters learn that being themselves is an important part of life. That maybe boys aren't such a good thing to fight over. :) Unless it's Sam.

Characters
Claire as the MC is enjoyable because she's a real teen (ok as real as a fictitious teen can be). She has real teen problems that are relatable. I love that she has this tomboy side to her, but yet can be girlie when she wants.
Sam just the boy next door. So I officially have a thing for the boys named Sam. I'm not kidding. Sam from Shiver, Sam from Supernatural (I know it's a tv show but still it counts), and now this Sam. -le sigh- Sam is your typical best friend to Claire. They grew up together. He used to be this plump little boy and then he changes the summer before Senior year to holy hell hot abs. I will admit at first I was totally for Luke -hides-, but Sam takes the medal. Yup I'm gonna make you read it.

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I had high hopes for this book. It sounded like it would be a fun and light YA contemporary, perfect for summer. I liked it all in all, but I definitely had some issues with it. My actual rating is probably closer to a 2.5, but I rounded up because I enjoyed it more than I would a two-star read.

The story starts out great. I liked Claire at the beginning. She was a bit of a tomboy and more than a little boy-crazy. I could relate. She reminded me a bit of myself when I was younger. (Not that I'm NOT boy-crazy now, I'm just a little better at hiding it... or at least not acting on it.) I loved the flashbacks to her first few kisses interspersed between chapters in the present. I thought it was a cute way to tell the story of the boys, while also explaining more about Claire and her (ahem) friends. After awhile, however, the present began to really annoy me and I started to lose interest in the book. By that point, I was invested enough to want to see how it ended, but my heart wasn't in it anymore.

The biggest problem I had with this book was the so-called friendship between Claire and Queen Bee Meghan, and by extension, the other two girls in their foursome. I never got the whole frenemies thing. There's enough out there that tears girls down. You don't need "friends" to add to it. I never quite believed the friendship between these characters, especially Claire and Meghan, because I have no tolerance for bad girlfriend behavior. There's a lot of it in books, particularly YA books, and it's one of my trigger points. Claire and Meghan claimed to be close, yet they were forever stealing each other's boyfriend or crush and just behaving in a generally sketchy way. The other two girls weren't much better. Neither had much of a backbone and were generally annoying. Claire and Meghan did have some good friendship moments, but their behavior during the other times made it hard for me to buy.

The boys in this book were pretty far from swoony. Luke had some swoonish tendencies, but disappointed me greatly in the end, just like the majority of the rest of the guys did. I loved Sam and DID appreciate the friendship he and Claire shared. It was something real. I wish there had been more focus on it.

I will say that Claire did mature a bit by the end of the book, but the way it all ended left me very unsatisfied. I thought I had figured out the story and would have been happy with the outcome, but in the end, it was a bit of a letdown. There was definitely potential, but it didn't live up to it for me.

All this isn't to say you shouldn't give it a shot for yourself. I think I was so distracted by the bad girlfriend behavior that I couldn't look past that to enjoy the rest of the book. I also may be just a week bit too old for this one. A younger audience might relate to it and enjoy it more.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica 

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On first inspection, I had assumed that this novel would be something of a cutesy romance and tales of friendships coming to an end because of a romance. But as I dived further into 17 First Kisses it became more and more obvious that the title wasn’t bringing much in terms of justice to the story — don’t get me wrong, though. 17 First Kisses does have the makings of a YA romance and the title is relevant to some of the plot.

There is, however, more to the story than what initially meets the eye. And that’s what I loved most about it: it had the romance you’d expect, a little drama here and there; but the end product isn’t what I expected. Isn’t that what makes novels good at the end of the day?

17 First Kisses starts with an introduction, briefly, to the friendship between Claire and Megan. It’s light, it’s funny and it’s totally the sort of antics you’d expect from two teenage girls. You see right away that these two have a genuine friendship — in spite of flaws — and have a great time together. In my opinion, I spotted many similarities between the relationships of Claire/Megan and Blair/Serena from the Gossip Girl novels when you compare them. It’s very parallel in terms of the bond that they hold.

(In good and bad ways. Their friendship remains true to their age.)

(...)

I’d recommend this novel to anyone looking for something light to read. I think that fans of a lot of YA books on the market will enjoy this. Our release date is approaching rather quickly, so hopefully you guys go out and buy it and enjoy it as much as I did! Trust me: it’s the perfect read for either a beach day or a rainy day.

17 First Kisses

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