Last year when I finished Skid Out, the preview novella to First Kiss, I wanted more. I eagerly anticipated First Kiss which does a really nice job of continuing the story, and I thought it contained some nice surprises.The author takes some chances here with a significant age difference between the lead characters and I thought she did a great job of making this relationship not only believable, but interesting. Jake is 17, with some life experiences from being in a rock band. Aly is 14, just starting high school. There is a significant difference in maturity here, but somehow it works and I found myself really pulled into their story.Even though they both make some major mistakes in this, I finished this first book in the series wanting them to make it work. I appreciated the fact that their voices were right for their ages too. Alyssa is young, and her speech reflects that.She’s fourteen.. overly dramatic..totally confused about her new feelings, and impulsive.I liked the volleyball action and would have loved it to have been introduced earlier in the book as I would have liked to know more about that aspect of Aly’s life.Jake is more experienced, but he’s still not savvy enough to tell people the full truth. He dicks around with Rachel. He’ve very protective of Aly until he makes one major mistake.Ann Marie Frohoff does a great job getting the reader back in touch with the stuff of high school in all its back-stabbing, confusing, angst-filled glory. Mike and Rachel are the perfect antagonists in the story with their scheming against Jake and Aly.The story was rich with subplots and I particularly liked the story between Jake’s mom Kate and Notting and Bobby and Marshall’s story.First Kiss had a very nice pacing and really drew me into the story. Much like Skid Out, I finished wanting more. My heart was breaking for Jake at the end, but I was glad it ended on a hopeful note. I can’t wait to find out what Aly was doing for that year she didn’t see him.Great start to this series and it looks like there is much more to it. Looking forward to more. eArc courtesy of the author.
