Thursday, August 3, 2017

Review: Kissing Max Holden - Katy Upperman

Kissing Max Holden
Katy Upperman
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Kissing Max Holden was a terrible idea...

After his father has a life-altering stroke, Max Holden isn't himself. As his long-time friend, Jillian Eldridge only wants to help him, but she doesn't know how. When Max climbs through her window one night, Jill knows that she shouldn't let him kiss her. But she can't resist, and when they're caught in the act by her dad, Jill swears it'll never happen again. Because kissing Max Holden is a terrible idea.

With a new baby sibling on the way, her parents fighting all the time, and her dream of culinary school up in the air, Jill starts spending more and more time with Max. And even though her father disapproves and Max still has a girlfriend, not kissing Max is easier said than done. Will Jill follow her heart and allow their friendship to blossom into something more, or will she listen to her head and stop kissing Max Holden once and for all?


Kissing Max Holden was one of my most anticipated reads for the second half of 2017, needless to say, I was ecstatic when Kiersten brought this one back from BEA. It was a wonderful boy next-door romance, that hit all the sweet spots for me.

These two had such a deep bond, which was cultivated through a decade of friendship. I always love when the MCs share a past, and Jillian and Max had such a wonderful and storied history. I really enjoyed those peeks Upperman gifted me of their past, because they helped me fully understand the depth of the hole left in both Jillian and Max's lives when they grew apart. It also helped me understand why they turned to each other as their lives were falling apart.

For all you out there who love a broken boy, Max totally fits the bill. In the beginning of the book, he was binge drinking and making many bad choices. Jillian and his friends were having a difficult time standing by and watching him as he fell deeper and deeper into his hole of despair, but I, along with Jillian, never lost hope. That was something Upperman did so well. There was so much going wrong in both Max and Jillian's lives, but there was always hope. There was always a bright spot, and the sun came out after the rain. I really appreciated that, because I need it in a story.

This story was built upon a lot of drama, but I really liked that most of the drama was outside of Max and Jillian's relationship. Yes, all these events affected the dynamic between Max and Jill, but it wasn't that typical, petty boy-girl drama.

There were a lot of broken relationships in this book, but the beautiful thing was that while some relationships were breaking, some were forming or becoming stronger. So, I got a little sad, but it was balanced out by me getting a little happy. Jillian in particular was forced to make some difficult choices, as she learned things she never wanted to know. My heart broke for her over and over again, and I was really proud of the choices she made.

Upperman gave Jill and Max a wonderful support system. They both had some really solid friends, who genuinely cared for them. Max's family may have been adjusting to his father's health issues, but they were still a rather cohesive group, who loved each other very much. Jillian did not have that same level of support from her father. In fact, he was a huge disappointment, but she grew to appreciate her step-mother and the Holden's continued to be her surrogate family when she needed them.

One piece of advice I must offer is to NOT read this on an empty stomach. Jillian was quite stressed out during this story, and her coping mechanism was baking. Upperman did not simply say, "She was baking." Oh, no. She describes smells, tastes, ingredients. I found my mouth watering quite a few times, and was sad that I could not climb into the book and share some snacks with them.

I enjoyed every page of this book. It was a wonderful story of family, love, and loss. A great romance, that warmed my heart, and left me with no doubt that I will be reading more of Katy Upperman's work.

**I would like to thank the awesome people at Swoon Reads for the advanced copy of this book.









Jill is an aspiring pastry chef and bakes a lot in this book. I don't like to cook or bake, but I love to eat home baked goods. My favorite being brownies. 

Do you like to bake or have a favorite baked good?
Let us know in the comments!

26 comments:

  1. OK I was debating whether this one would be for me, and wasn't sure because I haven't had much luck with Swoon Reads books. I'm really excited to see you enjoyed it though. I love that they are friends, especially. And baking!! I'm in! :)
    Great review, Sam!

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    1. I love these family dramas, and this one was complicated. I also am a sucker for the family next door being all sorts of awesome (and the Holden's were). I shook my head at what a mess Max was, but he grew and changed, and I really liked it.

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  2. Nice comment about drama vs petty relationship drama - I wasn't sure I could handle too much relationship drama, but now I think I'll give this book a try. But I will definitely pack baked goods!!

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    1. Petty drama gets on my nerves, especially if it plays out for too long, but that was not the case here. Mostly Max with his internal stuff and family drama.

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  3. Sometimes, I do love to indulge myself with books that will make me cry or make me emotional and reading your review, I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy this too. Great review!

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    1. This had a few tender parts, and some of the family drama was deep, but there was support built in there, and I liked where Upperman took some of the plotlines

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  4. Lovely review! :) I was a bit on the fence about reading this one because I was worried there would be a lot of unnecessary drama but it seems to be in the clear. I love baking! It can be quite therapeutic for me. I have a sweet tooth so anything with sugar is my favorite. 😅

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    1. There is definitely drama, but the bulk of it is external to the H/H. There are some major family issues, and Max is on a path to nowhere with an ex he needs to shake, but the stuff between the two MCs was minimal.

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  5. This sounds really well done. My family would probably like it if I read this book since it might inspire me to bake a few goodies :)

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    1. If you're baking, remember, I like brownies. 😉

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  6. I saw the cover and title of this and sort of assumed it was fluffy - glad to see it has substance and maybe I will try it!
    Jen Ryland

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    1. Funny you say that. I read one review, where they thought the book was full of drama and angst. There was some, but it did not overwhelm the story. But the family stuff was pretty big

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  7. I love the sound of this one! I think I need to meet Jillian and Max!!

    Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace

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  8. Wonderful review, Sam! I like the point you brought up about most of the drama being outside of Jill and Max's relationship. Yes it affected them to a certain extent but it wasn't just angsty teenage drama. They were both dealing with more serious issues at home.

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    1. Yes, there was drama but it was the typical teen stuff, like miscommunication or another girl/guy or that petty stuff. It was deep drama, but was not between the two of them. That is probably why I was ok with the level of drama in the book. It was deep, but it was outside of the love-bubble.

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  9. Lovely review! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this book - it sounds like the kind of book I would love. I do love as well when the main characters share a past :)
    And I LOVE BROWNIES TOO.
    Thanks for sharing and happy reading :)

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  10. Swoon Reads have been seriously hit or miss for me (Cindy Anstey is the only winner I've found so far), so I was on the fence about this one...but I'm happy to hear it was such an enjoyable read. Food in books is my weakness, so something tells me I'd have a major craving for sweets while reading!

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    1. The Anstey book I read was fabulous, and I definitely want to read more from her. I guess I have been pretty lucky with Swoon, as they tend to be lighter and very much my speed, though this book had some heavy family drama. Seriously, Jilly cooked all the time in this book, and I would have killed to be able to reach through the page a few times.

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  11. All I needed was the mention of food to want to read this one. I love when books feature food and stress baking! Who doesn't want stress baking! But the rest of the book also sounds good, the no food related part. But any book which can make you want to eat is good. I try to avoid the whole 'broken boy' thing and I am a little put off by the drama but this book sounds like it does everything well and I do enjoy a lof od books published by Swoon. I'll give it a chance.

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    1. I saw that cover and it was love at first sight for me. Upperman threw in some real surprises and she was very thoughtful in some of her choices. And yes, baking in books: Bittersweet, Artificial Sweethearts, Who's That Girl, and then the cooking in North of Happy had me salivating as I read. Yum.

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  12. I've been really curious about this one so I'm ecstatic to see you enjoyed it!

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    1. I loved all the different relationships that were explored in this book, and I loved that Jillian was the strong one. She was getting hit from all sides, and she never gave up or gave in. She kept her eyes on the prize and planned an alternate way to still get what she wanted. I just loved that.

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  13. Ooh! I like when books actually have a lot of food in it, and actually describes everything so you can smell and taste it yourself. This one... I've heard so many great things again and again about it! I still can't really get behind the cringe-worthy cover (IMO), but I'll definitely give a try someday. Glad you really liked it!

    Cass @ Words on Paper

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    1. I actually like the cover, but I know my co-blogger doesn't like covers that show the whole person. Like she would like it, if the faces were cut off, and if there were faces, they would need to be in shadow or really close up. I read North of Happy not too long ago, and the MC is an aspiring chef. So. Much. Food. The book made me so hungry.

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