THE KISS

Author: Elda Minger ISBN: 0425206815 3/2006 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: BERKLEY SENSATION

When you lose everything you thought you needed, you may just end up with what you really wanted all along... When she finds her fiance with another woman the night before their wedding, Tess Sommerville's safe, dull, by-the-numbers life is over. Packing up her broken heart—along with her dog—she impulsively joins her older brother's best friend in a two-thousand-mile trip cross-country. Will Tremere always had a soft spot for Tess when they were growing up—and now she's become a beautiful, intriguing woman. He also knows that Tess is hurting, and he's determined to help her get back on her feet, no strings attached. But by the time the pair rolls into Las Vegas, all bets are off. Because neither Tess nor Will ever counted on finding their perfect match on the road...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Elda Minger sure knows how to gain a reader's attention. She starts off her new book, THE KISS, with Tess Sommerville accidentally walking in on her fiancé sleeping with another woman—and on the eve of their wedding, no less!! Well, lucky for Tess, just an hour or so before, she was reunited with a man from her past (a very sexy, sultry man) who is definitely interested in Tess.

Will Tremere was an exchange student back in High School, now visiting from England to help a friend by driving her car from Chicago to Los Angeles. Although Tess is to be married, Will can't help but be instantly attracted to her, and out of sheer desperation on his part, he gives Tess his number in case she should ever "need him".

Of course she's going to need him! She breaks off the wedding and decides to tag along with him on his road trip. However, it's not just an ordinary road trip for Tess. I would call it a "coming of age" trip. She learns about herself and what she truly wants out of life. Not only that, she has come to realize that Will is exactly what she needs IN her life!

Elda Minger's THE KISS was a fast-paced, highly enjoyable book. Her characters, not only Tess and Will, but the secondary characters as well, were well written and likable. I instantly liked Tess and Will and cheered them on throughout the whole story. Although THE KISS was filled with sexual tension, it doesn't deliver any sexual interaction between the couple until the book is almost over. That was a bit of a bummer for me. Aside from that, I enjoyed Elda Minger's THE KISS. I would recommend reading it!

Julie Kornhausl