Top Five Wednesday/ Best Kisses

Top Five Wednesday, which right now is taken over by the author Laura A Grace. Top Five Wednesday is a weekly book prompt that might help you pick your next read.

July 6th: Best Kisses

Passionate kisses between lovers, hesitant ones between friends, or kisses on foreheads from parental guardians, a kiss is a kiss and is always special. To celebrate International Kissing Day being today, let’s share or highlight some of our favorite kissing moments in fiction!

Goodreads Blurb:

Whitney only needs two things to survive — a steaming cup of coffee and the opportunity to create art with makeup. But until her big break comes along, she’s stuck selling makeup at the mall.

While out at a nightclub dancing her cares away, Whitney catches a fleeting glance of a man she’s convinced is Prince Charming himself, but she misses her chance to talk to him. How will she find him now? Taking a wild chance, she places an online ad and her dreams come true when he appears.

Only fairy tales aren’t what they seem. As Whitney struggles to deal with the vast amount of changes in her life, her Prince is up against some losses in his, widening the gap between them. The only answer to their problems lies right in front of their faces. Can they figure it out before it’s too late? 

Goodreads Blurb:

When tabloid darling Princess Alice, the first out member of the British royal family, meets an opinionated single mother, the encounter goes viral. It seems the anti-monarchist education specialist Sara has a view on all things and doesn’t mind sharing.

So when Alice later has to ask Sara to help diagnose her young nephew’s learning difficulties, it’s seriously awkward. At least until they discover how beautifully they click together.

With the press sniffing around them, and Alice desperately wanting to protect her nephew’s privacy, they agree to claim they’re dating.

But as their fake dates start to feel like much more, Sara and Alice must navigate having a real relationship in the public eye. Is that even possible, though, while keeping Sara’s daughter safe and happy, and facing the Queen’s disapproval?

Can they overcome their doubts for love? A love they can no longer hide?

Goodreads Blurb:

Up and coming fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont is internally screaming at the chance to finally meet her fandom friends in real life and spend a weekend at GreatCon. She also has a side quest for the weekend:

Try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels
Wear more masculine-presenting cosplay
Kiss a girl for the first time

It’s… a lot, and Kay mostly wants to lie face down on the hotel floor. Especially when her hometown bully, Miss North Carolina, shows up in the very same hotel. But there’s this con-sponsored publishing contest, and the chance to meet her fandom idols… and then, there’s Teagan.

Pageant queen Teagan Miller (Miss Virginia) has her eye on the much-needed prize: the $25,000 scholarship awarded to the winner of the Miss Cosmic Teen USA pageant. She also has secrets:

She loves the dresses but hates the tiaras
She’s a giant nerd for everything GreatCon
She’s gay af

If Teagan can just keep herself wrapped up tight for one more weekend, she can claim the scholarship and go off to college out and proud. If she’s caught, she could lose everything she’s worked for. If her rival, Miss North Carolina, has anything to do with it, that’s exactly how it’ll go down.

When Teagan and Kay bump into one another the first night, sparks fly. Their connection is intense—as is their shared enemy. If they’re spotted, the safe space of the con will be shattered, and all their secrets will follow them home. The risks are great… but could the reward of embracing their true selves be worth it? 

Goodreads Blurb:

If this was your classic Cotswolds murder mystery (it’s not) and Ray was an amateur detective (he isn’t) then when he stumbles across something unexpected under his bedroom floor, he’d investigate the hell out of it.

Hard pass.

Ray’s just a thirtysomething graphic designer with a broken heart who doesn’t much like his life right now.

And he’s already having nightmares about the whole thing, come on. He’d rather not think about it. (Also, the police were kinda mean, and now everyone thinks he’s a serial killer.)

Luckily for Ray, the last man in the world he should be interested in has distraction on his mind, and it seems like all Ray can think about is Adam Blake. Adam is everywhere Ray turns. He is too young for Ray, too cool for him, too beautiful for him…and for some bewildering reason, Adam is always there for him when Ray needs him the most.

But Ray’s not falling for it. He’s not falling for Adam. Definitely not. Because Ray and Adam have a complicated history, and starting something would be a terrible idea.

Goodreads Blurb:

Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder–or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with: after all, humans are disgusting. They’ve pollluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country.

In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest’s pespective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings…

Alex