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31 Kisses (2000)

by Chautona Havig(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

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review 1: I wanted to like this book. I really, really wanted to like this book. The premise was cute - instead of mistletoe, they have a Kiss-a-Bell, filled with Hershey's kisses, and you don't get chocolate unless you kiss someone. The characters with the Kiss-a-Bell are Gunnar (Gumpy) Jorgensen, and his live-home granddaughter, Chessie, who is blunt and outspoken to a fault... but new neighbor Carson likes her all the more for it. He wants chocolate, likes Chessie and gives her a kiss to get his Hershey's... and electricity struck both of them. They decide to share just ONE kiss a day for the month of December, and of course you know where THAT'S going...... sort of. Except the writer with this delicious and witty premise can't write for crap. Half the time the dialogue ma... morekes no sense, she doesn't clarify who is saying what, and... well, December *dragged* itself out, but when we hit January, it was at a dead-run, the pace throwing off the whole book. Worse, December establishes you in this old neighborhood with decorations and homey coziness, and January flings you out into the bleak, cold world where nobody really wants to be.So I wanted to like the book. I enjoyed half of December. But the author totally blew it with her lack of talent in story-telling, and the mussed up, harried plot changes that stripped the novel of the things that were endearing, in the first place.I should add that it has christian undertones, but I was very pleased that it didn't choke you to death with the 'god' references, or force a conversion on Gumpy. As an ex-christian, most books of this genre drive me batty on this point alone, but it was completely tolerable.
review 2: One of my "guilty pleasures" this time of year is sweet, gentle, Christmas love stories, and this one fit the bill. It was humorous (I found myself chuckling often at the dialogue and plot turns) and was uplifting rather than upsetting. I find that the older I get, the less I want anything "upsetting" in my discretionary time. Chessie was a bit unusual in her filter-less outspokenness, but she quickly grew on me. Even if not in real life, it is a relief not to wonder about someone's unspoken messages, or ulterior motives. Carson was a little more conventional, but comforting in his singular lack of pride or angst, and his sincere appreciation of Chessie's quirks. And Gumpy was a funny sidekick. I enjoyed it...it was a good travel read. less

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