Thursday, January 30, 2014

Review: Kiss the Sky by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Title: Kiss the Sky
Author: Krista and Becca Ritchie
Published: January 22nd 2014
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*

Virgin. Sex addict. Daredevil. Alcoholic. Smartass … Jackass. Her five friends are about to be filmed. Reality TV, be prepared.

Rose Calloway thought she had everything under control. At twenty-three, she’s a Princeton graduate, an Academic Bowl champion, a fashion designer and the daughter of a Fortune 500 mogul. But with a sex addict as a sister and roommate, nothing comes easy.

After accepting help from a producer, Rose agrees to have her life filmed for a reality television show. The Hollywood exec is her last chance to revive her struggling fashion line, and boundaries begin to blur as she’s forced to make nice with a man who always has his way.

Twenty-four-year-old Connor Cobalt is a guy who bulldozes weak men. He’s confident, smart-as-hell and lives with his equally ambitious girlfriend, Rose Calloway. Connor has to find a way to protect Rose without ruining the show. Or else the producer will get what Connor has always wanted—Rose’s virginity.

This New Adult Standalone Romance can be described as Friends meets The Real World. Expect fist fights, drugs, sex of varying degrees, crude humor and competitive alpha males. Definitely for mature readers audiences only.
It's been over a week since I read it and I can't get it out of my head. This review is so hard for me to write. Not because I didn’t love this book, no, I absolutely did! I just don’t know what to say. My thoughts are speeding on a highway a million miles an hour and I don’t know which ones to catch and which to let go of. They all feel immensely important and want to be told, but I can’t write a full-length novel, so bare with me while I try to work out my feelings and thoughts with you.

“You go through life, seeing people one way. And in one fucking moment, what you thought was commonplace becomes something else, something…different.” He shrugs. “That’s all. I see you guys a little differently. Not bad, not good. Just fucking different.” (Yeah, Ryke has a foul mouth lol.)

The first thing I discovered while reading Kiss the Sky is that it’s so much better to read it along with a friend. Thanks, Nick, for talking to me and fangirling and analyzing. It was truly a blast to share this with you :) The second thing I discovered is that different doesn’t always mean bad. You see, I had this vision or idea in my head of how Rose and Connor were supposed to be. How they’d touch, react, talk, share, be intimate with each other… I had all of it figured out. Some of it, in Krista and Becca’s mind, was similar to mine while other things were completely different from what I expected. I loved Ryke’s quote (read above) about difference and I couldn’t agree more.

Oh, how I love this cast of characters! They’re most certainly one my favorite group of friends in any book I have ever read. They have some huge problems, but still manage to banter, smile and on top of that encourage each other on. They are fiercely protective, loyal and caring. It takes great writing and skill to pull off a plot where the main characters are developed to full lengths and the side characters aren’t forgotten either. It’s a big book, but Daisy and Ryke got an even bigger introduction than in Ricochet and Addicted for Now. In addition, we see the cute, sexy and funny sides with a touch of desperation to Lo and Lily’s relationship through someone else's eyes. The characters are perfectly developed by Krista and Becca—the two wizards of great chemistry and tension.

As for the plot, there were some scenes that had me a bit disturbed. Heh. They just weren’t what I expected, but even through my discomfort (on top of that, it’s all very explicit, which, as I later came to realize, I didn’t mind), I understand all the why’s and how’s and you know what? I approve. Not every couple is meant to be the same and Connor never treats Rose with nothing but utmost respect that is driven by desire, admiration and love. I adored seeing Connor open up and finding himself with the ability to love. It was a great discovery and the way this book ended? I’m only going to ask you this: can you spell p-e-r-f-e-c-t-i-o-n?  Because it was. Perfect, that is.

You know what else was perfect? Lo and Connor's bromance! I could watch them banter every minute of every day. Also, you know how Tahereh Mafi has this famous chapter in Unravel Me? Kiss the Sky has two of them: chapter 10 (Connor doing something incredibly sexy and for some reason every time I hear this song by Drake, the scene just pops into my head as if to torture me. In a VERY good way, haha. *fans self*) and chapter 41 (which had me choking on laughter.) YOU NEED TO READ THESE TWO SCENES (and the rest of the book) ASAP!!!!! 




Because it wouldn't be a review for this book and these two authors if it wasn't for a gif, and because I'm pretty much that awkward with winks. Yeah...

I did my best not to make it all about Connor. You all know by now how much I adore him. You’d all be pretty much bored out of your mind if I wrote this review only about his amazing qualities (which he’d entirely approve of), but to save you from this, I’m going to let you discover him all by yourselves. We can fangirl later. Together :) I hope that you do end up giving this book (which can be read as a stand-alone!), the rest of the Addicted world and its characters a try. This is something you do NOT want to miss and you’ll be kicking yourself later for not having tried them any sooner. I’m saving you from all that emotional turmoil and trouble and ordering asking you to GO READ THESE BOOKS!!!! :D

**PS. On the rating: Why not 5.0? Due to my original discomfort... (read above.)
**PPS. The Nook e-book price is completely ridiculous and in a good way!

Overall rating: 4.8 out of 5.0
Stars: ★★★★
Thank you to Krista and Becca who kindly provided me with an ARC which has not in any way affected my thoughts on the book.

Meet the authors

Goodreads (K) | Goodreads (B) | Twitter (K) Twitter (B) | Website Facebook

19 comments:

  1. AHHHH YES I loved - love - this book too! It's been over a week since I read it but I still get this goofy grin whenever I think about it. Connor and Rose are just so perfect <3 *whispers* That lap dance! *fans self*

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    1. Same here! I just can't get over the fact of how adorable they are together. Perfect, indeed! Haha. That lap dance--I just. I can't even. *hyperventilates*

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  2. Glad to hear that the cast is some of the favorite that you've read and it def makes me want to check this one out.

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  3. Yay! I had fun reading it together too, Siiri!
    This review is just perfection! I don't even know what to say here because I have so much love for your review. You and I shared the same feelings about everything.
    And that lap dance put Chapter 62 to shame (not that it was as extraordinary as people claim it to be. I've read far sexier books! ;) )
    Great review, Siiri!
    P.S I NEED RYKE MEADOWS ASAP!

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  4. I have heard of this one and I have heard great things about it, but I didn't know it was that good. I love the sound of the characters and those books that stay in your mind are the best. Connor sounds like an amazing guy and I love him for his way of treating girls. That's just amazing. I'm so glad you loved this one. Amazing review, Siiri :)

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  5. I'm on a NA overload at the moment so I've been taking a break from them but when I get back to them, this series is at the top of my list to read!

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  6. Must read this Siiri! Both you and Nick just gush over it and I'm thinking Connor is going to be someone I fall madly in love with. I gathered from Nick's review there's a light BDSM element to the romance which I'm guessing is what led to your initial discomfort? I read a lot of very sexy romance books when I'm not reading YA, so I'm thinking there's probably not much that will make me uncomfortable at this point, but I do like knowing about that element upfront. I'm also looking forward to the bromance! Romance + Bromance = WIN.

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  7. This book is really making it's rounds huh! I found the blurb interesting. I know a lot of my friends seemed to have enjoyed it. I am a little wry. I started Addicted to You and had a difficult time getting into the story, not that any of the scenes bother me. I have read explicit scenes before it was just... hard to connect with the characters I guess. Why I am straying away from this one for now. But people say it's been different.. so maybe I will. I did like Lo :)

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  8. Yay I'm excited to read this one - hopefully soon. I love the characters in this series and it feels so effortless to get to know and love them you know. I still haven't read Book 2 in the AfY series though so I'll be reading that one next and then this one. I can't wait to see what Rose and Connor have in store. I also have an image in mind of how they really are together so I'm curious to see this show! WHOO

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  9. Wow. I'm surprised you held back on gushing about Connor! LOL That's some self-control! Awesome review!! I haven't read Unravel Me. Should I? I don't even have it in my TBR.

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  10. You and Nick are so convincing! I feel like these author's books aren't things I would usually go for, but man, you do make it hard to not be curious. ;) Also, I'm desperate to find out what chapter 10 and chapter 41 are like. :D I love the sound of the character cast and Lo and Connor's bromance. I'm hoping I'll be able to meet them all one day. Great review, Siiri! I'm so glad you enjoyed reading this overall. :)

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  11. This sounds pretty good and great characters always make a book that much better :) I've never done a read a long with someone else before. It sounds like fun :) Great review!

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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  12. SIIRI. You are killing me with your love for these books! I am buying and buying and storing them up for an epic read-a-thon.
    Great review!

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  13. Siiri you did an amazing job at gathering your feelings for this book which you loved and giving us a gorgeous review. I always have a hard time at putting my thoughts down for books which have overwhelmed me, but I love how you broke down how the different aspects worked for you. Connor sounds amazing! Also isn't it the best when you have someone to fangirl over the book with when you're reading it? I'm glad to see you and Nick had so much fun. Also yay for the fact that this book can be read as a standalone, (I have far too many series still to read). Lovely review as always! :)

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  14. Great to hear that Becca and Krista's book is amazing! I love their blog so I'm not surprised that they did a great job here. Oooh I'm excited to find out about Connor. And the bromance, how many of those do we see that are well done? Thanks for the great review Siiri, I'll have to definitely pick this up!

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

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  15. Everyone who has read this seems to absolutely love it! LOL love the JLaw gif ;) Will keep it under my radar for years to come.

    Lovely review! <33

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  16. I really, really need to pick up this series! Your enthusiasm has me sold Siiri. I just need to make the time. Wonderful gushing review! :)

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  17. Okay, so to clarify, this is a companion book in a series. Or is it a sequel? Is the book told from Rose and Connor's perspective? I LOVE that it includes a strong group of friends, lots of swoon and it succeeded in surprising you. I'm not sure about the uncomfortable material. Is it just the graphic nature of their relationship? Anyway, I can tell that you're practically fangirling about this one and I LOVE when a book hits me that hard. You definitely make me want to read this one.

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  18. Oh my God. This book had scenes that disturbed me, too, but I still love it. I agree with you, some things Connor does to Rose did make me uncomfortable at times but I'm okay with it. That's their relationship. That's how Connor shows his love for her, and Rose is certainly not complaining. I LOVED the ending too. It had me tearing up!

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