Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson
Release Date: January 13, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320
Other Titles in the Series: Kiss Me Kill Me
After discovering that someone saw what looked like Dan’s emergency EpiPen in A-lister Plum’s designer handbag, Scarlett and her tough American sidekick, Taylor, sneak into a posh London nightclub, where Plum has a private table. Scarlett is stunned to discover a piece of evidence that might implicate another girl in Plum’s exclusive circle, Lucy Raleigh. Which means Scarlett must cast a wider net in order to catch the right suspect.
Back at school, groundskeeper Jase is hoping to take Scarlett’s mind off her troubles with some heart-stopping kisses. Scarlett can’t help but feel guilty for indulging in romantic rendezvous when she should be hunting down Dan’s killer. However, once Scarlett finds out how Lucy is connected to Dan, she knows she must drop everything and travel to the McAndrew estate in Scotland to hunt for more clues. But when she arrives, Scarlett becomes the target of a dangerous hunt herself.
Kisses and Lies was just as good and possibly even better than its predecessor. Also a big recommendation, read the series in order. You don’t always have to do that, but I highly suggest with this series that you do. If you remember my review from Kiss Me Kill Me, you’ll recall that I had a few problems with the plot, but not enough to keep me from liking the novel. Unfortunately I again had some issues with the plot, but somehow I still found the book entertaining.
Issue number one. Yes, Scarlett I know you are a freaggin orphan. You say that is doesn’t bother you, because you barely remember your parents when they died, since you were so young, yet you won’t stop bitching about it. Another annoying Scarlett habit is her constant questioning of Taylor. Am I depending on Taylor to much... yada, yada, yada... five pages or so... am I depending on Taylor so much... repeat at least five more times, this part seriously annoyed me so much... it’s pissing me off just writing about it. On top of those two less than stellar Scarlett moments, I also found Scarlett doing things that I found very out of character for her, maybe it was just me.
Issue number two. I understand the need for Scarlett to go to Castle Airlie, which was Dan’s home, so she can solve the big mystery and all, but I hate the way of her invitation. I mean seriously. She writes a letter to Dan’s parents basically inviting herself, because it might help them with closure. Oh and that she has something of his that she would like to give back, which is a lie. Let’s examine the relationship between Dan and Scarlett, shall we? That’s right there wasn’t one! It was a one night stand! Not even that, it was more like a ten-second frencher! What could she possibly know about their son, to give them some kind of closure? And why would they invite her to spend the holiday with them...?
Then of course there is a big revelation about Dan, which I have to say I wasn’t really all that surprised. There were some twists that did get me, and I think that is what ultimately made up the novel for me. Apparently there were times where I found the novel to be imperfect, but don’t let that overshadow the fact that I still found the novel to be very alluring. The unique characters and Henderson’s writing, make up for my few annoyances.
There was one more thing I wanted to address that was bothering me, but really has nothing to do with the novel itself, but the character Taylor. I really love her character, she is really unique. But I was appalled to see some of the comments made about her in other reviews. Taylor is not a girly girl, she likes to work out, she has muscles, she’s tough as nails. So obviously that means she is a lesbian. WHAT? Yes, it seems that everyone thinks that Taylor must be a lesbian because she has muscles and doesn’t go around crying when she breaks a nail. Let me just start off by saying that I really don’t care if she does end up being a lesbian, more power to her, but don’t condemn that on her, because of a stereotype. Come on people, I expect more from you.
And now I step down from my soap-box.