When the highlighted quotes and passages in a book span every chapter, and you have trouble choosing exactly which ones to print for your reading journal because you want to include them all but you don’t have that much space on the spread, you know you’ve found a forever book. Your Last First Kiss by Avery Maxwell is one of those books.
Your Last First Kiss (YLFK) brings beautiful emotional depth with fantastic elements of humor, blending them together to paint the perfect picture of how life is far from picture perfect. It's real and honest. And yes, it's deep and has levels of emotional intensity some may be uncomfortable with. But a good story—no, a great story—should make us uncomfortable with things. And make us think and feel all the emotions. Because when it comes down to it, those emotions are all important to really reach a reader’s soul. And YLFK reached my freaking soul!
Maxwell infuses Penny and Dillon’s story with wonderful moments of light and levity. Beyond the connection and pull Penny and Dillon feel for each other—and, whew! Is there ever some intense connection there—humor and laugh-out-loud encounters between characters that mirror banter between close siblings abound throughout. And every encounter, every conversation, awakens the realization and recognition in the characters of how life should and can be, even between and among found family, which is sometimes tighter and more connected than blood relatives.
Both Dillon and Penny have their own mess and chaos to manage, whether it’s the physical and mental scars of a marriage to a monster or being brought up by them. I’ve never experienced what these characters did, and I still felt their pain, their passion, their conflict, and their triumphs. Watching Dillon fall first and struggle to be accepted as Penny deals with the turmoil she’s immersed in daily, and having it play out so vividly in my mind, is a shining example of how fiction can be so real. Their words sink deep into a reader's heart, soul, consciousness, until that reader feels like a true participant in their lives.
But this isn’t even a story about two people. It’s a story about family and community. Maxwell writes supporting characters who create a sense of intensely interwoven togetherness and interdependence, who lay the foundation and build the platform for the main characters to bond and find their forever. The good (Miller), the bad (Eddy), and even the ugly truth of life's consequences for bad actions and behavior are essential and have a solid place throughout the plot.
All of this to say, readers are not just getting a pretty picture with some angst leading to an eventual HEA. They are going to be immersed in multiple and ever-evolving emotions. Confronted with lessons in coming to terms with things in and out of your control. Enlightened by characters intent on finding and building a family. Challenged by things that aren't always pretty or perfect but, with the right people at your side, can be pretty imperfectly perfect. And ultimately understanding the heartache in heartbreak, and find that the journey back can be difficult and painful, but so worth it.
Your Last First Kiss is a standalone read in Maxwell’s literary world. There will be some familiar names and faces, but they will only encourage a new reader to go back to her backlist while not taking anything away from YLFK. Oh, and Miller. Yeah, Miller. Miller is mine. Just kidding. But, not really. ;-)
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Popular Highlights in this book
“You don’t need another person to take care of, sweetheart. What you need is someone willing to take care of you. I want—no—I need to be that man for you. And I desperately want you to see yourself as I see you.”Highlighted by 393 Kindle readers- “W—What was that?” His eyes sparkle. “That, I hope, was your last first kiss.”Highlighted by 390 Kindle readers
- “But what you haven’t considered is how flexible I can be—how much I’m willing to bend to fit into your world. I don’t need all of you, Penny. I just need the pieces no one else has earned.”Highlighted by 377 Kindle readers
From the Publisher
About the author
Take a Chance on Love
Single parent, He falls first, Strong Heroine, Found Family, yes, all these buzz words are absolutely accurate. AND they fail to represent the depth to be found in this first step into Avery Maxwell’s new world. Maxwell’s eleventh book brings us new places and faces. Fans of the Westbrooks Broken Hearts and Family Ties series will find all the things they’ve come to love about the worlds Maxwell weaves, but in this story, a true standalone, she invites new readers to jump in with both feet with no mid-series FOMO. What does the new world of Chance Lake and Dillon and Penny’s story offer? Swoony heroes who are all in for their queens, strong female leads so real you’ll invite them for coffee, adorable kids and quirky found family you’ll want to make your own, and a story that will squeeze your heart in all the best ways. You know all the things Avery Maxwell does so well. YLFK is the real world on the page, all the messy, glorious, steamy, tragic, beautiful truth of it, and a happily ever after too. I recommend this wholeheartedly. While handled with a deft hand, tragic realities of divorce, alcoholism, and starting over are sub-themes, and sensitive readers should consider the author’s note before diving in.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2023
Top reviews from other countries
- Nicole AdamsReviewed in Australia on May 9, 2023
Dillon + Penny are chaotic perfection!
- Books&CoffeeReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2023
I really freaking hate this book
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