Review: Still Tingling With Happiness
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2014
I absolutely loved the first book A Kiss By Design. But I have to admit that I might have loved this second book just a teensy bit better. I think one of the reasons has got to be the main girl featured. Jenna. She just reminds me of myself, and while I do not tutor athletes or major in Biology and stem cell research, I have always surprised people by my thoughts, feelings, or even actions, making true the phrase expect the unexpected. And that is exactly what Jenna does with Zach. She forces him to throw what he knows and is familiar with out the window. She forces him to look inside of himself and re-evaluate himself.At the end of the last book, Zach was devastated with the initial breakup of him and Emily and the thought of Emily and Dylan becoming a couple. He is more shattered than anything about the fact that his familiar world is crumbling around him. This book kind of delves more into his feelings on the subject and how he is going to cope with it. And...well...he copes a bit better than he realizes.This book is a fight between the two characters but also an internal struggle inside themselves. As much as they want to deny it, the two are more alike than they think. They both have these environments that hold no surprises. They are comfortable. They have planned against the inevitable, and no one can take this away from them. But love is a fickle mistress and will take them to a place they never expected.They will try to contain their feelings, denying them, but life will throw them for a loop.Okay, so throughout this book, Zach gives a nickname to Jenna. I don't want to give it away, but I have to say that it made me squeal every single time. It was just so cute, and that, paired with the denial of their growing feelings for one another, just made it that much more intimate and...well, I couldn't stop smiling each time the name came up. In fact, I still can't stop smiling when I think of it.We get to see the real Zach in this story. The one behind the persona he exudes. He truly is a sweet guy. It just has taken him a bit longer than most to find his true self.