When she was nine-years-old, Katie knew she wanted Chris to give her her first kiss. It wasn’t because she was in love with him (no way, he was her best friend! Besides, she was in love with his fourteen-year-old big brother), it was because she could make him do anything she wanted.
Besides, it didn’t really mean anything. It was only a kiss after all.
But then things started to change. They grew up. They parted ways and went to different high schools. And other girls and boys—well, just one particular boy—came into the picture, throwing their lives upside down.
Told from the alternating points of view of Katie and Chris, this love story between two best friends will tug at your heartstrings and leave you thinking how the simplest things can mean so much.
The first thing that got me about this book is the pretty cover. Then I read that the author started writing this after hearing ‘it’s only a kiss’ from the song Mr. Brightside. Being a fan of the Killers, pretty covers, AND the friends-to-lovers trope, I just had to get this book.
I was hooked from the first sentence. I loved Katie and her easy friendship with Chris that just made sense, not because he was there, but because their personalities complemented each other in the best way possible. I loved seeing them grow up, watching them learn to date, deal with broken hearts and move on from childhood infatuation. It was like watching a vivid reel of the lives of these two people, up to the moment that they finally realized they were meant to be more than friends. The writing made this journey engaging and just beautiful. I can’t wait to read more from Bautista-Yao, and it’s great that she seemed to have heard my wishes and granted them! The author just released a collection of short stories set in the world of Only a Kiss, called Just a Little Bit of Love. Get it for only $0.99 now!