A Thousand Boy Kisses
Ratings87
Average rating3.6
i saw this in the bookstore and flipped to a random page to see if the writing style would suit my tastes and it ended up being the page with the huge plot twist so...
Dnf 9% I could tell early on that I wasn???t going to like this, but I persisted as long as possible. The book was too sappy and the 15 year old characters say such unrealistic cheesy lines. Also referring to other girls as carbon copy bimbos didn???t do much to endear me to Rune. Genuinely baffled by all the positive reviews
Absolutely not.
So extremely dramatic and predictable, it actually annoyed me (At least I felt something)
Wow. This book.
This book broke me just from the very first few pages. Tillie's writing is beautiful and while Poppy's and Rune's story is quite tragic it was such an amazing read.
5/5 would totally recommend.
Short review: This book could've been better if it wasnt young adult.
Long story: I really wanted to like this book the longer I read it. The more I read the book itself and about the author I realized that this is also a deeply personal story about grief, falsely packaged as a young adult romance novel. YA implies its marketed towards teens too, but the author retains a writing style that is very reminiscent of dark romance and erotica (which she is an author of too). Not saying teens cant read this, but this book models multiple tragedies, some on accident: A codependent relationship, characters that dont exist outside of their romance, heavy miscommunication and the death of a character. The characters never act their age either. While the plot of this book explains that later on, I found myself very irritated and pulled out of my immersion by how inaccurately child characters were written. And while Im talking about immersion - the writing style is very flat, simple and wattpad. The author actually says that tongues duel at some point. Wattpad writing in combination with supposedly deep talks about life and death (that repeat themselves over and over again) just clash, and exactly that is why this book shouldntve been YA in my opinion. This couldve been a great emotional venture into grief and dealing with it. Instead its one book of a girl dying and leaving behind a boyfriend amongst many.
Me gustó, pero esperaba más.
Lo que tiene de lindo lo tiene de doloroso, si bien es un libro que te hace valorar y ver las cosas de una forma totalmente diferente, en algunas ocasiones se me hizo demasiado infantil, y por momentos se me hacía muy repetitivo y sin sentido.
El final no me convenció. Siento que luego de lo que se expresó en los dos capítulos anteriores, merecía un final mejor.
Como dije, me gustó y dentro de todo es una historia linda. Nada más.
PD: Todos decían que es un libro que te generaba tristeza y te hacía llorar a mares. Y si, me dió tristeza, incluso hubo varios momentos que me llegaron al corazón, pero no largué ni una lagrima (y eso que soy de lagrima fácil), sincerarmente no esperé que ese momento fue así, me quedó con gusto a poco.
Contains spoilers
I had real tears (more than once!) not just a lump in my throat! I had heard it would make you cry - but wow!
I can't remember the last time I cried real tears during book. I read the whole thing in one day. If you need a good emotional outlet, this is for you.
Trigger warning: cancer
I just finished A thousand boy kisses by Tillie Cole and my heart is broken.
How two very different souls found a love that spanned life and death....
When Rune moved to Georgia from Norway at aged 5, he was upset... What he didn't expect was the girl next door to climb out of her window and declare them the very best of friends. From that moment, Poppy and rune became two halves of a whole.
10 years later Runes' family have to go back to Norway for work and the idea of being apart destroys them both. While he is gone, Poppy cuts off all contact and Rune lets himself get carried away in his darkness.
When he comes back to Georgia 2 years later he has one question on his lips... Why. Why did she cut him off? What she finally tells him rocks him to his core and Poppy needs to find the boy that left her 2 years ago.
I need to start reading the synopsis of books instead of going in blind because I thought this book would be a sweet YA.... I didn't expect my whole soul to be crushed into a million pieces.
The sullen bad boy with the optimistic musician is a tale as old as time but the way the author unravelled them was so raw in its complexity that I felt I had never read a grumpy sunshine book before. Poppy's grandmother dies when she is young and she gives her a jar to put all her boy kisses in. The ones that make her heart almost burst. The only boy she kisses is Rune.
Its beautiful the way their love story unfolds and while I don't usually add in quotes from books... This one hit me so hard...
“An unrivaled beauty, limited in its life. A beauty so extreme in its grace that it can't last. It stays to enrich our lives, then drifts away in the wind. Never forgotten. Because it reminds us we must live. That life is fragile, yet in that fragility, there is strength. There is love. There is purpose. It reminds us that life is short, that our breaths are numbered and our destiny is fixed, regardless of how hard we fight.”
GUH I spent at least half the book in tears. It hit me right in the feelers and I wouldn't have read this book had it not been by mistake but I am glad I did...
5 stars
I read this with my boyfriend which made the book and the experience of reading it, infinity times betterr:))
Do not read this book in public. You will cry. I don't think a chapter went by that I didn't break down. Beautifully written
A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching love story that delves deep into the power of young love and the resilience of the human spirit. From the very first page, the novel captures the reader's attention with its touching portrayal of Poppy and Rune, two characters whose bond is so profound that it transcends time and distance.
Poppy and Rune's story is one of those rare tales that stays with you long after you turn the last page. Their connection is pure and intense, filled with moments of joy and sorrow that are expertly balanced by Cole's evocative prose. The author has a knack for drawing out emotions in a way that feels genuine and relatable, making it easy for readers to become invested in the characters' journey.
What sets A Thousand Boy Kisses apart is its focus on the little moments that define a relationship. Cole's writing is rich with vivid descriptions and heartfelt dialogue, painting a vivid picture of the highs and lows that Poppy and Rune experience. The book is a celebration of life, love, and the importance of cherishing every single moment we have with the people we care about.
The novel is not just about romance; it's also about personal growth, coping with loss, and the enduring nature of memories. It's a tear-jerker, for sure, but it's also a story filled with hope and light. Readers should be prepared to go on an emotional rollercoaster, but they will come out the other side feeling moved and inspired.
In conclusion, A Thousand Boy Kisses is a must-read for fans of poignant, character-driven love stories. Tillie Cole has crafted a timeless tale that will touch your heart and remind you of the enduring power of love.
at 30% I wondered if the rest of the book was gonna be only pages of cheesiness and “life is worth it and so precious” etc... let me tell you, it is !
if you love cheesy romance like “our fault in the stars” then you'll love this one
but for me it was so boring and just no plot AT ALL, the excess of “your mine, im yours” was too much that the story became comic in a sense
2.5
I would've loved this if I was 13. I still cried and didn't expect that ending, but it was too YA for me.
My heart dropped at the ending. It's beating so fast even after I've completed the book. Whew.
“When you're near, my heart doesn't sigh, it soars.”
I knew this book was sad going into this but I didn't look into any details of the book before going into it. Please be kind to me with this review because it's going to take a while for me to gather my thoughts coherently.
Officially, today, it's been a month since I lost my grandmother who was such a huge part of my life so to read the opening chapters of this book where Poppy loses her grandmother and she says her goodbyes, it hit me hard and it felt like I was watching myself saying goodbye a month ago.
I could say a million things about this book to try to express how beautiful I think it was but really, I want to keep this short and sweet because of the amount of emotions this actually made me feel. Maybe one day I will come back to write a more in-depth review but for now, this is what you are all going to get from me.
Rune and Poppy are so special and their love is even more so.
Perfect book for when you need a fantastic cry.
This book made me throw up and a book never made that happen before even if i was crying hard.. The writing was beautiful and soul crushing! I cried, screamed my eyes out and almost threw my kindle across the room bc of the heartbreak it gave me. 95% mark i was ALL OVER THE PLACE.. I WAS LIKE AHHHHHH NONONONONONONO PLEASE NO WHY JUST WHY!!!!! then i ran towards the bathroom bc i almost threw up on the carpet.. Yes ik disgusting but yk since that book made that come out of me i was SHOCKED TO THE MAX FR!!!! my cat was looking at me like i had 2 heads as well like girl momma was having a breakdown but she good now. This book will forever stay in my heart until the day i die.. My first 5 star read of 2023 and my #1 favorite book of all time!
rating - 2.5/5{This review might contain spoilers, please do not read this if you haven't read the book yet}
I absolutely love tear-jerkers and heart wrenching books that make me cry. I had no doubt when i picked this up, that i would love it. However, i was just more and more let down as i continued reading.
I tried really hard to like this book, i did. Guess it just wasn't for me:(
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:-
➜ Poppy's world of people with sunshine smiles and moonbeam hearts is a perfect idealistic world. She's a happy-go-lucky, all-smiles kinda person. While her character was VERY unrealistic and a little annoying at times, i liked her. Unfortunately, i cannot say the same about Rune (our male protagonist). I despised his character arc and his bitterness infuriated me to no end. His behaviour towards his dad was also so upsetting?? like damn okay he had to move because of work. calm your tits.
➜ The writing was extremely sappy and cheesy to the point where it felt SUPER unrealistic. (like i love cheesy dialogues more often than not, but this was stretching it too far, sorry not sorry.)
➜ The dialogues and prose did not seem like something an average 15 year old or even an actual person would say/think. The depiction of characters (which was literally Rune and poppy, zero side-character development.) was just very intense and strange. Here's a small excerpt to explain what i mean:- (this is a 16/17 year old's inner monologue THROUGHOUT the book)
“He was my heart. The heart freely given to me as a child. The heart that made up one half of my own. The boy who, though breaking inside, loved me so deeply that he gave me this farewell. Gave me, in the present, the dream that my future never could. My soul mate who captured moments.”
“To greet like the sun when it peeks above the horizon, i wave, my arms like rays reaching out to her.”
shrugs
Rune not using the kiss jar and his death felt very anticlimactic and contrived to me
“kiss number # with my Rune at location
OVERALL
This book was so beautiful. The final chapters had me ugly crying and my heart hurting. I did feel that the epilogue felt out of place. I understand where the author was trying to go with it, but I felt like the book could have been perfect without it. Either way this book was beautiful and I loved seeing how much Rune and Poppy truly loved one another over the course of their lives.