A Kiss in the Dark - Gina Ciocca

A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): When the lights go out at a Georgia high school football game, Macy Atwood finds herself in the arms of a boy who kisses her senseless – but is gone by the time the lights come back on. All she knows is that there was something special – and oddly familiar – about her mystery kisser.
Noah Granger, Ridgedale’s resident bad boy and newest transfer student, has no problem taking credit for the kiss, but Macy can’t shake the feeling that he’s lying. Especially since a photograph of Macy and former star football player Joel Hargrove resurfaced online moments before the blackout, a not-so random reminder of how hard she fell for Joel last year. And how doing so ultimately sent her lifelong friendships with Meredith Kopala and Ben Collins up in literal smoke.
Soon junior year’s wounds begin to reopen as Macy realizes the events that unfolded are somehow tied to her mystery kisser. Discovering how means finally facing what really went wrong with Meredith, Ben, and Joel – and finding out what Noah is covering up. 
But the closer Macy gets to figuring it all out, the more she starts to worry that the boy who kissed her in the dark and the boy who is stealing her heart might be two very different people.

MY OPINION: ****

Finally, a cutesy romance novel that was exactly what I needed this summer!

It's been a while since I've read a romance novel. I mean like a real, cheesy, fluffy, cute romance novel. I loved this book and everything about it and I'm really glad to get back on track for the summer with this novel!

This book starts off with a kiss. Our main character, Macy Atwood, is kissed in the dark at a football game by a "stranger" who is gone by the time the lights come back on. This is an interesting premise from the start and we get an air of mystery which was definitely an essential factor to loving this book.

We soon meet three possible boys that it can be.

1. Noah Granger. (I couldn't help but think of Hermione Granger every time I read his last name!). Noah is described as a "bad boy" in the blurb but in the book, he didn't really come off as a bad boy to me. We don't get a really big idea of who he really is until the end, to be completely honest. I didn't like Noah at first for whatever reason (I don't even remember why!) but as the story went on, I definitely appreciated his character a lot more and secretly wanted it to be him who she kissed in the dark (and I'm not saying who it was either... unless you want to look at the spoilers!). Noah's a transfer student from the opposing high school and even though a similar character got a lot of crap for it, Noah was mutually accepted by most. He's bisexual which we don't learn until the end and this really surprised me! It was such a plot twist!

2. Ben Collins. (This made me think of Pride and Prejudice!). Ben was a sweet boy who I really liked overall. At first I wasn't rooting for him because I was surrounded by these other two hot, amazing boys who Macy seemed to really like. Also, Ben had the hots for Macy's best friend. However, I learned to really love him. He was so nice and caring and even though he had some problems when talking to girls, he was romantic and subtle. Yes, he was the one. I loved how it all turned out!

3. Joel Hargrove. Joel was a difficult character to relate to because when we saw him, he always seemed detached and distant. He really had a lot on his plate, as Ben says somewhere in the book, and I admire his strength and bravery at being able to really overcome his problems and admit to himself who he really is. He's gay (another big surprise!) and I really loved his and Noah's relationship! SO SWEET!

Then we have Macy's friends, like Jadie and Meredith.

Meredith really aggravated me at times. I thought she was little bossy, sometimes almost selfish, and she was overly commandeering. By the end, I sort of understood where she was coming from but still. I don't think she had the right to treat Macy like she did, especially when she didn't understand the whole picture. Get over it, Meredith. If the guy you like doesn't like you back, live with it. We all have to go through the qualms of unrequited love at some point. Meredith, however, didn't really get her fairytale ending or really any closure, which I was a little bummed out about.

Jadie was such a great friend to Macy. She's supportive, she's understanding, and I really loved her character. She was everything Meredith wasn't and I was glad she and Macy became such great friends. There's a scene where she's bullied in the book and I'm glad Macy stood up for her, even if she was the only one. This just shows how true and important friendship is and how it can get you of really tough situations.

This book was told from Macy's perspective from two different time periods: senior year (the present) and junior year (the past). I honestly loved how it was done because as the story went on, everything sort of came together and I really got those "aha!" moments when I realized why something turned out the way it did.

The ending was almost shocking and I can say for myself that I really did not expect the plot twists at all. It was like WOW. But I loved it and I think the book really ended up with a big SLAM BANG POW and I loved how everything all turned out.

Agh I really want to spill but I can't. Because spoilers. SIGH. Please somebody read the book so we can TALK AND FANGIRL!

Overall, I really loved this book and am very interested in reading more of Gina Ciocca's work in the very near future! I would recommend this to readers looking for a mystery romance novel!

Main Character: Macy
Sidekick(s): Jadie, Meredith, Joel, Noah, Ben, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstanding, the past, mistakes, love, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this could happen in real life.