Five Kisses at Midnight by Abby Crofton is a sweet, multi-contemporary romance featuring a series of New Year’s kisses.
Bell takes a nap before going to the swank New Year’s party she’s overseeing at a Waikiki hotel, and wakes up with a sore neck and a vague unease about the course of her life. Her meticulous planning averts a few party mishaps but nothing can prepare her for meeting a famous and gorgeous woman reading a book by the employee entrance next to the smelly dumpsters. Luckily she gets another chance to meet Lola when she wakes up from the same nap on what should have been the next day.
World champion surfer and lesbian icon Lola Winston-Jones wears mismatched prints and reads quirky science fiction. She’s very down to earth for a famous athlete and is immediately taken with the badly dressed hotel employee who can’t seem to tear her eyes away. Being caught in Bell’s time loop is more exciting than scary, though every day is new for her.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
The concept is clever, with Bell waking up from her nap over and over. The story is like a cross between the movies Groundhog Day and Happy Death Day. The former is mentioned several times and the latter not at all, though the author is quite the authority on time loop fiction. It’s difficult to pull off time loops without leaving some holes in logic, but this is solidly plotted and doesn’t try to keep every day exactly the same. The differences created tension and allowed Bell to have one really insane day, and I enjoyed that quite a bit.
Delineated by kisses, one per chapter, the book is short so it doesn’t take long for Bell to notice she’s reliving the same day. Like Bill Murray, she tries to work her way through the cosmically issued challenge to Do Something to reset time to its regular schedule. While not exactly laugh out loud funny, there is a bit of humor. Bell’s attempts to “fix” things are all well-meaning and sweet. It’s easy to root for her to find a way to the awesomely nice Lola.
Cons And Heads Up
Nothing.
The Conclusion
Bell and Lola living the same day repeatedly in this short book gives them several meets cute. Bell is a busy but organized event manager who always takes time to help people who seem to need it, but she could do without having the same stressful day over and over. Luckily, she meets world champion surfer Lola every day, and before long the meetings add up to Bell feeling like she knows Lola pretty well. And she likes what she sees.
Excerpt from Five Kisses at Midnight by Abby Crofton
“Sorry if I’m trespassing where I’m not supposed to be,” she said, rising from the bench in a fluid motion that contrasted with the stiffness in her voice.
Bell blanched beneath her tan. She’d learned that even the most innocuous words could set a guest off on an offended rant – and they usually ended with “and the customer is always right.” Bell hated that phrase.
“Not at all! You’re welcome to stay,” Bell said, the words tumbling out of her mouth as she tried to backtrack. “This is a nice, quiet area. Perfect to read your book.”
The woman tilted her head just enough for her oversized sunglasses to tip down her nose. Her dark eyes sparked with good humor. “Now that you mention it, the smell does seem extra funky. Before it was just regular funky, and I could handle that. With all the times I’ve had to share digs with guys on my trips, I’ve become immune to most nasty odors. But this is pushing my limits.”
Bell ignored the guest’s rambling. With the sunglasses no longer covering half her face and her body stretched out to its full height, recognition sparked. Not just a guest, but a VIP celebrity. Bell could’ve slapped herself. The Australian-accented voice alone should have tipped her off to the woman’s identity.
“I hope you’re enjoying your stay at the hotel, Ms. Winston-Jones,” Bell said. She dropped her backpack by her bike before moving closer to the guest, who had turned to leave.
At the sound of her name, the guest faced Bell. “You can call me Lola,” she said before taking a sip from her drink, her lips wrapping around the paper straw and her cheeks hollowing as she sucked.
Bell had the sudden overwhelming urge for her own drink.
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Bits and Bobs
ASIN number: B0BMZLY7B6
Publisher: Indie Author
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