*****5 Stars***** 21 Stolen Kisses by Lauren Blakely

When I first met him I resisted.
Like any forbidden love, I told myself he was a crush, and it would pass.
That was a lie. It never faded.

And I never expected he would fall for me just as hard.

There were so many reasons that should have kept us apart, least of all, the decade that separated us. Growing up in New York City, I learned early on that love is a double-edged sword. Love broke up my parents, love took away my friends, and love — the big, intense, never-been-like-this-before love — landed me in therapy. Now I’m heading to college, and it’s time to give love a clean slate again. But, can I really start over when he’s still in my life Because the one man I’ve always wanted, is also the only guy I absolutely can’t have…And he wants me just as fiercely.

Can I settle for anything less than the love of my life?

Although at the onset of the story I was skeptical of a true romance, I soon discovered a beautiful, heartwarming love story of two wounded souls.

Noah Hayes has found his anchor, his true love and unfortunately she’s also the daughter of his most important client Jewel Stazlinger. He is also 8 years her senior Kennedy Stanzlinger pursues Noah at a turbulent time in her life. She grips onto Noah, he is her beautiful escape.

Kennedy has made decisions in her past that are haunting her and decides to make amends. She's trying to come to terms with her past decisions and enlighten her mother at the same time. She's young, a romantic and takes extraordinary measures to find peace.



Noah has no family, Jewel was like a mom to him. "She's like a mom, in a weird way, to me too. That's why I was there all the time, at your house. Before I even fell for you. I was there, because I guess I needed her to look out for me." It's now Kennedy who anchor's Noah, she fills his only spaces. They have a lot in common that draws them together despite their difference in age.

Kennedy develops from a 'messed-up, mixed-up seventeen-year-old child' to an adult who faces her faults head on and strives to be a better person. Noah is a rock, although his decisions can cost him his job and a friend, he still chooses true love. The story is a beautiful, heart-felt tearjerker. It's a story of a girl faces her past and finds her freedom in the truth. I felt relieved at the end when Kennedy has shed all her secrets for better or worse.