Kissing Your Ex

Rating:
Summary: A sweet, sentimental & sad love story.
Review: Based on its description, I was very anxious to read this book. While the plot was different from what I had expected it to be, I still found this to be a very enjoyable read.

When the story begins we are introduced to Maddy Green, a graphic artist, living in Atlanta, dating her wealthy boss and creating a new life for herself after her failed marriage to her first love, Jack. As other reviews state, she receives that fateful package from Jack. It is at this point the book begins to explore her current life, including her relationship with Andrew, and we begin to learn about her past with Jack as Maddy recalls their history together.

Maddy is a likeable character, even though she is flawed, and this always helps to hold my interest. The love story of Maddy & Jack is sweet and whimsical, it is guaranteed to bring back memories of your first love, even if your story does not mirror that of this couples. When troubles arise, nearly a decade after they meet, it is heartbreaking. Again, anyone who has had a failed relationship, or is dealing with a strained relationship, will feel the pain. Her relationship with Andrew is a necessary plot device, but I found it to be too predictable. It is very clear from the beginning that he is not right for Maddy. It is also clear that they are strangers and are using each other to replace others in their lives.

As the novel progresses, we are treated to more insight to the past relationship of Maddy & Jack. Their life in New York, their trips to Martha's Vineyard...they all paint a lovely picture of young, true love. As their lives take a turn for the worse, you can feel the pain that both of them experience, although, since it is from Maddy's point of view, you see her side clearer. When the two agree to meet on a fictional Caribbean island and see if they still have a chance, we are treated to, in my opinion, some of the best chapters of the book. The unease they feel toward each other, after having been the biggest part of each others lives for so long is palpable. The nervous tension, the anger, and the joy of being near each other again...it's all so real, you feel as if you are living it along with them. The twists that occur and the pain that they feel when they finally verbalize the anger and resentment they've been harboring is very emotional. You will need a tissue or two.

The book also deals with other issues, like what we want from life and from our partners. How our dreams can fall apart. How we can try to find what we need elsewhere when we are afraid to fight for what we really want, be it through an affair or through a "Puppet Garage." It does lead you to think and to reflect, while taking in a good novel. In my opinion, that's worth the price of the book.


Rating:
Summary: It's MUCH better that it's title
Review: I didn't have very high expectations for this book based on the title - it sounds like a fluffy romance. It turned out to be much more than that. The writing alone makes this book a compulsive read. The author takes you deeper into past and present relationships of the main character and creates a flowing story that sticks with you. I was very impressed with the author's ability to weave in and out of the past without the choppy transitions found in many novels. Great read!

Rating:
Summary: Very sentimental, very enjoyable
Review: Ignore the title, that's my first recommendation. To me, it sounded like it was called "Kissing Your Ex" just because there is a lack of a better way to explain the novel. I won't go into summaries or anything like that - I save that for the other reviewers.
The writing for this novel, first of all, is amazing. The main characters Jack and Maddy - WOW! The insight into their lives especially, is very well written. I enjoyed the plot outline, how the reader is given a glimpse into Maddy's life after she and her husband Jack split up, and how she has started a new life for herself in a different part of the country. I found myself really getting into this novel - the insight into human character and emotion is just amazing. One of the tidbits of dialouge that I remember vividly was about the fact that perhaps the only true love you really experience is your first love. Every other "love" after that is really not love at all. I found myself really thinking about this line for awhile after I read that book and it makes me wonder if it is true. According to Stevens in this book, it definitely is true. Maddy never gets over Jack as much as she would like to, and Jack never gets over Maddy. It's one of those love stories that I will read and reread over time for the mere satisfaction of knowing that here are two people that are DEFINITELY meant to be together and you just keep rooting them on. This book is filled with many tender moments, aweseome dialogue (and I mean it! Stevens has really nailed it on the head when it comes to men and women relating to each other in this way, and even gets their body language down to a science).
After I finished reading it, I truly was thinking about some of the moments and conversations in this book and reminsicing about my past love!

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: just finished reading this book today. it's a very fast read. makes you think back on past relationships you've had, seeing what was good and bad, and appreciate the current ones in your life. i highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, touching love story
Review: Maddy and Jack met at the age of eighteen, during their freshman year at Oberlin College. They shared a passionate first love that lasted a decade-- through college, through living together, and into marriage. But then, as adult complications set in, Maddy and Jack ultimately split up-- vowing to cut off all communication.

Now, three years later, Maddy has moved on. She is working in an Atlanta ad agency and engaged to her handsome and rich boss. Then she receives a fedex package that contains a box of chocolate, some photographs, and a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Jack tells Maddy that he still loves her and he offers her a chance to meet on a tropical island, just once, to see if they can make amends.

From this intriguing premise, the author fashions a heartfelt story. Beautifully written, both Jack and Maddy are complex, sympathetic, loveable and flawed. There are no quick and easy solutions, but a rich evocation of how love can be surprisingly resilient as it matures and changes, and sometimes comes into difficulty.

I cried at the end, and you may too-- but I came away from this book with a renewed sense of hope. It is well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, touching love story
Review: Maddy and Jack were an entry for five years before they married. A decade later, they amiably divorce. Maddy left New York for Atlanta where she now works as an art director in an Atlanta ad agency.

Jack sends her a package containing chocolate, photos, a copy of Alice in Wonderland, other items, and a letter. He says he still loves her and asks if they could open up the lines of communication. He is willing to fly down for the day just to talk. Finally, he tells her that he has thought of this for months. Maddy still loves Jack, but they inadvertently hurt one another when they went down different paths. Does she want to go on retreat with him to a tropical island to see if they can come to grips on their feelings or is it over? Maddy has to decide if she wants to know Jack again.

This is entertaining look at modern day relationships through mostly the eyes of Maddy, but also to a lesser degree, readers see the aches that Jack suffers. The story line is amusing yet filled with angst though at times it turns a bit cutesy. Maddy is a wonderful protagonist wondering if she should just say no before they try a second chance at love. Jack is a compassionate soul struggling with what he knows he lost, which is the love of Maddy. He will do what it takes including walking away if he felt he lost her love. Insightful though slightly mushy MEETING YOUR EX is a fine contemporary tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: fine contemporary tale
Review: Maddy and Jack were an entry for five years before they married. A decade later, they amiably divorce. Maddy left New York for Atlanta where she now works as an art director in an Atlanta ad agency.

Jack sends her a package containing chocolate, photos, a copy of Alice in Wonderland, other items, and a letter. He says he still loves her and asks if they could open up the lines of communication. He is willing to fly down for the day just to talk. Finally, he tells her that he has thought of this for months. Maddy still loves Jack, but they inadvertently hurt one another when they went down different paths. Does she want to go on retreat with him to a tropical island to see if they can come to grips on their feelings or is it over? Maddy has to decide if she wants to know Jack again.

This is entertaining look at modern day relationships through mostly the eyes of Maddy, but also to a lesser degree, readers see the aches that Jack suffers. The story line is amusing yet filled with angst though at times it turns a bit cutesy. Maddy is a wonderful protagonist wondering if she should just say no before they try a second chance at love. Jack is a compassionate soul struggling with what he knows he lost, which is the love of Maddy. He will do what it takes including walking away if he felt he lost her love. Insightful though slightly mushy MEETING YOUR EX is a fine contemporary tale.

Harriet Klausner