Customer Reviews

Just a Kiss Away

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No, it's not a joke. The story takes place in the jungles of the Philippines during a violent revolution. Sam is a one-eyed mercenary soldier who runs across Eulalie Grace LaRue, a 19-year-old Southern belle who has come to meet the ambassador-father she hasn't seen for 17 years. She and Sam are forced to flee together for their lives through a dangerous jungle full of mud, bugs, precipices, and scantily-dressed natives.

From the moment he meets her, ghetto-raised Sam despises Eulalie Grace LaRue, who had been protected from the realities of the cruel world by her older brothers. It isn't just her pampered princess upbringing that annoys him. . .there is also the shrill screaming that threatens his hearing, the constant complaining, the singing, the many disasters that she causes whenever he turns his back. Well, Lollie tells herself she doesn't care what he thinks because. . . well, no true gentleman would treat a lady in such a spiteful way.

As their hair-raising adventures continue, however, both Sam and Lollie begin to see beneath the surface. Sam realizes that Lollie, in spite of her ladylike airs, suffers from a lack of self-confidence brought on by her father's abandonment and the overprotectiveness of her brothers. Lollie realizes that Sam's tough exterior is a defensive mechanism that he uses to keep people, emotions--and hurt--from getting too close.

After reading this book--which I could hardly force myself to put down--I have to agree with Sam, who, when asked by Lollie why he loves her, replies:

"Because God has a sense of humor."

And so, obviously, does Jill Barnett. Nice job!

I loved this book! I can understand why some people didn't like the book and after reading the reviews I was thinking about not reading the book, but I glad I didn't listen. I enjoyed the character Lollie. She wasn't perfect, but she had a lot of heart and was just what Sam needed. Yes, he did say some things that I didn't like, but I feel that it just added to who he was and his individuality. Both characters saved each other and helped each other grow. I laughed while reading this book because of all the things Lollie got into. I love the characters that Jill Barnett makes up. She is one of my favorite authors and I have yet to read a book by her that I didn't like. I read all of her books, but two and can't wait for her to write more. Jill Barnett has the writer's gift!

There are some annoying things in this. Overall, it'll always be one of my favorites, partly because it was written by Jill Barnett who always writes wonderful love and laughter romances that are extremely passionate. Just a Kiss Away was no exception and it was wonderfully romantic, especially the part where title comes from. Even though, she (the heroine) was quite a ditz, she wasn't passed off as being perfect, like some other authors do. One example is in Cherry Adair's Hide and Seek where if the heroine did something stupid, her actions were supposedly "loyal" instead of ludicrious. In Just a Kiss Away, everyone knows the heroine is a ditz and the author doesn't deny it. Instead of excusing Lolly's ridiculous and often-times hilarious actions, Ms. Barnett emphasized her endearing qualities. How she wasn't really snob, even if she had money. How she couldn't sing but didn't let it stop her and how she was reasonably loyal. So, yeah, the heroine cooked REALLY badly and over-boiled shirts and ended up physically scarring the hero an awful lot, but she fit with hero. A hero who was romantic, really rough around the edges, and very scarred in many ways other than the physical. I loved this book even if the heroine was a bit ditzy. It was original and well-plotted out although if you know you're the serious type, you won't want to give this one a shot.

This is the most funny crazy matched couple in the book I have ever read.I laugh tell I cryed and read this in 2 days.It was so hard to put down.I never read anything by this author but if any of her other books are as good as this one I am in.This was one crazy read.Have fun and enjoy I did.

This was the first book I've read by Jill Barnett & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very, very funny. I thought the author did a really good job with her characters & descriptions. Lots of the scenes & phrases have lingered in my mind for a long time. I would highly recommend it.

Sam and Lollie are two of the most mismatched characters I won't forget in a long time. They are the true definition of "opposites attract". This book made me laugh, cry, and sigh. The fast moving plot kept me up till the wee hours of the night, unable to put it down. Great job Jill!

Set in 1896 in the jungles of the Philippines, Lollie La Rue has arrived in Manila to meet her father who has been absent most of her life. She gets kidnapped by a group of guerillas who think that she is associated to Sam Forester, a mercenary who fights for a different faction of guerillas. They travel together through the jungles of the Philippines to flee their captors and to avoid the shots of Spanish soldiers. Sam is a hardened mercenary from the wrong side of town whilst Lollie is a pampered socialite. She finds it difficult to rough it out in the jungle but finds herself attracted to the rugged and handsome Sam. Sam finds Lollie an annoyance and it's no wonder. She screams and shouts loud enough to make anyone run a mile and is so maladroite.

I love the humour in Jill Barnett's books and this book is no exception but I didn't really feel that there was much chemistry between the two main leads. Lollie is just too annoying to be endearing. However, the book is fast paced with lots of adventure and humour so I still give it 4 stars.

Lealing

I don't often give five stars, particularly when I can't stand the heroine for about the first 30 pages or so. She is so klutzy and so ... southern (and so am I). By the time we got down to the roosters, I absolutely loved her. And Sam ... I have rarely read a romance novel where the hero was as verbally cruel to the heroine as was Sam. It actually made him more real - he wasn't perfect and neither was Lollie.

I loved the moment where Sam decided he could not resist Lollie any more - it was incredibly funny, which is the nice thing about Jill Barnett's books. She can write sexy and funny and pathos, sometimes all in the same page or two.

I think the real stand out character was the parrot. Awk! Sam's an ass!

Read this book - you may just love it.

What Jill Barnett has done with this FABULOUS romance is to create one of the most interesting and memorable heroines I have ever come across. Eulalie Grace "Lollie" LaRue is such an earnest, funny, sweet, yet incredibly flawed young lady, I will not soon forget her . . . or her trademark exclamation. :-) Other readers may want to pigeon-hole her as simply a "ditz," but I personally believe she was just naive in the extreme, having been conditioned her whole life to take people only at face value, herself included. What the rough-around-the-edges Sam does is show Lollie that she does have value as he challenges her to think for herself rather than continue her very bad habit of accepting the spoon-fed "truth" in her life. What Lollie gives Sam for the first time in his life is a place to call home. They are such extreme opposites in their life paths, yet so singular in their desires for love and acceptance, flaws in all. Brilliant characters. Inspired storytelling. Bravo!

I have only recently come across Jill Barnett's novels (shocking, I know!), yet I heartily place her among the genre's most gifted authors . . . Johanna Lindsey, Karen Robards, Mary Jo Putney, Marsha Canham, Jude Devereaux, and the late, great Kathleen Woodiwiss. I have a stack of her books to go through and can't wait to get started!!!

P.S. Account owner's wife wrote this review, so don't be fooled if you look at his other reviews and they seem to have a male perspective. :-)

I cannot remeber when I have read a book where I have laughed so much!! Every once in awhile we need to have a fun and of course romantic book like this. I would love to see this book made into a movie and I also could see Goldie Hawn doing this part and of course Mel Gibson. I loved Lolly and Sam, what an old grump but of course he had to soften up with all the experiences the two of them shared. Could we see a follow up on the friend, or some of the brothers. I re read the end about 4 times and of course it is making the rounds with all of my friends with high praises. Way to go Jill, I do not know how I have missed this book so far.