Kissing Games of the World: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist Shelton's poignant third novel (after What Comes After Crazy) elevates the oft-told stories of opposites attracting and sons struggling against their fathers. The residents of Chester, Conn., assumed that 60-something Harris Goddard was up to his old womanizing ways when single mother Jamie McClintock and her five-year-old son, Arley, moved in with him and his five-year-old grandson, Christopher. Though Harris and Jamie's affections are purely platonic, the rumor mill begins to churn when Harris dies and is discovered naked in Jamie's bed. Everyone is suspicious of her, including Nate Goddard, Christopher's father, who shows up to finally claim his son with plans to sell Harris's house and take his grieving son on the road with him. As Nate tries to put his plan into play, the surprising Goddard family backstory unwinds and Jamie, also wracked with pain, finds herself attracted to Nate and vice versa. An absolute treat, Shelton's work rarely falters and is filled with realistic twists, complex characters and a moving conclusion. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Sexy hero, lovable heroine, adorable kids 'Kissing Games of the World' has it all. A complete delight. Fall into this buoyant, funny, genuinely touching story of two incomplete people finding the rest of themselves in each other. I loved it. --Patricia Gaffney, bestselling author of 'Mad Dash' --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books; 1 edition (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307393658
• ISBN-13: 978-0307393654
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #931,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, November 10, 2008

By	N. Antle "Avid Reader" (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a huge fan of Sandi Kahn Shelton's work but Kissing Games of the World is her best yet. I was hooked from the first sentence to the last -- couldn't put it down. I fell in love with the characters (even the obnoxious ones) and like the very best books of the world - I found myself wondering what those people were up to long after I had read the last page. Besides being an engaging story it is seamless and beautifully crafted. The dialogue rings true, the descriptions sing on the page and the plot moves along with perfect pacing. Can't wait for her next book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved me!, November 17, 2008

By	Holly Robinson Cookson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read all of Sandi Shelton's books, and this one is by far the best. I read it on a day when it was dismal and rainy, and I gulped the book down along with pots of tea. By the end of this novel, I felt like I could face the world and smile while doing it! The main characters, Jamie and Nate, have great banter and a terrific sexual chemistry. The plot zips along, and the kids are adorable without being sickeningly sweet. The tragedies -- and the humor -- in this book are universal. But what I admire most about Shelton's writing is how she creates a complete world with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and lots of 3D characters who are wonderfully drawn. Even the most peripheral characters are uniquely themselves. I don't know how she makes writing look so easy, but I can't wait for her next novel. I'm planning to give this book as a Christmas gift to several friends and my mom, too!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in a long time!, January 25, 2009

By	E. Ramer (Richfield, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was hooked on Kissing Games from the first sentence: "Harris Goddard's life ran out on an ordinary April afternoon, on the very day it seemed all the rest of the planet was pretty much pulsating with spring."

Harris lived a big, messy life and when he died at age sixty-eight, nude, in single mother Jamie McClintock's bed, he left a big mess. Though the town assumes Jamie had moved into the Connecticut farmhouse with Harris because they were having an affair, they were wrong. Jamie and Harris became friends through her five-year-old son and the motherless, five-year-old grandson he was raising. She and her son moved in with them because of the convenience.

When Harris's son, Nate, shows up to claim the son he hasn't seen for years, the boy hates him and clings to Jamie. With her laid back artist's life, Jamie is far from Nate's style. He's a hotshot salesman, jetting around the world, playing his "kissing games." He's engaged to an equally selfish saleswoman. He allows Jamie and her asthmatic son to stay until he leaves and tries to deny his attraction to her.

When he does leave, he thinks he can take his active son across the country to sales conferences. The son is pining for Jamie and his friend and his old home. Jamie isn't having a good time, either, living with her sister who sleeps with a married man. All the adults in the book have faults. Only the children are adorable.

Despite their flaws, I cared for Jamie and Nate. Every page in the book sparkled. Sometimes every sentence sparkled. The characters came alive, faults and all. It was funny and sad and it seemed so real.

Some books you don't want to end, and the characters live on in your heart. That's this book. It's a book about healing, and at its center is a great love story.