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 Kissing Max Holden by Katy Upperman is a young adult contemporary romance that put a huge smile on my face. I really, really loved this book. It was cute, it was swoony and it was a whole lot of fun. Just what I love in my summer beach/pool reads. Max Holden is total book boyfriend material. I did have a few minor issues with the story, which I will discuss below, but overall I really enjoyed Kissing Max Holden. 
 Kissing Max Holden is told from Jillian's point of view. She grew up next door to Max Holden and they used to be very close, but because of personal issues in Max's family, he has withdrawn a lot and because distant with Jillian. It is interesting because Jillian and Max still ran in similar friend groups at school so they are circling around in each other's lives. I love a friends to more story, so I really liked the various facets to Jillian and Max's relationship. It is clear that they still know each other very well. I also kind of liked that they kissed right at the start of the story and then danced around each other afterwards. Sure, there was fall out on both of their ends because of the kiss and there were some things in the story that bothered me, but it was hard to care too much about either of the things I am going to mention because Max and Jillian were just so darn cute. 
 So, what were my issues with Kissing Max Holden? Well, I didn't love the idea that Max had a girlfriend, particularly because his girlfriend is so witchy. I also really, really didn't like what Jillian's dad did. (view spoiler)[Cheating on her very pregnant step-mom. It just really bugged me. (hide spoiler)] But, as I mentioned earlier, even these minor annoyances couldn't keep the smile off my face. I really, really enjoyed this book. It is a light read that is perfect for an afternoon by the pool or at the beach. 
 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs