A Thousand Boy Kisses (NEW BONUS CONTENT)

‘Rune pressed a kiss just below my ear and whispered, “Sleep, baby. I got you.” And he did. He had me. Just like I had him.’ Yet another genre and yet another winner from the supremely talented and versatile Tillie Cole. Not just a winner, but now our favourite of all her books and that’s no easy feat considering we have loved everything this author has written. From the funny to the gritty, from the emotional to the uncomfortable, we’re convinced there is NOTHING this lady can’t write and both agree when we say this is THE most beautiful, emotional and stunningly written love story we’ve ever read. This book is as special as special can be. ‘Kiss eight hundred and nineteen was the kiss that changed it all. The kiss that proved that a long-haired brooding boy from Norway and a quirky girl from the Deep South could find a love to rival the greats. It showed that love was simply the tenacity to make sure that the other half of your heart knew he, or she, was adored in every way. In every minute of every day. That love was tenderness in its purest form.’ We’ve enjoyed books, we’ve been moved by books and we’ve cried over books but never and we mean NEVER have we been left so emotionally wrought yet so completely satisfied after finishing a story. We found ourselves talking, sobbing and reliving every exquisite moment, of which there were numerous. And so it was with swollen eyes and overflowing hearts that we chatted into the early hours of the morning never wanting to relinquish our feelings for Poppy and Rune. ‘She knew she had me, just as much as I had her. We were all we needed.’ There wasn’t a page that wasn’t highlighted as this book penetrated our souls and left us feeling so unbelievably thankful and privileged to have experienced this unforgettable story of love in its most beautiful, searing and epic form. A book such as A Thousand Boy Kisses doesn’t come along often, so when it does, we possessively hold each word in our hearts and treasure every single emotion as we did with Rune and Poppy’s story. This story encompasses everything that makes us passionate about reading. “I used to know a boy, a boy I loved with my whole heart, who lived for a single moment. Who told me that a single moment could change the world. It could change someone’s life. That one moment could make someone’s life, in that brief second, infinitely better or infinitely worse” Poppy Litchfield and Rune Kristiansen created a bond of friendship at five years old that would blossom into a love story to rival the greats. They truly were two parts of one heart in every sense of the word. Despite their tender years, their love was extraordinary and it was epic and there is no doubt this came across in Tillie’s story as we lived and breathed the enormity of their feelings. “I’m half a heart. This, who I am now, was due to a life devoid of you. This darkness, this anger, was born from you not being by my side. Poppymin. My adventurer. My girl.” Tillie Cole doesn’t have to force emotions from us, they are elicited spontaneously from the natural fluidity of her writing. This lady writes from the heart and not only were our tears falling freely on the pages, but we also felt hers in every word as she brought us the sweetest girl; an old soul with a perception of life that belied her years, and the brooding boy who moved into her street and into her heart. She taught him what it was to love and feel and together they created something that went beyond mere love. Breathtaking doesn’t begin to describe their story. Heartbreaking is an understatement. Uplifting doesn’t do it justice. There really are no words to do this story justice. “Maybe we’re like the cherry blossom, Rune. Maybe we loved too much too young and burned so bright that we had to fade out.’ From the innocence and exuberance of childhood to the confusion and pain of youth, we lived it all. We fought their battles and lived through joy and heartbreak with them yet we haven’t even scratched the surface of their story, you couldn’t imagine for one minute how this story plays out. We know we didn’t. ‘I was going to do this for her. I was going to do my damnedest to make her happy. I’d win her back. I’d win her back as the Rune I was now. There was no choice. This was us. This was our new adventure. ‘ Told in dual POV for optimum effect, there is so much to experience in A Thousand Boy Kisses and we cannot stress enough that you must go into this story spoiler free and experience it all as the author intended. Don’t ask, just feel. We do love YA stories however we know some readers evade this genre. To those readers we would urge you to still pick this book up. The nature of the story and the delivery from this author is well worth putting those thoughts aside to experience something so positively beautifu

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole 5 stars!! “I knew this would be the best adventure of my life.” Some books you live, every emotion, every event, every smile, every laugh and every tear, this is one of those books. This is a book that you will never forget, the characters will stay with you for a long time and moreover, you won’t want to forget them. This book is “as special as special can be.” This is by far my favourite Tillie Cole book and she has really excelled herself. As you know, I am an emotional reader, I crave that character connection, I want to live it and breathe it, I want to feel it but most of all I want to believe it and Tillie Cole ticked all these boxes. This book ripped out my heart and soul but most of all it made me believe in love, in soul mates, in forever… “And my heart almost burst.” Tillie Cole switches genres to YA in A Thousand Boy Kisses and once again she can pat herself on the back for a job extremely well done, she really shows her versatility and being able to hold me captive for an entire book is no mean feat. I did not want to put this book down, from the first till last page I was held an emotional prisoner at the hands of Tillie Cole, she made me smile, she made me laugh, she made me laugh, she made cry a freakin river but most of all she made me fall in love with two kids. Two kids that from the age of five shared a connection, who were inseparable, who loved with their heart and soul for all their lives, who knew the other inside out, who had such an intense soul mate kind of love that they couldn’t bear to be apart. They were two halves of a whole. “When you’re near, my heart doesn’t sigh, it soars.” Tillie Cole takes you on a journey with Poppy and Rune from innocent five year olds to troubled teens, Tillie Cole perfectly encapsulates the trials and tribulations of growing up. From dirty dresses, to crazy adventures, to blossom groves, to sunsets, to first kisses, to first dates and everything else in between. Tillie Cole brings these characters to life with vivid descriptions, and deep rooted emotion. Every action, every hand held, every kiss will resonate deep within your soul as you experience life and growing up with two completely adorable characters. You will live their lives, experience their dreams, troubles and heart ache, but you will always believe. These two were meant to be together… “Poppy and Rune for infinity.” “Perhaps it’s a lesson we may struggle to learn until it’s learned.” Poppy was an old soul, she spoke and acted well beyond her years but her heart was always in the right place. She lived for all that’s good and for love, she was kind hearted, intelligent, a talented musician and just an intensely lovable character. She looked for the good in everything and everyone and always gave people a chance...Including a shy, angry Norwegian boy. Poppy had an impenetrable bond with her grandmother and when she sadly passes her grandmother regales her with tales of her favourite kisses. She had a jar and every kiss that made her heart almost burst she wrote it down and put it in the jar and the aim was to get a thousand. But these had to be special kisses with that special someone and once you found that person you knew. Poppy’s grandmother gives her her own jar with one thousand empty paper hearts and all her grandmother wanted was for Poppy to fill her own jar, to feel that forever love that she felt. This is Poppy’s journey to get her thousand kisses and she knew just the boy. “Kiss eight hundred and nineteen was the kiss that changed it all. The kiss that proved that a long-haired brooding boy from Norway and a quirky girl from the Deep South could find love to rival the greats.” Rune was uprooted from Norway when he was five years old. His father had to move to America for his work and Rune was full of resentment…until he met Poppy. Two five year olds, living next door to one another, just windows apart. Poppy introduces herself in the most adorable fashion and from then on an intense journey begins. Poppy totally embeds herself into Rune’s life and heart, she shows him friendship, she shows him loyalty, she shows him love. What Tillie Cole manages to get across is that sometimes young love can be a forever love, it maybe flitted aside as infatuation but sometimes two hearts connect to beat as one and this was definitely the case for Poppy and Rune. “Weather the storm, Rune…Moonbeam hearts and sunshine smiles.” As I have said, this is one intense, emotional read and I can guarantee that even the hardest of hearts will shed a tear. Life doesn’t run smoothly for these two, they have to embark on a journey that will test their love to the maximum but never once did I ever believe they wouldn’t make it. These two had an epic love, an epic connection and were an epic couple. Hell, this whole book was epic. With twists and turns I never saw coming Tillie Cole will drag you to hell and back, she will decimate you but you will be left with a heart fit to burst with one the most legendary love stories I have ever had the pleasure to read and one I will never forget. With dual POV you will appreciate their love, believe in their love and live their story, you will feel it, breathe it, but most of all you will love it. “For my kisses. All one thousand. Every one was cherished. Every one was adored.” I take my hat off to Tillie Cole, she nailed this one and I hope that this books gets the accolades it deserves. I would love to see this on film, their story deserves it. “One thousand and one…one thousand and two…one thousand and three…one thousand and four…”

Slight Spoilers Well Damn!!!!!!! Where do I start? This book had so many different reviews. Some bloggers loved it, but they love everything so... Some bloggers hated it, and I normally hate what they hate. One of my favorite reviewers said that this book was on the line on The Fault in Our Stars and since I didn't read that I think this worked out for me. Once I find out a book is a "tear jerker", I won't read it, because my experince will be ruined by my waiting to cry. I didn't know about the impending doom in this book until I was at about 30%. Then I went to the reviews. But it was too late for me. And. My. Heart. Burst. I mean I cried like a baby. I know I looked stupid, but I was so heart broken. Poppy was an exceptional character, that you couldn't help but love. Her spirit jumped off the pages, I adored her. I loved the way Rune loved her. His heart was at home with Poppy, and if he wasn't loving Poppy he wasn't himself. The portrayal of first love can be tricky, as people always doubt the authenticity of it. First love is reckless,all consuming, and fearless. Poppy and Rune's love was all of those things, but their love also never died. *Sigh* This was a beautiful story that dealt with accepting death, healing families, and ultimate soul mates. I cried through every battle, milestone, kiss, and heartache. What a messed up, beautiful story. Tillie Cole you are amazing. five stars -Natasha Whew!! I am emotionally drained! There was so much going on in this story, but at its heart, it was a love story between a boy and a girl. It was a story of two halves of a soul finding each other and experiencing completion. I had to be strategic about where I read this book because Poppy and Rune's story had me ugly crying, looking stupid in public. I had to put the book down several times, even though I was desperate to see their story unfold, because I couldn't read through my own tears and runny nose. These characters were so well written and I was deeply invested in them. Poppy had a beautiful soul that infected the people around her with its beauty. Her beauty was so infectious that it broke through Rune's seemingly impenetrable wall and made him his best self. Rune, through all his faults, never failed to love Poppy with everything he had. He was born to love her, and he did with his entire heart. He made all of her dreams come true even when they seemed unattainable. Theirs was an eternal love. I had such a book hangover after this one. I was such a mess when I finished this story that I was late to work trying to pull myself together. Tillie Cole, you did it again! 5 stars -Jasmine

It has been three days. Three days since I’ve read A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole. And still, every sad song I hear on the radio brings me back to Rune and Poppy, almost making me cry again. I’ve read Tillie’s other books, and know she can write beautiful stories with the use of normal words, but A Thousand Boy Kisses feels different; no brutal events, no underworld, no spiteful parents. Just two teenagers with a such a powerful love for each other, a love that transcends all. “Rune lifted his hand to hold mine. He lowered our joined hands by his side. “I’ll give you a thousand kisses, Poppymin. All of them. No one will kiss you ever, but me.” My eyes widened but my heart didn’t slow down.” Rune Kristiansen is five years old when he moves from Norway to America with his father and mother. He’s very angry with his parents for the move, but the anger disappears when he meets his neighbor girl, Poppy. Poppy becomes his very best friend, growing into something much more when they reach adolescence. But when Rune is fifteen, the Kristiansen family has to move back to Norway, which means leaving Poppy behind. Rune truly breaks when the other half of his soul cuts of all communication, sending him out of control. When the family returns to Blossom Grove two years later, all he wants to know is ‘why’. “I can’t lose you, Poppymin. I can’t. I can’t let you go. I can’t live without you. You’re my forever always. You’re meant to walk beside me through this life. You need me and I need you. That’s all there is to it.” Poppy Lichtfield is a sweet, silent girl, deeply in love with her boyfriend Rune and content with her life. When Rune has to move back to Norway with his parents, her heart breaks. But soon Poppy has a much more serious issue to deal with, and in order to protect Rune, she sets him free, or so she thinks. When she returns to Blossom Grove around the same time as Rune, the sweet boy she knew so well is gone, a very angry and cold Rune has taken his place. Although she tries to keep her distance, all she can do is tell him the truth. “This date was our start. These joined hands, a reminder. A reminder that we were Poppy and Rune. Somewhere under all the hurt and pain, under all the new layers we’d acquired, we were still here. In love. Two halves of one heart.” From the moment the children meet, Rune and Poppy form an instant bond, and are inseparable. Though they are so young and innocent, their friendship changes into a real love when they reach their teenage years, something that doesn’t surprise the people around them. When Rune and Poppy see each other after two years, both are hurt and upset, but once Rune learns the truth – the reason why Poppy broke things off with him – the young couple slowly reacquaints with one another. Knowing their time is precious, the couple goes on all sort of adventures, including Poppy’s ‘thousand boy kisses’. As I have said before, Tillie Cole’s writing keeps amazing me. Her other series are sweet and emotional, others raw and gritty. All very different, but all very moving in their own way. A Thousand Boy Kisses is written in the same beautiful style; due to the age of Poppy and Rune it’s a young, sweet romance at its finest, but their story is anything but. It’s brutal, heartbreaking and realistic, and so is the way its written. I love Poppy and Rune and the way Tillie Cole tells their story; you feel their pain and despair, but also the acceptance and love they have for each other. “Life is fragile, yet in that fragility, there is strength. There is love. There is purpose. It reminds us that life is short, that our breaths are numbered and our destiny is fixed, regardless of how hard we fight. It reminds us not to waste a single second. Live hard, love harder. Chase dreams, seek adventures … capture moments. Live beautifully.” Poppy and Rune – and their love story – will stay with me for a long time. I give this heartbreaking tale 5+ stars.

Tillie Cole is an absolute literary genius. I don’t think I have EVER cried so hard over a book. She broke my heart over and over and kept patching it up. Poppy and Rune’s love is a once in a lifetime love. One for the ages. I LOVE that their connection started when they were young children and just grew and grew. I love the loyalty they have for each other. I love Poppy beautiful, fun, adventurous, put spirit. I love she carried that even through the darkest days, all the way to the end of the book. She is my most favorite character I have ever read. So beautiful. Rune is literally the most beautiful, male character I have ever read. His unwavering love for Poppy was the most precious and heartwarming thing I read. I loved how encouraging Poppy always was to Rune. One of my favorite quotes was “Why be miserable when you can be happy? It’s an obvious choice to me.” I’ve said almost these exact words. It’s very rare when a book touches my heart like this one did. I’m an AVID reader and I have been since I learned how to read. I’ve read thousands of books and not one has given me the emotional reaction this one did. I wish I could give this book a thousand stars. I read this book on Kindle Unlimited and halfway through I immediately bought a paperback copy on Amazon because I had to own the physical copy. I could literally go on and on about this book. This book will now be in my top recommendations to anyone and everyone. The ending was the ending I needed to read. I can’t spoil anything because that’s not fair, but thank you to Tillie Cole for writing the epilogue. I needed that SO much even though I gasped so loud. I wasn’t expecting that. My heart needed it.

I know so many people who feel head over heels in love with it but for me I thought it was just ok. I liked it, but I did not LOVE it. This may be one of those instances were the hype of the book jaded me and it made me have higher expectations. I wanted it to make me feel, I wanted it to shatter my soul, I wanted it to make me feel like no other book has. But it didn’t do any of those things. I know for many it did and I’m happy that it was able to evoke that feeling out of others but it left me feeling just ok. Poppy and Rune became best of friends at an early age. They were next door neighbors who were inseparable from the time Rune moved next door to Poppy. Before Poppy’s grandmother passes away, she gives her a mason jar and to live a full live and to fill it with 1000 boy kisses. Not the quick peck kind but the earth shattering, make your heart burst kind. Now at this point Poppy is just around eightish and this is where I first started questioning the story. The idea behind the jar is something amazing but I wish Poppy was just a little older. So as they get older Poppy and Rune share kisses in the quest to fill her jar. Unfortunately at one point Rune and his family moves away. This leaves both Poppy and Rune miserable. They vow to stay in touch but as time goes on the correspondence fade. Rune becomes the typical “I hate the world” teenager and recoils from interacting with his family. He blames them for separating him and Poppy and rebels against everyone. Fast forward a couple more years and Rune and his family returns home to their house next to Poppy. Now in high school, Rune becomes the talk of school as he has always been mysterious but now the whole rebel attitude makes him even more popular. He refuses to talk to Poppy until one night they run into each other. What Rune doesn’t know is that Poppy has been hiding something from him. She was doing it to protect him and now it appears to have backfired. But like to magnetics they are drawn to each other. Will Poppy be able to open up completely to Rune about what she is hiding. She has kept this secret from everyone and now she knows she must come forward and share it with him. The secret is what changes everything. What’s the secret? You will need to read to find out! Even though I give a 3 star, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I did like it, just didn’t love but think its one worth reading. This is a young adult novel so any age would be able to read.

As I sit here and think about the words accurate enough to describe how I feel about A Thousand Boy Kisses, I am positively stumped. Is this book amazing? Breathtaking and emotional? So beautifully-written I wish it hadn't ended? The answer is yes to all of the above but even those words can't describe the love and emotion Tillie Cole has written in this beautiful Young Adult novel. I typically don't read a lot of YA novels just because there are so many books out there to read but I'd always wanted to read a book by Tillie Cole and figured I would just take a chance on this one. My typical genres of books are contemporary romance, New Adult, and historical fiction but I've also read a handful of YA novels and I have to say this was one of my favorite YA books. While reading A Thousand Boy Kisses, I found myself thinking of John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" and Nicholas Sparks' "A Walk to Remember," mostly because of the subject matter but also because of how emotional these books are written and how they teach us to live our lives to the fullest and love with our whole hearts. "'Maybe we're like the cherry blossom, Rune. Like shooting stars. Maybe we loved too much too young and burned so bright that we had to fade out.' She pointed behind us, to the blossom grove. 'Extreme beauty, quick death. We had this love long enough to teach us a lesson. To show us how capable of love we truly are.'" Poppy Litchfield is a five-year-old girl living in small-town Georgia when she meets Rune Kristiansen, a five-year-old boy whose family moves in next door from Norway. Within their first encounter, they are "best friends for infinity." Next we see Poppy and Rune at age eight when Poppy's mamaw (grandma) gives her the task of collecting one thousand boy kisses where her heart nearly bursts, writing each one down and putting them in a jar. We also see Poppy and Rune at age 15 but the majority of the book takes place when they are both 17 and have had a lot of changes and experiences that define their personalities and outlooks on life. No matter what, Poppy is still her happy, positive self and even with her devastating and life-changing news, she still manages to enjoy every minute of every day and experience joy in even the smallest of things. "'Because in that moment I experienced the love my mamaw sent me on this adventure of a thousand boy-kisses to find. That moment when you know that you are loved so much, that you are the center of somebody's world so wonderfully, that you lived...even if it was only for a short time.'" Even after writing this review, I still don't feel that I've accurately conveyed the beautiful love and emotion in this book. Some parts of the book are a bit slow but I feel that's the "lull" before the storm and the rest of the story is so emotionally-packed that it's so hard to put it down. If you choose to read this book, which I highly recommend, be sure you have a box of tissues with you because you will need them. Because this book is categorized as a young adult novel, the romance is very clean and understated. I loved this book so much that I'm already looking into purchasing other books by Tillie Cole. While reading this book, you will smile. You will feel sad. You will experience joy. You will cry. But, most of all, you will experience Poppy and Rune's once-in-a-lifetime teenage love where they share their one thousand kisses, moonbeam hearts and sunshine smiles.

3.5 stars... Warning: I have LOTS of freaking feelings. It’s also SPOILERISH – meaning I touch on how it ends, so if you don’t want to know, please stop reading here :) I am shocked that I have rated a Tillie Cole book at a 3.5. Honestly if it was any other author, the rating would probably be lower. But I wear rose-tinted glasses, I’ll admit it. And since TC is one of my favorite authors and wrote one of my favorite novels ever (Sweet Fall), I am without a doubt biased. But I tried to stay as unbiased as I could. Anyways… moving on. My thoughts when the synopsis was announced and some vague reviews started coming out: excitement--because everyone loved it, and fear--because I had no clue whether there was a HEA. My thoughts after more concrete reviews: preparedness--because I read a review that said there was a HEA and multiple reviews made this story seem unique and special. My thoughts around 35%: confusion and a little bit of betrayal--yes, I’m this dramatic in real life--because how is a HEA possible if she’s terminal? And how is this crazy unique when things like The Fault In Our Stars and A Walk To Remember exist? Overall--at the end I honestly was really enjoying myself up until the “big reveal” but once that happened I think I almost willed myself to find things I didn't like--I read negative reviews and started noticing only negative things… because I NEED a HEA. As someone who suffers from depression I am emotionally unable to read things like this (maybe that's weird but it's true). I am extremely emphatic and I will cry and be extremely upset for days , it puts me in a serious funk and I genuinely cannot handle it. So I avoid s*** like this like the freaking plague, honestly the second I find out it contains something like this, I’m out. But this is Tiile freaking Cole and I already really loved Poppy, so I forged on… I just kind of steeled myself for it and paced myself so that I could stop myself from feeling so much sadness. Some random comments: -I wish Rune had been less broody. I know that this is typical of YA, which is why I limit the books I read to authors I know can make me love them, but I can’t stand the whininess of teenagers. -The cheesiness. I feel like when I start a Tillie book I know I’m going to get some cheesy lines. I can’t be angry when it happens. It would be like eating a carrot and expecting chocolate ice cream. It’s not really fair to the poor carrot--horrible analogy lol but hopefully you get me. That being said this was particularly cheesy and I believe that has to do with my next comment… -It felt like she was trying really hard to make this a nonstop tear fest. Which was would be fine if it felt natural, but her skipping the months of Poppy being healthy and her bringing up her illness all the time, it felt very intentional. And I personally didn't like how forced it felt. That being said, I didn't dislike this book. I know deep down that I enjoyed, but like I said I had to make myself find these flaws because I'd be an inconsolably wreck for the next few days. The themes in this were really great and I wish I hadn't had to desensitize myself because I think this could have been truly epic for me. I really enjoyed them as a couple... and Poppy, I LOVED Poppy and her attitude. "I'm that girl, Rune. The one who waits out the storm simply to catch a glimpse of a rainbow." This might be one of my favorite quotes ever--I just loved her strength and even though I didn't understand because I would not react that way, it still felt very genuine. And even though I wouldn't classify this as a HEA, I did like the ending--if a character has to die, then I would want an ending like this. It just made their love feel that much more transcendent.

I read Raze last year and disliked it very much. Not my kind of read at all. So I didn't think I would be reading any of Cole's books again. But I gave in when I found out this was totally different. And to be honest...have you seen the cover?! The first chapter in, I thought I wasn't goint to like it. It's sometimes hard to look past our convictions but I'm so glad I kept reading. I'm glad I'm not a cryer too because I would probably have cried the whole time. This book is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful. So when I'm asked if I liked it or not, I don't know what to say. I hated it and I loved it all at the same time. Cole's words are powerful and gripping. I was stunned by the beauty of those words. I could go on and on as to why you should read it but why don't you just find out yourself? It's worth every minute of your time. And at the end of the day, I gave it a 5 special stars. Special as special they can be.

I forgot how many boxes of tissues were wasted on this

Really moving book, that made my heart to pieces. The very sweet prologue immediately gave me a big smile, but then, in each chapter, I found something that made me cry. Because the story of Poppy and Rune is, first of all, the story of an epic love, of an all-encompassing, infinite, eternal love. It is the quintessential love story and it becomes difficult for anyone to compare. The story of Poppy and Rune begins when, at the age of 5, he moves to America with his family. Rune is a grumpy child, sad to have left Norway, his home and friends, but he just needs to meet his new neighbor, a very sweet little girl with a muddy dress, to find out how nice it will be to stay in Georgia. But it will be at the age of 8, when they are now two inseparable best friends, that their most important adventure begins, that of a lifetime. Poppy, at the suggestion of her adored grandmother, will have to fill a jar with a thousand hearts, one for each kiss she will give and will be given. But only the special kisses, the ones that will almost make her heart explode, will have to be inserted to become her best memories. And that's where Rune comes in, because she can't let, now or ever, anyone else kiss her Poppymin. It will be he and only he who will give her all the thousand kisses she deserves, and even more. It is no secret that this is a difficult story to read, extremely intense and shocking. And it is also true that, given the topics covered, it is not a story for everyone. As many assumptions can be made, however, the plot doesn't reveal much and I won't either, because it would mean ruining the pleasure of reading for those who haven't done it yet. But I also understand those who would like to be prepared, so my advice is to inform you first, if you are not sure you can tackle a certain type of reading. In any case, it will be an intense read for everyone, for better or for worse, because it is impossible to remain indifferent to a story that releases love and pain, joy and sadness on every page. And if someone manages not to let himself be touched, then don't tell me how he does it, because living a book so intensely is the most beautiful joy of reading. The ending is definitely the sore point, what most disagreed with the readers. I didn't share some details, that's for sure, but I'm also convinced that it's the right ending. Anything else wouldn't have truly done justice to the great love between Poppy and Rune. You may like it or not, but Tillie Cole has managed not to disappoint and to be daring at the same time, she has made the easy decision, but also the most difficult one. And even if this reading has left me swollen eyes, the lump every time I think about it and has taken a part of my heart that I will never get back, it is a book that I would read again for the first time without any doubt. I want to remember all the kisses, all the sweet words, all the romantic gestures and it will always remain a special book, like only what special things can be. And finally my heart burst.

Como describir este libro? La mejor lectura que he tenido este año. La forma en que se describe el amor infinito entre Poppy y Rune es algo que a muchos nos gustaría poder experimentar. Las interacciones entre los personaje y como se desarrollan cada uno, desde la relación Poppy- Rune hasta de de Rune con su familia, simplemente bello. Hubo muchas veces en que no podía continuar, era un mar de lágrimas que no podía ver lo que leía. El libro es muy emocional y si eres alguien como yo que fácilmente derrama lágrimas, te recomiendo sentarte con pañuelos a la mano.

“And my heart almost burst”. Absolutely loved this! My first book by this author and it was wonderful. Friendship, love like no other, heartbreak. I cried so hard and truly loved every second. Poppy and Rune are both great, I loved their characters and the bond they share. I obviously knew it was a romance but I was not prepared to be so overwhelmed by such great love. Meeting when they’re 5, they have their first kiss at 8, cute kids just being cute kids, and then 999 kisses later. Oh my goodness. It was so beautifully written, and one that I know I will be able to return to in the future to read again and again. I enjoyed this one so much I’ll be bedazzling it for the trophy shelf. It deserves to be there! 10/10, highly recommended it. It’s a definite must read, and one that you definitely need tissues for.