Summer Lovin' - Choose the Hottest Kiss!

It's summer!  It's hot!  What better time to talk about hot kisses? (And seriously, who's hotter than John Travolta minus 30+ years?)

A couple posts ago I talked about first kisses, and most of you agreed Evie's was the more realistic of the two.

Today, we're paying no attention to realism.  Today, we're voting for the YA kisses that straight up cloud your monitor with steam.  Yeah, my cheese-o-meter just went off the charts.

Anyhow, I've compiled some of my favorite literary smooches from Nightshade, The Body Finder, Shiver, Catching Fire, and Before I Fall (and yes I'm posting the actual scene, so avert your eyes if you don't want them spoiled for you!)

In no particular order, here comes the hotness!

Violet and Jay, The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
"What was that all ab--"
But before she could even finish her sentence, Jay had taken two long, ground-eating strides and gathered her up into his arms as his mouth covered hers possessively.
The kiss was hungry and passionate and Violet was swept up immediately, wanting more... demanding more.  He eased her down, just enough so that she was standing on her tiptoes, as she pressed herself against him, straining to get closer as her hands wound around his waist and pulled the back of his shirt toward her.  She felt dizzy, in a good way - in the best way - and she let herself go with it, enjoying every moment, every enticing stroke of his tongue against hers.

That kiss turns into a full-on makeout session, but you get the point. Yowza. Next:

Grace and Sam, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
I kissed her.  Just the barest brush of my lips against hers, nothing animal....
Grace smiled at me.  Her words were taunting, but her voice was gentle. "Is that all you've got?" I touched my lips to hers again, and this time it was a very different sort of kiss. It was six years' worth of kissing, her lips coming to life under mine, tasting of orange and desire. Her fingers ran through my sideburns and into my hair before linking around my neck, alive and cool and warm on my skin.  I was wild and tame and pulled into shreds and crushed into being all at once.... And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me - nothing anywhere but Grace and me - she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, and me, holding this moment that was as fragile as bird in my hands.

Um, gorgeous.  That is all I can say about the way this woman writes.  I bow to her.

Katniss and Peeta, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies.  Me.
"I do," I say.  "I need you." He looks upset, takes a deep breath as if to begin a long argument, and that's no good, no good at all, because he'll start going on about Prim and my mother and everything and I'll just get confused.  So before he can talk, I stop his lips with a kiss.
I feel that thing again.  The thing I felt only once before.  I kissed Peeta about a thousand times during those Games and after. But there was only one kiss that made me feel something stir deep inside. Only one that made me want more....
This time, there is nothing but us to interrupt us. And after a few attempts, Peeta gives up talking. The sensation inside me grows warmer and spreads out from my chest, down through my body, out along my arms and legs, to the tips of my being. Instead of satisfying me, the kisses have the opposite effect, of making my need greater. I thought I was something of an expert on hunger, but this is an entirely new kind.

Oh, snap.  The I-had-no-idea-I-wanted-him kiss.  Loved it, loved, loved it.

Calla and Shay, Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
I could feel every contour of his chest, the press of his thighs against my hips. I lifted my chin and his lips were on mine. The light touch speared my body and exploded deep within me.  I shuddered and took his lower lip between my teeth, biting gently.  He groaned, digging his fingers into my back. His lips parted mine, exploring, lingering.

I know I said this was too skilled for a first kiss, but hot is hot.  And that was freakin' hot.  And last but certainly not least:

Samantha and Kent, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
"Because?" I prompt him, surprised I can still speak.
"Because I'm sorry, but I can't help it, and I really need to kiss you right now."
He puts one hand behind my neck and pulls me toward him.  And then we're kissing.  His lips are soft and leave mine tingling.  I close my eyes, and in the darkness behind them I see beautiful blooming things, flowers spinning like snowflakes and hummingbirds beating the same rhythm as my heart.... His other hand pushes my hair from my face, and I can feel the impression of his fingers everywhere they touch, and I think of stars streaking through the sky and leaving burning trails behind them, and in that moment - however long it lasts, seconds, minutes, days, - while he's saying my name into my mouth and I'm breathing into him, I realize this, right here, is the first and only time I've ever been kissed in my life.

Amazing.  Tell me it's not amazing.  You'd be wrong.  It is.  Everyone deserves at least one kiss that amazing in their lifetime.

So which kiss encompasses all the heat of summer? Feel free to pick your favorite from among mine, or share yours in the comments!

Amazing Book Alert: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I'm just going to put it out there.  I was blown away by this book.   Here is the synopsis:

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?


Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Amazing already, I know.  Not to mention Lauren Oliver managed to create one of the most realistic teenage voices I've read, while still incorporating beautiful writing and some of the most creative uses of metaphor and analogy I've come across.

I'll admit that at first, I found Sam somewhat unlikable.  She's pretty and popular and well aware of it, and she and her friends use it as a license to walk all over people.  They're the kind of girls I avoided like the plague in high school.

She confesses early on that she doesn't even like the way her boyfriend kisses, yet she plans to lose her virginity to him later that night just to get it over with.  She's too cool for her childhood friend Kent, who adores her.  She's dismissive of her little sister and ruthless to an outcast named Juliet Sykes, whom her friends have nicknamed Psycho.  Each year on Cupid Day, when everyone measures their popularity by the number of roses received from their classmates, they torment Juliet by sending her a rose with the note Maybe next year, but probably not.  It's exactly the kind of rotten thing high school girls will do, just because they can.  And it's heartbreaking.

But that's only day one.  Eighty pages in, Sam dies for the first time.  She realizes fairly quickly that she died and that the wrinkle in time means she needs to change something - she just can't figure out what.  From there on, each time she relives the day of her death, she learns something new - about her friends, herself, the things she thought were important and the things that really were. 

Each day brings a new plot twist and a new emotional rollercoaster.  Her interactions become more tender, more meaningful.  And (*somewhat spoilerish*) when she discovers just how amazing Kent is, I fell in love with him myself.  Extra points to Lauren Oliver for not one, but two incredibly beautiful kissing scenes.  Anyhow, the points that are truly driven home are 1) the fact that our actions cause chain reactions, with lasting effects we may not even be aware of and 2) it's never too late to be remembered well, and not just remembered - if you so decide.

The reader will get the point before Sam does, but when she gets there, she is a far cry from the unlikable girl in pages 1-80.  You'll want her to live and yet you'll be dying to know what happens next.  It's completely worth it to share her journey.  Seriously, go read this book.