Title: Kiss Me First
Author: Lottie Moggach
Genre: Adult, Literary
Format: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Release Date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Random House
Source: Copy supplied by publisher for honest review

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A chilling and intense first novel, this is the story of a solitary young woman drawn into an online world run by a charismatic web guru who entices her into impersonating a glamorous but desperate woman.

When Leila discovers the website Red Pill, she feels she has finally found people who understand her. A sheltered young woman raised by her mother, Leila has often struggled to connect with the girls at school; but on Red Pill, a chat forum for ethical debate, Leila comes into her own, impressing the website's founder, a brilliant and elusive man named Adrian. Leila is thrilled when Adrian asks to meet her, and is flattered when he invites her to be part of "Project Tess."

Tess is a woman Leila might never have met in real life. She is beautiful, urbane, witty, and damaged. As they email, chat, and Skype, Leila becomes enveloped in the world of Tess, learning every single thing she can about this other woman--because soon, Leila will have to become her.

An ingeniously plotted novel of stolen identity, Kiss Me First is brilliantly frightening about the lies we tell--to ourselves, and to others, for good, and for ill.


I am so used to reading books with characters that pull me into their lives and keep me there. I love books that challenge the norm when it comes to what readers expect when they get introduced  to characters. Kiss Me First is unlike any book I have read in a long time and I will tell you know that it definitely pushes against the norm when it comes to narrative and characters.

Honestly I did not know what to expect when I started reading Kiss Me First. For one I was intrigued by the concept behind the book and its plot. The fact that one website could influence a young woman so much that she makes a life altering choice was very interesting. Kiss Me First is not your normal narrative either. Each chapter has a header with a date, and each chapter is in succession. But what I really loved was the way each chapters was written. Not only did we see what was happening in the present, but we also got glimpses on how everything turned out the way it did, and how it started. I found it very interesting to read two different stories from the same narrator.

This novel is not an easy read, and I say this because of the content and the characters you meet. It makes you think about what we consider right or wrong. Would you help another person commit suicide by pretending to be them long after they disappear just so their families wouldn't be hurt? it is such a touchy subject on its own, but when you ad in the fact that there would be cash compensation, opinions change. I know for me, I switched back and forth throughout the whole novel because I couldn't determine if I thought what was happening was manipulation on a mass scale or something less sinister.

Although the characters were some of the hardest to read in terms of relate-ability and enjoyment, I will say that this book drew me in and it kept me interested throughout the entire novel. This book will make you think and question what you believe is the right thing to do.