A Thousand Boy Kisses review — Tillie Cole (spice level, tropes & is it worth it)
i love a questionable fictional man.
you know this.
but sometimes i just want a love story. and a thousand boy kisses by tillie cole gave me one i’m still crying about.
is a thousand boy kisses worth it?
yes.
but please don’t pick it up expecting a cute little romance that will put you in a good mood.
this is young love, very little spice, and a lot of heartbreak. i loved it. i would also tell you to wait if you need something light right now.
the book
A Thousand Boy Kisses
✓ on kindle unlimited
childhood best friends, a thousand kisses, and a love story you want more time with.
rune and poppy are childhood best friends who fall in love. then he moves back to norway. two years later, he returns wanting to know why she stopped speaking to him.
- friends to lovers
- second chance
- grumpy x sunshine
- young adult contemporary romance
rune and poppy
the friendship is a big part of why this works. they already have a life together before they’re separated. he’s her best friend, too. that is a lot to lose.
and when he comes back, there are things they need to understand. being in love doesn’t mean they know everything that happened while they were apart.
what i loved most, though, is how seriously this book takes them. they’re young. so? that doesn’t make what they feel any less real.
“Don’t think that just because I’m young I don’t recognize what I have with Poppy. I love her. I love her more than you could imagine.”
exactly. she matters to him now. not when they’re older. not when someone else decides they’re old enough to know.
i wanted them to have more time. even knowing where the story was going, i kept wanting more of the life they could have had. that is what got me.
meet the fictional man
how spicy is a thousand boy kisses?
i rated it 1/5. minimal spice, and i wouldn’t change that. i didn’t need more from this love story.
if you’re looking for smut, save this one for your sentimental mood. the book page has my full ratings, and the quotes are here.
is it a standalone or part of a series?
it’s book 1 in the boy kisses series, but rune and poppy’s story is complete here. a thousand broken pieces follows her sister, savannah.
the order is: a thousand boy kisses → a thousand broken pieces. just don’t expect the second book to give rune and poppy a different ending.
will you like it?
yes if…
- you love childhood friends to lovers.
- you want minimal spice and a lot of feeling.
- you’re ready for a heartbreaking love story.
skip it for now if you need a conventional happy ending. or if very intense young love isn’t your thing. i loved how much they loved each other, but you need to want that from the book too.
final thoughts
i don’t recommend it just because it made me cry. i recommend it because i cared about rune and poppy. i wanted them to get a life together.
beautiful. heartbreaking. worth reading. have the tissues ready.
a thousand boy kisses faq
is a thousand boy kisses spicy?
is a thousand boy kisses a standalone?
does a thousand boy kisses have a happy ending?
what tropes are in a thousand boy kisses?
what are the content warnings?
where to go next
- the full book details and reading links.
- rune kristiansen’s profile.
- ready for more spice? my if you dare review.
peek inside the society library
take me to the library →this was my october 11 sentimental sunday pick.
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