Bad Boys & Band Geeks don’t go together, or do they?Self-proclaimed band geek, Layne Hall is used to being overlooked and that’s fine, as long as her music makes a mark. She’s waited a long time to showcase her talents at the elite songwriters’ competition and she has her eyes set on the prize. Winning the scholarship is her ticket out of small-town obscurity. Too bad a kissing virus is about …
Too bad a kissing virus is about to blow up her plans . . .
When Layne’s best friend gets mono and can’t compete, she needs to find a new singer for her music, and fast! Luckily her coach has a solution—her son.
But Wyatt Nash is no hero . . .
With his too-cool-for-school attitude, popular jock friends, and heartbreaker reputation, Wyatt seems like the last guy to ever volunteer to help out, especially for a lame singing competition. But is this bad boy really as bad as he wants everyone to think or is there a reason for his smoldering attitude?
Wyatt isn’t Layne’s ideal partner. More like sworn enemy. But what’s a girl to do? Winning this scholarship is the only way Layne can afford college. She won’t get another chance like this.
But working with Wyatt means breaking her rules . . . and possibly falling for the most unlikely high school hero on the planet.
A sweet stand-alone high school romance.
Check out all the books in The Dangers of Dating a Diva series for the full reading experience.
Kissing the Player – by Maggie Dallen (Book 1)
Kissing the Hero – by Christina Benjamin (Book 2)
Kissing the Debutant – by Michelle MacQueen & Ann Maree Craven (Book 3)
Kissing the Shy Guy – Stephanie Street (Book 4)
more
A Layne meets boy story!*
[*a riff on the tagline from the movie “Say Anything” which is a fun background motif to this book]
Layne thinks Wyatt is full of himself but it’s really more that he’s empty. And Wyatt superficially judges that Layne is superficially judgy. Clearly they’re meant to be, lol!
The two seem to be complete opposites, but as they begin working on Layne’s songs together, they eventually realize that they’re struggling with similar problems. They’re actually both lost & lonely souls hiding themselves from their worlds – kindred spirits, in fact.
This is one of those stories where the hero & heroine help bring some form of healing to each other – which is always a favorite with me! Wyatt does such a great job supporting Layne & building her confidence. And Layne helps pull Wyatt out of his cynicism & indifference.
When conflict comes, and Wyatt reacts impulsively instead of rationally, Layne pulls back again into her protective shell. The resolution to the conflict is perhaps a little pat, but soo sweet & entertaining!
I really enjoyed this story – Layne is painfully shy to the point that it’s kind of frustrating, but when she begins to bloom, you totally feel it with her. Wyatt is the perfect depiction of the kind of guy who’s a bit of a jerk, though never as much as he unwittingly makes himself out to be, but so likeable & swoony that you like him anyway. By the time his vulnerable side comes out, you’re in love with him too!
*Clean romance level: passionate kisses
I am really enjoying the new series by this author. I really enjoy her books and would definitely have no issues letting my teen read them too.
This is book two in The Dangers of Dating a Diva series. This is Layne and Wyatt’s story. Layne wants to be a songwriter and is all in to win the competition and bring her dreams true. Wyatt is an athlete that has been injured and removed from his senior year on the baseball team. A sweet, clean, young romance story of two young people moving through life that find a special connection in each other that changes everything. Enjoy!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Adorable, G-rated, YA, romantic pairing between two talented musicians
Layne Hall’s passionate goal, for many years now, has been to become a professional songwriter. A big step in that direction would be to win the Northeast Regional Scholarship for the Dramatic Arts (NERSDA). Competition will be fierce among the vastly talented contestants, but if she manages to win, it would provide her with a much needed scholarship for college. Layne is eligible to take advantage of this major opportunity because she is a senior in high school. And, fortunately, she won’t be competing against her best friend, Lola Rey, because they will be entering different categories, she as a songwriter and Lola as a talented singer.
Layne has been supported for years in her songwriting ambition by Lola. And never more so than now. Lola has agreed to perform the songs that Layne will be entering in NERSDA. Until disaster torpedoes their plans when Lola comes down with mono. Not only will she be too ill to help Layne with the contest, but Layne will be on her own at school for four whole weeks while Lola recuperates. A socially awkward introvert, Layne has relied for many years on Lola, who is a popular, charismatic extrovert, to serve as her shield against the slings and arrows of outrageous high school.
Wyatt Nash is a high school senior who is depressed and resentful because an injury has stolen from him his last high school baseball season. His mother, Mrs. Cynthia Nash, is the Special Resource Director in charge of the arts programs at Wyatt’s school, Northwood High School. Wyatt transferred to Northwood his junior year and has been very popular ever since due to his outstanding looks, elegant demeanor and a British accent that all the girls think is extremely sexy. He is the son of a wealthy Englishman and has spent a good part of his life in London and New York, but never before now a boring little town like Northwood. He has consistently put on a good act of carefree casualness in order to fit in with the locals, but he resents his mother’s dragging him to this town, even if it was for the good cause of caring for her frail, elderly parents. He feels alienated from everyone and everything around him. Baseball was his only relief, and now it’s gone.
His mother cheerfully insists that it will do Wyatt a great deal of good if he will agree to pair up with Layne. It will distract him from his physical and emotional distress while at the same time allowing Layne to carry on as the only student from Northwood currently entering the prestigious NERSDA. He is more than capable of being the singer that Layne needs. Though Wyatt refuses to express his artistic abilities as anything more than a hobby, he has a wonderful singing voice and is a gifted musician who plays multiple instruments. In keeping with his long-term, stubborn rejection of public performance, Wyatt initially flatly refuses to cooperate with his mother’s altruistic scheme. But later that day, on the school bus, he overhears Layne talking to Lola on her phone and realizes she is crying with disappointment about losing out on NERSDA. Female tears are Wyatt’s kryptonite, and before he knows it, he finds himself assuring Layne he will take Lola’s place and help her fulfill her dream of participating in NERSDA.
I’m a big fan of YA novels where both protagonists are talented musicians, and the musical part of this novel is very well done. In addition, though to some extent every YA novel inevitably must include a “coming of age” plot, it is always most impressive to me, personally, if the YA novel includes a romance which is not only excellent in and of itself, but serves the dual purpose of triggering the growth arc of the young protagonists, as is done so impressively in this delightful novel.
I really liked both Wyatt and Layne. They are very sympathetic protagonists, and it works really well the way that, though they seem at first very different on the surface, underneath they both suffer from alienation, and they each help the other to overcome it as they gradually develop a close friendship by means of their musical partnership.
I was also appreciative of the fact that this story is told in the alternating points of view of both Wyatt and Layne, rather than only from Layne’s point of view. It allows the reader to get to know and understand Wyatt very well, and he is well worth knowing.
This story is the G-rated version of a “slow burn” romance. There is no “instalove,” but rather a slow, steady, and extremely engaging progression from strangers, to friends, to a lovely HEA.
The only disappointment I myself experienced with this story was with the future that the author offers for Wyatt in the epilogue as someone who is just as talented as musician as Layne. But it is nice in that same epilogue that the author provides a future for this couple beyond the “happy for now” of many YA romances, which only shows them about two weeks to two months into their romantic future with each other.
This is the second book in what is shaping up to be a terrific, YA romance series of four books, each by different authors. I have so far read the first two books and enjoyed them both very much. I am greatly looking forward to the next two books.
The Dangers of Dating a Diva series includes:
Kissing the Player by Maggie Dallen (Book 1), release date June 16, 2020
Kissing the Hero by Christina Benjamin (Book 2), release date June 30, 2020
Kissing the Debutante by Michelle MacQueen & Ann Marie Craven (Book 3), release date July 14
Kissing the Shy Guy by Stephanie Street (Book 4), release date July 28, 2020
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Musical Plot: 5 stars
Hero’s Family Drama Plot: 4 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 4.6 starts rounded to 5 stars
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Fruitful Partnership –
Wyatt was the high school sports heartthrob, with a British accent that all the girls wanted to date. Layne was the musical genius introvert, who didn’t want to be popular or in the limelight. This is the typical case of opposites attract to create fireworks that neither of them expected. This story is about two people who helped each other work out their issues and bloom in the process. This book is your next weekend read.
I received an ARC of this book from Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
When Wyatt learns that he won’t be able to play baseball his senior year because of a broken ankle he is devastated. Layne has entered the Northeast Regional Scholarship for the Dramatic Arts (NRSDA) for song writing when her best friend and singer have to drop out because of illness. Layne is at a loss until Ms. Nash offers an unlikely solution.
I enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and the story line was great.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
When band geek Layne’s BFF comes down with mono and can’t sing in a songwriter’s competition, she gets desperate…desperate enough that she accepts Wyatt’s, her school’s ultimate rich, cool kid, and someone she despises, help with the contest. However, Wyatt’s so much more then she expected. He not only helps her by singing, but he also connects with her in a way neither she nor he thought possible! He makes her realize that she’s more than just a songwriter and she realizes that there’s more to him then he lets on! Great YA read…story shows them that you should never judge a book or person by its cover!
I really enjoy reading this multi-author series, because just as different as the “Divas” are themselves, as different are their stories.
“I imagined how liberating it would be to exist in a world like that, where I didn’t care what people thought of me.”
I really liked Layne, and that she – compared to the other girls in this group – was a rather reluctant and unassuming Diva.
It took a lot longer for Wyatt to win me over, though. (And can someone explain to me why Sir Smirksalot needed to have a British accent?) Though then there were lines like these, and pretty much every obnoxious smirk and wink was forgiven:
She looked up; her eyes now full of sadness. “I’m tired of being different.”
“Don’t be,” I whispered. “It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
In the end, even though Wyatt is a champion at jumping to conclusions, these two complement each other well and bring out the best in each other.
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
Say Anything Meets A Star Is Born. This is the 2nd book in the current collaboration between Benjamin, Maggie Dallen, Stephanie Street, and now other friends as well. In this one, the overall arc only impacts the story as the macguffin – the real story is in fact two people who are very different than their public images suggest finding ways to understand each other and come together. And along the way we get a lot of the best elements of both Say Anything and A Star Is Born, without the depressing elements of those stories. We also see a few different crossovers with various other Benjamin stories, usually at particularly key moments. All in all a truly fun, excellent high school/ young adult romance. Very much recommended.
4.5 stars
Cute and sweet YA contemporary romance. There were a couple of places where I had to squint a little to keep my suspension of disbelief, but otherwise it was a thoroughly enjoyable, quick read. Recommended.
I volunteered to read this ARC for an honest review. I absolutely loved this story about Layne and Wyatt. She’s a quiet, shy band geek. He’s a handsome, British heartthrob with a famous dad. When Lola gets mono weeks before their preference at the DIVA’S competition, Layne is desperate for help. She asks Mrs Nash and she suggests her son, Wyatt. Wyatt is a bad boy, jock, baseball player that recently sprained his ankle and is in need of a distraction. When his mom suggests helping Layne, he objects. But things aren’t always what they seem. As they work together, Wyatt constantly tries to get Layne to believe in her abilities. They make a great partnership. But over time the partnership makes a turn, they both start to develop feelings that become hard to hide. But when a blow up threatens to ruin their friendship, Wyatt has to do something drastic. Great HEA in the end.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4.5 stars. I easily read this in a couple days! I didn’t even realize it was the second book until it was too late. I loved that I could read this as a stand-alone without worrying about reading them out of order.
I enjoyed the characters and the chemistry everyone had. They were competitors but they weren’t really out right mean to each other. They were super down to earth to me considering they call themselves Divas.
Layne and Wyatt had great chemistry and worked really well together. They sang well together and played off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I didn’t really like how fast Wyatt could change when he thought Layne was just using him but thankfully he figured out pretty fast that he was an idiot.
I did feel that this book was a tad too long. Some parts I didn’t think were necessary and it just dragged on a little at times. Thankfully there’s no cliffhangers and it does end in a happily ever after.
Wow I just love this read. The scenes are written so well that I can picture them as I read the book. And I love how the Character building is. As well as the story building. This is definitely a read that I recommend. I love it, it’s definitely a must read.
Shauna Joesten
I will have to admit I sort of drug my feet on reading this story and I’m not sure why. I have enjoyed the other YA books by Christina Benjamin that I’ve read but I just couldn’t start this one. I made a mistake. I read it in one sitting because I wanted to find out what happens. This story could have been young adults that were late twenties (old by historical standards) as well as it was high school. We were kept wondering who Wyatt’s father was, why things were so strained in his family. You feel Layne’s shyness and want her to succeed. I highly recommend this book.
If you love a story about a shy but talented girl and a misunderstood rich boy, then Kissing The Hero is the book for you!
Layne and Wyatt are such a cute couple. I loved watching them grow together and realizing that the chemistry between the two of them was just too good to resist. And you can never go wrong with references to Say Anything. 🙂
I totally related to Layne as a character. The shy introvert afraid to be front and center. That was me all throughout high school.
This book was a quick and easy read. Very sweet and clean.
The only thing that threw me off was the prologue. But seeing it’s part of a series, it was needed to tie in all the characters in The Dangers of Dating a Diva book. I read the prologue then put it down, a bit disappointed and confused. However, once I started the story about Layne and Wyatt, I could not put it down.