I found myself wishing for one kind of ending for her, which didn't happen. Her mum, Ari, is super cool, but has her faults too. She acts irrationally at times, loses her temper, and jumps to conclusions without knowing the full story, things we all do. Importantly, Ellie wasn't perfect, even when she tried to be. She might be the daughter of a rock star, but I found it easy to relate to her, with her stresses over her job, her experiences of London and her fun friends. Meanwhile Ellie's story almost fulfils the opposite trajectory - she too, is falling in love, like her mum did, but I had much more hope for her that it would end well, even if it seemed to be falling apart most of the time.Įllie is a great character. The latter is filled with tension, since as readers we know from the beginning that the relationship is doomed, so every step Manning moves closer to that conclusion had me filled with the kind of dread you only experience when you know it's going to end badly. The narrative flits between Ellie in the present day, and her mum's romance with Billy Kay. It Felt Like a Kiss is a great, fun, funny, and sometimes sad novel. Suddenly, the nation thinks she's everything she's not, and the hot guy she bumped into at a festival turns out to work for her dad. When her boyfriend who turns into an ex tells the papers Ellie is Billy Kay's daughter, her life turns upside down. And neither is her dad, rock star Billy Kay, who doesn't acknowledge her existence.

Sometimes what you need to read is some good old-fashioned romance, and few people do it better than Sarra Manning.įrom Diary of a Crush through Guitar Girl and now her new novel It Felt Like a Kiss, I've never read anything by Manning I didn't love.Įllie Cohen seems to have it all - a great job at an art gallery (even though her boss can be demanding), great friends (even if they don't always get on they love her), an amazing mum (who can be a bit too hip), and a boyfriend.

It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning