Guest Review: Kiss Me Again by Garrett Leigh

Tree surgeon Aidan Drummond is content with his own company. He works alone, and lives alone, and it doesn’t occur to him to want anything else until a life-changing accident lands him in hospital. Then a glimpse of the beautiful boy in the opposite bed changes everything.

Ludo Giordano is trapped on the ward with a bunch of old men. His mind plays tricks on him, keeping him awake. Then late one night, a new face brings a welcome distraction. Their unlikely friendship is addictive. And, like most things in Ludo’s life, temporary.

Back in the real world, Aidan’s monochrome existence is no longer enough. He craves the colour Ludo brought him, and when a chance meeting brings them back together, before long, they’re inseparable again.

But bliss comes with complications. Aidan is on the road to recovery, but Ludo has been unwell his entire life, and that’s not going to change. Aidan can kiss him as much as he likes, but if he can’t help Ludo when he needs him most, they don’t stand a chance.

Reviewer: Annika

Kiss Me Again is not a happy story. It’s almost bleak and subdued in a way. Just like Aidan and Ludo are. There’s not much happiness or warmth really, the pages are loaded with pain, angst and struggle. It was well written as you could feel the despair coming of the pages. At times it nearly drowned you too. Just like it did Aidan and Ludo.

Garrett Leigh has a way with words. The way she painted Aidan and Ludo, their feelings and the world they saw. She pulled you in, made you walk among the trees marveling at them. Made you a part of Aidan and Ludo’s lives. I almost want to say existence – at least in Aidan’s case.

Their romance scares me just a little bit. They are both tethering on a cliffs edge and a whiff of air can make them tumble over. You can’t doubt their connection, or obsession with each other. They both have this innate instinct about what the other needs. It was there from the moment they met, lying beside each other in the hospital. Yet at the same time, theirs is a romance that have the power to really and truly shatter each other beyond repair if something goes wrong.

Many books depicting disabled or mentally ill characters still have this light and hopeful fell to them. This “I’m going to conquer the world” mentality. Kiss Me Again was on the other side of the spectrum. The harsh reality of it. Where a single thought has the ability to send you down the rabbit hole without a clear way up. Where you can’t trust what you see and hear. It was humbling to learn of the struggles that others don’t or won’t see.

I don’t think that this is a book that I will go back and read again, but it is one I’m glad to have read. It stands out for all the right reasons.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review