Book Review: Kisses & Croissants

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Both the cover and the title of Kisses & Croissants caught my attention, but as I read Mia's story, I found it hard to keep my attention.  Mia is an aspiring ballerina in high school who has the opportunity of a lifetime to study ballet in Paris (*cue Hilary Duff singing "This Is What Dreams Are Made Of").  She just so happens to be accompanied by a classmate named Aubrey who she finds hard to get along with - only to get to the ballet academy and find out their roommates.  Then, if you couldn't guess by the title, Mia finds herself swept off her feet by a French boy named Louis.  Ballet or boy?  Which will she choose?

That's not the only plot line, though.  

On top of being torn between chasing her dream or chasing a boy, Mia is determined to learn more about her family history to see if ballet truly is in her blood by searching one art museum after another to see if a famous artist did in fact paint a picture of her ancestor.  While this was a nice addition to the story and did tie in to the time Mia spent with Louis, I had mixed feelings about it.  Basically, I felt like there were two stories weaved into one.

The writing style would best suit a middle school audience even though Mia is in high school.  Personally, I found it choppy and really struggled to push through the first half of the book.  The pace started to pick up when Mia and Aubrey decided to work together instead of against each other and really shocked me with the plot twist at the end.  For those reasons, I am giving Kisses & Croissants three leaves.

Kisses & Croissants was released April 6, 2021.  It is available to purchase through major retailers, or my personal favorite book distributor, Bookshop.  Buy through Bookshop, support local bookstores!