My three-word description of Starts With A Kiss by Russ Hall is thrilling, exciting and unconventional.

Book synopsis:
Romance, if it takes only one or two quirky turns, can turn as dark as the other side of the moon.
Little does Dudie Knox know it, but apartment complex living, in Austin, is about to roll up its sleeves and educate him by yanking him down into an erotic, exotic, and chaotic world. A shy twenty-three year old virgin, he is surprised to learn his roommate, Barrett Rojas, is some sort of satyr, a male nymphomaniac, one who favors only married women.
When someone convinces the wronged husbands of the apartment complex that Dudie is the one making time with their wives, he is poised to lose far more than his naiveté.

My musings:
I found this a compelling and hugely entertaining story. The storyline is certainly a departure from the average thriller. Russ Hall delivers some strong characters in this novel, which reads a little like a character study, particularly of a complicated young man, curiously named Dudie. Dudie is sharing an apartment with a sociopath and nymphomaniac named Barrett, and a string of married women. There's not much going on in Dudie's own personal life, as the reader learns about in snippets dotted throughout the book. I found him to be a rather tragic, frustrating, yet oddly endearing young chap. There is great chemistry between some of the characters, along with an abundance of humorous scenes that held my interest throughout. Overall, I had no issues with Starts With A Kiss, but it didn't bedazzle me.

Verdict:
Very highly recommended for those who get a buzz from alternative thrillers.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley at my request, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

When I seen this book on Netgalley I was so intrigued by the cover. I should have read the reviews before I started it. The storyline was all over the place. I tried to keep reading it but couldn't. I read 30 percent of it and that's with skimming.

I wish we knew more about Barrett. He seems to have a reason why he just sleeps with married woman. He is hiding some hurt that needed a woman who really cared about him to help heal it. This story though is about Dudie. You just feel so sorry for him. I wished the author will go deeper with some of the writing. We are told about his abusive father which gives us drama. Were not told how he survive all that abuse. Dudie seemed cute in his own way. They live in this apartment complex where all the married women are after Barrett.

BOOK BLURB: Little does Dudie Knox know it, but apartment complex living in Austin is about to roll up its sleeves and educate him by yanking him down into an erotic, exotic, and chaotic world. A shy twenty-three year old virgin, he is surprised to learn his roommate, Barrett Rojas, is some sort of satyr, a male nymphomaniac, one who favors only married women.

This one is just not my cup of tea. There are too many characters to keep track of, I found the story premise a little on the boring side. I always know when I'm not having a good read when I find myself thumbing through pages, looking for something to capture my attention. Sadly, there really wasn't much there.

The cover is what drew me in, but the book fizzled instead of sizzled for me. Even the cliff-hanger ending did not whet my appetite to want more.

Many thanks to the author / Netgalley for the digital copy of STARTS WITH A KISS. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

a fun read. Didn't expect to like it this much. It had me addicted to reading it. Never read this author before and really enjoyed this mystery. Must read

I was disappointed in this book. Dudie is portrayed as a socially maladjusted young man, his only friend his roommate Barrett. Barrett has affairs with many of the married women in the complex where is shares an apartment with Dudie. Dudie somehow gets blamed for the affairs by their husbands. More than once, Dudie is faced with harm. We learn that Barrett has psychological problems when it comes to women. I kept reading hoping that Dudie would emerge from his sad existence but that never happened.

I'm not even sure where to start with this one. It's a twisted thriller with a fast paced plot. The characters are complex and intriguing. There's a bit too much of Dudie's flashbacks that don't really add anything to the story. There is a lot going on in this apartment complex and the end is one you won't see coming.

Perfect psychological thriller! It moved at a fast pace with twists and turns throughout! I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommend!

For the firs quarter of the book I was extremely underwhelmed. Characters seemed one dimensional and kind of boring. The second quarter of the book started to grab my attention a little more but I was still a little confused about what the cover had to actually do with the story. But the second half of the book: wow. Everything that I thought that I knew or expected changed. I blazed through the second half of the book wanting to see what was coming next. For $6 this is a great read. 2 things I didn't like, the main characters name Dudie and the frequent flashbacks that almost had nothing to do with the story. Overall though i really enjoyed it.

Wowee -this book really heats up!

The main character in this book is Dudie, a 23 year old traveling light bulb salesman (and also a virgin). His roommate is Barrett who is 33 years old and travels for his work, too. Barrett is not a virgin. They live in a nice apartment complex in Austin. Barrett is quite the suave and charming guy. He nearly always has one (or more) of the apartment complex's women in his room. His only hang-up is that the women he is with must be married.

Dudie goes through a mental struggle with his morals and his outlook on life. He meets Connie - one of Barrett's "girlfriends" who is falling out of favor with Barrett. Dudie has a splendid relationship with Connie a few times and maybe he is in love. Dudie also meets Cyndy by the apartment's swimming pool. Although she has the looks of Barrett's type - unfortunately she is single. Cyndy keeps trying to get Dudie to get her hooked up with Barrett.

Somehow, the husbands of Barrett's babes catch on but they think Dudie is the man their wives are fooling around with. (Dudie is with only one of them, actually - Connie). Barrett has Dudie's back when things get REALLY bad. Also, Boxy is a good friend, too, who also has Dudie's back.. (Boxy is gay but not with anyone in the apartment complex).

Dudie finds out that Barrett has a wife and two daughters. Sheesh! Dudie talks to her (she thinks he is just a random nice guy out for a walk) and she bares her soul to Dudie a couple of times. It becomes clear she truly loves Barrett but is aware of his never-ending womanizing.

Enters Misty, one of Barrett's women's (Sylvie's) daughters. Misty is a thin pretty redhead. She has a son, Jake. She also ran away from Big Jake, her husband. That's why she is staying with mom and dad in the complex.

Before you know it - Misty has a roll in the hay with Barrett. Jake finds out and attacks Misty as a result and grabs his son. Enter the SWAT team, cops, etc. And that's just the start of the thrill ride!

Many thanks to Renegade Rhino Press and NetGalley for a roller coaster thrill!