My heart is shattered. I knew it was going to have a sad ending and I told myself to be prepared, but I wasn’t. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the ending, but I’m still picking up the tissues off my bed. Rune and Poppy, are, in every single way possible, soulmates. I cannot express how much happiness & sadness these two made me feel. I’ve never cried this much for a book, but wow.

This is really marketed as a romance and it is NOT. I found it was maudlin and sappy and I just hated the ending.

I was told this author wrote a KKK romance so i'm not gonna be reading this book or write a review about it...

This was a cute little book. I think people would really enjoy this book. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

Rune moves to Georgia from Norway when he is 5. He moves in next door to Poppy and they immediately become best friends. They are inseparable. As they grow up and get to high school they officially begin to date. Their time is cut short when Rune has to move back to Norway. Two years later he returns to Georgia but he has changed, and so has Poppy. The begin to reconnect and heal old wounds while suffering new wounds as well.
This book absolutely broke my heart! I don’t think I have ever sobbed so much from any book. I literally started crying in the first 30 minutes and basically didn’t stop through the entire book. But it was so worth the heartbreak. Even with all of the tears I loved this book. Even writing about it now is making my heart hurt just thinking about it. Rune and Poppy are the ultimate teenage love story. [Spoiler] This book has strong The Fault in Our Stars and A Walk To Remember vibes so be prepared for that level of emotion.

I did not complete the book, but only because I was so full of emotions that it got overwhelming. I did not research well enough because i genuinely thought this would be a happy ever after book. Rune's character is the softest and sweetest in a YA novel that I have encountered yet. It shows how a love can be both doting and supporting.

I didn't enjoy this book, which I knew when I finished it, but now I'm looking back on it a few months later I'm realising how much I really, really didn't like it.
I had high expectations as this has been on my TBR for years, and it seemed right up my street- an emotional YA romance with incredible reviews, what's not to like? However, when the prologue introduced the premise of Poppy's grandmother encouraging her to keep track of a thousand kisses by writing down every single one and keeping them in a jar? Yeah, I quickly realised this wasn't going to be what I was hoping for. The writing style felt very forced to me, like the author was trying too hard to make everything feel deep and emotional- although to be fair, it could be the fact that I wasn't enjoying the plot or characters that meant this didn't resonate with me.
Poppy was sweet, but I really disliked Rune and this didn't change at all through the story, I just thought he was unnecessarily rude and aggressive to everyone around him. Their 'romance' was absolutely just not there for me, it felt far too fake and exaggerated for me to enjoy and meant that the emotional plot points didn't affect me. I also would have liked to have seen some of the other characters developed a bit more, their family and friends, rather than just being names on a page with very little personality.
The final nail in the coffin for me was the epilogue, no spoilers but I hated the final 'twist' and felt like it made the whole point of the rest of the story redundant.
This book was a huge letdown for me- in fact, it has been a long time since I've felt this strongly about my hate for a book. I'm glad other people enjoy it, but it's just absolutely not for me.

This book had me holding on until 3am to finish reading despite absolutely bawling my eyes out. This is a story that will stay with me for a very long time.
The read is simple and even though I’m not a religious person in the slightest, this really affected me.

If you are an emotional reader, bring the tissues! Great story overall. It’s easy to get invested in the characters and their story

The perfect spring/summer read. I just loved the sweet premise and the journey this book takes you on!

How do you make a review about your heart being ripped out? I'm still not sure. This book. Wow. This book put me on my ass. It was amazing.

This book was really relevant to me during the time that I had cancer. Everyone should read this book.

This was such a sweet read! I need to get a physical copy so I can annotate it. The love between Poppy and Rune is one any girl would want/dream to have in her life. I'm so excited that we're getting a second book, but I'm not ready to be in tears yet again.

Moments you wonder even after everyone told you bring a box of tissues why you didn’t bring a whole heckin box of tissues!

Oh wow. Who knew a thousand boy kisses would make me cry a thousand sad tears and break my heart into a thousand little pieces?! Maybe it's just that time of month, but goodness me, I'm an emotional mess.

I understand that this book is a little rough. The writing is plain and the characters are pretty basic, but something about this totally captured my heart. It's one of those stories that really makes you think about how you live life and evaluate the things that make you happy.

What a tender and special story.

I have never read a book by Tillie Cole prior to this. I'm not sure if all of her books are as "Hallmarky" as this one but it did give those type vibes. I was there for all of the emotions that came with the book and will most likely look for others from Cole. Sometimes you need a book that just takes you out of reality for a bit and you can live the emotions of someone else's life.

I had heard about this book through TikTok and heard nothing but good things about it. So I decided to read it and I am absolutely speechless! I've never cried as much as as often as I did reading this book. Rune and Poppy are perfect for each other and no one can tell me other wise. They had such a compelling love story that shook the ground I walk on. He was so devoted to her in all that he did. And so was she. Cherry blossoms will be different for me, kisses will be different, home will be different, photographs wjll mean more, NY will forever be a place of dreams, the cello will sound more beautiful, and floating lanterns will be a permanent message to send to heaven. I want to write a novel sized review for this book, but I am literally speechless. If you are wondering if you should read this book, I'd say, put any other book you are reading down, grab a few boxes of tissues, and read this book. Because I read A Thousand Boy Kisses... and my heart almost burst🤍

Amazing! Get the tissues ready! I am not one who cries while reading books but this one got me! Highly recommended reading!

This book was heartbreaking and so beautiful. The love story between Poppy and Rune, friends to lovers. This story will literally break you, at least it did me.

Light Spoilers!!

Rune and Poppy become best friends, after a few years Rune's family has to move away and Poppy stops contact with Rune. She discovered some news she didn't want to share with him. When he comes back, they are more like enemies, until he finds out why she stopped contact with him.

Definitely would recommend this book, especially if you want a beautiful and heartbreaking love story.

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole is a story about young love that tries to capture the heart and soul of an everlasting bond between Rune Kristiansen and Poppy Litchfield. They grew up together in Blossom Grove, Georgia, sharing a special connection that was supposed to endure anything. However, despite the beautiful idea of a love strong enough to last a thousand kisses, the book struggles to truly engage. For me, the characters, Rune and Poppy, don't come to life as fully as one might hope, making it hard to deeply care about their journey or feel invested in their relationship. The writing aims to be touching and emotional but sometimes feels too sentimental, lacking the depth and realism that can make a love story genuinely moving.

Overall, it has its sweet moments and certainly tries to explore the theme of lasting love, but it doesn't quite deliver a memorable or impactful reading experience. The main issue is that the characters and their love story don't feel as real or as compelling as they need to be to truly captivate. For readers looking for a simple tale of young romance and the idea of love measured by kisses, A Thousand Boy Kisses might still be worth a read, but it may not leave a lasting impression.