A Kiss in the Dark: An intense story about love, identity and the cost of hiding the truth, for fans of Holly Jackson, Laura Nowlin and Kathleen Glasgow

A Kiss in the Dark is, I believe, one of Cat Clarke’s best books. I’ve read several of her other titles, and this is the first one I read in one sitting, devouring the book in 4-5 hours. I just could not put it down. This is a complicated story of love, deceit, betrayal, and the difference between right and wrong. The twist that comes at the end of the second chapter blew me away—the whole book pivots around this, and I can’t write a thorough review without giving away that spoiler, so be warned. Don’t read on if you don’t want the spoilers! Right away in chapter one, we’re introduced to Alex (who I read as male). He’s watching a girl at a gig, a girl he’s met online and arranged to meet up with at the gig. Kate is confident, charismatic, and immediately likeable. I’ll be honest; at first, I wasn’t sure that Alex’s intentions were good. There were some creepy vibes I was picking up on, and I was sure there was something we weren’t being told. And then, bam. We’re told it. He’s a girl and didn’t mean to deceive Kate into thinking she was a boy. She just likes to wear more unisex clothes, and Kate assumed from the start that Alex was a boy. Alex doesn’t correct her, feeling it would be too awkward and embarrassing, and we’re drawn into a somewhat tangled relationship. At first, Alex is pleased that someone likes her—she has no friends at school, and she likes the company. Then she falls in love with Kate, and Kate’s in love with her too (oblivious to Alex’s secret), very much believing that Alex is a boy. Alex comes up with increasingly drastic ways to keep this allusion going—bandaging her breasts, creating a fake “penis”, wearing her brother’s clothes, and Skyping Kate from her brother’s room. As much as I wanted to dislike Alex for this deceit, the narrative voice was compelling and I found myself wishing there was a way forward for them and that Alex could be truthful to Kate. I could feel their love, though based on lies it was. I desperately wanted to see this relationship last—even though we know from the start that it doesn’t; the book is told in two parts, before and after Kate finds out. Alex narrates the before section, and Kate the after. And at the end of part one, Kate does indeed find out Alex’s secret at a point where Alex is convinced it’s all over, having been persuaded by her brother (who learned of what was going on) to break up with Kate and avoid hurt. Yet Kate’s hurt deepens upon the discovery of the deceit. This revelation turns her bitter and looking for revenge—and she goes down the path of accusing Alex of sexual assault. Immediately, this false accusation annoyed me. I hated Kate (it seemed really out of character, from what I thought I knew of her) and I was desperate for things to turn out okay for Alex who’s facing prison due to Kate’s accusation. In this book, we see both main characters making a terrible decision that snowballs out of their control and has dire consequences on those around them. It was certainly a captivating read. And the writing itself is lyrical and just wouldn’t let me stop reading. Neither Alex or Kate identify as LGBTQA+, both insisting at various times that they’re straight, yet by the end both realise they’re in love with each other. This is a powerful exploration of love, free from the restrictions of labels or categorisations being imposed on it, and I’m glad that Kate does admit she’s lying and prevent Alex from going to prison—in part due to the interference of Jamie, Alex’s brother. Jamie was possibly my favourite character. He’s the kind older brother who’s 18 and into girls and the “uni life”, but still has a logical and sensible head on his shoulders. He definitely plays the role of peacekeeper in this book and always advocates for the truth to be told. When he finds out about his sister’s lies, he tells Alex she can’t continue. Alex is too scared to break up with Kate, so Jamie persuades her to end it and avoid Kate being “stringed along”. And when Kate lies to the police, falsely accusing Alex of assault, it’s Jamie who seeks her out and begs her to do the right thing and not ruin Alex’s whole life. Jamie provided a nice contrast to both characters and was real and believable. All in all, I highly recommend this read.

I haven't been able to put this book down and have found it a compelling read. The first half of the book told from the POV of Alex, shows how one secret can have a massive knock on effect. Then the second part of the book told from the POV of Kate, shows how one lie has the potential to destroy lives. I much preferred Alex as a character to Kate but also wasn't happy about the secret that Alex was keeping. The book would have been 5 stars if it hadn't been for the ending, it just didn't seem likely and was very abrupt. Entangled is still my favourite Cat Clarke book, now on to my final Cat Clarke book, Girlhood.

As much as I wanted to love this book, I can't say I did. It is a fast read and the storyline is easy to follow along but with every turn of a page I got more and more uncomfortable with the lies, especially when it goes to Kate's (is it Kate I don't remember) point of view and everything just gets worse. And the ending, I'm glad she came clean but really?

I enjoyed this book even more than I expected. I have loved all of Cat Clarke's books which was the reason I bought this one without even reading anything about it, and I didn't regret it for one moment. The story had me gripped right from the beginning until the last word, I loved the subject matter and the change of perspective half way through. I didn't start reading it for a few weeks but it saved me on a particularly quiet day at work and I haven't been able to put it down since.

This was a really enjoyable book. Although not an entirely original premise, the characters and feelings felt authentic and the plot was compelling. However, I felt disappointed by the abrupt ending; without revealing anything, there are very obvious loose ends (particularly legal) that would need tied up, and given the procedural focus of much of the latter part of the book, I'm surprise the author neglected to address them. Real people are affected by what Kate does, and to fail to explore the ramifications is a serious misstep by the author.

I loved this book I could not put it down. The fact tht Alex was so in love tgat she would go to prison for kate is so moving and at the end when Kate says she loves alex made me smile. The only thing is the ending is so sudden. It could to with an epilouge or an extra chapter. i would still recomend this book an think it is great

I expect a lot from Cat Clarke, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I cared so much about Alex and Kate that as their relationship developed I was scared for both of them. Sensitive, emotional, heart-rending, this book asks essential questions about sexual identity and love.

The big lie makes me uncomfortable. waiting for the secret to come out...squirm!

Loved it.