Throwback Thursday: Kiss and Tell by Suzanne Brockmann

Author: Suzanne Brockmann
First published in 1996 by Loveswept

When Leila Hunt is swept off her feet by a ninja at a New Year's Eve costume party, she has no idea who the masked man is—but after he disappears into the night, she’s determined to find him. When the clock struck twelve, what began as a friendly New Year's greeting quickly became the most unforgettable kiss Leila had ever experienced with anyone—including her absent boyfriend. But of all the possible suspects, Leila hardly imagines that the ninja is the same man who’s teased, tormented—and secretly intrigued her—since childhood.

Marshall Devlin is finally ready to face the terrifying truth: he’s in love with his best friend’s sister, and has been for years. There’s just one complication: Leila didn't know he was her ninja. To win her, Marsh will have to woo her. But can he make Leila forget their decades of verbal sparring in time to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life?

Kiss and Tell is the first book in the Sunrise Key Trilogy.  Sunrise Key is a small fictitious town where everyone is in everyone's business.  When Leila was younger, she couldn't wait to leave.  Now she is back in vacation visiting her brother when she gets a kiss from a masked stranger at a Halloween party. In her hunt to find out who he was, she begins to realize the benefits of small town living.  

I thought this was a really cute story.  I adored Marshall. He has been in love with Leila forever and their secret kiss confirms his feelings.  The problem is that she doesn't know it was him.  His attempts to having her fall for him without revealing anything were really sweet.  I'm a sucker for long time friends or in this case "frienemies" falling for each other.  I was also happy to see that Leila's brother had no problems with his best friend loving his sister.  That was a refreshing change of pace from the usual big brother response.  That gets old after a while.

I definitely recommend this one.  I have the next book, The Kissing Game ready to read neat the top on my TBR pile.  Stay tuned!