TWITTER PARTY TONIGHT 9pm: Join #KissMeFirst author Lottie Moggach as she takes over @mumsnetbookclub and enter draw to win £200 worth of books

[RachelMumsnet]

Over the years Mumsnet bookclub has been lucky enough to feature books and author webchats with some of the greats in modern day fiction. However, we're also really keen to feature novels by debut authors and for this reason we're bringing to you Mumsnet Introduces... where from time to time we'll introduce a debut author, their work and give you the opportunity to read and discuss their books and put your questions and thoughts to the authors. We'll also be asking each author to share with us their tips on how to go about writing a novel and getting it published.

This month we're introducing Lottie Moggach and her brilliant Kiss Me First. Described as 'the first coming of age novel for the internet generation', it deals with the trials and limitations of living life online with themes that will strike a chord with the discerning Mumsnetter.

Watch this brilliant trailer to give you a taste. (NB his 30-second trailer logs in with Facebook, but connecting to watch this trailer is completely safe, and does not post or share any of your details on Facebook or elsewhere).

Kiss Me First Trailer

We have 50 copies of Kiss Me First up for grabs. We'd love to know what you think so apply for a free copy and join the discussion on this thread.

Faithful to the themes within her book, Lottie is going to be taking over @mumsnetbookclub twitter account later in the month (Tuesday 25 February) and answering your questions about the book - we'll bring more info about this later. Finally we'll be posting up Lottie's debut author tips later this week.

[DrNick]

i am sorry but i utterly hated this book. It is SO SO badly written, the whole premise is ludicrous and its just cack. I read it on holiday hoping it would get better, it simply doesnt.

[CoteDAzur]

Tell us what you really feel, DrNick. Don't hold anything back

I don't know anything about this book, but surely it can't be called "the first coming of age novel for the internet generation". Just off the top of my head, Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age was published in 1995.

[DrNick]

It was so hyped - that what confused me. And I read all the hype again. I'm starting to wonder if it's me

[DrNick]

Plus if you committed suicide why would you give a fuck about maintaining online presence afterwards? Why?

[CoteDAzur]

Hyped by who? I had never heard of this book until this thread. Certainly never saw it mentioned on these threads.

[DrNick]

All the blurb from magazines etc

[OddFodd]

I assume she's Deborah's daughter?

[DrNick]

Maybe that explains it

[CoteDAzur]

Deborah who? Apparently yes, she is her daughter.

Having checked out the book's Amazon page, I see that most of the reviews are from magazines like Grazia, Heat and Glamour (whose book 'critic' seems convinced that she has discovered the first ever coming-of-age book written for the internet generation ) but there is also the odd The Economist review which is puzzling. I don't think I ever saw a book reviewed by both trashy mags like Heat and The Economist.

[Cutitup]

I just finished this book a few hours ago. I loved the middle part and was absolutely gripped. The end was disappointing though and I ended up feeling a bit meh about it.

I think the writing and characterisation was superb though.

[SarahAndFuck]

I really wanted to find out what happened but was left feeling that nothing had by the end.

[AliceMumsnet]

This giveaway is now closed. We will notify those who have been selected to receive a copy via email. We would love to hear your thoughts, so please continue to discuss the book and post a review.

[silverdragonfly]

Just finished this. It was an interesting idea but I definitely afree with Cutitup that the ending was disappointing, it was like she didn't quite know how to finish off.

I think this was more about the concept than the actual plot in the end, so exploring the idea of social media and how misleading/dangerous it can be. I did enjoy it but I don't think it was a 5 star by any means.

[Southeastdweller]

Marking my place as I'm hoping I've won a copy; if not I'm going to get it from the library. Looking forward to reading the Twitter chat with Lottie in any case .

[Southeastdweller]

Thank so much for my copy that arrived today. Very excited about starting this tonight.

[RachelMumsnet]

Budding novelists alert: Lottie has shared with us her top tips for debut authors.

We hope the copies of Kiss Me First have now arrived. We'll be posting up more information about the Twitter takeover on 25 February when we're inviting you to quiz Lottie from 9pm. All those who join the takeover will be entered into a draw to win £200 of books. Watch this space for more info.

[alialiath]

Thank you, I received a copy which I've started to read. I will update what I think of the book in the next few days.

[GretaWolfcastle]

agree - a huge eg of hype over substance

crap book

[Highfivethatfart]

Have received my copy and will give my two penny's worth once read! Thank you.

[Sunshineonsea]

Received(thanks MN) and read.
I didn't enjoy it, found myself skipping through large chunks of text just to find out what happened.
I'm usually a fan of thrillers but I just couldn't get it into this.
I was disappointed in the ending it all felt too rushed.
The references to the character not understanding modern day text speak and acronyms didn't sit right either, for someone who was a homebody and seemed to spend a lot of time on facebook surely it wouldn't have taken a person of her intelligence long to pick it all up and once she took over Tess' life she seemed to pick it up quite quickly.
However I can see the message that the author was possibly trying to get across about how easy it is to be deceived online and how you can get yourself wrapped up in it all.

[alialiath]

I've now read Kiss me First, and as an avid reader of thrillers it left me cold. I found it impossible to warm to any of the unbelievable characters, and wanted to slap the irritating Leila and tell her to get a life.

The couple of good things I liked about the book was that it was a relatively short story, and that it was slightly better than Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl which I think is the worst book I've ever read, and yet won an
accolade of hype and awards, that in my point of view it didn't merit.

[GretaWolfcastle]

Thank god you all agree it's shit

[GretaWolfcastle]

(I liked gone girl)

[Southeastdweller]

I enjoyed it. An original premise for a novel that felt credible from the beginning and while I thought the Lelia character was a bit exaggerated (or was she autistic?) I think that through her Lottie said a lot about how living our lives online can be destructive and unhealthy and gave me plenty of food for thought. The ending was a bit too optimistic for me to really believe in, though, and the Tess character under developed.

Overall I found this a well-paced and gripping book that was thought-provoking and generally sadly plausible.

[WaitingAndSpinning]

Thanks, have also received mine and have just started reading, back shortly!