A Kiss In Kyoto

Naomi’s parents approved the match for her omiai, the Japanese ritual for the parents to choose a mate for their daughter. The man possesses financial security and other attributes her parents sought for her marriage. Yet her heart isn’t lining up with the arrangement. She must push those feelings aside, for tradition dictates that she honor her beloved mother and father.

Then, on a weekend trip, she meets Taka. She isn’t prepared to fall for this strikingly handsome man with his quiet smile. Try as she may, she can’t stop thinking of him . . . and, just maybe, he’s thinking of her.

Why can’t she approach life like her friend, Yuki, living free of constrictions? She sees in Yuki everything she wishes to be: beautiful, fashionable, clever, free to make her own choices . . . and oh, so adventurous. But unknown to Naomi, her dearest friend carries a secret that will plummet them both down paths they never could have fathomed.

Taka, too, has his secrets. Naomi struggles to know if Taka truly is the right one for her, or if she must tear her heart away and dutifully enter the arranged marriage. Perhaps she can grow to love her betrothed. Naomi is faced with a difficult and not-so-obvious choice.

A Kiss in Kyoto is a sweet romantic suspense from first-time novelist Kumiko Olson.