DNF. I couldn't get into this, and then I discovered that there's a strange POC MC/white author issue that spoke volumes.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This book had potential in being a good romance book. But it was too boring to read through. It's terrible to say but I truly got bored at times while reading it. It felt like people was talking than doing in my opinion.

I must admit this wasn't my favourite by Marie Hart but it was still enjoyable. I was really exciting about the concept of the story but it just did not hit the mark for me as much as I hate to say 🙈

Unfortunately I cannot say much more without giving away aspects of the story.

Cute love story with fun characters. Gets a bit stale in the second half though. Made me laugh a few times.

I love books that are centered around a bet or a fake relationship, and this one was really good! This has all the elements, including a hot romance and humor. What's not to love?

Loved Axel a lot. I read this via audiobook, which I would recommend because you have his accent and the broken English. I loved his humour a lot and oh my, his dirty talk!
I found this book to be a sexy rom-com, with some issues added in. There were a number of times I LOL'd. The dog & cat & Axel's denial of the cat. The funny gifts he gave Rena, including the ones he just didn't understand (Charlie Crown and the Animal Singers.)
Loved the friends of both main characters. (Note: even though this can be read as a stand alone, I'd definitely recommend reading the prior books to have an idea of the side characters but also the little bits of the main characters you get throughout the series.)
Both main characters have issues to deal with before they can make a good relationship work. Rena & her mom & past (father absent). Axel & his anger issues & family.

Unfortunately, the cover change should not have happened with this book. Going from what the previous book covers to an illustrated one wasn't the best move...IMO.
There were times that Rena's woe is me got on my nerves, waiting for him to ask her out instead of doing it herself.
The racism plot was odd to have in the story. I felt like it wasn't really needed. Yes, the main female character was Black but she didn't need to have those racists in her life to make this story work.

It took me forever to get through this book, and it was a hurdle.
I loved the premise and the cover was so fun, I felt like I was promised a fun and quirky romance.
Unfortunately, this book was just weird. The author made really bizarre choices regarding race, and it seems like this was an attempt to jump on the diversity bandwagon - but without any tact, thought, or research?
It was so difficult to connect with the heroine. And don't get me started on the white-savior generic hero.

This book was a huge mess!! The synopsis made me think the book had such promise... But it just fell flat. Very boring.

I started this but unfortunately couldn’t get into the story
Might revisit it later on
But for now it’s a DNF

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. No, No, No. Someone has jumped on the Racism train and is trying to milk it for all it's worth. The fact that one of the main characters is black and that her love interest is being recruited by white supremacists....no, no, no.

A quick read with some steamy scenes! Finished it in one day. Trigger warning for mentions of rape, domestic violence, racism and bigotry.

This is the most recently published book in a series, but I have not read any of the other books, so whenever it made a significant reference to another character, I was a little lost. That being said, that is always rewarding if you HAVE read the other books in the series.

This particular book fell a little flat for me. There isn't a lot of dimension to the characters and they seem to waiver in what they want throughout the novel, going from having a good time to a quick mood swing that doesn't always feel deserved. Also, I am always a little skeptical about white authors writing from the perspective of a BIPOC character...

Thank you for an advance copy of these book. I realized a few chapters in that this book is connected to some of Harte’s earlier books. I’m going to put this one down for now and return to it once I’ve read the other books!

Unfortunately, big NO for this book for me :(
And I'm sad about it. Had some expectations due to the appealing blurb and the book was nothing like it.

Rena Jackson and Axel Heller are secretly attracted to each other but they're reluctant to tell the other as they feel they're too different.

The blurb seemed interesting, but once I started I found it difficult to continue after the first few chapters. The blurb and the story didn't seem to match. The diversity angle seemed forced. Also, though this book is supposed to be a standalone, there were a whole host of characters who were referred to like they were well known. I later realized this book is part of a series.

Overall, I just couldn't connect with this book. I give it 3 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I hate to say it, but I didn't enjoy this story at all. The characters left a lot to be desired, the diversity aspect seemed forced and it just seemed very out of touch.

As always, thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the free copy of this book. Though I was given a copy, all thoughts in this review are my own.

After finishing the book, I wanted to see how others liked it. I was met with a lot of DNF reviews, which I thought was interesting.

The Kissing Game's heroine, Rena, is finally opening her own salon, so she's quitting her bartending gig at Ray's. Axel is a brutish, German viking-man who has always had a thing for Rena but never made a move. The book chronicles the struggles they have while trying to figure out their relationship, all the while Axel is wooing Rena in an attempt to be together before Valentine's Day.

I'll be honest, though I finished the book (unlike many, many others), I had a lot of issues with the writing. First, I didn't realize that this book was in the same universe as many of the author's other books. So they made references to characters and their personalities that I didn't understand because I didn't know this was part of that ecosystem. Had I known that, I probably would've started with the first book to better understand the characters.

I felt that the book itself jumped around a lot and both Rena and Axel made me mad throughout. Their weird fights, his constant gifting, wanting to have a God complex and only protector. If this wasn't a book and I had a friend have this happening to her in real life, I would've told her to run.

The steamy scenes were a bit cringe sometimes. I love a good Romance novel, but this one just wasn't for me. I wouldn't recommend it to friends.

DID NOT FINISH. This book was poorly advertised. I requested what looked like a cute and charming interracial romance, and instead got a cringy horribly awkward book where the Black heroine is harassed by a white supremacist with a violent fetish obsession with her. where her love interest is a violent white German hero who the white supremacists attempt to recruit. everything about this is awful and cringe inducing and makes me wonder what the publishers were thinking, much less the author, who should know better or ask sources who do.
why weren't sensitivity readers use to warn the white author how disgusting and offensive so many parts of this book were????
I have zero interest in trying to read more of this. I am very sorry I read what I did, and will not be reading anything else by this author ever.

This was a really cute rom-com book. I loved the characters and their relationships with each other. I highly recommend!

2.5 stars for The Kissing Game.

I felt incredibly meh about this book. It felt like I had jumped into a series midstream and had no idea what was going on. I have read some of Marie Harte's prior work and thought it was fine, but I was mostly excited for this based on the cover and description, and I don't feel like the text lived up to the hype.

Axel Heller is literally Romance Novel level handsome (he becomes a cover model in this book), and Rena is a diehard romantic, whom he's been pining over without making a move towards for months.

The racist subplot was gross, in my opinion. I found that and the mothers, both Rena's and Axel's backstories distracting.

I enjoyed the animals.