This was my first book by Marie Harte and I very much wanted to read it based on the blurb. Unfortunately this was a DNF read for me. I was unable to get into the story or the characters. I have a strict 40% policy - never give up on a book until then and it has served me well in the past.. This time It did not.

This book is advertized as being a standalone, but I quickly realized it had to be a sequel of sorts, because it referred to a whole cast of characters as if they'd already been introduced. This was very confusing at first and it made it a little difficult to get into the book. As a rule, I try not to read series out of order, so I didn't appreciate this.

While there were aspects of this book that I enjoyed, the interactions between the two MCs just filled me with secondhand embarrassment, they felt so forced and awkward. Which is the last thing a romance novel should achieve.

And if these were my only problems, this book would still have been an okay read. Not a new favourite, but not a terrible book either. But honestly, I had a slew of other problems, some small, some bigger, and the book was a hot mess.

Whilst this book did have it's faulty moments, I adored it no matter what. The two main characters were definitely a very random pairing and I clicked a lot more with Rena than I did Axel - his hard and tough demeanour definitely didn't have me weak at the knees, more like many eye rolls, however, he treated Rena like a Queen nonetheless and for that, the romance was really something.

[ I received an arc on Netgalley in return for an honest review.]

'The kissing game' is a cute, and fluffy contemporary that follows Rena Jackson and Axel Heller as they navigate their relationship whilst also dealing with issues thrown their way.

I really enjoyed seeing Rena and Axel's relationship grow as the book progressed, and I thought they were absolutely perfect for each other. Rena was a really relatable character, and I loved how close she was with her family.

The author tries to tackle many important issues like racism and abuse in this novel, and I felt like they were pretty well done as a whole.

However, the sexual tension/references were a little too much for me at times, and I would have preferred if it had been somewhat toned down.

Rating: 3/5

I hate to say this, but this book ended up in my DNF pile and that has never happened with this author. I absolutely loved the Veterans Movers series but this one just fell short for me. I couldn't get into the plot, nor could I connect with the characters. Sorry to say that this book wasn't what I thought it would be. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

I really enjoyed the characters for the most part, especially the male MC. He was super sweet and awkward and there were definite language/cultural barriers occasionally which lead to really funny awkward moments that showed he had a good heart. But the story could’ve been so much better - it had a lot of potential but just fell a little flat for me. It was mainly told from his and hers dual POV but there were 2 spots (I think only 2) where there was a 3rd random POV thrown in and it totally threw it off for me. Also, it was more of a drama romance than I was expecting from the cover because it dealt with fighting/bar brawls/gang violence, past tense domestic/child abuse, race, and white supremacists. Overall it was pretty fun, adorably awkward, but just also felt all over the place. I’m not disappointed but I’m not blown away...

And the award for the most falsely advertised novel of the year goes to... The Kissing Game!

The cover says chick lit and implies diversity so, I'll tackle those two things first.

This is not chick lit. If you want a better idea of the type of ‘romance’ the book is, check out Harte’s other title covers. They all suit. This book doesn’t say it’s part of Body Shop Bad Boy or Power Up! series (oh dear) but, apparently, the same characters appear and they’re all the series are connected somewhere along the line.

The characters do ramble on about the fact the heroine reads lots of romance books. This apparently makes her intelligent and a true romantic (huh?). However, there’s no cute pop culture references throughout (or even any mention of what books are the heroine's favourites), so it’s hardly an exciting plot point or characterisation which might get the book included on a chick lit tag. In fact it seemed irrelevant and more something for the hero to say, ‘omg that makes her even hotter’ about.

So, why did the publisher/author opt for this cover this time around? Sales, I assume.

Which, I assume, might be the same reason Harte decided to also play the diversity card with her heroine. Yes, the heroine is introduced as a POC (in passing really) but any racism or topical issues which might have been included because of her heritage certainly weren't evident by the time I tossed the book onto my DNF pile. Meanwhile the hero is German and we know this because Harte throws in an annoying amount of basic German words to demonstrate this (*rolls eyes*).

The blurb was also false advertising. It promises an original sweet and sassy romantic idea and even erroneously calls the hero ‘tall dark and handsome’. When the publisher can’t even get that smallest detail right, we know we're off to a bad start.

Yes, yes, I suppose there’s nothing technically wrong with this type of book. If characters being attracted physically to each other but barely saying two words to each other and therefore, having nothing in common personality-wise is your thing, go for it. (In fact, until I stopped reading, most of the conversations the two leads had were with other people who must have been characters from previous books, meaning I got to read how those characters found their respective partners physically attractive too. *yawn*)

For me though, there’s nothing interesting about two people having thinky thoughts about how hot someone of the opposite sex is for chapters on end.

There was definitely no real plot conflict by the time I gave up. Oh, the hero is apparently quiet and not very romantic (case in point was that he asks her out for coffee for their first date instead of a full-on romantic dinner... w.t.f.) and probably doesn't want a serious relationship (I couldn't quite work out how the heroine came to this conclusion) but none of these things does a conflict make.

Even the label of hot romance was falsely advertised. I hadn’t gotten to any sex scenes yet but I reckon I probably dodged a bullet because the leads had zero chemistry. Truly, for someone with such a large back catalogue of romance books, Harte’s attempt at sexual chemistry and her descriptions of kissing (which I did get to) fell flat and weren’t very good overall.

The final moment of false advertising is the book's price. Okay, okay… If (big if) you had some free time, this book might be okay (but I have a zillion things to read, so I’m opting out). I’m sure (considering how many books Harte seems to sell) some people will think this type of romance is right up their alley. But, given the interchangeable characters and basic plot and overly coarse tone, I think a couple of bucks would be more realistic a price to pay and not the RRP of around $16.

1 out of 5 DNF

I was really excited to receive an ARC of this book, but struggled with the story. I have not read any other books by this author, and felt lost from the get-go. Perhaps it would be better for those who have read related books? Also, I found the synopsis quite different than the book itself, and unfortunately, had some trouble relating to the characters and the story.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book-- I didn't really connect with the story, and some of the racial issues/representation made it feel like the author could have benefited from a sensitivity reader. Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Cute, fun read. Main characters a black woman and a huge German guy, who made me giggle to no end since this a reflection of a past relationship of mind. Axel is the sweetest tough guy ever written. He protects others, is supportive of his employees and friends, and kicks racist butt! Rena is bartender turned hair salon owner who is a strong, independent black woman who doesn't need no man....but if Axel is offering? Harte takes us from a crush to the perfect Valentine, with just the right amount of drama along the way.

**I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review."
There were a lot of issues with this book. The disparate descriptions of the hero, the violence and cover up, and the total lack of chemistry.
The blurb sounded so good but the book did not live up to it. I really wanted to love it but I didn't. The meet cure was great. The writing style was awkward. There were some other parts that I enjoyed but overall. this book was just not for me.

I liked the light read of this book. The characters (Rena) wasn’t very relatable so I had a hard time connecting to her. I also found the writing a bit difficult because it wasn’t clear whose point of view we were following. Maybe a chapter title with that characters name would have helped that. I also didn’t read any of her other books, so I’m assuming this is a follow up (based off her dedication page) so maybe that’s why I felt some things were missing for me. Overall, it was a nice simple read.

unfortunately this one just didn't work for me. i just didn't click with the characters or the story.

I wanted to love this one so much, but I just didn't. The premise was cute. The diversity was refreshing. But overall, it just didn't work for me. Axel was too masculine, dominant, cave man for me. Some of the dialogue was cringey, the story arc with Fletcher was, honestly ridiculous. Racism is very prevalent. Sexism is prevalent. But this was just not done well. I considered DNF but I pushed through in the hopes it improved. It didn't.

2.5 rounded to 3

I am giving this a 1 star but being honest that I DNF at 5%. Nothing about the cover or the blurb makes me think this story might cover racism or tackling white power/supremacists. I don't feel comfortable reading a book with a character of color tackling racism written by an author who is not a person of color. I don't feel like that is her story to tell. I am disappointed and will not be reading this book.
Editing to add: The term "Heil Hitler" has no place in a romance novel. I am not sure what rational person who cares about people of color would EVER use that term to describe "skinheads" or white power groups or white supremacists. Please, do better.

This was a sweet, steamy novel but definitely one that I did not love. I don't think Axel and Rena made a good match. For her to be such a sweet person, I think he was too hot headed and violent to be with her.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy!

An enjoyable addition to the series. It was sweet and funny with some heat. It can be read as a stand alone but the interactions with friends and family will be enhanced if the reader is familiar with them.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book! I gave this book a 3 star rating... As far as pure sexual chemistry, this book has it! Steamy love sessions and two people that are fully in love! The story is not super deep, and is a very light, romantic read. I loved the family dynamic and the love between the mother and daughter, but I struggled with having a deep connection with Axel and Rena as individuals. The intense violence in this book also threw me off guard, as well as the bits of diversity which seemed very out of place.

2 stars
I fond this one a little slow and hard to get into. The writing was hard for me to follow. Rena was not my favorite either,

This was my first book by Marie Harte, this one wasn't for me. I just couldn't get into it, I also wasn't a fan of Rena she made no sense to me. I didn't mind Axel even the random German words didn't really both me. I just didn't feel they were a good match.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ACR, I voluntarily read and reviewed.