Thank you Penguin group Putnam for the ARC for my honest review.

This book may have not been the best read for me, as I am really picky with time travel/alternate universe etc., especially in the romance genre. When i go on a space time continuum adventure with my MC, I really need to enjoy my time with them. And I didn't connect to our heroine, Her professional life is in the dumpster, but she has a great relationship with her mom and best friend. And her arch nemesis from high school, Jake, will be at her best friends wedding. She is not looking forward to seeing him because he is a thriving talk show host, and she had to give up her acting dreams because of a tragedy that happened after her prom. A prom where here and Jake did not kiss. But at her best friend's wedding, Liv enters some sort of fever dream where suddenly she is in a universe where her and Jake did kiss at prom. And now they are married, she is a famous actress, but her best friend and mom have severed their ties with her.

So, back to not connecting with Liv. I feel like there was a lot of telling and not showing in this character. I didn't get a sense of who she was as a person, and what she wanted out of life. I especially did not feel invested in the romance. I liked the dog though.

Rating: ⭑⭑⭑.5

This was a cute story! To be honest, I was very confused at the beginning and found myself having to re-read it because I was that confuse! 😅 The story is giving 13 going on 30 and Freaky Friday vibes! Lol. Really give you the perspective of “what life” in life. What if I did this a different way? Will the outcome be different? Will I like the result? That sort of thing.

Lives life is a HOT MESS but being brought to an alternate universe and showing her how her life could be if she have chosen a different path for herself. Being married to her rival Jake but not having a relationship ship with her best friend and her mom. Will she choose to stay in the current universe? Honestly though, I found myself saying “why not stay in the current universe you’re in and just fix what needs fixing?” 🤷🏻‍♀️

I love the banter between Liv and Jake! I was swooning over him! I also love Liv’s relationship with her mom and her bestfriend. All in all, this is a cute and fun read!

I thought this book was a cute, easy read. I liked the concept of Liv traveling to another reality and seeing what her life could have been like had she kissed Jake at prom. This is definitely one of those reads I don't have to pay all that much attention to, or that I read in between heavy, dense fantasy books as a palate cleanser. Overall it was sweet, and I enjoyed reading it.

I usually love an alternate reality story, but this felt a bit clunky. The reasoning why Olivia transferred back and forth never made sense and I feel we never got real clarity on why some of her relationships (namely with her mom) struggled so much. I also wish we got a bit of an epilogue that showed what she learned/how she fixed her present. The romance in this was hard to get into since I didn’t see it before the swap and then it’s thrust on us. This was just ok.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a super cute and swoonworthy read. If you enjoy classic romances like When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle, I can almost guarantee you will love this book!

Read if you like 90s rom coms
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↠ 3.5 stars ⭐️

This was cute! I always love stories like this—ones that explore the impact that the choices in our lives have, and how one decision can alter the trajectory of our lives entirely. This has always been a theme/storyline that I enjoy and find incredibly thought-provoking.

At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the main character. Olivia annoyed me at the start. She was mean and hated Jake for absolutely no reason, and I found it to be quite childish. But, she did grow on me a bit eventually. However, I loved sweet Jake from the beginning, as well as his and Olivia’s banter.

While I liked this, I did feel like there were a few plot holes and things left unexplained. There were a few things that could have been explored a little deeper, such as reasons why certain relationships deteriorated and what really triggered the alternate reality. And I was really bummed there was no epilogue! I was left wanting more.

Regardless, this was a fun, cute, and thought-provoking read. Fans of TJR’s Maybe In Another Life and 13 Going on 30 would love this!

Big thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kate's writing is lyrical and evocative, with vivid descriptions that bring the small town setting to life. From the sun-dappled streets to the starry nights, she captures the sensory experience of adolescence in a way that is both nostalgic and immersive. Through Olivia's eyes, readers are transported to a world of first kisses, stolen glances, and the exhilarating rush of young love.

At its core, "What's in a Kiss" is a story about the transformative power of love and the courage it takes to open your heart to another person. It celebrates the beauty of human connection and the profound impact it can have on our lives. Whether you're a hopeless romantic or simply looking for a heartwarming read, "What's in a Kiss" is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart.

***Thank you to Putnam Books, NetGalley, and author Lauren Kate for this advance read***

My Grade: C ⭐️⭐️⭐️ An overall interesting premise, but too many plot holes that became very distracting and ending up making this a difficult and confusing read.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of 5. Very steamy and some graphic sexual scenes, but fortunately didn't get too pornographic.

***A few spoilers below***

The Good:
-The alternate universe trope is one of my favorites.
-Enemies to lovers. Another great trope.
-The chemistry between Olivia and Jake in the "High Life" was strong. Very sexy!
-Jake in the "High Life" really had me crushing! His thoughtfulness, the way he worried about Olivia, and how the character genuinely loved his wife was a beautiful thing to read. The sweet moments of them together really saved this book for me and I absolutely wanted more.
-Gram Parsons had me smiling so much. When Olivia gets to the "High Life", I could feel her pain, and the reunion....I had tears in my eyes!

The Meh:
-Way too many confusing plot points and situations. I had to go back multiple times to see if I missed something because the reasoning as to why Masha and Olivia's mom literally hated her in the "High Life" made absolute zero sense. This was just one of many, and I feel that this just brought down my overall enjoyment of the book.
-Olivia in the "real life", especially her interactions with Jake, was pretty terrible. Her character very unlikeable and cruel, and it was only when the story got past the halfway point that her character finally had redemption.
-I wish the sex didn't happen. The book was pretty sexy without it, and the slow burn was lovely. I think the sex scene happened out of nowhere and the story would have been better without it.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up!

The banter and chemistry between Olivia + Jake had me giggling and kicking my feet. Jake is so charming and endearing. You can really feel the love he has for Olivia. I also enjoyed the LA setting—I grew up in SoCal and it was fun to recognize so many references in the book.

The transition to “High Life” (alternate reality) was confusing. I had to reread the previous chapter because I had no idea what was going on, but it made a lot more sense towards the end of the book. I also thought it was a bit outlandish how quickly she came to the conclusion of who was responsible for what was happening to her.

I didn’t quite understand the reason why Olivia was estranged to her mom. Or why she’s not friends with Masha in High Life. I get that they had a falling out after Olivia moved to NY, but I found it weird that Masha and her family hated Olivia so much. So that part could’ve been elaborated more.

Was this book perfect? No, but I’m willing to overlook some of the plot issues because this was a hilarious, entertaining, and quick read that I finished in one day. It made me reflect on how a simple moment can alter the trajectory of my entire life. Everything happens the way it’s meant to.

I would recommend this book if you’re a fan of The Good Part by Sophie Cousens.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A must-read enemies to lovers magical alternate reality masterpiece!

Olivia is content with her life in LA. Sure, she lost her job as a middle school drama teacher, but she’s been picking up odd jobs until she can find something. She’s been able to make her rent so far for her tiny apartment that she loves. She does a podcast with her mom who she adores. And she is in the midst of planning her best friend’s perfect wedding. The only real issue is that the best man just happens to be Jake Glasswell, her enemy from high school. The one who tried to best her on all her extracurricular activities and who didn’t kiss her at prom.

Enter Jake, the unbelievably handsome and successful New York talk show host beloved by America and hated by Olivia. He just happens to enter back into her life by way of Uber which she happens to be driving before the wedding to make some extra cash. They clash as always up until the wedding day then the bride and groom kiss and then everything changes.

Olivia walked into the wedding her usual self and leaves as a completely different person. In this alternate reality, Olivia did kiss Jake on prom night and this set off a sequence of events where Jake is currently the love of her life but everything else is so very different.

This lovely story is so relatable! Don’t we all have those what if’s in life? Where we wonder what could have been if we made a different choice at a pivotable moment? Well Olivia gets that chance, and Lauren Kate does a phenomenal job of portraying her bittersweet journey of self-discovery with the understanding that true love exists in any universe.

Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐️s

LOVES:
- Combining last names when getting married, neat ☺️
- Watching her stumble through an alternate reality is so cringy and sweet and fun
- “upside down in a hotel desk chair”??? 😂🫣
- Silver is the worst, but Fenny is the best
- When she just jumps into the ocean 🩵🌊
- Seeing the beauty of marriage ♥️ wanting to be around someone even when you’re mad and all the little things

“He meets my eyes. He reaches for my hands. He takes the time to receive the compliment. Like a man. Emotionally available. Hot as hell.”

CRITIQUES:
- They end up going days as a married couple without kissing and, as a married person, I can’t imagine doing that
- It felt like there was a very long time spent getting back to her “real life” and then not enough time spent there once she made it.

Thanks to @netgalley for the eARC. Book releases on July 1st.

This book was really cute and I enjoyed reading it. I will definitely be recommending this book to anyone who likes a good enemies to lover book.

Surprisingly this was the first book I've read by Lauren Kate even though I've had her on my shelf for years. What's in a Kiss? did not disappoint.
The main story of the book relies on the phrase “what if?” in Liv’s life. What if she had made entirely different choices after the almost kiss with her enemy Jake on prom night? What if she followed her true dreams? While the storyline kept me fixed and intrigued, with great humor and plot as well as an amazing romance (i found myself sighing and falling in love with them, Jake really is a catch!), what got through me the most was the relationship between the female characters. I felt so emotional reading about Liv and her mom, and her friendship with Masha was especially great. I found myself rooting for these women all the time. These characters connected so well and, even with all the problems in their way, you could feel the hurt and the love they shared on another level.
I adored this book and cannot wait for it to come out!

As I started this book, I was really excited by the back and forth, witty banter between the two main characters. It definitely had a great enemies to lovers vibe to start, but sadly that is not an accurate description of the book in general. Once whatever happens and the main character, Olivia, is transported to another dimension (I’m honestly still unclear on how we think this happened) the enemies to lovers aspect completely goes away. Jake turned into a insta-lovey character that I frankly felt I didn’t really know. Her mom and best friend were mad at her, but neither of them seemed to have much justification in it. When Jake refers to her mom as being toxic in the alternate universe, I agreed- nothing she did warranted not speaking to your kid. Honestly, this was an ok read, but the book I REALLY wanted to read was in another dimension. I will still try additional books by this author though because when the banter was there, it was excellent. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

I absolutely adored this book.

Right from the beginning, you get a really good feeling for the characters and their connections to each other. I liked all of the characters, and I especially liked how they built into something deeper and more complex as the story moved along. The twists were compelling and exciting, and the romance was very sweet (and a just a little spicy). And the end? Excellent. It had the sort of warm and optimistic finale that the very best rom coms hope for.

This feels like it will easily become a comfort book, the kind with the worn out cover that never quite closes all the way because of how many weekends you spend re-reading it, or tucking it into your bag to take to work, just in case. I will absolutely be adding it to my collection and, honestly, can't wait to find some time to read it again.

First, I want to say thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for this ARC! I was so excited to read this and it really did not disappoint at all.

What's in a Kiss? Was one of the cutest books I have read this year or even in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and it even made me cry, which is seriously saying something!!!

I absolutely loved the premise of this book - basically think "A Christmas Carol" getting to see the way your life would played out if you did something different but only one glimpse, and it takes place in LA. Olivia's best friend is getting married and during the wedding ceremony, something shifts and her life flips to what things would be if she had kissed Jake Glasswell as their prom. Sorry, I meant to mention that Jake is also her "nemesis", so there is a little bit of an enemies to lovers vibe as well. I have yet to read a book with this kind of story line and like I said, it was such a treat!

I loved Jake and Olivia together. Getting to see how in love with her he was in her "high life" was so cute and swoon worthy. It's weird to think that one small detail of something in your life can change everything else so drastically. Olivia loved the way that Jake loved her in her "high life" but at what cost? Because in this alternate realm her best friend and mother despise her. Olivia has to choose between true love or the love of her friend and family. Or does she?

If you are a romance lover, this book is a must! Seriously, the ending had me crying with how Olivia was talking about what she might have to give up. I'm so glad I read this book and will be recommending it to anyone and everyone!

“In love with you. Here. There. Everywhere. All the where's in all the worlds. Always.”

This book was not for me. The story was really great, and I know many people are going to love it! I struggled with it because the plot just felt slow. I will still be recommending it to my friends who enjoy romance books to give it a try.

Overall, this was a fun read, and I wanted to love it, but some things fell flat for me. I didn't feel connected to the protagonist. She spent too much time initially obsessing over Jake negatively, which made me dislike her a bit. After the "life switch", I still didn't warm up to her. Olivia didn't do anything to make me want to root for her, she continued to be her selfish self throughout the book.

While none of this is "real", her relationship with Jake in her "dream life" was just too unrealistic. A guy who is so in love with her would absolutely notice how differently she's acting, and it would become a discussion point. Jake just waved it off like no big deal. They seemed to be pretty intimate/obsessed with each other, so it just felt odd to me that Jake wouldn't point that out when she kept rebuffing his advances.

Also, how could you explain your "real life" to people in your "dream life"? They would not sit down and listen to you as if you are speaking rationally.

Certain plot points definitely needed to be fleshed out more, and I would have liked more character development for Olivia & her personal relationships with her mom and Masha.

I did love Jake and his banter with Olivia in the "dream life".

I appreciate the opportunity to review this book! 3.5 stars from me.

I have mixed feelings about this book. In the beginning I was very put off by Olivia. She was too much of a hot mess.

Once she switched timelines I got really into it, and i was totally rooting for Olivia. However, I still can only give it 3 stars, because there are some things that just really bothered me.

I liked the premise of the book, and Jake was an awesome male protagonist. Olivia won me over in the end as well, but I was bothered by the fact that she apparently sucked in the timeline where her dreams came true. I didn't like that Jake was a perfect guy in both timelines, but Olivia was--a diva, I guess? The author doesn't specify.

I also really wished there had been an epilogue so we could read about them being together in the original timeline.

Despite my complaints I would definitely read another book by this author. I thought Olivia and Jake had great chemistry, and I enjoyed some of the humor.

I love Lauren Kate's books and have been a huge fan for years. This book takes the cake! I love love loved this! This was such a great book and I love the concept of how much different life would be if this or that had happened. This story was told to perfection. 5 star read for me.
I just reviewed What's in a Kiss? by Lauren Kate. #WhatsinaKiss #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]