Overall, the book is cute. reminds me a lot of 13 going on 30 vibes. The book however felt really slow and then really rushed, also the jumping of realities was just really confusing and that made it difficult to follow. I typically love books with the butterfly-affect (how one event can change your whole life!) but this one just didn't do it for me. It felt confusing and left me with a lot of questions and no answers. The ending felt incomplete.

You'll enjoy if you like enemies to lovers tropes, banter between the main characters, and an alternate reality plot line.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Book is released on 7/2/2024!

Olivia’s life has not gone as planned. And her nemesis, Jake, has it all. He’s a popular TV personality everyone adores. When Liv’s best friend marries Jake’s best friend, the two will reunite for the first time since high school. After the vows, Liv is transported to a parallel reality where Jake is the love of her life and all her acting dreams have come true. Olivia is faced with evaluating the significance of her choices and decisions.

The book gave me 13 Going on 30 vibes. I enjoyed the premise of truly how much our decisions affect our lives and their outcomes. The pacing was inconsistent. It started out slow, but then felt rushed. So rushed that it left me with questions. Overall, it was a cute story.

✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! If you're a fan of Catherine Center, add this book to your TBR immediately. It made me laugh out loud, it broke my heart, and it made me think about what is really important in life. There was banter, love, and soul mates of every kind- friends, mother and daughter, and romantic- and it was all written beautifully, with a hint of the best kind of sarcasm.

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

What if you had to choose between a life where you have no job, no love, but a best friend and sister who you couldn't imagine life without and a life where you have your dream job and a soul mate who you love with everything you are? Olivia is put in that position in this beautiful and witty story about choosing the life that you love and being brave enough to go out and get it.

"Without them, a flat tire would lay me low. But with their support, I could navigate a four-tire-blowout on the Autobahn, backwards and upside down."

✨ Enemies to Lovers
✨ Best Friends = Soul Mates
✨ Strong Female Relationships
✨ Parallel Universe

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🔥 Spice Rating: 💗 with a little extra

"The only way to love eternally is to love now."

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Kate for the opportunity to read this amazing book in exchange for my honest review.


Spice Rating
🤍 clean romance
💗 closed door/ fade to black
❤️ sexual content
❤️‍🔥 explicit, play-by-play
🖤 graphic, more than vanilla

****THIS IS A NETGALLEY ARC REVIEW****

I thought this book was super cute. It had heartwarming moments and was definitely comedic, and I loved the FMC’s thought process.

That being said, I didn’t love the pacing of the book, and felt that we took too long to get to the real plot and then after it felt a little rushed. I also didn’t enjoy the fact that we don’t really know why certain things in the “High Life” world happened, and it felt like there were plot holes.

Cute and fun romcom. I did feel that it could have used more depth / explanations as to where and what was going on. Thanks for the arc

“Here. There. Everywhere. All the wheres in all the worlds. Always.“ 🥹

‘What’s in a Kiss?’ was such a cute enemies to lovers romance. If you love 13 Going on 30, you will love this book! It’s about Olivia and Jake and a prom kiss that almost happened and a chance for Olivia to experience an alternate world where it did.

Things I loved:
-the banter and chemistry between Jake and Olivia
-Olivia’s relationship with her mom and best friend
-the Last name nicknames

Things I didn’t love:
-the ending - it was so cute and I wanted more! I wish there was an epilogue.
-the plot holes in the alternate universe. I was confused a lot. Especially with what happened with Masha and Olivia’s mom. That was never answered.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

had a hard time pushing through it, The writing style was not my favorite. I wish there was an epilogue and it felt rushed. It was super cute but overall not my favorite.

What's in a Kiss? by Lauren Kate intricately weaves the magic of second chances and parallel universes into a delightful tale of love and self-discovery. As Olivia, a furloughed drama teacher, faces her high school rival, Jake Glasswell, at her best friend's wedding, a chance encounter catapults her into an alternate reality where a long-lost prom night kiss sparks a different life with Jake as the love of her life. The novel skillfully blends enemies-to-lovers dynamics with humor, banter, and swoon-worthy moments, making Liv and Jake's journey both nostalgic and endearing. While the supporting characters, particularly Liv's relationships with her best friend Masha and her mom Lorena, add warmth to the narrative, the intrigue of parallel universes and unanswered questions leave readers pondering the significance of choices and love. Overall, What's in a Kiss? is a sweet and whimsical exploration of unexpected love, inviting readers to reflect on the magic of second chances.

Jake Glasswell is Liv's Lyft passenger. He was once her high school nemesis and prom date, who humiliated her.
He's now a successful TV personality and very attractive. Liv's life has not gone to plan. This weekend they are the maid of honor and best man of their best friend's wedding. But when her best friend says "I DO", Liv is suddenly living in an alternate world where Jake is the love of her life.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What's in a Kiss follows the 13 Going on 30 storyline of what could have been if just one moment was changed. I think this concept is just so fascinating and the fact that Olivia's (our main character) "fairy godmother" like figure was a high yogi added to the humor of this life altering world. This was fun, it was heartbreaking, it was charming, it was warm, it just pulled your heart strings in every which way. Olivia was an easy character to root for as she so desperately wants to fix her life, but she learns that there are upsides and downsides to every moment and choice.

The romance in this novel was sweet and nauseating in a good way, I just wish we saw more of the "Real" Olivia and Jake because that storyline was so interesting and their enemies to lovers plot line was entertaining. I honestly would not have been mad if this novel was a bit longer to include an epilogue or even cut down on the other world life that Olivia experiences. One thing that constantly got on my nerves was the fact that we never truly got an answer as to why this other world Olivia has burned bridges with her mom and best friend. It was avoided and it felt like I was constantly being strung along, not fully paying attention to Olivia and Jake's storyline because I was trying to figure out this mysterious fallout she had. Especially because this novel promotes such strong female friendships, I would have liked to see some sort of realization and clarity as to what occurred.

Overall though, I loved the concept and the characters, I got attached to them easily and just wanted more from them! 13 Going on 30 was one of my favorite rom-coms growing up, so seeing it in this light was a dazzling time.

What's in a Kiss is bit predictable, but I really enjoyed the self realization that the main character goes through.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I want to start by saying thank you so much to Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of What's in a Kiss? in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love the alternative universe/what if type of storyline. It's what immediately drew me to request this book. We don't really get to this piece of the storyline until 30-40% into the book, which felt slow. However, once we get there, the book really picks up when Olivia and Jake are together. Goodness, these two are lovely together and it was the element of the book that I enjoyed the most.

On one hand, the first third of the book felt slow - like we were spending too much setting up for the AU move, and then when we get to the AU, some parts of it felt rushed. I think the book would have really benefited from an epilogue. The last moment of the book was so wonderful that it felt abrupt when I went to the next page and found the book was done. Considering what struggles we'd just experienced Olivia and Jake going through in their alternative universe, it would have been nice to have a bit more resolution knowing which struggles they still faced back in their own timeline versus and which never came to fruition.

I've never read anything by this author and I thought the synopsis sounded so cute so I decided to give it a shot. I think this story was so adorable and pulled on my heart strings. Can't wait to check out the author's backlist and see what else they plan to write. Thank you again for the advance copy.

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Summary: Our main female character, Olivia, is planning her best friend, Masha's wedding. The best man to the groom is Jake, her high school nemesis along with her prom date who humiliated her years ago. Since that night, nothing in her life has ever gone as planned, especially when her dad died and never went to school to follow her dreams. It has been a total of ten years since that one night and something in that one night, as she watches her best friend get married, she stares into Jake's eyes and realizes everything has changed, the world has somehow shifted. The only downfall, Masha and her mom don't particularly like it.

With this story, I am not gonna lie, I had a hard time pushing through it, The writing style was not my favorite and I think I'm just not a huge fan of contemporary romances at this point. Plus Olivia was just a hot mess in general and I had a hard time connecting and liking her character. Jake was a sweetheart though.

What's in a Kiss? is my first book by author Lauren Kate. I really enjoyed her writing style and the premise of the book.

It did take me a few chapters (about 20%) to really get into the storyline and characters. But, overall I really enjoyed it and thought it was a unique take on romance and second chances.

I will say I am a total sucker for the “what if I did one thing different and everything changed” plot and an alternate universe, so Whats In a Kiss was right up my alley.

This enemies to lovers, second chance romance was so cute and a great light hearted rom-com- the perfect pallet cleanser for those of us who also like to dabble in the dark romance department, but need a little breather in between!

I really liked the magical feel and all the funny/clever banter. While, Olivia was just a hot mess (hey girl, I totally get it!) Jake definitely carried the book. He was just soo sweet and easy to love.

My only complaint is, I needed more explanations of things…. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to give anything away, so let’s just say… “but why?! What happened?”

Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🫑

I was dazzled by this book. It has everything I want in a romance comedy. We start off the book as Liv is preparing for her best friend’s wedding. She’s the maid of honor and the best man is the high school rival that she almost shared a kiss with on prom night. Now he’s famous, and she deferred Juilliard and drives for Lyft. When her best friends say “I do” Liv is transported to another reality. A reality where she and Jake have been in love since high school and she’s the famous one. Perfect, except for her best friend isn’t talking to her and something is up with her relationship with her mom too! What’s in a kiss? In Liv and Jake’s world it is everything. To put it simply I adored this book.

This was a cute read and perfect for your next poolside/beachy vacation. You definitely have to suspend your grasp on reality and lean into the alternate reality trope, but this was super cute and overall a really enjoyable read.

What's in a Kiss? stars Liv and Jake, who met in high school, and are reunited for their respective best friend's wedding. Ten years have past since high school but yet neither have fully moved on from their feelings. At the moment their friends are about to get married, Liv is taken to an alternate reality where her life has taken a different course. She are Jake are married, her career is extremely successful, but she is no longer close with her best friend or mom

Personally, I struggle with books that include alternate realities but Lauren Kate did a good job with this one. The chemistry between Liv and Jake was palpable and it was interesting to read how Liv was navigating this new reality. Liv learned somethings about herself and her relationships and was able to implement them once returning to reality.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A decade since high school, 'most likely to succeed' Olivia Dusk's life is not what she planned while her nemesis and fellow 'most likely to succeed', Jake Glasswell is a popular TV celebrity. Olivia is still nursing a grudge after feeling humiliated from an almost kiss at their prom. Thanks to a stoner yogi celebrant, she ends up in an alternative universe where she's a successful actress and married to Jake.

This book has a great premise, getting a chance to change a past moment to see how your life might have been after seeing your peers pull ahead from you. I really enjoyed the journey Olivia goes on in the 'high life' version of herself and discovering how she's completely misinterpreted Jake. Jake was just a fantastic partner, supporting Olivia. I loved the banter and spark they had with each other (even in the real world). I think its their pairing that is the strongest part of the book which kept me turning the page. There's nothing sexy like a man who emotionally available and communicates clearly.

However, while I enjoyed this book, at times it felt like an incomplete draft. It seemed like once Olivia got back to the real world, the author ran out of steam. I would've loved extra chapters exploring how Olivia moves forward in her professional life as well as her love life. Additionally this story was marred by uneven characterisation and incomplete world building with many loose plot threads thrown in without real explanation or resolution.

For instance, while I understand 'getting what you wish for' means downsides, I'm baffled by the superficial reasons for her best friend Masha and her mother Lorena cutting her off. Masha won't speak to her because they grew apart and Lorena cut off her own daughter for getting a loan to go to Julliard. Yet in the real world Olivia says her mum would've been happy for her to go. I also didn't understand why Jake's father died when he was 18 (which Olivia never heard about, so did he lie?) and in the high life they're estranged. Given the high life stems from Olivia's decision to kiss Jake, there wasn't a need for two different experiences.

Finally, this book would've benefited from fleshing out Olivia's return to the real world long after the wedding. The only real thing Olivia really seems to learn is how great Jake is but there's zero indication she's going to start making changes to change her life. For instance, recognising her co-dependency with her mother and setting boundaries (the end with the binoculars? not cute). Importantly, her own career plans . She had the chance to be a highly paid working TV actress, how did that not motivate her to start at least looking for an agent? If Jake in the high life finally came around about putting himself out there to advance his career, surely Olivia would've realised she should too?

I should add, while I have a lot of issues with this book I still had an enjoyable reading experience. I breezed through this book as I was kept interested to know what happens next. If you like books with a '13 Going on 30' concept, I still recommend giving this a go.

Thanks to Putnam/Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC.