Olivia's life hasn't turned out quite the way she dreamed it would. Instead of making it big on Broadway, she's barely surviving as a part-time waitress and Lyft driver. She's got the support of her mother and her best friend, Masha, but Masha's upcoming wedding is bringing up uncomfortable memories for Olivia, mainly those surrounding her prom night with the now-famous Jake. When a pot-smoking rabbi transports Olivia to a new reality, where everything seems to be too good to be true, she must come to terms with some hard truths about herself and her relationships with those around her.

The alternate reality trope is one I've read a few times this year, but this one just missed the mark for me. In Olivia's "real life," her hatred for Jake stems from jealousy, which didn't really endear me towards her, and in her new "high life," we really only see how much Jake loves her. I missed the actual foundation of the relationship blossoming, and instead was thrown into the deep end of an already existing love story. A quick read, but a little too out there in terms of relating to any of the characters.

I was looking forward to reading another novel by Lauren Kate. At first, I was drawn in by the characters and their relationships. I found Liv's interactions with her best friend and mother to be quite engaging, and the tension between her and Jake, a character from her past, was interesting. However, as the story progressed and Liv ended up in an alternate reality where she was married to Jake, I found the plot to be less captivating. The storyline slowed down and I ultimately lost interest, although I did go back and finish the book. In the end, this novel didn't quite resonate with me.

Liv and Jake have frenemies since high school, where he should have kissed her at prom but didn’t. Liv’s life didn’t go according to her plan but she’s close to her mom and her BFF Masha, who’s getting married. Somehow during the wedding Liv went from one version of her life to another, one where she’s happily married to Jake, stars in a nighttime TV series and is sadly estranged from her mom and her BFF. She calls her old life her “Real Life” vs her new “High Life”. Now Liv needs to figure out how to get the best parts of both her lives combined into one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What’s in a Kiss?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Lauren Kate

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: This is not how Liv wanted to see Jake Glasswell for the first time in ten years. Once her high school rival and the prom date who humiliated her, now a successful TV personality, he’s more attractive than he has any right to be. And he’s her Lyft passenger.

Since the prom night kiss that never was, Liv’s life has not gone to plan. She deferred Julliard to be with her mom during a crisis, and now swears she’s happy as a recently furloughed drama teacher going on no-strings dates. This weekend she’s maid of honor to her best friend, Masha, and, of course, Jake is the best man. But when Liv glares into Jake’s eyes as Masha says, “I do,” the universe turns on its axis and Liv is suddenly living a version of her life where prom night was the beginning of her and Jake, not the end, and it turns out he’s the love of her life. The catch? Her mom and Masha hate her now. What’s in a kiss? Maybe everything.

My Thoughts: This was a cute romantic read with a magical/fantasy twist. This story will definitely have you questioning the “what ifs” of your own life. What if you had made that decision 20 years ago instead of the decision that you did make, would your life turned out differently? Olivia “Liv” lives paycheck to paycheck, working more than one job. She is very close to her best friend, Masha, and her mother. Jake is the best friend to Masha’s fiancé. Jake is her rival, her enemy, and she wants no part in it. However, when Masha says “I do,” Liv is looking directly into Jake’s eyes, then suddenly Liv is transported into this alternate reality, or parallel universe, where the prom kiss was the beginning of her life and not the closing of a chapter. But in this new reality, while she has Jake as her true love, she does not have her mother or her best friend. This follows the tropes of enemies to lovers, magical realism (parallel universe or different reality), and second chance romance.

The story is narrated by Liv, in her perspective, in both reality’s. Liv thinks back to that one faithful night, the decision she made to not kiss Jake, that started their tremulous enemy/rival relationship. She often wonders had she kissed him, even when he pulled away, would her life be different? Also the burning thought if she had attended Juilliard, would she have the life she wants? Liv loves her mother and her best friend, when her father died, those crucial relationships were what held her together. Even though she does not have her dream acting job, she is mostly happy. Jake is charming, sexy, and confident, for the most part. He loves to banter with her because he feels that is the only way to talk to her. The stare down pushes Liv into an alternate reality where she is married to Jake, her soulmate, but is estranged from her best friend and mother, however, she is fulfilling her passion in acting. The characters were created with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and were intriguing. The supporting characters were just as important as the characters, and really elevated this story. The author’s writing style was complex, closed door, clean, swoony, connective, and beautiful.

This was a fun, sweet story exploring the impact of one kiss. For fans of 13 going on 30 or Freaky Friday, you will love this story. The two things I would like to have seen in this story was further explanation on why her mom and best friend’s relationships were estranged, and what happened after the kiss at the end of the book with no epilogue? That being said, it was a wonderful read that I enjoyed very much. Get strapped in for a wonderful ride of whimsical second chances and when love creeps in. I would recommend to other readers.

When I saw that Annabel Monaghan, Falon Ballard AND Lily Chu blurbed What’s In A Kiss? I knew it would be good.

Ever since her senior prom, Liv’s life has not gone to plan. She deferred Juilliard to care for her mom and swears she’s happy as a recently furloughed drama teacher driving for Lyft on the side. She’s the maid of honor in her best friends’ upcoming wedding and she has been going on no-strings dates. Her senior prom date Jake is now a famous and successful TV personality and more attractive than he has any right to be. Needless to say, they don’t hit it off when Liv picks him up for a Lyft ride. But shortly after when her best friends say “I do,” things take a turn. Suddenly, Liv is living an alternate life where prom was the beginning of her and Jake’s love story. The catch? Her mom and best friend hate her.

This was SO FREAKING GOOD. I am not sure I can even form coherent thoughts, but I loved it SO MUCH. This easily jumped onto my “best of 2024” list, and I cannot wait to reread it so I can highlight and tab the crap out of my physical copy.

Lauren’s writing is phenomenal, and this book had me in its clutches until the final page (in the best way). I am begging you to read it if you love romance novels. I love a story that explores “what if” and this was brilliantly done.

What’s in a Kiss is a great contemporary romance that will have you questioning the “what ifs” in life. I laughed, cried and smiled while reading.

I really enjoyed By Any Other Name so I was excited to be approved for What’s In A Kiss? The romance was very sweet but there was a lot left to be desired. I can usually enjoy a bit of magical realism but this one didn’t captivate me.

This book was 5/5 stars for me. I really enjoyed it, it was cute and a really great rom com book. What would you do if you could change your fate? Would you or would you keep it the same?

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC but I couldn't connect with this book - would file it under "rom-com" but the writing was mediocre.

What if kiss that never happened, happen in alter life, how much could change really? I always love the "What If" stories, it is something we can all relate to, what if I when to different college, had different job or married my high school sweetheart. What would my life look like? I loved these two enemies-to-lovers romance about a prom kiss that never was. It was fun read that I didn't want to end.

This is not how Liv wanted to see Jake for the first time in years, but here he is my passenger in my Lyft. Since that high school prom, the kiss that never happened between the two of them her life has not gone according to plan. But this weekend she is the maid of honor to her best friend, and of course Jake is the best man. But when Liv glares into Jakes eyes as Marsha says "I do", the universe turns on its axis and Liv is suddenly living a version of her life where prom night was the beginning of her and Jake, not the end. He loves her, but there are catches to this love. Can she make things right and get back to real life?

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for copy of the story for my honest review.

There are parts of this I loved. The timing and the actual shifting between worlds was clunky and hard to understand though to be fair that was true for the MC too. The relationships were all fantastic and the way her realities paralleled were sometimes fun, sometimes creepy, sometimes cringy, sometimes sweet.
Liv is a low woman on the totem pole of life but she enjoys her life with her mom, her terrible jobs, and making sure her best friend has the absolute best wedding ever. However, she can't wrap her mind around being friendly with the best man at the wedding - her high school nemesis, Jake Glasswell. While she had her life turned upside down shortly after prom in high school, his star exploded and he's a household name. Anything he does seems like salt in a wound that Liv tries hard not to think about. During the wedding though, the officiant does something that twists her whole life into a timeline she doesn't recognize. In this different reality, she's married to Glasswell, she's the household name, but her beloved mom and best friend can't stand her. She has to decide what is actually important to her, who she wants to be and what she can do to get to the life she really wants.

#arc
#netgalley
#whatsinakiss

I really enjoyed this book. I love how we can see who someone we love would be good with, romantically or not. The banter in this was top notch. It was the opposite of insta love which IS PERFECT. I loved learning more about the BRCA gene, I didn’t know much about it before.

I was hooked from page one. I don’t know what kind of drug was in this book but I couldn’t put it down!

I fell in love with writing style, the characters and the story!

It was such an easy and fun read! I wanted to know what next and next and next! The main character was charismatic and I enjoyed her POV and how she overcame her… unusual situation!

I think the love story — although not exclusively unique — was very well thought out. It felt like reading a hallmark movie.

It had just the right amount of spice. It wasn’t overly complicated to follow. It touched on hard topics with a lightness I appreciated. And it was your typical rivals to lovers where he fell first but she fell harder!

I truly enjoyed this one and would recommend it for any romance lovers out there!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This was a fun book with an interesting premise dealing with a parallel world. and the "what ifs" in life. In high school, Liv and Jake were rivals competing in everything. Both were voted most likely to succeed. Prom night happens and a special moment between the two but when a kiss is about to occur, Jake doesn't take the chance and leaves Liv feeling rejected. Ten years later and nothing has gone as planned for Liv who lost her father shortly after that prom moment and has given up her dreams to stay home and support her mom. Jake on the other hand is famous and has reached his predicted potential. Now Liv will have to stand beside Jake for their best friends' wedding whether Liv likes it or not (and she does not!)

First, I must gush not about the romance but the friendship between Masha and Liv in the first timeline. Olivia and her mother also had a special bond. Both relationships totally warmed my heart! Which made the parallel timeline with their broken relationships absolutely heartbreaking...and I felt we didn't have enough information to understand what happened.

I adored Jake in the secondary timeline! His love for Olivia and the maturity he showed during their marriage was just lovely to see. I enjoyed the journals, giving a glimpse into their younger selves. How one kiss (or lack of a kiss) could make such a drastic change in the direction of life...
It made me sad to think Olivia would have to give up Jake (their marriage and happy life together!) in the parallel time to reclaim the relationships with Masha and her mother. I loathed the mother (and her side kick!) in the second timeline! I just didn't understand the animosity she had toward her daughter. It seemed it was simply because Liv went on to her plan of Julliard. I know grief can play havoc on emotions, but it felt selfish of her to want to hold Liv back from living her best life. One thing I could have done without is the "spicy scene" that felt out of place with the tone of the rest of the book. Just my two cents!

While the book had a positive end, I wish we had an epilogue. Overall, an enjoyable read and I would like to see what else this author has to offer.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a wonderful book and I'll be purchasing it for the library!

I have not read anything by Lauren Kate since Fallen. I did not even realize who the author was until I added it to my currently reading list. I enjoyed this one much more than her previous book I read. I really enjoy alternate/parallel universes. I thought it was interesting seeing how much changed between the two worlds for Olivia. The one thing that I questioned was her relationship with her mom. I don't understand what can be so horrible that you won't even hear your daughter out. Other than that it was a fun read with good banter.

When they were in high school, Olivia and Jake were major rivals and both were voted Most Likely to Succeed. Olivia had planned to attend Julliard but ended up not going after her dad died and her mom needed her, and her entire life path changed because of this. Now Olivia is a laid-off drama teacher who drives a Lyft, while Jake is a successful TV personality. Although they were huge rivals, Olivia and Jake did share an “almost kiss” moment at their senior prom. When she learns that she will be reunited with Jake at a friend’s wedding, Olivia can’t help but wonder what life might have been if she and Jake had really kissed all those years ago. She has no idea that this reunion with Jake will take her on the adventure of a lifetime as she gets to experience firsthand a parallel universe of what life might have been like if she and Jake had, in fact, kissed that night.

“What if?” stories like Lauren Kate’s What’s in a Kiss? always intrigue me because I think it’s so interesting to imagine what direction someone’s life might have taken if they had made a different decision at some moment in their past. In this version, the “what if” takes Olivia down a path where not only does Jake turn out to be the love of her life, but Olivia also has the career she has always dreamed of.

What I most enjoyed about this book was that not only does Lauren Kate bring all of the fun vibes and banter that I love and expect to see in romcoms, but she also touches on the more serious theme of “Be careful what you wish for” because you just might get it and what you thought you wanted may come at a heavy price tag. In the case of the alternate world, the trade off for getting the guy and the career is losing her relationships with her mother and her best friend. Olivia has to really reflect on what is most important to her and decide which life is the one she really wants.

If you’re in the mood for a fun romcom that is also quite thought provoking, What’s in a Kiss? is the book for you!

Liv and Jake have a heavy history of rivalry and shared friends. She might be going nowhere with a career or love life, but her mom and best friend are incredible. During her best friend's wedding, Liv's world explodes and everything wrong is now incredibly right and everything right is now such a mess. Jake is now the love of her life, her career is soaring but her best friend and mom hate her.
The absolute best thing about reading this is my guessing game was terrible. I thought I knew what would happen and I was so wrong. Every time. I'm obsessed! This book was everything I didn't know I needed I adored it. Absolutely one of those books that sucked me in and kept me in a sleepless grip until I finished. (Literally had to pause this and read another book on my kindle in order to fall asleep.)
Love Lauren's writing and will keep coming back for more!
Thank you to Putnam Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Second chance romance
Rivals to lovers
Celebrity romance
Fated love
"Sliding Doors" vibes

If, like me, you loved Sliding Doors, you will enjoy What's In a Kiss. Jake is a perfect romantic, sweet cinnamon roll hero. Olivia was more difficult to like at first. She was often clueless and prickly, but she grew on me. I loved Jake and Olivia's chemistry. I am a sucker for a second-chance love story, and I adored their romance. I thoroughly enjoyed What's In a Kiss and can't wait to read more books from this author.

Liv and Jake, the two main characters in What's in a Kiss by Lauren Kate was a good story that brought us into the "real life" and "high life" of Liv. These two different worlds allow us to see Liv's thinking of the currents vs wants of life. When Jake and Olivia are reunited at their best friend's wedding, Liv's world shift, which I think the author did a really good job at. Overall, cute story about friendship and falling in love.