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.

Ever since her father passed just before her high school graduation Liv’s life has not gone as planned. She turned down Juilliard and is barely making ends meet after being let go as a drama teacher. When her best friend Masha’s wedding brings her high school rival and America’s favorite reporter Jake Glasswell back to LA all Liv wants to do is make sure things go smoothly for Masha. But when Liv unexpectedly finds herself living the life she never had as a popular TV show actress and married to Jake, Liv must take a hard look at how she wants to authentically move forward in her life.

I always enjoy Lauren Kate’s charming and entertaining characters. The plot fell a bit flat for me but I still enjoyed the story!

Alternate reality romance with a “what if “scenario which poses the question of whether or not true love transcends space and time.

Can a moment in time (or a missed opportunity) profoundly change your life’s trajectory? If you had the chance to live your life in two different dimensions but had to sacrifice one or more loving relationships, which life would you choose? Equipped with this knowledge, would you be able to make the necessary changes and take the risk of rejection to have an epic love in either dimension? These are the questions Olivia Dusk faces when she suddenly finds herself in an alternate reality. In her Real Life, she’s a recently furloughed middle school drama teacher in Los Angeles, busy planning her best friend Masha’s wedding, hosting a fledging podcast with her mother, and dreading the arrival of best man Jake Glasswell, former high school crush and nemesis who wouldn’t kiss her at prom, but went on to New York City for college and a very successful career as a talk show host. In high school, they competed in sports, on stage, and in the classroom, both being voted Most Likely to Succeed, However, when Olivia’s father died right after prom, she gave up her dreams of attending Juilliard and becoming a successful actress to support her grieving mother. When Jake arrives for the wedding, their sniping picks up right where they left off 10 years before, but there’s a fine line between love and hate. When Olivia finds herself in the other dimension (her High Life), she experiences the life she would have had if the prom kiss had actually happened. With no memory of the intervening years, however, she can’t live genuinely and honestly, nor can she repair the relationships she damaged along the way.

This is the first book I’ve read of Lauren Kate’s, but it definitely won’t be the last. I really enjoyed this fantastical romance reminiscent of the movie 13 Going on 30. Whatever dimension, the chemistry between Jake and Olivia is palpable and the love they have for each other in the High Life is relationship goals! The friendship between Liv and Masha and her relationship with her mother in her Real Life are a wonderful depiction of female empowerment. Living in LA, it was also fun for me to read about places I enjoy just like the characters. If you’re looking for a fun summer read, check this one out. Highly recommended.

“Even though my own adult life may still be a little out of focus, I cannot blur how thrilled I am for Masha.”

-Oh Olivia 🩷 The homecoming kiss that never happened, started a domino effect in her life.

“He looks like Harry Styles’ swarthier cousin, plus freckles, minus the pearls.”

-Jake had a similar story… only the opposite outcome.

“The friend of my best friend’s finance cannot be my enemy-at least from rehearsal dinner through Sunday brunch.”

“He saw the wrong version of me. And I can’t seem to move past it.”

Now their best friends are getting married, and Olivia has worked so hard to make the day perfect for Masha. Even if that means pretending to get along with him…

“He’s not shooting eye daggers at me anymore. He’s looking at me kindly. Affectionately. He’s looking at me like a man in love.”

-Wait, what?!

“I don’t understand what’s happening, but I’m starting to see it could be worse.”

“I’d found the most important thing. The rest of it I’d figure out, as long as I had you.”

-*Cue the puppy eyes *

“I’m messy. And you’re-“ “In love with you. Here. There. Everywhere. All the wheres in the world. Always.”

When I read the blurb for What's In A Kiss by Lauren Kate with its alternate reality theme, I knew I had to read it! I had also read this author's YA series when I was a teen so I was really curious about her current romcoms too!⁣
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Olivia Dusk has been working hard to help her bff Masha with her wedding planning and she wants to make sure that everything goes well. Liv's life hasn't gone completely according to her plans and after a humiliating prom night ten years ago, she'll be meeting her high school rival - Jake Glasswell for the first time in ages at Masha's wedding as he's the best man. Liv put her acting dreams on hold after her father passed away and after losing her job as a drama teacher she's been making ends meet by waitressing and Lyft driving when she can. And Jake has been very successful in the meantime with his very popular talk show and he's her Lyft passenger now - not the way she imagined meeting him😶😂⁣
After some last minute mishaps, Masha and Eli's wedding goes on smoothly but as they're saying their vows, Liv suddenly finds herself in an alternate reality - one where she's a successful actress, and she and Jake are together after a kiss on their prom night. But she's not close to her mom or Masha here! Could a kiss change so many things? ⁣
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This was a fun rom-com with many hilarious moments! Liv had an easygoing personality and it was hard not to root for her! I also liked the fact that Liv and Jake didn't have a silly rivalry that was dragged out for many years - there's some professional envy involved along with some unspoken things, but Liv quickly realizes them as soon as she lands in their alternate reality. Their romance was pretty sweet and I loved their banter! While I did like her relationship with her mom irl, we didn't get a full picture of their estrangement in the other life. I would have liked an extended epilogue with more details about Liv and Jake's future too, but it was a very satisfying read in the end!

Many thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this one.

Synopsis

What's in a Kiss? finds Liv leading a life that's quite different from the one she imagined, but still full of love from her best friend Masha and her mother. The only trouble is, her former high school rival - who happens to also be a famous TV personality now - is back in town for her best friend's wedding to his best friend. And she's not ready to see him, not after what happened at prom all those years ago. She tries to get through the wedding, but then something impossible happens - just as the couple says "I do," something shifts, and Liv winds up in another universe. One where she and Jake and married. Oh, and her mom and Masha? They won't speak to her.

Alternate universe and time-jump books seem to be having a bit of a moment, as I've seen a ton of them out there lately. It's a tough thing to pull off, so let's dig in to how it worked out for What's In a Kiss?

Review

My friends, this book destroyed me. And I mean that in the best possible way. We got off to a bit of a rocky start and it took me a bit to warm up to the narrative style, but once I settled in, I was hooked.

The alternate universe premise is tricky, but Kate manages to really bring you in to all the complicated feelings you might have when you find yourself in a different version of your own life. Liv doesn't have any memory of the life that led to her marriage with Jake, and she doesn't understand how she became estranged from her mother or from Masha. We face that head on, with all the stress and sadness that comes with it. In fact, I was reading this book in public during a Silent Book Club meeting and decided to go home to continue because I was constantly on the verge of tears. That's quality emotional writing, friends.

There are some questions that never get answered, but thanks to the emotional punch of the story, I didn't mind that so much. And yes, if you think about an alternate universe jump too hard the logic gets tricky - but again, because I was so invested in Liv's emotional journey and desire to get back to the life she knows even if some parts of it might seem less rosy, I didn't really notice or care about the logistics.

In all, this was an emotional gut punch in the best possible way. And sure, it's technically a romance, I guess, but it's about much more than that. It's about our choices and understanding what really matters in life.

I highly recommend giving What's in a Kiss? by Lauren Kate a read the next time you want a good, emotional book with a dash of love.

This book was absolutely EVERYTHING I look for in a book! I want to catch myself a Jake sooooo bad. The chemistry between Jake (mmc) and Olivia (mfc) is so swoon worthy. Lauren did such a great job with plot and characters, she might have just become an auto-buy!

3.5 ⭐️ I enjoy Lauren Kate's writing and this book isn't an exception...but it did fall a bit flat for me in areas! I'm not usually one to enjoy the second-chance trope, but Olivia and Jake were great characters! Overall, it was a nice contemporary romance read with the parallel universe twist, but it killed me with no epilogue and some nagging details that were passed over in the parallel universe part.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! Adore Lauren Kate and this one is worth reading, but be prepared to notice some gaps of information.

I liked this book as a whole, but there were some things that I didn’t which affected my enjoyment. I’m a big fan of what ifs and alternative worlds and a little sci-fi in romcoms. But this one wasn’t a hit for me unfortunately. I didn’t really understand why our main character Olivia was put into this alternate reality. I also didn’t get why her relationships with her best friend and mom were SO awful in the alternate reality. Like, a mom seriously wouldn’t disown her daughter for moving across the country and taking out a loan to pursue her dream. And her best friend? I don’t see life long best friends drifting apart and one hating the other so much as portrayed in this book. Neither of the central relational conflicts felt believable.
I really enjoyed the IDEA of this book. Olivia finding herself suddenly very famous was probably my favorite part.

The story of Olivia, whose life was altered forever when her dad died near high school graduation and her plans to go to Julliard are cut off by grief. Ten years later, she's not on Broadway like she'd hoped but she does have meaningful relationships with her mom and best friend, and feels content. Reunited with Jake, her almost-kiss at prom and high school rival, at her best friend's wedding, a freaky-friday type moment happens and she is transported to a new life where things are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. She needs to figure out what happened and how to get back to her real life, but eventually also whether she wants to go back to her real life.

I absolutely loved this book. It was sweet and fun and it was a joy to follow the journey of Olivia and Jake throughout. I loved the temptations to alter reality and the lessons learned, and was so delighted by the whole dang thing.

I love a good parallel universe love story. I think some of my absolute favorites of this story are Yogi Dan, and Deck Day.

# What's in a Kiss?
# 7/8/2024 ~ 7/11/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

I’m not gonna lie, I was a little iffy about this one in the beginning. I was struggling to get into it for a little bit, but as the story went on I got very emotionally invested. In other words, tears were shed (the good kind). My heart was feeling all the things and I miss it very much.

I loved the relationships that Liv had with her best friend, her mom, and, of course, Jake. But honestly, so many things about this book were enjoyable. And second chance romances always get me.

Happy to have started my summer reading off with this rom-com! If you’re looking for a light summer read, this would be a good one to add to your list!

⭐️ 4 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lauren Kate is always going to be my comfort author! I love how her books are wholesome, genuine, and a little bit of whimsical (especially this one!).

When Liv meets her high school crush-turned-nemesis, Jake, after 10 years at her best friend's wedding, she thinks she can handle him for 1 day. But everything changes when she looks into her eyes during the wedding vows & suddenly she's transported to another reality where they are happily married.

As much as I loved Liv's growth, I loved Jake even more. I really appreciated how Lauren gave a snarky between Liv and Jake in one life and being madly in love on another. And let me tell you, I absolutely loved both timelines & banters.

Though we didn't get to see much of the "real life," I could totally understand how things changed & unfolded in the alternate one. The friendship was top tier, and it made me sad to see that wasn't the case in the 2nd reality.

BUT THE ROMANCE WAS EVERYTHING! Jake & Liv were meant to be together since their prom night & in the end, it was proven so. Loved the ending so much, especially when Liv sees all her timelines with Jake! Can't wait to read more by Lauren.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the E-ARC. Im not gonna lie Im always hesitant to read books based on 2 universes. But Im also not gonna lie and Im so glad I read this one I totally enjoyed Olivia and Jakes story. I loved the risk that Olivia took and reasons behind it I loved that this was so much more than a romance story and had strong friendship and parent relationships.

Have you ever seen the movie Sliding Doors? It take s a peek at a different path in life had the character changed a decision in their past. This book is like that.

The downside to this is you spend majority of the book in the "alternate" universe only to fall in love with it for the character and become unsure if they'll ever obtain it. It made me want a greater glimpse of reality and how things panned out for the character in the present.

This is my first Lauren Kate novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It felt unique and fresh. It was somewhat of a women's fiction crossover with romance that I think fans of The Good Part and The Seven Year Slip will enjoy.

This was a cute quirky romance. Great gimmick. Loved the alternate reality. Shades of Sliding Doors. Good point the friends and family are so important.