Firstly, I’d like to thank Netgalley and Lauren for allowing me to read in arc of her upcoming book in exchange for my honest review.
That being said, I really wanted to love this book. I love the concept. I really enjoyed the idea of the book but overall It just wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t really understand the whole nemesis thing. I felt like the narrative is a little confusing. it wasn’t a horrible book. I want to just say it was a good book. It just wasn’t for me, still highly recommend for anybody wanting to give it a try. This is strictly my opinion

This book was okay. The alternate universe thing was a bit confusing for me. This was very short and sweet and unfortunately left me wanting more. You'll find second chance, rival to lovers, parallel universe tropes here that had great prospect but needed more work. It was good enough to keep me intrigued with the plot and decent humor. Overall, a good palate cleanser.

Helllllllo Thirteen Going On Thirty.. Jennifer Garner is that you? This book had me laughing, crying, and gave me a bit of nostalgia from the major Thirteen going on Thirty vibes.

This was my first ever book by Lauren Kate and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At first I was not 100% sure I would be into the alternating timelines but she did an excellent job with it. At times I felt so connected to Olivia and could just feel her frustration and desperation trying to decide which world she wanted to be in. Alternate universe Jake Glasswell was a total golden retriever boyfriend and I wanted so badly for him to be transported to the real world.

I really enjoyed watching Olivia’s character develop and change in the alternate timelines but also throughout the entire book.

I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy:
Enemies to Lovers
A little magic
Second Chance Romance
Strong female friendships
Alternating timelines

Life for Olivia is not going well. She's recently been furloughed from her drama teaching job. She's living paycheck to paycheck. Her best friend Masha is getting married and Olivia is the maid of honor. Her nemesis is the best man, Jake Glaswell. Jake is living the high life, he's a famous talkshow host. As the celebrity yogi officiant allows the kiss. Something happens between Olivia & Jake. A flash and then they are holding hands and Masha is mad at her. Olivia is also a famous actress. It seems one kiss at prom that happened and didn't happen changed Olivia's life. Now she has to choose what life she wants.

This reminded me a bit of 13 going on 30 and sliding doors. I really loved this book and the different realities trope. The writing hooked me right off and I devoured this book in one day. Such a fantastic romance. *Swoon

"...every dream manifests the dreamer’s deepest, unspoken desires."
Olivia Dusk is single, unemployed and can barely make rent. The most important relationships in her life are her Mom and her BBS Masha, and of course her dog, Gram Parsons. She's hated Jake Glaswell since high school. But when she sees him again at Masha's wedding, she finds herself in an alternate reality where she and Jake are madly in love and happy but, her Mom and BBS hate her. Does she stay in this new life having found true love? Or does she find a way back to her old life filled with family and friendship? Is there a way to combine the best of both worlds?
At the beginning of this book I was not fond of Olivia. I found myself really struggling to like this character. She has some incredible qualities, like the love for her Mom and Masha but, she was immature and blamed everything bad in her life on a guy from high school that she hadn't seen in 10 years. But over the course of the book her character shows some real growth and her fun quirky characteristics start to shine. I ended up really enjoying this book and let's be honest, Jake is the perfect book boyfriend and star of both realities!

The synopsis of this so drew me in because I love books with time travel, time loops, parallel universes, or magical realism elements. And this one added in the what-ifs of romance that goes a different direction than the way it actually played out.

I loved all the characters in this and found the side characters as compelling as the MCs. The chemistry and witty banter between Jake and Olivia really shined. I laughed out loud a few times at their exchanges and rooted for them as a couple. I also loved Olivia's relationships with her mom and her best friend in her real life, so I felt for Olivia. Her choices were not easy, and I enjoyed how the author handled Olivia's growth as she experienced these two realities, the crossroads she found herself at, and the deeper themes that came up along the way.

I did wish for a few things by the end, though. Specifically, I would have liked more context as to why her mom and Masha hated her in The High Life, why their estrangement wasn't fixable, and an epilogue. Though I realize the ending was a stylistic choice, and I didn't dislike it, I was just left wanting more.

Overall, this was a cute, fun, quick read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the free book!

*3.75 rounded up

I loved this one! I didn't feel bogged down by the time travel/alternate world, and I loved the High Life and Real Life comparisons. Such a beautiful story.

DNF @15%

This was extremely confusing to understand. I really wanted to like it because I was really drawn in by the blurb.

I liked this book a lot. I didn't love it but it kept me reading, even while I was a little confused at times.

I really enjoyed Olivia & Jake's ongoing conflict in the first part of the book. In that "reality" they hate each other, of course. Or do they?

In the other "reality" they're blissfully in love BUT two of Olivia's people aren't her people. In fact, they hate her.

It's an interesting question; what if you could get that love story you want but lose your people?? I think Olivia does a good job navigating both realities, and I really hope she finds her HEA with Jake.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun and sweet read! I loved the second chance romance and parallel universe storyline and really felt like the love was believable! The writing was easy to read, and the story was easy to follow along with despite the FMC often being confused while in the alternate universe.

I often found myself smiling and giggling while reading this but also felt the FMC ‘s sadness and yearning to be back in her old world with the people she knows and loves as they have been her whole life. Overall super cute and fun read!

The HUGE “what if” that’s something that Olivia has been living with for a very long time, she was destined for greatness but something happened to her mom she stayed behind, so she has a few little jobs to make ends meet but she has the most amazing best friends and they are getting married, the best man is the one who probably got away but she avoided??? Idk, their romance was hard to follow at times until her reality got altered, and in her new reality she’s married to Jake, her arch-enemy-ish….. lol

I will say this, Jake and Olivia have this STEAM, and it was amazing to read. And the book was funny I loved the humor, did I fully understand what was going on? No, but I love romance and a happy endings and this book gave us that.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I’m not someone that typically likes alternate reality what if situations, and I think that this was done pretty decently however, some parts of the time switch were a little difficult to follow. This is my first book written by this author and I can confidently say I will read some of her other works, but I had to push through this book at some points. I also put down the book for a while and picked it back up, hoping that it would spur my interest. The romance was cute and the MMC was kind of annoying at some points

This book was really hard to follow. The whole time jump thing was confusing. I really couldn't keep up with these characters. I did not finish this book.

DNF. Part of it is that I’ve realized Lauren Kate’s writing style just doesn’t click for me, and I’ve also realized the “time loop” a la 13 Going on 30 just isn’t for me in books.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️

Just when you think you know the ride you’re on, you don’t!

This is the first book from Lauren Kate I have read since the Fallen series (13-ish years ago), and I have to say I am just as hooked on this one. Olivia, our quirky and loveable (albeit stubborn) FMC has the most loving and protective relationships with her mom and best friend. Even though we only get a short snapshot in time of their connections, the affection just pours off the page. We get to see the chink in her armour as Olivia’s best friend’s wedding approaches and we learn the best man is charming celebrity podcaster Jake aka the guy who rejected Olivia at her senior prom a decade ago. Those wounds have NEVER healed and the hurt is still deeply raw. Now, just as you the reader get settled into this storyline and where you think it’s headed, everything gets thrown into a blender in the span of a sentence (Thank you Yogi-Rabbi Dan iykyk). As Olivia lives out the biggest what if? of her life, we also get to consider and explore tough questions and think of our own “what ifs,” and wrestle with the decisions we’ve made right alongside her. This was a fantastic, quick read and a beautiful, thoughtful romance. I was and continue to be a steadfast fan of Lauren Kate.

What to expect:
✨Single POV
✨Enemies to lovers
✨He falls first
✨What if?
✨Forced proximity
✨Yogi-Rabbi Dan 😆


Thank you Penguin Group Putnam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

From the moment Liv first saw Jake in their junior year of high school it seemed like they were always competing. When he turned away when he saw her as Juliet on the balcony rather than act with her or on the night of their prom when it seemed they would kiss, but didn’t, so many events combine to show Liv why she and Jake will always be enemies. But it’s her best friend Masha’s wedding and Jake is going to be the best man, so she just needs to hold it together to get through the ceremony. Something supernatural happens during the ceremony. Liv is transported to an alternate reality where she and Jake like each other. Love each other. But, and it’s a big but: Masha and Liv’s mother both hate her. Can she live in a world where two of her favorite people hate her even if the love she has with Jake is the best thing in the world?

What’s in a Kiss had me from the get-go. Lauren Kate’s writing pulled me in and made me care about the characters and what happens to them. Liv’s two universes are referred to as The Real Life and The High Life. There is no doubt that the Liv in real life is a mess but she cares about people. She is always trying to fix things around her, even though it’s probably her own life that needs fixing. When Liv is dropped into The High Life she feels like she has to do some kind of damage control because she doesn’t know what happened or why her two favorite women are so upset with her that they’re estranged.

The caring and love between Liv and Jake in The High Life was emotional and so palpable that I could understand her being uncertain as to what she should do. Love like that doesn’t come around all that often. Some of the scenes between them made for a great love story. Sigh.

If there were things that didn’t work I can’t say that I noticed them because I really was swept up by What’s in a Kiss. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be satisfied with the ending because things do get messy but Lauren Kate didn’t let me down and the ending worked.

What’s in a Kiss is a little rom-com, a little great love, a little spicy, a little supernatural, and a whole lotta fun and feeling. I highly recommend.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Putnam for sending me a copy.

Unfortunately I did not like this book very much. The idea was interesting and could have been really fun but this just wasn’t it for me. I thought Olivia was so immature and annoying. She tried to be funny and witty but that fell flat for me. I did really love Jake. He was the only reason I pushed through the story. I wish I could have enjoyed this but it just wasn’t for me.

What's in a kiss was okay. I wanted to love it but the switch took too long to get, and I almost forgot that it was part of the plot.
I did like the characters though and felt connected to them.

The ending was okay but could have been better.

When I tell you I had to force myself to keep reading and then, I'm not even sure how it happened, I end up devouring the whole thing, tears streaming down my face, wishing love was real.
In other words, the romance is romancing.

Even if that's probably not the real world, I know that you know what I mean.
But before you ask, the spicy is not what I'm talking about. This is the type of romance that producers make movies about, something ‘90s style with the equivalent of a modern Julia Roberts whose only job is looking nauseating in love because she met her true love.

And, honestly, the whole your-soulmate-is-out-there-waiting-for-you concept is not even something I believe in, but how could I be cynical when two people love each other this much:

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

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Since it is mentioned in the blurb it isn’t a spoiler to share that this involves waking up in a different reality. Liv’s life hasn’t turned out how she wanted. She didn’t go to Julliard and become a famous actress as planned. She stays home to help her mom. At the moment she is MOH for her life long best friend Masha. The downside is the best man is her high school rival Jake. He has gone on to a be a famous tv personality. She has so much animosity for the prom night when they almost kissed. During the wedding Liv wakes up in a different world where she is famous and she and Jake are in love. But her other relationships have changed. She wants to get back to the reality that she knows.

Because I knew it was coming I kept waiting for the switch, which comes over 25 percent in the story. I found Jake very, very annoying up to that point so it was hard to cheer for a romance. But the alternate reality convinces me he is worthy of her. I did have some unanswered questions. Olivia’s mom won’t speak to her in the “high life" but the situation is never explained. I wanted to know more about something that would cause such a dramatic shift. Jake’s relationship with his dad isn’t explained well in either life. And was Jake happy being famous? I didn’t understand Liv’s need for Jake to be famous or even why she valued that so much on her tally chart. I think there are a lot of details that got dropped in trying to create two varying universes.

This is a cute fantasy premise and a fairly quick read. I decided to let my questions go and just flow with the idea that Liv wants her universe and life can be messy in any world. If you enjoy fantasy mixed in with contemporary romance you’ll probably enjoy this book. This is only my second book I’ve read from the author but I will look for more to come. (3.5 Stars)