I had high hopes based on the cover and description but this fell super flat for me. I thought the illustrations were a bit mediocre and the dialog was clunky at times. Since it's only the first volume, I hope to see it improvement going forward. Sara Lin's dad was fantastic though.

I was given the opportunity to receive a NetGalley arc copy of this amazing graphic novel from Ingrid Ochoa.

The Kiss Bet is a funny coming of age story following a senior in high school, Sara Lin in her attempt at having her first kiss as a late bloomer. With the constant goading and bets placed by her best friend Patrick, she finds herself in various awkward situations revolving around guys and seems to dig herself in bigger holes than before.

As an adult I found this read quite refreshing and hilarious. The relationship between Sara Lin and the other characters reminds me so much of the cartoons I've grown up with. It would be amazing to see this animated one day. I really enjoyed this short volume and can't wait to read the next few installments in this series.

Side note: I swore I read something similar a long time ago and just realized that this was a webtoon novel at some point. Glad to see it being traditionally published!

Thank you Wattpad Webtoon And Netgalley for the ARC.

Kiss Bet by Ingrid Ochoa is an amazing story. It does have it's flaws but let's discuss the good.

As someone who is still an avid reader of this Webtoon. I must admit I love the update to the art style to kind of match the newer episodes. However I totally forgot the character development Sara goes through in this series. While Joe is still kind of like her Ideal Man. Oliver is always there in the sidelines. And it's so unique to see the characters grow side by side without even realizing it. I think this is one of the best romance Webtoons to do so without relying too much on the love triangle trope. Now this first volume obviously we don't see too much character development from either. However it's very clearly setting up plot lines for the future of the series.

The negative is really just I want volume one to be longer. That's really it. I love Sara Lin and Oliver. So I want more immediately.

Anyways back to the positive rant. Patrick is so oblivious in this first volume. Which is so funny because he doesn't really change but he is able to kind of use it to his advantage. Which I LOVE!!! Sara Lin also being in love with Joe is so crazy to me because you can genuinely sense a feeling of longing between Oliver and Sara Lin. Also because I forgot to mention this prior. The whole Subway Boy thing is an adorable thing! He will always be Subway Boy to me.

Overall though I love this book. I cannot wait for more Sara Lin, Oliver, Patrick, Joe, and all the other Amazing Characters and relationships, and dynamics. INGRID OCHOA give me Volume 2 - However many you are gonna do and my LIFE IS YOURS!!!! Again thank you.

I'm absolutely THRILLED this is getting released as a graphic novel.
I did receive this ARC from Netgalley for my review and it will be the easiest review I've ever done. This is one of my most anticipated webtoons and I cant wait to have physical copies of it. The story is cute, absolutely silly, and I adore all of the characters. This is a hill I will die on, thank you.

Let me start by saying a huge thank you to netgalley, wattpadbooks, and wbywattpadbooks for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this graphic novel! I was invested from the very beginning with its fast pace and fun characters. The art style reminded me a lot of the doodles older students would draw on their homework, which surprisingly went really well with the slice-of-life/coming-of-age feels. I would recommend this book to fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty and To All The Boys I Loved Before.

Solid 3.5 and a cute start to the series!

I see the budding love triangle/square forming and am really curious what way the series will take it. I love how unserious Sara is but girl...stop thinking about boys for a second and get your work done. They'll still be there afterwards with their shenanigans. Although she's 18, it does read as younger with the way she and her friends act (which isn't a bad thing). Just there hasn't been any mention of college or like mandated SAT testing so I'm curious if that'll play a role in the story later on.

I found it to be a very quick and enjoyable read. Can't wait til it's release next year and hopefully we get the next volume in 2025 too!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC.

As a longtime fan of Ingrid's work Im so stoked to see The Kiss Bet in book form and with what appears to be some updated art. I love Sara, Patrick, Oliver and all the rest. If you love a good romcom definitely pick up The Kiss Bet.

This is good, silly fun! It's very light with lots of ridiculous scenarios that are cute and enjoyable. While the MC is 18, it does read a little young in my opinion but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. I loved the artwork and the cute cover is what initially drew me in. Each character is pretty distinct and the love interests are all very different, giving the characters room to grow and connect. Sara Lin's relationship with her best friend Patrick is interesting and despite being the one to dare her to kiss other guys, there's some jealousy there that I look forward to seeing what happens with them in future volumes. There's lots of drama, embarrassing scenarios, bets (obviously), and everything I'd expect from a high school romcom. It's a very quick read and perfect for teens looking for some laughs and happy feels.

Thank you WEBTOON Unscrolled for the DRC which I have voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts/opinions are my own.

I’m really excited that this story is being published because I read it a couple years ago. It’s so much fun, and everything that happens to the characters keeps you wanting to read more—it’s incredibly engaging. The illustrations are the perfect addition, bringing a lot of character and personality to the characters and their emotions.

This is a cute story about a girl who just turned 18 and her childhood friend bets her that she would not get some random guy to get her first kiss. She does it but the guy kicks her and she runs away she is embarrassed only to find out that he is one of the new kids who also live across the hall from her. This story is funny and cute as we get to see everything unfolding and there seems to be some kind of love triangle going on.

The Kiss Bet follows a senior in high school, Sara, who has never been kissed. When her friend Patrick makes a bet that she can't go up to a random guy at the train station and ask if she can kiss him, Sara takes the bet...only for the guy she asks to state that she's a weirdo. What a coincidence that the next day this guy turns out to not only be a new student at her school, but also her neighbor and calculus tutor! The story follows Sara and her relationship with her friends as she tries to navigate the hardships of high school and love.

I liked the art style in this first installment. It was very colorful and gave me happy/peppy vibes. Even though the main character is trying to navigate some tricky high school situations, the bright color palette lets the reader know it's still going to be a lighthearted story. I did feel that the panelling was a bit weird on some pages-there was a lot of white space on a few pages, which probably has to do with the webnovel being translated into a graphic novel format, but those pages felt really sparse and strange, as compared with the other pages where there was not white space.

I thought the story was cute and would work well for teens. I think I'm a bit out of the target age range, because I can see how ridiculous the characters are being(stupid bets, jealousy, etc) but they did act exactly like teens. I can see why this web comic is so popular, because it was super fast paced and I was able to read this one volume in one sitting, and could have read more.

4/5 stars

Thank you to netgalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Kiss Bet was super cute! The art was on point and the story captures the absolute embarrassment you feel as a teen while still remaining upbeat and fun.

While relatively little happens to move the plot along, you can’t help but connect with and care for the characters. I can’t wait to read more and hopefully get more POVs in the next volume.