Love love love this one! The flirting, the spice, the tension, and the scavenger hunt it was all I needed and more. Getting to see previous characters was the cherry on top.

This was such a cute, insightful story! I feel like I learned a TON about the ace spec through Angela’s story! I loved Marcela and Theo’s story in the first book in this series so I was very excited for this book and it did not disappoint. Krystal and Angela working through things and figuring themselves out was so well done. Gabriella does such a great job of handling sensitive topics and including awesome representation with grace. LOVE.

Arc provided by Netgalley and a thank you to forever publishing! This book is both delightful and frustrating for me. To start, I loved getting to read about a character who was still figuring out the exact label of her sexuality. I think too often queer romance novels are either about the discovery of queerness or someone who has felt solid in the label for a while. It was very refreshing to watch her find herself. I also enjoyed the relationships outside of the romance, it really adds to making this feel lived in and like every character has rich lives.

Unfortunately, there were aspects that I found to be lacking. This book with its use of TikTok and scavenger hunts, and family drama, and romance, and friendship, and work, and art had far too much going on that the build up of the actual relationship felt cramped. Cutting out some of this would have allowed the main couple to really shine, which should be the point of a romance novel. I also found the idea of a scavenger hunt to be a bit juvenile and made her lack of experience in romance feel younger than her age.

Overall its a cute story that needed some editing when it came to how many storylines were started. But if there is one thing I appreciate is a book cared about intersectionality and took time for all of Angela’s identities.

I should've known this book wasn't going to be for me based on the premise, but I'm so starved for explicit lesbian representation in books that I gave it a shot anyway.

I'll start on a positive note and say that I appreciated the amount of representation in this book. Angela, our MC, is a Mexican-American ace-spec lesbian who only recently discovered her queer identity and came out at the age of 27. She's something of a late bloomer, having never really dated anyone or had her first kiss. While devising a plan to dip into the dating pool by way of a scavenger hunt wherein the winner gets to be her first kiss, she becomes closer with her longtime bartender crush, Krystal, a Mexican-American bisexual woman working at a bar Angela frequents with her best friend, Marcela. While I appreciated the ace-spec representation, I did find the way information about asexuality and various asexual identities was included to be a bit clunky at times. And, personally, I wish there would have been more focus on Angela's lesbian identity as well rather than that feeling very secondary to and somewhat unexplored in comparison with her asexuality. Every time an author who isn't a lesbian themselves writes a lesbian character, it seems like they fail to really recognize and portray just how expansive that identity is and how it impacts so many facets of a person's life.

All of that aside, I couldn't get into the scavenger hunt aspect of this book. It felt very silly and juvenile for a 27-year-old MC to be organizing a scavenger hunt via TikTok in an attempt to have her first kiss. Had that been the plot of a YA romance with a teenage MC, it would've seemed more believable to me.

Overall, I thought this book was fine. Would I recommend it? Maybe. I tend to be really particular about what I enjoy when it comes to sapphic romance, and I don't think the average sapphic romance reader holds books to the same standards I do. Other people will probably enjoy this more than I did. It's not a bad book, just not what I'm looking for. I'm notoriously picky. That's not the author's fault.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

To be clear, this was more of a 3.5 star rating for me. On one hand, I felt really seen by this book. I loved that Angela was an ace-lesbian (because me too) and a lot of the things her character shared really resonated with me like her not having sex until she's "older" or feeling like she has to flirt with loads of guys to be validated, just really hit home for me. However, I didn't really care about her online presence and how that ended up being the entire plot. And then she was surprised that the internet turned on her? It just felt really naive and irritating for someone who kept repeating that they were 27.

We are back with the second Librarians in Love novel, this time focused on Marcela’s friend, Angela!


Angela Gutierrez is trying to figure out who she is. When a video on her TikTok lamenting her “late bloomer” status and lack of experience goes viral, she quickly falls into a new community of fellow queer and asexual individuals. With the help of her friend (and long-term crush), Krystal, Angela develops a plan to “lose” her first kiss through a scavenger hunt. Along the way, Angela learns more about herself, her identity, and that love may be a lot closer than she realizes.

This was such a wonderful second book from Gabriella Gamez! I really appreciated the authenticity of Angela’s character. I, myself, learned so much about asexuality and really enjoyed seeing Angela’s growth, development, and journey of self discovery. I also really loved Angela and Krystal’s slow burn, friends to lovers romance and Angela’s parents! I wish all parents were as wonderful and loving as them.

The most fun for me, as a fellow San Antonian, was seeing the scavenger hunt stops! It made me fall back in love with my city and want to follow these stops myself.

Overall, this was a fun read with great representation, a unique premise, and two characters you cannot help but root for.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for access to the eARC. Overall this was a 3.5 star rating for me. I loved the premise here, the self-discovery, and the spice. Angela learning herself and her personal growth throughout the story were positives for me. I enjoyed the relationship with Krystal, and even appreciated a lot of the angst of it - but some of the back and forth felt forced.

The book was more dialogue-heavy than I prefer - most conflict was learned about via conversation with other characters. And while I very much appreciate emotional situations, there were so many here that at times the drama seemed overdone. (Relationship conflict, influencer conflict, work conflict, local-artist-she's-a-fan-of conflict, family conflict.) Tightening a few of those storylines would have improved this for me.

Overall, I'm a fan of all versions of love, and enjoy seeing a variety of love stories on the page. Kiss Me, Maybe succeeded with showing a good love story.

Can we take a moment for that *stunning* cover? Because wow. And what’s inside? Just as beautiful. Kiss Me, Maybe spoke to my soul in a way that felt deeply personal, especially with its rich LGBTQ+ and South Texas representation. The nods to Selena and Whataburger? *Chef’s kiss.*

This book delivers a heartfelt, emotional journey that explores the complexities of identity, family, and the often toxic influence of social media. The ace, lesbian, and bi representation felt authentic and meaningful, and I loved how it touched on the power family holds over mental health, especially in Hispanic households.

The romance? A slow burn friends to lovers dynamic packed with tension and longing. I loved that Angela had a more masculine edge, it made her journey of self discovery even more compelling. And let’s not forget the spice: it was there, and it was *good*.

At its core, this book is about feeling seen, supported, and understood. If you love stories that blend romance, identity, and culture with a heavy dose of real life struggles, this one’s for you.

Cute and fun, and fun and cute! I thought this was a delightful read. It had a bit of a slow start for me, but once things started picking up I really enjoyed it. I thought the ace-spectrum representation was awesome, and really shined a light on the many different ways someone can identify as asexual. I feel like I even learned some things! And make no mistake, this book is still filled with tension and chemistry. I very much recommend this read!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC :)

I loved Next Best Fling, and really wanted to love Kiss Me, Maybe too. It had a strong start and a promising premise, and I’m a sucker for a late bloomer.

But it just wasn’t quite there. The (unfortunately necessary) explanations of sexuality came off a little preachy, the characters all sounded the same to me, and the conflict got lost.

But look how pretty!

⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🫑/5
🎨📚🍹⏱️😇/5

CW: homophobia, familial abuse, TikTok influencing, emotionally charged haircuts, sugary sweet cocktails

This was a really cute read I think Gabriella Gamez's books are just getting better and better. Overall a good read. Thanks to Forever for this arc.

All the stars. I love Gabriella's storytelling and I love seeing references to Texas that I can relate to. I hope to read more from this author!

I liked the way Angela's queer journey was shown through the transcripts of her TikTok's. It was also cool to see other Ace representation through the online friends in her DMs. The conflict with her family and her identity felt very realistic. The pacing on the physical scenes just seemed a bit off to me and was too sudden.

This book follows Angela and Krystal as they put on a social media scavenger hunt event that earns the winner Angela's first kiss. As both women work towards this scavenger hunt, Krystal begins to fight her previous belief that love and relationships aren't for her and Angela has to suppress her long-time crush on Krystal.

After reading Gabriella Gamez's debut, I was excited to see where her writing would go in this second release. She is honing in on her strengths and learning to work out her weaknesses and that work shows in this second book. She handles sensitive topics with great care and uses each and every character to tell a beautiful story of finding yourself and finding love too.

This is the first story I’ve read by this author and won’t be the last! Gabriella did a phenomenal job with the plot and well developed characters. Highly recommend if you enjoy slow burn with a lot of steam!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A+ for sapphic ace representation. I want more of it!

At first, I thought this was a teen book. But when our 27-year-old protagonist shared her age, I was left questioning the voice---it sounds incredibly young---and it really put me off. I felt like it would have made more sense as a 23/24-year-old tops. I stopped at 8%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

I really wanted to like this and loved the first book. This didn’t keep my interest and there’s too much just talking or inner monologue. Nothing really happens. I had to stop reading. The characters are not interesting.

Thank you so much to Forever and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Kiss Me Maybe by Gabriella Gamez!

We open the story after Angela Gutierrez has posted a video opening up about her ace identity and that she’s never been kissed. She comes up with an idea to put on a scavenger hunt, with the idea that the person who wins will be most compatible with her and Angela will have her first kiss. However, Angela has had a crush on bartender, Krystal Ramirez, for the last five years. Krystal isn’t in a place right now where she wants to pursue a relationship, but wants to help Angela make her scavenger hunt possible.

I loved The Next Best Fling last year and am so excited to return to the Librarians in Love universe! I really enjoyed the premise for Kiss Me Maybe. The opening had me drawn in immediately and I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt element of the plot. You’ll adore Angela and Krystal. These two have INCREDIBLE chemistry throughout each phase of their friends to lovers romance.

Similar to what I thought with The Next Best Fling, I think Gabriella Gamez is exceptional at balancing a lot of plot elements at once and executing the story beautifully. It was also really fun to see Marcela and Theo again! As the story went on I had high hopes for how it all might conclude and the ending was everything I had hoped for but better!

The books in this series also have the most stunning covers!!

4/5

Librarian Angela Gutierrez has a penchant for going viral, something her superiors are none too happy about. When she openly admits online that she’s never been kissed, while also sharing her asexual identity, the video goes viral and Angela becomes determined to achieve her first kiss at all costs. Her bold idea: a scavenger hunt across the city where the winner gets her first kiss, but she’ll have to enlist the help of Krystal Ramirez, a gorgeous out of her league bartender to pull it off. Now that I have read two romances from Gabriella Gamez the overarching vision for this series is clear, but this second novel could not be more different from her first. Kiss Me, Maybe is a romance intimately intertwined with sexuality, identity, and the societal pressures to perform against an arbitrary list of experiences. Main character Angela, has found comfort in her identity but her lack of romantic experience has led her to feel behind and out of touch in her own life. Gamez calls attention to this desire to know oneself but also the pitfalls in putting too much pressure on these goals. As she develops the romance, Gamez further explores the ace spectrum and Angela’s developing sense of identity. I appreciated the attention paid to the diverse experiences under the ace spectrum through Angela’s desire to find a label that best fits herself. That and the relationship between growing up queer and these “all important” experiences really served to ground the story. Kiss Me, Maybe is a layered romance that achieves much within the friends to lovers narrative, and I loved every second of it.

Thank you Netgalley and forever hbg Canada for the free arc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. Whewwwww their was sweet, spicy and a goood time. I liked watching the characters develop into their true selves and changing identities they more they learned about themselves. It is a slow burn but it all makes se se... but when we get THERE whewwww you'll be sweating.

This is the second book I've read by the author and excited for what she does next.

5/5☆