Gabriella Gamez, I was not familiar with your game, but I’m here now!

In Kiss Me, Maybe, we’ve got Angela, an asexual lesbian who is finally putting herself out there to date, experience romance and hopefully get her first kiss. It’s too bad Krystal, the bisexual bartender she’s been crushing on for years doesn’t think she’s good at being in a relationship. So while Angela explores her sexual identity, Krystal has to confront her past so she can move forward, and in a city like San Antonio where mutuals are common, no one can avoid hard conversations for long.

Oooohhhh, these two were so cute! And what I would affectionately call idiots to lovers. They’ve been pining for each other but choose to deny their feelings even when the attraction is extremely apparent. I related to Angela in how she’s deciding what her life looks like on her own terms while society is forcing her to conform to heteronormative ideals.
Plus her nosy Mexican-American family is exactly like mine. And when you’re around people who don’t make you feel good, it’s lonely to be the one to break away for the sake of your mental health, while also being guilted to keep the peace for “the family.” The scene where Krystal stands up for Angela was GLORIOUS.

I just loved these two so much, and am def going to read The Next Best Fling.

Thank you to @readforeverpub for the eARC.

- friends to lovers
- exploring pleasure (for practice!)
- Mexican-American FMCs
- ace spec, lesbian and bisexual rep
- moderate steam
- WDTK? Ch 44

Librarian Angela is determined to take her love life into her own hands after embracing her ace identity. When one of her videos accidentally goes viral Angela suddenly has fans invested both in her and her journey to find love . Angela’s longtime crush, bartender Krystal, helps her come up with the idea of a scavenger hunt to win Angela’s first kiss and potentially her heart. As Krystal helps Angela set up the scavenger hunt the two realize how much they have in common and also how much baggage they have to overcome in order to make a potential relationship work. After all, their chemistry is undeniable. But when Angela’s character comes into question online she has to dig deep to be courageous and go after who she wants, regardless of what her online community thinks.

With themes of queer acceptance, online bullying and toxic familial relationships Gabriella Gamez once again delivers another emotionally rich romance.

This book is so cute! This has been one of my most anticipated releases ever since reading The Next Best Fling, and I love how unique both books are. In Kiss Me Maybe, the MFC explores her sexuality and identity with the help of her online community. As someone who isn't ace, but has friends who are, this gave me a chance to experience walking in someone else's shoes. I can't wait for the next Librarians in Love book!!

Synopsis:
Librarian Angela Gutierrez has never been kissed. When this late bloomer goes viral for talking about her ace identity, she decides to use her newfound fame to come up with a scavenger hunt where the winner gets her first kiss. But she needs the help of sexy bartender Krystal Ramirez (her unrequited crush for 5 years) to help her pull it off. As their connection grows stronger, Angela realizes she's falling in love with someone who may never lover her back and questions if she actually should give through with this idea.

Tropes:
🌸friends to lovers
📚ace spec, bi & lesbian rep
🌸library assistant/influencer x bartender
📚 scavenger hunt fun
🌸Mexican-American MCF
📚found family
🌸slow burn
📚hot & spicy
🌸single 1st person pov

3.25⭐️

I didn’t love this but I also didn’t hate it either. I usually prefer dual POV, and I just didn’t feel like we got to know Krystal that well and as a result I didn’t feel invested in them getting together.

I felt like the book was more about Angela figuring out her own identity and just a little about the romance - which is totally fine, just not what I was expecting going in to the book.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the eARC and the opportunity to give my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I am not sure why but this book did not work for me. However, as I always say when I don't like a book, just because I did not like the book, it doesn't mean that someone else won't like it. It also doesn't necessarily mean that I may not like another book by the same author. Or even that I may not like the book if I try it again in the future.

This is a sweet story about finding both yourself and finding love. Angela's journey felt both realistic and relatable as she worked through what she was told to be versus what she actually is. It was an interesting premise, which brought a unique angle on dating in the digital age.

Having an ace-spec lesbian as the main character is different, and really refreshing. It is nice to see ace-spec handled so well, and with such acceptance by the people around her. Though I wish it was represented in the colors on the cover.

I received a free advance review copy through from Forever Publishing through NetGalley and my review is voluntary.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a DELIGHT. I read Next Best Fling in January and was pumped to see the ARC of Kiss Me, Maybe hit NetGalley.

I’ll start off by saying that I typically don’t enjoy a friends to lovers romance, but the chemistry between Angela and Krystal, added onto their delusions while getting closer, had me devouring this book.

I loved seeing queer characters in so many dimensions here, and seeing a FMC be ace-spec meant a lot to me as someone who dearly loves an ace person. I also LOVED Gabriella’s render, yet spicy, depictions of first love and first intimate experiences, especially in a sapphic relationship.

I had a lot of fun with the scavenger hunt aspect of the book, and I found myself wishing we got more of Natalia and Stephanie, as well as Leti, as side characters.

I highly recommend this if you love:
💖 “just friends” to lovers
💖 ace-spec representation
💖 sapphic romance
💖 lesbian x bi fmcs
💖 Mexican-American rep

ARC/ALC Review | Kiss Me, Maybe

I read the first of the Librarians in Love book last year and thought it was super cute, so when the second book popped up as an ARC, I jumped at the chance! I love a book that has accurate librarian representation, and this one also being queer made me so excited!

This story follows Angela, a library assistant who posted a video on TikTok that went viral about being an ace lesbian who has never been kissed. She decides to use this newfound fame to set up a scavenger hunt with her followers to try to get her first kiss. In order to pull it off, she enlists the help of her favorite bartender, and unrequited crush, Krystal. Although Angela has feelings for Krystal, Krystal has made it clear that after a horrible breakup, romance isn’t in the cards for her, and so Angela hopes to find love with someone else. But as they spend more time together, it becomes harder for Angela to want to go through with the scavenger hunt and she wants desperately to show Krystal that she is capable of love and romance.

Overall I found this to be a pretty light-hearted but still emotional queer romance. Angela goes through a lot in this book with exploring her identity and what it means to be asexual and a lesbian. I enjoyed her working through a lot of this (and it led to some VERY hot moments while she was working it out). I liked how social media was used through her story as well, and how it showed both the positive side and how toxic that world can be. Followers can be amazing, but the parasocial relationships and how quickly people can turn is just as prevalent.

I really liked Krystal’s character and thought she had such an interesting story as well. I wish DESPERATELY that this had been dual POV instead. Krystal’s history with her ex and the journey she went through would have been such an addition to this story, along with getting her side and seeing all the yearning she was having for Angela. We got to see some of it through Angela’s eyes, but I think this book would have been way better if we had gotten both women’s POV.

Overall this was a fun book with a meaningful journey (and a horrible cousin). I would have liked to see a little more depth and emotional connection with both of the characters, but it is worth a read and was a fun time!

3.5-3.75 ish stars

4.25/5 stars
2/5 spice

Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Librarian x Bartender
Latinx MCs
Online community
Asexual rep
Sapphic pining
Self discovery/Late Bloomer
First love/ First kiss
Single POV

This was sweet, spicy, and heartfelt. I really enjoyed the journey that Angela went through. I'm a big fan of self discovery intertwined within a romance but also when it's not dependent on that relationship. I was invested in Angela's self discovery journey first and then the romance that was building with Krystal.

I'm not a part of the LGBTQIA community so this was also really informative for me to get a introductory understanding of asexuality. Putting aside the queer rep I still found ways to relate to the characters... family expectations, self identity, loneliness, wanting to fall in love, being true to yourself, and many other aspects. This was just a really sweet and relatable story that anyone can enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever/ Grand Central Publishing for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

✨✨ARC REVIEW✨✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ I don’t have the chapters since I listened to this book but there are some VERY steamy situations 🥵

Thank you @readforeverpub for sending me the audiobook and the E copy of this arc!

I chose to mainly listen to the audiobook and I loved it! The narrator does an amazing job giving these characters their voices.

This story was such a beautiful read! I loved listening to the FMC Angela discover herself and find out what she wants not only from life but from love as well. The whole book I was screaming for Angela and Krystal ( other FMC) to just fall in love already 🤣
I’ve been out of the dating pool for a while so I don’t understand some of the terminology for different sexualities but the author Gabriella does a great job accurately describing them and explaining what the characters sexualities mean for them.
If you are looking for a F/F romance with asexual representation as well as lesbian and bisexual characters definitely go read this book! #romancebooks #romancebookstagram #bookish #arcreader #sapphicbooks #bookswithacerep #foreverpublishing #review #bookworm #bookrecs

Happy pub day! I really wanted to love this one because I yearn for more amazing sapphic books but this one… just didn’t hit the mark. It felt very young (??) for the ages of the characters— and yes I know that was part of the plot line but I feel like it could have been written in a less-YA type vibes. And I do read a lot of YA and enjoy it but just only when I’m excepting YA. I think there are a lot of people who will like this and I do recommend picking it up to try and see if it’s for you, it just wasn’t for me!

angela has never been kissed. so she takes to the queer side of the internet to set up a scavenger hunt to finally get kissed!

I wish this was dual pov so bad. i needed to see krystal yearn for angela!!! yes we got some moments between the two and then finally a “show me” moment but I just wish we had more. Krystal was swoony even with her commitment phobia antics. Angela was so silly and so was the plot tbh. I HATED Angela’s cousin so much.

This book really came down to messy and complex characters exploring queerness and sexuality felt natural and real. Loved watching Angela find herself.

I just wanted a little more from the emotional depth.

This book is so wholesome and remarkably spicy at the same time. It centers around social media and feels very new adult, but has themes everyone could relate to.

A sophomore that is different than typical in almost every way. I really appreciate seeing new representation and in this case the addition of ace representation meant at times the plot couldn't go where I typically expected and it was so interesting to see the new paths that opened up and how that could look. I unfortunately had a hard time connecting with the premise (Tiktok fame to scavenger hunt for love) which felt a bit flat and generally became more of a minor plot than I was hoping for and resolved almost as an afterthought to the romantic plot. It also meant that the plot felt a lot slower and was more of a character growth book than a plot book which isn't really what I thought I was getting. I also very desperately wanted Krystal's POV, but that is more a personal preference than any criticism.
The book is sweet and well written and for those who like a slow burn and character personal growth this is 100% for you.

Thank you to netgalley and Hachette for the arc in exchange of an honest review
This books had everything in it to be one of my favourite books of the year but for some reason it didn’t landed. It was so hard for me to fet through it. Maybe its the writing, or the characters or the pace of the book. It took me too long to read it. Nothing was captivating enough. I love the representation in the book. I learned alot about ace in Angela’s character. While in enjoy the idea of the scavenger hunt it was imo not the best idea. I will probably give it another read and the rating might change.

Angela becoming her true self and living authentically is a lovely journey. And her meaningful relationships with friends and family are heart warming. Kiss Me Maybe explores asexuality and has other LGBTQ+ rep as well; I learned a lot about the asexual community.

Although there are several great aspects to the book, overall it was just okay for me. The author’s writing style is a little too slow paced and I did find myself a little bored at times.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I LOVED Kiss Me, Maybe! It's very Never Been Kissed-coded, except it's queer (the love interest is bi, and the FMC is an ace lesbian who's never been kissed or done anything else intimate with anyone). I admittedly don't know much about the ace community even though I am an ally to all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, so it was nice to learn about what that looks like in a way that was equal parts educational and entertaining. Usually I don't like books where the characters are on TikTok or even mention it, but the FMC, Angela, is a librarian who accidentally goes viral on TikTok talking about how she's never been kissed even though she's in her late 20s. With the help of a bartender she's had a crush on for years, Krystal, she explores herself and her sexuality for the first time while juggling her Latinx heritage and the conservative values when it comes to sexuality and gender performance. There is also a focus on building platonic love and community here, which is often absent from contemporary romance novels. I loved the exploration of a character who is not sexual in a super sexed-up society, and the normalization of being later-in-life and not having intimate or sexual encounters with anyone.

I enjoyed the first book in this series (and loved seeing those characters in this book) but something about Gamez's sophomore novel felt very confident and bold. I found the spice to be wonderful, the angst angsty, and all of the almost-kisses made me kick my feet in the air!! I did have a small issue with how Krystal handled herself in the second half of the novel, but it wasn't enough to bring down my rating too much. This was nearly perfect to me (aside from Krystal being a Swiftie—I really, really need authors to stop with that) and I thoroughly enjoyed the narration as well!

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC and ARC!

4.75 ⭐️s
2.5 🌶️
🚨 Pub Date: 05/06/25

Title: Kiss Me, Maybe
Where I Read: ARC via @netgalley and @gabbywritesalot
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The RayView: ✨✨✨✨.5
The HeatRay: 💥
How It Be Spicin’?: 🌶️🌶️
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TW: Homophobia.
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Librarian Angela Gutierrez finds herself viral on TikTok after coming out and admitting she’s never been kissed. After the video seems to get positive feedback, she decides it’s time to step into the dating pool. And the best way to do it? A scavenger hunt with the prize being her first kiss. Krystal Ramirez, the bartender at the favorite local bar, volunteers to assist Angela with crafting the scavenger hunt. But there’s only one problem. Angela has had an unrequited crush on Krystal for five years. Here’s the kicker - Krystal is convinced that she isn’t destined or worthy of love and has sworn off the possibility entirely. So that only leaves one question - Kiss Me, Maybe?
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What an amazingly enlightening story! As someone who has gone through the process of figuring out who I am, I resonated hard with the characters and their struggles within the pages. I laughed, I cried, I awwww’d so audibly my husband looked at me like I was crazy. 😂 It was very empowering to read how Angela tackled every challenge. I highly recommend reading this one!

3.5 stars. This book was fun but frustrating. I say this even while understanding why they didn’t just get together at the 40% mark. She does pining and UST (unresolved sexual tension) well and it was nice to go back into this world. It is definitely a slow burn and an education. I learned new categories and it made me question some things myself.
Overall favorable

This was a DNF for me at 14%

I just couldn’t get into it at the time of reading. I found, so far, the ace representation to be very validating and authentic to my own experience, but the premise of the novel had me rolling my eyes.

I still hope this book finds its target audience, however!