Hum, un peu déçue de cette lecture. Tout d'abord j'ai trouvé la voix de la narratrice très robotique, parfois cela m'a empêchée de me plonger totalement dans l'histoire. Et le second point que je n'ai pas aimé, c'est la façon dont était abordé le sujet principal de ce roman : l'asexualité. Vraiment je pense qu'on aurait pu se passer des scènes olé-olé beaucoup trop descriptives avec ce type de sujet (d'autant plus qu'en audio c'est absolument cringe).

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!

“When a late bloomer goes viral for coming out, she decides to use her newfound fame to get her first kiss-with the help of a sexy bartender.”

Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez had a lot of things to like, but many things that didn’t quite work for me, too. I’ll start with the positives: Latinx rep and queer rep- specifically ace rep! Angela’s journey of self discovery and acceptance was lovely and I loved the way the tension between the two FMCs built. The banter was cute and I did plenty of giggling and kicking my feet! However, Angela often read as younger than the 27 she was supposed to be, and not just because she was a late bloomer. I also found the scavenger hunt aspect of the story line to be a bit…unrealistic and bizarre? Like don’t get me wrong, I definitely have parasocial relationships with content creators, but the idea that her first kiss would be given to the winner of the scavenger hunt felt very very weird. I also felt like the pacing of this book needed work or perhaps the author just got focused and sidetracked from the story? It felt like some pieces dragged and some were unnecessary. The smut was also kinda cringe 😬 also tell me why there’s no ace flag representation on the cover?? It’s so beautiful and intentional but this whole story focuses on the FMC exploring her asexuality- WHERE IS THE ACE FLAG?!

Overall, despite my complaints, I did enjoy this and thought it was a cute sapphic read!

3.5⭐️ rouded down to 3 for goodreads

I really loved the journey Angel went on in this book. It can be complicated to set yourself out amongst people who want to belittle you.
I loved both in the FMCs.
My only negative is completely me thing. I have difficulty accepting that a person can be this concerned with what strangers think of you.

"Kiss Me, Maybe" is a very solid romcom. The characters are fun and the plot is very enjoyable. Most of the conflicts in their relationship didn't feel like they were thrown in just for the sake of the plot, which is something that gets on my nerves a lot. There were a few times where the plot/conflict did feel a little drawn out, but overall it worked well.

As an asexual queer woman, that aspect of the story also felt very real and relatable to me. I appreciate that the main character's asexuality is a very important part to her character, but she also goes on a journey of finding exactly where she is on that spectrum. While it is true that a lot of asexual people don't have sex, a lot do and I appreciate when an author doesn't write asexuality like it means a character will be celibate forever. From some quick research it seems like the author is on the ace spectrum herself, which given the book makes a lot of sense and I always appreciate some ace rep that comes from personal experience. :)

Also, I really enjoyed the audiobook! The narrator made the characters feel real and I didn't notice any weird audio editing/mixing things. There were one or two times where I had a little trouble telling some of the side character's voices apart, but as long as the main characters are distinct I'm willing to deal with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for my Audio ARC!

4/5 Interesting take on the affects on Tiktok, going viral, and how it can affect and/or build relationships

First, the representation in this book is beyond important and well told. The idea of not knowing what to label yourself, wondering if you'll be wrong to change it, or if you'll ever find a place you "fit" and are fully accepted is a struggle many, including myself, have had or are having in the LGBTQ+ community. And Gabriella Games wrote that with grace and clarity. Getting into the romance and characters, both leads had strong growth and development, their pinning tension was STRONG, and their story was adorable. But, personally I never felt super connected to either character. I needed just a little bit more in some way to really be pulled into them. I loved them, but was never emotionally attached to them. I also hoped for a stronger resolution with the family drama side story.

Otherwise, the story was very well written and paced well too. I really enjoyed the approach to TikTok in a romance book since it is such a large part of todays world and not seen often. I think the author did a great job being creative with the pros and cons to being viral on a large social media app. I was rooting for the romance the entire time, as well as the relationships the main character had with her close family and friends. The relationship dynamics we're very well thought out.

This book was a fast, easy romantic listen and I really enjoyed the audiobook narrators. I will definitely be giving Gabriella Gamez more listens in the future!

Book Tropes: LGBTQ+ Romance, Pinning, Friends to Lovers
Spice Level: 3/5 - the spice is different due to character preferences, but well written and still very steamy.
Trigger Warnings: Homophobia

This was an ARC read in exchange for my honest thoughts. Thank you NetGalley, Gabriella Gamez, and Forever Publishing for this audiobook ALC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss Me, Maybe is an amazing read. If you're looking for asexual representation, a scavenger hunt where the prize is a kiss, figuring out sexuality and discovering yourself then this one is for you. The audio was fantastic!

Highly recommend!

The audio version of this book disappointed me. I was really excited to listen to a latinx book written and narrated by POC authors, but it felt very robotic. I did not emotionally connect with the story, because most of the time it seemed like the narrator did not include any emotion in her voice. It was very flat during the whole the book and I even had a hard time separating different characters. There were no weird noises in the background and the quality of the recording was wonderful. It was very easy to understand the narrator, she spoke clearly.

This book has all the tropes for me: latinx, a librarian, a curvy bartender, two women falling in love, set in Texas, full of beautiful culture, incredible book cover. And yet it left me feeling like there was something missing at the end. I did appreciate it being written in first person, so I felt like we went on a journey with Angela trying to figure out her sexuality.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-audio arc! I very much enjoyed this book! It tells the story of Angela discovering her identity, both as a lesbian and aspec person through TikTok. I thought it was really sweet how she was always open to new things on her journey and I related to the baby-queer feels so strongly. There’s so much discovery AFTER you come out and I felt like that was portrayed really well. This is definitely a different type of love story and I liked Krystal as well. I wish I knew more about her and sort of wish it was written in dual POV for this one. I’m glad she got some redemption in her story but I felt like we didn’t get to see it as much as I wanted to. That being said, I still really enjoyed this!

In order to find someone to kiss her for the first time, an asexual woman who has never been kissed goes on a scavenger hunt on TikTok.

I was initially drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and vibrant colors. It's so good! The book is a charming sapphic romance that balances fun with genuine emotional depth. The MC, Angela, is an asexual lesbian trying to navigate viral fame with a fun citywide scavenger hunt, which was a fun twist. Her slow burn romance with bartender, Krystal, had refreshing chemistry and super sweet moments. Overall, the pacing occasionally wanes, but the book is a delightful celebration of queer love with diverse sexual representation.

The audiobook production was seamless and added a richness to the story. The characters personalities really shown through!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Forvever, and Hachette Audio for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss Me, Maybe is a sweet and surprisingly spicy novel set in San Antonio where we follow the life of Angela Gutierrez. She shortly become a Tik Tok local influencer after posting a thirst trap and begins to "date the internet." Angela is 27 years old, lives at home and is just leaning more into her own sexuality. This is very much a coming of age story audiences in their 20s. For some reason as a millennial, it felt too young and naive! The MC should have been highlighted as a 24 year old, not 27. Even listening, the narrator sounded very immature. Possibly this character was just not for me. Either way, I am still interested in the author's other books.

This book was cute - the idea of a scavenger hunt to get closer to your crush and ultimately have your first kiss was a clever one. I enjoyed seeing a book with an openly ace character and delving into how that looked for Angela was interesting! I loved Angela and Crystal’s journey through this.

This book was super cute. The premise, the characters, the writing were all very well done.

I found Angela to be surprisingly relatable and funny, and enjoyed the dive into the asexuality spectrum. It was a little repetitive for me, but I did appreciate the normalization of being aspec. And who wouldn't have a crush on Crystal?? Very swoon-worthy and also relatable.

Side note: I did not think a book about an ace woman would be SO spicy!! The scenes were HOT, original, realistic, and (importantly) anatomically possible.

There was some repetition in the writing that took me out - I personally have a strong dislike of the phrase "never been kissed" and the author used it a LOT. And in the later chapters, I noticed the same phrases being used to describe Angela's feelings for Crystal, which felt like overkill.

Overall, I loved this book. The characters were fun and likeable and relatable. Though I'm not on TikTok, the plotline seemed like real stories I've seen play out on social media. And it didn't feel overdone or too bogged down by tech/social media language. I would recommend this to everyone looking for a cute rom-com with pining, flirting, and found family.

Thank you so much Hachette Audio and Forever Publishing for the Advanced Listeners Copy!

Kiss Me, Maybe is an excellent example of the fluidity of sexual identity and how identities can change as you grow and discover more about yourself as a person. It also was a great representation of how supportive and, at the same time, horrible the internet can be when putting yourself out there. Plus not only how the internet may perceive you but how relationships with people in your personal life can change so rapidly when faced with something that might make THEM feel uncomfortable.

Crystal's character was a great representation of how easy it is to be sucked into relationships and the damage that comes with family and friend pressure and the mess of indecisiveness and hiding how you really feel. I personally drifted more towards Crystal's character but also at times felt quite frustrated with her and her inability to communicate with Angela in full honesty.

I did find at times the plot was going in a bit of a circle and it got to a point around halfway through that I was getting angry with Angela because she was disregarding the commitment she made to the scavenger hunt and deceiving her followers about her relationship with Crystal. Which is also why I was glad that it was brought up as a plot point later on because to go unmentioned would've made for a frustrating conclusion.

I do think overall though that the story fell a bit flat for me and the whole concept of the scavenger hunt just wasn't enough to keep the plot interesting and engaging all the time. I often found myself a bit bored of going in the same will they won't they circle with not a lot being added to create extra conflict.

As for the audiobook itself, the actors did a phenomenal job at capturing the emotion and personality of all the characters and the pacing was great! It was one narrator for the entire thing which worked fine as I didn't think the story really needed multiple narrators. She did a great job of capturing both Angela's youthfulness and inexperience as well as Crystal's more mature and "edgy" (if you can call it that) tone.

Overall, I think if you're looking for a queer story that explores a more unique and fluid asexual experience I'd give it a go.

Final Rating: 3.75

This is a cute sapphic contemporary romance with great ace rep. Angela is just trying to figure herself out and shares on the internet about how she hasn't had a first kiss. This leads into a quest to have a scavenger hunt and her getting closer with her crush, Crystal a bartender at her regular bar.

Overall this was cute. Some of the spicy activities happening before kissing were a fun and different choice. I loved Angela and Crystal's journey.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc.

Angela is in her early 20s and has never been kissed. She puts out a TikTok video about how she identifies and being a late bloomer that goes viral. Then, she decides to put on a scavenger hunt, and the winner gets her first kiss. The bartender, Krystal, she's been crushing on jumps in and helps with the scavenger hunt.

This was a mid romance for me. I liked the representation in this book and how the characters explored and learned about themselves. Angela was a little too oblivious at times. Both about herself and Krystal's feelings toward her. If you like sapphic romance with a little bit of spice and self discovery, definitely pick up this book.

Ruby Corazon did a great job narrating. You could pick this up in any format.

What a cute and fun read! This novel explores the trials and tribulations that come with social media fame, the pain of having family members who don't accept you, and the confusion mixed with joy of coming out later in life. I found Angela to be a realistic main character facing genuine questions and challenges. And who doesn't love a hot bartender love interest? Ultimately, I think this was a lovely story centering ace representation, and I'm glad it exists!

Obsessed with this book and the narrator was everything! I loved learning more about the ace spectrum and Angela's identity and journey.
Can't wait to read more by this author and listen to more by the narrator.

I read a lot of YA and this book screamed YA novel to me in so many ways. I appreciated that it was about a person in their late 20s questioning and examining their identity, but the inner monologue that went with it felt more like it belonged to an undergrad than someone old enough to have a fully developed brain.

All that being said, it was a fun book. I enjoyed the way social media played into it and the complex relationships the characters had with each other.

This one was fine. It may have been that I read it on audio which seemed to drag. The narrator was fine, but it was hard to distinguish characters and follow what was going on at times. The TilTok influencer storyline wasn’t really my cup of tea. I understand the slow burn aspect of the storyline, but it felt very slow at times and seemed a bit repetitive. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ALC.

Of course the cover is gorgeous - one of my favorite all time illustrators.