The description of "Black Mirror meets Bridget Jones" is what initially captured my interest. Thankfully, the story was solid enough to hold my interest throughout.

It was an interesting premise to have a number dictate whether a relationship would be worth pursuing or keeping. That's the Black Mirror element of the story. It blended well with the Bridget Jones aspect, with Anna not liking her job, coming off as awkward most of the time, and questioning her relationship. Anna was relatable and I kept forgetting a man had written this novel, as she was written so well. I grew frustrated with her fixation on a number to determine if she and her boyfriend should be together. Especially when someone with a higher number came along to shake things up.

Some parts of the story felt slow, but it moved at a decent pace otherwise and kept me wondering what was going to happen. I didn't like that the characters talked about doing drugs. I didn't think that was a necessary element to mention every so often.

Kismet is "chick lit" with a somewhat surreal aspect, as I could potentially see online matchmaking going in this direction someday. Readers who are looking for something a bit different will enjoy this novel.

Movie (or TV series) casting ideas:
Anna: Mia Wasikowska
Pete: Taron Egerton
Geoff: Chris O'Dowd
Zahra: Jessica De Gouw

This one was...meh. It was almost a DNF for me about halfway through. I am glad I stuck with it, because the second half was much better than the first half (admittedly, however, a very low bar). The main character is pretty terrible, and for about half of the book I couldn't keep Ingrid and Zahra straight, due to poor character development. I did, however, like the idea of the Kismet dating app and the author's point about being hung up on an arbitrary number simply because it was generated by an algorithm. Towards the end, we also learned a lot about the main character that made her far more likeable. I think the novel would have benefitted from some restructuring. I spent most of the book thinking the protagonist was a self-sabotaging dumb bitch, only to find out she is in fact a woman turning 30 who has a bit of a wild streak that she's denying because she feels like she needs to be sensible and make sensible choices in her life. It made her far more sympathetic and interesting, and I would have enjoyed the story far more if I had learned that earlier in the novel.

I can't say I'd recommend it, but I didn't hate it (well, I didn't hate the second half).

Interesting premise but needed a little work. I really wanted to like this book but just didn't love it.

The main character just wasn't likable to me. and I didn't feel like anything was resolved.

I did not post a review anywhere but here out of respect to the author and Little Brown

Kismet was not what I thought it would be. Great for those who enjoy science fiction with a touch of romance added. Very well developed and well articulated.

*Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting take on modern dating in regards to technology. However, I had a hard time connecting with the book - maybe because I missed the online dating apps by a few years? Possibly someone in their mid 20s might enjoy this book more than I did.

I felt like so many elements of this book didn't make any sense, despite having an interesting plot. The idea that Anna isn't exactly unhappy or happy in her relationship and wonders if there's someone better suited to her is incredibly common, but it's the addition of the dating app that makes this interesting. It gives every potential couple a compatibility score, which ranks her current relationship at a 70 and this interesting new man at an 81, an unheard of score. Then Anna goes full manic pixie dream girl for this new guy, destroying her life in the process. I finished this book hoping that some of her behavior would be explained, but they are not. On the plus side, this is an incredibly quick read.

I’m not quite sure what to make of Luke Tredget’s Kismet. After all, it is both its own original concept, but with a startlingly large mix of obvious pop culture references, ideas, and symbols.

Touted as a mixture of the hit TV series Black Mirror and Bridget Jones, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was entering into when I stepped into the world that is Kismet. On one hand, I was expecting an utter mindfuckery on the levels of Black Mirror, but...on the other hand, I was expecting the light-hearted romcom lovey-dovery emotions of Bridget Jones. You can see where a person can get confused as to what he or she is getting into at that point.

I neither adored nor detested Kismet. But I can see where people might enjoy it. It fits neatly into the New Adult category with the added benefits of being both a romance and late coming-of-age twist tacked onto it.

Anna is both relatably boring and utterly fascinating at the same time. She reminds me a lot of myself - stuck in a rut, unsure of herself, her place in life, and if she exactly loves the man she’s with - but with the concept of a dating app controlling her life after 30 being added as a creative complement. It was a page turner that lagged at times, but was nevertheless still a page turner.

I can totally see where Black Mirror would play into Tredget’s tale - there is one exact episode in which potential dating partners use an app to see how compatible he or she would be with another potential hopeful, and the app itself runs itself through thousands and thousands of scenarios before finally culminating in a percentage of compatibility. Kismet resonated very strongly of that vibe and concept - so much that it was disturbing on a professional level, but creatively different enough that my scholarly hackles didn’t rise too quickly or strongly.

It’s a modern technological tale with tons of sociological add-ons that Tredget touches upon with a keen, if somewhat unobservant eye. Anna is Bridget Jones 1.5, but not as funny or witty. However, if you’re looking for a quick read that is assured to end with a happily-ever-after, then perhaps this is the book for you.

3.5/5 stars.

I’ve been wanting to read a book which tackles the struggles of modern dating, so was really interested in reading this book. At first, I felt that Anna having struggles would make her more relatable and endearing. As the story went on, it became frustrating when Anna seemed to be self sabotaging herself and not making any effort with her career despite claiming to be interested in writing ‘real stories'. There were references to how Anna’s dad’s death had impacted her, but it wasn’t fully explored. I wondered whether Anna’s dissatisfaction with her life started since that event. There was an attempt towards the end to link the circumstances of his death to her approach towards to her career, but if this had been explored earlier on, I think I would have connected with the main character better and it would have been easier to read. With the ending, I liked how things were left open ended with Pete but wanted bit more clarity on Anna’s approach towards her career. That being said, I liked the story’s message of the perils of being too focused on the numbers in dating and how Anna eventually owned the fact that she did not fit in with the conventional life path. It was quite an engaging read, a more thorough characterization would have got it a higher rating.

Perhaps with a more skilled writer or someone with an eye for satire could have done well with it but everyone was frustratingly exhaustingly shallow and dull. I hardly saw Anna as "smart and vivacious" instead selfish and child-like for 29.
1..5 Stars

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have slightly mixed feelings about this book, but ultimately, I love the concept of it and thought it was an enjoyable read. I also really enjoyed the arc of the story and while it was a tiny bit predictable in some ways, Tredget handled it really well and worked to give the novel meaning.

Anna is not the most likable main character and though many will not agree with some of the decisions she made, I think we can all relate to her on some level... Especially in today's day and age. It's bad enough we go on social media and see everyone's "amazingly fabulous" lives and compare them to our own, but Kismet is yet another piece of technology that can make you feel like you're missing out. Basically, it's a dating app that gives you and potential matches a number that rates how good of a match you are. Anna is in a relationship, but because she and Pete are only a 70 (which isn't bad at all!), she joins Kismet to see what else is out there and to make sure she's not missing out on a better match. Of course, she meets an 81.

The way the book is written reminded me a lot of Mhairi McFarlane's "It's Not Me, It's You" and not just because it takes place in London, but more because the main character is a millennial struggling in both her personal life and work life and it also has a similar writing style.

I also get the Black Mirror comparisons, but if this was a Black Mirror episode, it would have been a whole lot darker and more sinister. It's about a piece of technology that could be found in Black Mirror, but don't be deceived into thinking it's going to be a crazy dark book. In any event, I could definitely see Kismet being a movie!

Kismet was a really quick, interesting read. I liked how it explored online dating (something I’m terrified of), and it did remind me a bit of that Black Mirror episode with the social media. It definitely caught my attention and kept me reading to find out what happened. That said, there was a lot I didn’t love about this one.

First, I kind of hated all of the characters. They all seemed immature and overly focused on Kismet and dating or partying. All of the relationships seemed very superficial, and about halfway through the book, I got to a point where I just wanted everyone to go away. The main character, Anna, was particularly annoying. Sure, it’s okay that she doesn’t really know what she wants, but she literally lets an app decide for her. All of her relationships are dictated by a mysterious algorithm. And when she finally gets a great project at work, she completely takes it for granted. She just seemed really flighty, and it irritated me. Also, I didn’t appreciate how superficial she is. Without going too much into detail, the second she decides she doesn’t like someone, she starts thinking about all their physical flaws. And when she’s debating between two identical pairs of boots, she decides she likes the (much) more expensive ones for pretty much no real reason. Which leads me to:

Everything in this book seems very unrealistic. Let’s leave the magic dating app aside, since it’s part of the fantasy. There are still so many problems. A student and a (junior) journalist can afford to buy their own flat (albeit a small one) in London? Okay, sure. And since when is £30,000 (about $39,000 USD) enough to pay a mortgage and all expenses for a year? In London, one of the most expensive cities in the world? Sorry, no. I don’t buy it. I make more than that and would probably vomit if I spent $320 on a pair of boots and can’t even afford a small apartment where I live, let alone half of a mortgage.

I was so looking forward to reading a book with characters my age and in a similar situation, and I just couldn’t identify with this at all. It felt too unrealistic and it completely took me out of the story. Plus, the ending was completely unsatisfying. It could have redeemed some of the problems, but then it stopped short, which was kind of frustrating.

I found it really hard to connect to the characters in this book. While I liked the technology factoring into play, I just did not like anyone in the story enough to root for them. I tried. I liked that there was resolution for the characters but I just found myself not really caring, Sorry. She just came off as self serving and shallow instead of a broken person who needed to grow.

There’s something so profoundly reductive and indolent about describing something using a combination of two other semi similar things such as Kismet is a Black Mirror meets Bridget Jones. No, it really isn’t. First off, one probably shouldn’t use two far superior modern cultural pop classics for fear of unflattering comparisons. Secondly, just because the novel features a dating app and a young woman’s messy lovelife of being torn between two suitors doesn’t mean it has to be aggressively hyped up as something it may not be. Why not be its own thing. Be Kismet. Kismet is actually a pretty decent story, a surprisingly readable and compelling one, despite being essentially a romance for millennials…a subject and a generation really difficult to like or care about. It isn’t Black Mirroresque, because it isn’t as stunningly clever and it isn’t Bridget Jones because it isn’t nearly or at all funny. What it is is a story of a confused 30 year old whose brain is addled by being on the latest all encompassing dating app Kismet, which analyzes your entire life and then offers you potential matches rated by compatibility (1 to 100). She’s in a nice relationship with a 70, but then meets an 81 and all bets are off. Suddenly there are choices to make, entirely too many choices. The story itself was fairly average, but the app aspect elevated it and provided a nice dark note and even a plot twist. So maybe Black Mirror than Bridget Jones after all, the sociopsychological ramifications of technology on the very fabric of society seems to make for a more interesting subject than indecisive young women’s love affairs. This is a timely reflection of the modern dating world, the future or romance and choices adulthood brings. And a nicely written one too. Thanks Netgalley.