You always wonder if one single action could have the power change the course of your life. This story explores that possibility and how much of your lives are connected, inextricably, as they are meant to be.

Loved the book and I couldn’t put it down. I I’ve read books and seen movies with a similar premise, but this book was well written and an easy read.

This book was a really enjoyable read overall.

What if the one kiss you didn’t have changed everything? What if you could see your life differently if you had gotten that kiss? Which life would you pick?

I wanted to like this book more but I found both of the leads a little unlikable . I liked the magic aspect of this story and am all for changing your life for the better. I just had a hard time connecting with this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguins Putnam group for the ARC.

If you don’t believe in life altering kisses, Lauren Kate will make a believer out of you. I couldn’t put this down as I immediately fell in love with this single POV and with MCs Olivia and Jake.

Masha tells Liv: “You go out of your way to help other people like it’s your job.” While calling her out for avoiding her own heart. Liz has perfected the art of not getting her heartbroken. She watched her mothers heart break following her dads heart attack and has been content finding minimal romance with lackluster guys who she knows there is no future or feelings with. But… the one that never was/dismissed her before there could have been a kiss is back in her life, moving back to the West Coast and is immediately under her skin.

The Moon Zappa in “Valley Girl” reference was *chef kiss*. My favorite Frank Zappa song as a kid. So many superb references throughout this book.

The twists and turns this took. Love spanning parallel universe, with a dog keeping you tethered to reality. A heartfelt reminder not to take from granted all that you have/the grass isn’t always greener. I have to note the initial transition between the universes is confusing. I had to go back and read twice making sure I didn’t missed something as high school sweethearts Masha (Olivia’s BBS) and Eli’s (Jake’s bff) ceremony ended.

Setting: LA

Tropes:
High school rivals
Enemies to lovers
Famous main characters

Trigger Warning:
Off page passing of a parent
Off page miscarriage

Thank you NetGalley and GP Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. How interesting would it be to see a different version of your life? Olivia gets a view of the “what ifs” of her life. Let’s just say, she learns a lot. The story between Olivia and Jake is a good one. I just wish there would have been more to the ending. I need a sequel!

Olivia and Jake were sweet and fun, and it made it easy to fall into the romance between them but the time traveling back and forth made the story hard to keep up with and left me with question How does this happen? Why would a mom absolutely refuse to try reconciling with her for moving across the country?

Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this book was a very cute rom com with a great enemies to lovers trope.

We follow Olivia as she plans her best friend Masha’s wedding. Olivia loves her best friend but she’s as single as they come. During the wedding weekend olivia has a run in with the best man who is her arch enemy from high school and it does not go well.
At the wedding, after the kiss, Olivia is transported into an alternate reality where she is happily married to the love of her life, but has lost her best friend and mom in the process. Will she get back to her real life, and will her relationship make it once she’s back “home”?
This was my first read by this author and I liked it and would recommend this book!

I enjoyed the close female and mother daughter relationships. The "what ifs" in this book are true to life. What if my high school rival and I kissed and we were together? What if I was able to visit that world and we were together but other relationships were not like before? What would you do when you had to decide upon life with this love or the one where he was a "rival" but you had your BBS and mom? How could someone choose between these two worlds? Cute story with good banter between the two main characters. Would have loved an epilogue to see how these two and the other couples turn out.....

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you #netgalley #penguinrandomhouse and #laurenkate for the ARC read. This book was a cute and delightful read. A blast from the past, and a book of what ifs. What’s in a Kiss made me laugh out loud, cry, smile, and reflect on past experiences. A quick must read on a nice summer day.

3.5 ✰ “I believe when a person finds something they love this much, they should shape their life around it.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishing team for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


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Let’s open by saying that first of all, I already want to reread this so bad. I had a lot of fun with this story, the banter of the main couple is just so good, I was laughing and blushing all the time. I read a lot of books that are set in New York City, and sometimes Chicago, but for some reason, I don’t usually look for books set in LA, that however is going to change.

I feel like if you loved The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston, you’re going to adore this novel.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: This is not how Liv wanted to see Jake Glasswell for the first time in ten years. Once her high school rival and the prom date who humiliated her, now a successful TV personality, he’s more attractive than he has any right to be. And he’s her Lyft passenger. Since the prom night kiss that never was, Liv’s life has not gone to plan. She deferred Julliard to be with her mom during a crisis, and now swears she’s happy as a recently furloughed drama teacher going on no-strings dates. This weekend she’s maid of honor to her best friend, Masha, and, of course, Jake is the best man. But when Liv glares into Jake’s eyes as Masha says, “I do,” the universe turns on its axis and Liv is suddenly living a version of her life where prom night was the beginning of her and Jake, not the end, and it turns out he’s the love of her life. The catch? Her mom and Masha hate her now. What’s in a kiss? Maybe everything.

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬, 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐦𝐜, 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬.

My favorite thing by far in this was the romance, Jack is your typical sarcastic love interest that has you smiling all the time. Olive and Jack are just so adorable, the moment the timelines changed and you got to see what they would’ve become if they kissed at prom all of those years ago is one of my favorites because you get to see Olive warm up to him and realize how in love and perfect they are together. Now, I was expecting a little more at the end, but I’ll talk about that below.

I was expecting a bit more from the plot of the book, especially with Olive’s mother and Masha. It also didn’t sit right with me that they got together so easily at the end, and there’s also the fact that she’s still a lift driver. I think 50 extra pages could’ve done the trick to elevate the story and make it more memorable.

This was okay it felt all over the place at times. Loved the relationship with her and Marsha.

I would explore more books by this author .

Overall what a cute, light, and fun love story! I loved getting to see Olivia fall in love with Jake, but also with the life she was given. It is nice to see a book written about things we always think about, like if that one thing did/didn’t happen how different would our life be? I was confused at times but as the book continues you get more answers… now give me more Jake and Olivia in the real life please!

I unfortunately had to dnf this title because the writing style isn’t for me and at 47% I wasn’t able to absorb anymore information so I had to call it quits. I’ve read some outstanding reviews for this title though and I encourage everyone to pick it up and see what they think!

Asks the question: what if? What if I’d made a different decision and altered the trajectory of my life? Olivia Dusk is faced with this reality when she finds herself living a different version of her life, when she’d made a different choice in high school, which changed the world she now knows - her job, her friends, her relationships with family and her significant other. But is the grass actually greener?

The writing is witty and fast-paced, the characters are flawed but likable, and the relationships between Olivia and Jake, Masha, Lorena (& Gram Parsons!) are what we strive towards in our own lives. Well written and thoughtfully conceived, I will be recommending this one to all my friends and fellow readers.

All the wheres in all the worlds. Always.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book in terms of characters and common romance trope execution, but wasn’t a huge fan of how few details we got in the alternate reality regarding key issues in the book. I don’t want to give away any spoilers with my review but it ended without closure on a few things that I felt were critical to engage more fully. I’m also not a huge fan of books that use a last name to refer to the main characters because it doesn’t happen much in real life. If it was more flushed out in those regards, I’d be able to give it a much higher review since the writing style is quite good, but as is it’s a 3/5.

This book was adorable, overall the story was cute and fun. It's and enemies to lovers second chance romance and gives exactly what you need when looking for a cute little romcom. As a lover of Lauren Kate from a young age, I was so excited to read this story as it was so different from the other books I've read by her. It is safe to say she impressed me with her ability to write both the series I was obsessed with in middle school AND a book I can enjoy at 22 years old.

Olivia and Jake were sweet and fun, and it made it easy to fall into the romance between these two! However, the time traveling back and forth made the story a bit confusing and left me with questions. How does this happen? Why would a mom absolutely refuse to try reconciling with her for moving across the country? If you liked 13 Going on 30, definitely give this a try!

What a beautiful journey I experienced with this book, I cried and laughed in equal parts, I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

This is a friends to lovers, second chance, alternate realities story that I won't go into so as not to ruin the experience for anyone else, but I must say I absolutely loved the 90's pop culture references and the power they give to the stories that can happen from a kiss.

I think I would have liked it to be a little longer, it's light, but at the same time deep.
I really enjoyed it, thank you very much for the opportunity to read it in Arc.

4.5 stars

TROPES:
- Rom com
- “Enemies” to lovers
- One of us is famous
- Second chance
- Alternate reality

READ IF YOU LIKE:
- Close female friendship
- Close mother/daughter relationship
- Witty banter
- He falls first
- Sexual tension

This book caught my attention because of the beautiful colors on the cover. The synopsis also really intrigued me. I have never read a book, let alone a rom com, with the alternate reality trope. I can now confirm that I am a fan.

One of my favorite things about this book was the banter, especially in the beginning when they were “enemies”. I was laughing out loud at some parts! Even in the “High Life” when Olivia and Jake were civil towards each other, their banter was still funny and cute.

Another thing I really loved about this book was that Olivia was so willing to give up her “High Life” with Jake to get her relationships with her mom and her best friend back. That really showed how important those two women were in her life, and she was willing to risk the true love she finally found with Jake to get them back.

Something that I wish we got was Jake’s POV! You could tell he was so down bad for her since they first met. I would love to have known what he thought about her in his head. The man’s got a way with words. I also wish that we had an epilogue that showed us how their life looked now that they were together in “Real Life”.

I definitely recommend reading this book! It was cute, quick, emotional, and even got a little steamy at times!

Happy reading :)

Imagine entering a parallel universe where your arch nemesis is your husband, and your best friend and mother no longer speak to you. That's what happens to Liv in the middle of her (former?) best friend's wedding that she worked so hard to help plan! Now, she's suddenly married to Jake, who she definitely doesn't like and definitely didn't kiss at prom ten years ago, and needs to figure out how to get back home.

Liv gets to know Jake along her journey in the "High Life" and discovers who they could have been if they had taken that leap of faith ten years ago. Does she want to go back to a life without Jake? Is it worth losing her mother and best friend, possibly forever, if she stays? Is there a universe where she can have it all?

What's In a Kiss? is a beautiful story about the "what ifs?" we all come across in life, how one single action can change the course of life as we know it, and accepting the outcomes of those tough decisions we make, although they may have been hard at the time.

In this book, you'll enjoy getting to know Liv and Jake and seeing how some things aren't always as they seem on the surface. It will keep you on your toes and rooting for the possibility that Liv and Jake may have a future together after all. This was a very fun read for me and I'll definitely be recommending this!

Add this to your list if you like enemies to lovers, second chance romance, celebrity, or alternate reality tropes!

What's in a Kiss?" by Lauren Kate takes you on a whirlwind ride through missed opportunities and alternate realities. Follow Liv, a drama teacher turned Lyft driver, as she reconnects with her high school nemesis and unexpectedly finds herself in a parallel universe where a single kiss sparks a beautiful love story. The book skillfully blends romance, "13 Going on 30" vibes, and a dash of sci-fi, exploring the impact of choices and the allure of "what if." While Liv's character takes time to warm up, the palpable chemistry between her and Jake and the intriguing alternate reality make this a charming read. Perfect for fans of romcoms and those curious about the twists of fate, "What's in a Kiss?" will have you pondering life's possibilities. (3.5 stars)