The story of Olivia, whose life was altered forever when her dad died near high school graduation and her plans to go to Julliard are cut off by grief. Ten years later, she's not on Broadway like she'd hoped but she does have meaningful relationships with her mom and best friend, and feels content. Reunited with Jake, her almost-kiss at prom and high school rival, at her best friend's wedding, a freaky-friday type moment happens and she is transported to a new life where things are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. She needs to figure out what happened and how to get back to her real life, but eventually also whether she wants to go back to her real life.

I absolutely loved this book. It was sweet and fun and it was a joy to follow the journey of Olivia and Jake throughout. I loved the temptations to alter reality and the lessons learned, and was so delighted by the whole dang thing.

I love a good parallel universe love story. I think some of my absolute favorites of this story are Yogi Dan, and Deck Day.

# What's in a Kiss?
# 7/8/2024 ~ 7/11/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

I’m not gonna lie, I was a little iffy about this one in the beginning. I was struggling to get into it for a little bit, but as the story went on I got very emotionally invested. In other words, tears were shed (the good kind). My heart was feeling all the things and I miss it very much.

I loved the relationships that Liv had with her best friend, her mom, and, of course, Jake. But honestly, so many things about this book were enjoyable. And second chance romances always get me.

Happy to have started my summer reading off with this rom-com! If you’re looking for a light summer read, this would be a good one to add to your list!

⭐️ 4 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lauren Kate is always going to be my comfort author! I love how her books are wholesome, genuine, and a little bit of whimsical (especially this one!).

When Liv meets her high school crush-turned-nemesis, Jake, after 10 years at her best friend's wedding, she thinks she can handle him for 1 day. But everything changes when she looks into her eyes during the wedding vows & suddenly she's transported to another reality where they are happily married.

As much as I loved Liv's growth, I loved Jake even more. I really appreciated how Lauren gave a snarky between Liv and Jake in one life and being madly in love on another. And let me tell you, I absolutely loved both timelines & banters.

Though we didn't get to see much of the "real life," I could totally understand how things changed & unfolded in the alternate one. The friendship was top tier, and it made me sad to see that wasn't the case in the 2nd reality.

BUT THE ROMANCE WAS EVERYTHING! Jake & Liv were meant to be together since their prom night & in the end, it was proven so. Loved the ending so much, especially when Liv sees all her timelines with Jake! Can't wait to read more by Lauren.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the E-ARC. Im not gonna lie Im always hesitant to read books based on 2 universes. But Im also not gonna lie and Im so glad I read this one I totally enjoyed Olivia and Jakes story. I loved the risk that Olivia took and reasons behind it I loved that this was so much more than a romance story and had strong friendship and parent relationships.

Have you ever seen the movie Sliding Doors? It take s a peek at a different path in life had the character changed a decision in their past. This book is like that.

The downside to this is you spend majority of the book in the "alternate" universe only to fall in love with it for the character and become unsure if they'll ever obtain it. It made me want a greater glimpse of reality and how things panned out for the character in the present.

This is my first Lauren Kate novel. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It felt unique and fresh. It was somewhat of a women's fiction crossover with romance that I think fans of The Good Part and The Seven Year Slip will enjoy.

This was a cute quirky romance. Great gimmick. Loved the alternate reality. Shades of Sliding Doors. Good point the friends and family are so important.

📽️🎞️💋
📖Review
4🌟🌟🌟🌟
📖Book 29/100
📚What’s in a Kiss
💫Genre: Fiction/Romance
✍️Author:
Lauren Kate

📝Synopsis 📝
Olivia is planning her best friend’s wedding. She is the maid of honor, but her high school nemesis, Jake, is the best man. They have horrible history since he humiliated her at prom. Ever since then, Olivia has had it rough and lost her dad, didn’t get to go to Juilliard, and her life is still a mess. On the night of the wedding her entire world shifts into another world, and she is now married to Jake!

My thoughts 💭
Oh my goodness this was such a cute read that gave me Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30, and Just Like Heaven vibes! I’m a sucker for contemporary romance with a twist of a parallel universe, so I recommend it if you enjoy Ashley Poston books! I loved the 80’s Pop Culture throwbacks, and Liv’s endless love for her mother and BFF/BBS. I wished there were a bit more details on the why she fell out with her favorite people in her alternate universe. I also would have loved an Epilogue to Liv and Glaswell’s HEA.
🧡Enemies to Lovers
💜Parallel Universe
🧡Second Chance
💜Banter & Romance
🧡HEA

✨Thank you so much @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️🏷️
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This book was really fun!

Olivia is prepping for her best friend Marsha’s wedding, at which she has to play nice with her high school nemesis, Jake Glasswell. As the wedding weekend is upon them, she and Jake are having to spend a lot of time together. When it’s time for Masha to kiss her husband, Olivia is sent to another world where she and Jake are married. The story explores the question of what could happen if you make one small different choice in your life.

I liked this book a lot. I found Olivia’s character really “woe is me” at the beginning, but by the end I felt like she had gotten the development she needed to make this story work. I liked her floundering to figure out her new life and the ways in which it was better and worse than her real life.

Jake was a little too good to be true, which was a little annoying at times (give him some character flaws!) but it worked for what the story was trying to convey.

I liked this for the light hearted, fun read that it was meant to be.

What, did I miss something in Chapter 8?! I had to re-read so I could get the full effect and luxuriate in Chapter 9. What a tension filled love story! I loved the unknown of what was going to or not going to happen. Quick fun read for summer, highly recommend!

A vibrant summer read that dives into the age old question of "what if" that stretches through multiverses.

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did- it was such a pleasant surprise! A touch slow at the start, I wasn't hooked until our MMC entered the scene. The chemistry between Liv and Jake was palpable and their banter that had me giggling.

It was such a beautiful story of missed opportunity, the butterfly effect and love that spans multiverses. The last few chapters had me reaching for the tissues with how raw and beautiful it was all unfolding.

A perfect summer read that I cannot recommend enough!

Huge thank you to Lauren Kate, Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC <3

I’m not sure how I feel about these alternate universe scenarios. There doesn’t seem to be a way to make it all work out. This book did a good job of it though. I don’t feel like we knew enough about Olivia’s “new” life to know why Masha was so mean to her and I didn’t like how her mom was so awful to her for no good reason. Overall it was entertaining and I enjoyed it.

This was very cute and very reminiscent of a 90's Julia Roberts/Meg Ryan type of rom com, which I obviously love. I also LOVE any element of sci-fi and alternate realities and how the lend themselves to a romance. This one was great and felt genuinely balanced on the pros and cons of each life in several ways. The banter between Olivia and Jake was a dream and added to their chemistry so much. I loved this!

I absolutely adored this book. The alternate reality timeline? The characters? The plot? The meaning? It was beautiful. Lauren did phenomenal with allowing one to stop and analyze their life. Stopping and realizing “what is in a kiss?” Seeing the life Liv has by kissing Jake and the other life Liv has by not kissing Jake.

Personally, I truly enjoyed their relationship. Liv and Jake were fun and endearing. I was giggling, tearing up, and just overall in awe of the concept of the book and its writing. I do love a good second chance romance/rivals to lovers and this was it! Add in a sparkling of alternate reality and it was everything! ✨

This is 100% for the Ashley Poston lovers because I’m sobbing here about a book with magical elements and alternate realities just as I did with the seven-year slip and the dead romantics

What’s in a Kiss? is out now! Thank you so much to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the arc copy!

P.S I didn’t realize Lauren also wrote By Any Other Name which I loved so much when I read it in 2022, so I’m loving her work!

- Alternate Reality
- Second Chance Romance
- Rivals to Lovers
- Contemporary Romance
- One is famous
- He falls first, and 100x harder
- Self Discovery
- Character Development

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing the ARC.

When Liv looks at Jake Glasswell the moment her friend says "I do," her whole world changes. She goes from a furloughed drama teacher to a star on a hit TV show, she lives in a ritzy mansion with a pool, and Jake is her "happily ever after" husband. The only catch? She's lost literally everyone else in her life and there there seems to be no chance for reconciliation.

This book had an interesting, if not original premise. We've all seen/read the various stories of people switching bodies, switching lives, switching timelines. It was interesting that this one came about because of one rambunctious yogi/rabbi and his propensity to meddle. Regardless, despite transporting into this new reality, there is very little about that Liv (and the reader) understands. What happened with her and Masha to cause a decade long friend breakup? What happened with her mom that means they're no longer on speaking terms? And none of this is really explored. The only thing that's explored is how in love Jake is with Liv, and how much he gave up in this alternate lifestyle.

I wanted more from this book than I got. I wanted a deeper dive into what happened with Liv's life in this new reality and why things ended up the way that they did. And we got glimpses of it, but not enough to fully glean what happened. And while having to be in a life that is not yours for a week may seem like a daunting challenge, it feels like it wasn't enough time, especially since during that week, the most we got was Jake mooning after her.

Overall, not a bad book. I just wanted something more than what I got.

Set in LA, this was a fun magical realism, sliding doors style romance that sees Olivia getting a chance to live another life in which she marries her first love when one kiss at her best friend's wedding sweeps her into an alternate universe. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle, Holly James or Ashley Poston, this was a fun what if romance full of female friendship, second chances and all the feels! Great on audio too narrated by Kristen DiMercurio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

What’s in a kiss? It’s crazy how one single moment or decision can change the trajectory of your life. This book made me think of all the possible alternate realities of myself if I would have made a different decision. In this case, her life hung on whether she kissed Jake or not at the prom. In her reality, she didn’t, and he rose to fame and the two hate each other. But she has her mom and best friend. In the alternate reality, she is married to Jake and a famous actress, but her mom and best friend hate her. She struggles to find how she can get the best of both worlds but also return to her reality. In her new reality, she uncovers some revelations, since the history before the kiss is the same and gets a new perspective on things— especially Jake’s.

I loved the “Freaky Friday” moment with the ground shake, and Yogi Dan being the anchor between the realities. It also reminded me of 13 Going on 30, as she’s tripping over herself trying to figure out who she is in this new reality and adjust to her job and life while not having the memories of the last 10 years. I also loved that we got to see how much of a gem Jake is. We didn’t really get to in the “real world” because he was hiding away his emotions from her, but in the new reality there’s none of that. He got the girl and he’s happy with his life.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the read!

What’s in a Kiss by Lauren Kate

ARC Review

Available 07/02/2024

5/10 - 3 stars

What to expect:
Alternate timelines
Second Chance
Enemies to Lovers

The concept of What’s in a Kiss was great! I love dual/alternative timelines and going down the rabbit hole of what choices affected our lives differently. Overall this was a cute book but at times I felt as if I had already read it. It’s you’ve seen Sliding Doors or Look Both Ways and liked them you’d probably love this book.

I really liked the author style of writing and the flow of the story. Nothing was too complicated to understand and for an alternative timeline it all made sense. There were a few plot holes, mainly to do with personalities that I didn’t like and that honestly took me by surprise. When I first met the FMC I wasn’t a fan. When it came to one man that he went to high school with she fell completely apart and acted pretty immaturely. She came out of the alternative world with a mature outlook but I wish there had been a couple more chapters on her growth there when it came to her relationship and career.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author in the future

3.5 stars.

"What's in a Kiss?" by Lauren Kate boasts a cute but familiar parallel universe/alternate timeline enemies-to-lovers love story. I liked the characters in this book. The main female character, Olivia, finds herself in an alternate life where she gets the romance she didn't know she always wanted but loses her mother and her best friend Masha in the process. She has to determine if a second chance at true love in the "high life" is worth losing the two most important people to her. This book can be quite compelling but also a little frustrating. It feels like the story is a bit rushed here and there. Some of the timeline gets choppy and the rules for "time travel"/"time jumping" are not quite clear. I finished the book with several unanswered questions and a couple of unsatisfied answers. That being said, I did enjoy this book quite a bit. I found myself drawn to "high life" Jake because he was such a silly lil' cinnamon roll of a guy. I wanted Olivia to end up with that version of him so badly! I liked their dynamic despite the flaws in their personalities. I think the fracturing of Olivia's relationships with her mother and Masha in the "high life" was the most compelling part of the story. This book likely won't win any awards, but it was a fun, light, quick summertime read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Kate, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Sweet book, I always have the what if in my life. What if I met my husband earlier, etc. I felt Lauren Kate wrote a book about her what if? I felt for the characters in both lives and flipped back and forth which time I wanted to keep. Very Sliding Doors-like.