Listen- I probably shouldn't have picked this up. I don't love pining when there's nothing keeping them apart, I don't like sex before you kiss (its just doesnt make sense to me). But I have been yearning for Sapphic books, and I was so excited for the ace spec rep as someone on the ace spec.

Positive thoughts first: I enjoyed all the queer rep, and I enjoyed the message that it's okay to still be finding yourself after your early 20s.

Condensing my negative thoughts into a list as vague as possible as to not have spoilers:

1) I don't like the main character. She's holding grudges for things that happened ten years ago when all parties were children, despite never trying to tell the truth in the ten years since. I really struggled to hold sympathy for her. I enjoyed the LI at the start, but not after 60% iykyk.

2) too many vague facts. The synopsis says angela is a librarian, but later the book says she's waiting to move out till she can find an open librarian position. She already is one? And with her best friend? I don't understand this. Her schooling is also never really explained. She's 27 and taking online classes but we never find out why she's still in school or what she's even majoring in.

3) despite the scavenger hunt being in the synopsis and used in marketing on social media, it barely has a spot in the plot. If that's your reason for reading, don't let it be.

4) Ties in to number 1 but I didn't like how Angela seemed to be dissing on aromantic people time and time again. Krystal tells her time and time again that she can't feel love (and sure, she ends up being able to and having just been afraid) but I despise the way Angela reacts to it. How is she gonna sit here and say her cousins bullied her for not being super sexual and then sit here and say "Krystal just THINKS she cant feel romantic love but I know she can"

5) there were a lot of times during scenes where I felt that the dialougue of the characters didn't match their actions, or as if I was missing a lot of social cues.

6) ties into my first paragraph but I skipped all the sex scenes cuz having sex before you kiss just feels weird to me.

I honestly think the book just wasn't promoted well. I think marketing twisted what it was and set up an unreal expectation. One of the promo pics mentions unrequited crushes but it's never unrequited on page.
I think this would have been better promoted as a contemporary finding yourself/ mid life crisis with a subplot of romance.

Okay, listen: ace rep? Of course I, an ace person, will want to read it. And I did. And I loved it. This book is cute and funny and so so so steamy. Oh my God, I loved it.
“But it’s an ace book.” Yeah, and FINALLY is a rep with an ace character who is not sex repulsed (I mean, it’s nothing wrong being sex repulsed, I’m sex repulsed, but it’s good to have other rep of the ace spectrum).
The trope are well executed, the romance is cute, the character are well written. I mean, it’s a cute book and an enjoyable reading.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7212665665

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this e-arc!

So, the review - 1. This was absolutely a solid 4 star read for me and 2. I've got to stop being fooled by cartoon covers LMAO because these two??? Were busy LOL. Anyways, this story had bi x ace rep, and I learned SO much about the ace spectrum in this book - which I really enjoyed!!!! As a couple, I loved watching these two discover their romance and advocate for each other, my god. I *will* say, Krystal did frustrate me a bit at times lolololol but fearful avoidant queen to fearful avoidant queen, I do fear I get it 💀

Anyways, super cute, super informative, will read more from this author!!

This was a solid 3.5 star book for me. The found family trope will always slap, and I really appreciated the dynamics of queerness and flexibility of sexuality that was explored in this book. However, I get thrown out of the book when real life references are covered, like the use of TikTok specifically in this book. I think that’s partially what took me so long to finish this book because I was struggling with that incorporation. The happy ever after, though, was so sweet and tender. I wish they would have just talked sooner, which lent to this having a bit of a miscommunication trope, a trope I usually hate so much. Otherwise, it was a decent read!

Oh my god, I love Angela with every fiber of my being. I love her heart and her determination and confusion and exploring, her vulnerability and her strength. AND SHES A LIBRARIAN!!!! And Krystal....my heart belongs to her, beats for her, cheers her on!! This story was fabulous and a bit messy, and so very real. I loved it!!

i really wanted to love this and it has a lot of good things going for it but i felt like that scene in 10 things i hate about you where she says i know you can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, can you ever just be whelmed? i just felt very detached from the book in general.

i’ll start with what i liked! i thought there were great conversations about the importance of cultivating queer community, the importance to give yourself grace to figure out your identity, and the societal pressure put on people to meet relationship milestones by a certain age. the discussions angela had with her friends and family about being queer and mexican and navigating the world felt so authentic and i think this book could be really important for a lot of people!

besides those discussions i just felt very meh about this book. the romance was cute and while the characters express the tension and attraction they feel for each other i didn’t feel any of that while reading. the voices of the characters felt extremely similar and was a bit difficult to discern who was talking. the dialogue and sex scenes were also kind of cringy, IM SORRY!!!!

i’m not going to give spoilers so i’ll just say at the end of the book i was sat there like okay well what was the point then???

i’m so happy this book was published bc queer Latinx stories are important and i really hope people love it!

thanks to forever and netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a great romance book with diverse leads and a unique storyline! Angela starts posting videos online about her inexperience and starts a scavenger hunt for her first kiss. Her longtime crush, Krystal, is helping her but feelings grow between the two and complicate everything.

The representation in this book is fantastic, as we get to see Angela learn more about her identity and where she fits on the asexual spectrum. I loved how she was confident in her identity and didn’t let any negativity from others take away from her journey.

Angela and Krystal’s relationship was perfectly paced, and had everything from sweet to steamy moments. They both had so much personal and emotional growth in the story and balanced each other well. I also loved how supportive they were of each other, even in moments when it wasn’t clear if they could have a romantic relationship.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and will be going back to read the first book in the interconnected series. Also, OMG this cover is so stunning!

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is one of my most anticipated reads for the year. I was SO excited when I heard that this book was a Sapphic Latinx Romance (two Latinx leads) and saw the cover! So, it hurts when I say this book did not meet my expectations. I will sum up my thoughts without any spoilers.

First, I am going to mention where the book fell short. This book is targeted as a Mexican Sapphic Romance with two Mexican FMCs, Angela Gutierrez and Krystal Ramirez.  In my opinion, as someone who identifies themselves as Latinx, this book lacked Latinx representation. There is no discussion about Angela or Krystal’s Mexican heritage.  In the beginning, when we meet Angela, we learn that her parents are Mexican, which is the only time her culture is mentioned. As for Krystal, it is never mentioned that she is Mexican.  But this book being marketed as a Latinx Romance?

Only five Spanish words are in the book, and they are after the 50% mark (elote, mija, fiesta, and Angelita). Yes, I am aware that Latinxs are not a monolith and that not all Latinxs speak Spanish. Multiple languages are spoken in Latin America, and there are Latinxs who do not speak Spanish. But this could have been a topic or discussion explored with Angela and Krystal. Do they have a shared experience when it comes to speaking Spanish? The book did not explore nor mention this.

The cover is beautiful, but the San Antonio festival is such a small part of the book. Based on the cover, I thought it would be a key moment.

The scavenger hunt wasn’t the book's main focus, as I was expecting. There was so much discussion about it; in the end, it didn't even matter.

I also feel some moments/discussions were rushed: Krystal’s former relationship, the fallout with her cousins, and Krystal’s bar. Also, this is book two in the “Librarians in Love,” and there were no librarian vibes.

What I did enjoy about the book was the ace and queer representation. There were many discussions in the book, and multiple characters explored this.  I do feel that these conversations were meaningful and informative, but it also felt repetitive in some parts.  Most of the first half of the book focuses on this.

Thanks to Netgalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the arc! Loved so much! Cute characters & bookish setting. Also loved the
plus-size rep. Will read more from this author.

The premise of this book was pretty unique and fun; I was definitely intrigued with how it might all play out. And overall I enjoyed it quite a bit. There was a lot Angela ended up dealing with apart from just seeking romance and at times those other situations seemed to overtake the romantic arc. But just as she kept being drawn back to Krystal, I kept being pulled back into their love story. The ending, in regards to Angela's original idea/mission, might not have been completely satisfying but I was happy to see Krystal and Angela figure things out together.

The scream i scrumpt when this dropped in my lap!

I looooved the asexual rep here within the pages of the book. The main character did come off maybe a hair young due to the first kiss gimmick but I didn’t let that ruin a single thing.

The plot was marvelous and I loved the focus on discovering themselves and figuring out who they were and all the explanations plus some. The chemistry between the two main characters was great along with the pacing of the novel leading to a great read with moments of hilarity thrown in.

I already need more, absolutely loved it!

The cover of this book is gorgeous! It really is what made me want to read the book.

I wish I could say that I liked this book, but there were a lot of things about it that weren't my cup of tea. Angela was a twenty-seven year-old woman but maturity wise, she felt like she was a teenager. Alongside that, there were a lot of things that happened in the book that felt more fitting for a YA novel because of the level of maturity of what the characters were doing. YA novels are not my thing.

The first kiss gimmick was a little weird to me. Angela was ok with doing other things but made this big deal out of kissing. Maybe I just didn't understand where she was coming from on that.

The scavenger hunt was a bit anticlimactic. The book was building up to it with Angela preparing for it and putting pressure on herself because of it. And then it happened. And who cares because she knew who she wanted to kiss anyway! *scratches head*

I loved Gabriella Gamez's first book, but this one was not for me.

I picked this one up for the stunning cover and was glad I did! It's great to see more romances with asexual representation (this one was pretty heavy on the explanations and exploration of what that meant to the main character). I felt like I was missing a fair bit by not having read the first in the series, especially at the beginning when the other characters were introduced.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

“Kiss Me, Maybe” by Gabriella Gamez is an engaging and heartwarming romance that offers a refreshing take on love, identity, and self-discovery. Through a delightful mix of humor, emotional depth, and relatable characters, Gamez explores the complexities of attraction, relationships, and finding one's place in the world.
The story follows Angela, a librarian who accidentally becomes TikTok famous when she posts an unintentional thirst trap. She then decides to use her following to start checking off some of her firsts, starting with a big one: Her first kiss. While planning a scavenger hunt to achieve this, she starts spending more and more time with her crush, bartender Krystal Ramirez.
The book offers a nuanced exploration of exploring one’s own identity and, in Angela’s case, her intersectionality with identifying as not only lesbian but also asexual and finding her place in her hispanic family. I really enjoyed the emphasis on this exploration and can identify with trying to find a label that fits.
Gabriella Gamez’s writing is accessible and warm, making it easy for readers to connect with Angela’s journey. The narrative is infused with moments of humor and lightheartedness, but it never shies away from addressing the more serious questions of identity and belonging. The pacing is well-balanced, and the plot moves at a satisfying rhythm, allowing Angela’s self-discovery to unfold naturally throughout the book.
There were some themes and storylines that felt more repetitive and drawn out than necessary, however overall I thoroughly enjoyed Kiss me, Maybe. It was sweet, funny, heartfelt and a very easy read to get into and enjoy.

I have a pile of ARCs to read, but I kept abandoning them in favor of this one because it is such a fun, lovely story!

Angela is an asexual lesbian coming out via TikTok and she decides to host a scavenger hunt where the winner will give Angela her first ever kiss. While the hot bartender Krystal helps Angela set up the hunt, Angela finds out more about herself and her companion.

For the Sapphic readers who enjoy spice, this one has some steam! I loved all the aspects of this - the artistic aspects, the inluencer status, the mixed media style of including "videos" and DMs, and I loved that I got to revisit a city I called home for 7 years in it. The family dynamics were great, and I liked seeing Marcela and Theo again from the first book (which you don't have to read first to enjoy this one). I had a great time and hope we get another book in the series that was maybe teased at the end.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I love the premise of having a scavenger hunt for a first kiss, I think that’s really cute and such a unique idea for a novel. But I wish the romance had been developed a bit more. At times the romance is kind of pushed to the side. There were also parts in the novel where I felt like I was reading a textbook about being ace, and not reading about how the character experiences it. Overall this book was an ok read.

The Next Best Fling was one of my favorite of 2024 therefore I had to ask for an arc of this beauty 💞

I wasn’t disappointed at all!
The LGBTQA+ rep was very well represented and the idea of a scavenger hunt for wining Angela’s first kiss was the funniest.

I’m so happy I’ve pre-ordered a physical copy of it because I have so many scenes to annotate 💞

I fell in love with Gabriella's writing when I read The Next Best Fling. Her writing is seamless and she writes emotion so well. I feel for these characters and I laugh with them. I hurt with them and I fall in love with them.

I took my time reading this arc because I wanted to make sure I absorbed it all and truly I didn't want it to end. It's like a warm blanket on a cold night.

This was amazing!

Thank you very much to Gabriella and her team for the ARC!

The book jumps pretty quickly into the story - our main protagonist, Angela, goes viral on social media after coming out as ace and confessing that although she is 27 years old, she has never dated or kissed anyone. The solution to that? Date the internet. Hold a scavenger hunt and the winner gets to be Angela's first kiss. The problem? Angela has been pining after Krystal - a woman that bartends at a local place her and her best friend Marcela frequent - for the past FIVE years! After seeing Angela's viral videos, Krystal decides to help Angela on her journey to get her first kiss. Cue all of the yearning, tension, self-reflection, and drama!

I absolutely loved getting to read Angela's self discovery journey. One thing I really appreciate about the story is that Gabriella really fleshes out a lot of the LGBTQIA+ terms used in the book. Although I understand the definition of what it means to be ace or aro, I am not an expert by any means so I love that the reader gets to learn alongside Angela. In addition, there's family tension and drama in this book. In a way, I was happy to see that by the end, not everything is truly sunshine and rainbows. That felt very real to me.

I would definitely label this book as more of a slow burn. Angela takes time to figure herself out, which is completely okay and very legit! The way the story unfolded seemed very authentic to me. The scavenger hunt aspect of the book didn't completely sell me, but I see how it weaves the whole plot together.

There's a lot of self exploring and reflection in this book. If you're not a fan of that, this is not the romance for you.

I will preface this review by acknowledging that I am not a member of the community represented in this story, and as such my perspective may be limited.

What this book does well: expresses and acknowledges the range sexualities and preferences that people identify with in romantic settings/relationships. For some this is an introduction to the asexual spectrum and other terms within the queer community.

Where it lost me: This book took way too long to "start". I understand Gamez was trying to carefully craft a world and identity for her character, as Angela goes through the story she's learning more about herself, but this took forever to get where it needed to go.