I enjoyed immensely this 5 star story so much that I pretty much binged read it.

Everly returns to her home after being away for years. She gets a mysterious invite to the Kiss Lottery. Beckett and her were secretly in love with each other but neither had acknowledged it. Is Cupid playing match making?

It was a funny, lighthearted and heartfelt story. One I devoured. I loved all the amazing characters that played a role in making this story entertaining. There was some unresolved issues for both of them that needed to be worked out. Beautifully written with a seamless plot. Bottomline this is a must read.

Standalone told in a dual POV with an HEA. I strongly recommended this story.

Sweet second chance romance . Relationship between the H and h was beautiful. The side characters were interesting too . Quick and easy read. Kept me captivated. Love this author. And this book did not disappoint. Recommend reading it. Hopefully it is book 1 of many. Would Iove to read about the other characters and their

I really enjoyed this one! I believe it's a total stand alone, and not terribly long. It took some turns that I did not expect, which were different and I liked, even if it took me a minute to see the reasoning. Honestly, I'm hoping there are other books to follow, because it wasnt enough. These seem like a fun group of friends, and I'd love to see more.

Thank you so much to Montlake, Isla Madden-Mills and NetGalley for the ARC.

This novella is the perfect Valentine's read.

It gave me full nostalgia vibes with a few mysteries thrown in for good measure.
As an avid fan of Isla's, I knew I would enjoy this story going in, and she didn't disappoint.
Everly fled the small town of Rose, Tennessee after graduating high school and hasn't returned. Now pulled back by The Kiss Lottery, a tradition in Rose where single people put their names in the hat to be randomly drawn and paired up with another for Valentine's Day. She receives a mysterious invitation to this event and has no idea who it could be from.
Upon her arrival back in Rose feathers begin to ruffle as old high school dramas reemerge. And past crushes reignite.
Add in a ghost who is haunting the local Tarot card reader wanting assurance that her love led a happy life after she died in the 1918 Flu Pandemic and you have a deliciously cozy small-town read.

Note there is 'light' spice, only a couple of scenes, no third-act break up and a HEA.

A cute valentines novella

It wasn’t my favorite by this author. I do wish it was longer and a little more in depth. It was still a cute fast read and perfect for an afternoon read.

I love the way everly & Beckett got the chance to clear the air after many years of hurt. The activities surrounding the Kiss Lottery were fun & added fun chances for everly & Beckett to “run into each other” I liked that they weren’t all up in arms for a majority of the story, they had the “confrontation” and then things were awkward until they talked things out.

Overall this is a cute vday read. I kinda wished it was more focused on the Kiss Lottery OR them working through their feelings in a different way. It felt like a lot was going on. And I don’t really understand why she went back after leaving the way she did, I don’t think having her podcast cover the event & getting an invite was enough for her to return. She should’ve just owned that she wanted to see Beckett, imo.

What a fun and just downright lovely Valentine’s Day novella.

The small town, Tennessee vibes are spot on and the friends/ side characters are fun and quirky. Beckett and Everly are perfect together and their road back to one another is fun, sentimental, funny and boy can Beckett grovel. Their road back to each other is perfect.

It’s a quick read but well worth the time. And let me reiterate it is spot on for how small Tennessee towns, and the people who live there, operate. I loved every second!

3 ⭐

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Montlake and Ilsa Madden-Mills for providing me with an arc copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a short and sweet Valentine's day novella, about two childhood best friends that reconnect after 10 years without seeing or talking to each other. Since it's quite short this felt very surface level, and I think the multiple storylines didn't help and maybe having less would've helped exploring them better. It's still enjoyable, but not too memorable in my opinion.

THIS WAS SO CUTEEE!!

Despite it being a novella, I felt the love between the two MCs. It was short but still filled with yerning, suspense and humour. Their little group was so wholesome. I would have loved a full-length novel that switched between the past and present but for a novella, it gave me everything I needed to still fall for their love story, Beckett was to sweet.

If you want a short, sweet and a little spicy novella for valentine's day, you'll love this!!

As always, IIsa has another hit on her hand. This book was a fun quick read. I'm hoping she continues a series with these characters because they were hilarious, and I think there could be more to tell.

This story revolved around Everly, who hasn't been home in 10 years and her high school crush Beckett. Before Everly left town, Beckett told her he never wanted to see her again. This is why, along with her mom dying, that Everly never returned to town. However, someone sent Everly and invite to the town's annual Kiss Lottery, and she is determined to go back and see who sent the invitation.

The book follows Everly as she returns to Rose to tell the story of the Kiss Lottery and other town stories on her popular travel podcast. Along the way, we meet her and Beckett's hilarious friends, learn some town secrets and feel the undeniable spark between Everly and Beckett.

You have to read this book if you are an IIsa fan or anyone who loves a nice fun short story.

This is a small town romance. Everly is a podcaster who returns home after a long absence. Beckett is a writer who makes her a villain in his book.

A quick fun read. Everly and Beckett are fun characters. Love the humour. Really enjoy the romance. Another winner.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Unfortunately, I felt quite disconnected from the characters of this novella. They felt very surface level and immature, but I ultimately decided to continue on because of the fact that this was so short.

What really bothered me was how manufactured the entire story felt. As a reader you really want to feel immersed in the story to the point where you forget it is fiction. But with this novella every action that the characters have felt manufactured by the author. I never really felt like the characters were complete.

Regardless, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I had a lot of trouble with this book, mainly because it felt so immature in its approach to relationships and conflict. The male lead (ML) was incredibly selfish throughout the story, and it seemed like he was always shifting the blame onto the female lead (FL) for everything that went wrong, even when it wasn’t her fault. What bothered me the most, though, was how little growth or redemption he showed. There wasn’t a real, heartfelt apology or a genuine groveling moment that I expect in a story like this. Instead, he just stayed the same—his flaws never fully addressed in a meaningful way.

The lack of accountability from the ML was frustrating. He didn’t even have the courage to face the consequences of his actions and reveal the truth himself. He seemed far more comfortable hiding behind his mother’s pedestal, and I couldn’t understand why. Why hold her up as some perfect figure when she clearly wasn’t? It felt like a cop-out to me. Moreover, the whole situation with his father’s infidelity was never dealt with in a mature way. He knew about it but didn’t seem to have the guts to do anything about it. If you’re in a toxic situation like that, why not take the steps to change things instead of letting it linger and fester?

Ultimately, everything about this book felt unresolved or childish. The characters acted in ways that didn’t make sense, and the plot didn’t offer much depth. The lack of emotional development or real conflict resolution left me disappointed and frustrated. Therefore I'm giving this book 1 aka 0 ⭐.

The Kiss Lottery is a dual POV, second chance rom-com, set in the small town of Rose, TN about Everly and Beckett who were childhood friends; however, due to an incident that occurred during high school, they grew apart and Everly eventually left Rose to pursue a career in NY. Everly, now a podcaster, receives a mysterious invitation to return to Rose for the annual tradition, Kiss Lottery. While in Rose, we see Everly connect to her childhood friends and her "former friend" Beckett, who is now a bestseller author.

The Kiss Lottery is the first book I read from Author Ilsa Madden-Mills, and I loved everything about it. Although it is advertised as a novella, the author did an excellent job in giving us a story with great plot and characters. I loved how I was able to picture everything in mind as I was reading about the town and residents in Rose, TN. The relationships that Everly and Beckett had with the other characters was amazing. Would love to see this be part of a series to read about the other characters.

Thank you Montlake for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

For being a quick read, this story had me feeling all the emotions! It’s giving small town Friends To Enemies To Lovers with a bit of Second Chance Romance with a side of Slow Burn!
Just like Everly (FMC), I couldn’t never not answer the invitation for the Kiss Lottery for sheer wondering if who sent it, even if it brought me back to a whole past I wanted to stay away from too! This read by Ilsa Madden-Mills easily had me captivated within the first few chapters and rooting for the FMC and MMC to be together, but not without throwing a few twists and turns in the mix! The banter between Everly and Beckett (MMC) had me truly giggling out loud, and really had me falling for them! This story met all my expectation plus some when I picked up a short romance book to bide time between reads!

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve read several of books by Isla and absolutes loved and devoured them all! And this one was no exception!!!! Second Chance Romance is always a favorite troupe of mine. The characters in this novella absolutely loved!! Every and Beckett ugh the chemistry, the history and second chance love was perfect! Beckett just maybe my new book boyfriend!

I do think this had the potential to be a great book if it was a full length novel. Because it is a novella, things felt rushed, storylines felt weak or dropped, and characters could barely develop. The whole ghost plot point threw me for a loop as well, making it kind of seem like a valentines x Halloween crossover? But I guess some people are interested in ghosts all year round, so to each their own. The basic idea of the novella was interesting but it just needed more. Although the main male character was overall alright, it was hard to see past when he said “forgive me for hurting you” to Everly. Uh…no, that is not something you get to force her to do. Otherwise this was a quick read good for being a in between book!

This was a swoony, second chance, small town, dual POV romance that takes place over Valentines. It had lots of heart, a kitten, a secret admirer, backstories from side characters that really added emotional depth to the story. Good on audio narrated by two favs, Savannah Peachwood and Sebastian York! The kiss lottery is a perfect, quick, feel-good read to grab for the holiday! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Cute novella. Perfect for a valentines day read.
Second chance
Friends-enemies-lovers
Rom-com, great banter, great side characters
I found this to be the perfect balance of story/plot and spice.

I enjoyed the twist and turns that this book took. Best friends to maybe something more to nothing. Then back to maybe something more and so on. Made this a very interesting book to read. The Kiss Lottery, makes me think of a lot of blind dates going on.