Kiss Me, Maybe - Review

I received an audio copy via Hachette Audio. All reviews are my own.

I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I've been on a Romance kick. It's a go-to when I find myself in a reading slump, and I'm starting to make the genre a focal point of my reading habits. After reading some pretty good steamy novels, I decided to give my first official NetGalley romance request a try. The audio I chose is Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez.

"Librarian Angela Gutierrez has never been kissed. But after posting a video about her late bloomer status and ace identity, she's finally ready to get some firsts out of the way. Using her new influencer status to come up with a scavenger hunt idea in which the winner earns her first kiss, Angela realizes she may need some help to pull off the event. Enter Krystal Ramirez, hot bartender and Angela’s unrequited crush of five years. Despite vowing that romantic love isn’t for her, Krystal seems awfully determined to help Angela pull off the scavenger hunt and find true love.

There’s just one the connection between Angela and Krystal is getting stronger and stronger the more they hang out, until Angela isn’t sure she wants to go through with the scavenger hunt after all. But Krystal is convinced that she isn’t capable of love and before long, Angela realizes she's falling head over heels for a woman who may never love her back."

The audio was narrated by Ruby Corazon, spanning a 10-hour and 22-minute timeframe. This was my first time experiencing Corazon, and I liked her. I felt her become the main character, Angela Gutierrez. I hope to hear some more of her work in the future.

The story, KMM, was up in the air for me. I thought I would be experiencing a cutesy romance novel that would have had me giggling stupidly and tickled pink. And eventually, we did there. But before we got there, we took a very confusing walk with Angela Gutierrez and her journey of finding out what her sexuality is. We can confirm that she is a Lesbian, but is she Asexual? Gray-sexual? Or just plain hopeless? It was interesting to learn about the Asexual Spectrum, as I'm not too familiar with all of its breakdowns. I appreciate how the author carefully explains the kaleidoscope of sexualities, all while having Angela navigate what was right for her. I get it. You don't know exactly what you are until you explore. What I didn't like was that it enveloped the story. Half of the book was spent watching the main character fumble through which category she belonged in. It was a little too much for me to sort out her thoughts and feelings when it came to finding her likes and dislikes. Again, I was looking for something cute, and this was killing the vibe for me, almost resulting in a DNF. However, I eventually pushed through and found what I was looking for at the 47% mark.

Another thing that was shocking to me dare I say, was the detailing of the sexual experiences. When I read through the first intrusive thought, I figured it would be a closed-door romance. The vibe of the story leaned towards 'Kiss but don't tell,' but we definitely got full details. For once, I didn't want it in a story. The placement of the details felt awkward and almost unnecessary. Now I'm no prude; I've been reading Zane books since an age I probably should've gotten my ass beat if caught, but I can honestly say that the detailed sexual encounters (though some were pretty steamy) weren't needed. Or, at least in the first half of the book, when Angela was still trying to find herself.

Things picked up for me once we settled in on the type of sexuality Angela was. Here was when it started to get cute. Because Angela was a virgin who had never even experienced her first kiss, she had the brainiac idea to host a scavenger hunt that shared her interests, with the grand prize of getting her first kiss. She worked alongside the cute bartender, and well, that should speak for the rest of the story. Here is where I didn't mind all of the sexual details! The scheme was original and entertaining. We had our questionable moments, family feuds, miscommunications, and several dropped bombs before we reached the end, which made it all worthwhile for me. Gotta love some drama with the romance!

Overall, I rated this book 3-stars. There are already a couple of people asking me how I felt about the book, and I'm 50/50 on it. I have my thoughts about parts of the gay community and all of their labels, so unfortunately, it was an invisible factor that deterred me from reading. And no, it's not a negative thing. However, I did enjoy the romance aspect of the book, and I have no complaints about it. I would like to request an update from the author in case a third book in the Librarians in Love series is forthcoming. I would like to see an update about the cousins, especially Esme, as she hasn't found the right one yet! And if there happens to be a battle within the family with Esme and Julian's dad on one side and Angela and company on the other, I wouldn't be mad to run and pick that book up! I'm just saying.

Kiss Me, Maybe is out now!

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