Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez tells the story of Angela Gutierrez, a librarian with a social media account that goes somewhat viral after she posts about her sexual identity and the fact that she’s in her late twenties and never been kissed. She decides this newfound fame might be a good opportunity to put herself out there, and so decides to put on a scavenger hunt for followers in the San Antonio area, with the winner getting the chance to be her first kiss. However, as she starts organizing things, she starts spending more time with Krystal, a bartender turned sort-of friend, and before Angela knows it, her latent crush is growing stronger and stronger. But Krystal isn’t interested in a relationship, and exploring anything romantic would derail the scavenger hunt. However, Angela wonders what she really wants, and how best to pursue it.

This is a cute story! I’ve visited San Antonio more than once, and I quite enjoyed it as a backdrop. The city feels lively and vivid, and I like that Gamez often uses (presumably) real locations. It helped ground the story, which at times felt a little unrealistic (then again, I’ve never gone viral on social media, nor would I want to—especially not because of a scavenger hunt that enables a relative stranger to kiss me).

But absurd premise aside, I did like this book. Angela has a nice arc about being vulnerable and honest with herself and others about who she is and what she wants for her life. It’s a nuanced exploration of the experiences of people who identify as asexual, and how, often, sexuality can be in flux. This book will certainly give readers a better understanding of the differences and interactions between things like sex drive, physical attraction, and romantic attraction. (Though if you’re not interested in a spicy book, probably don’t read this.)

I also liked Krystal, who is learning how to let herself feel things again after a messy breakup two years before. The two of them together are quite nice, and I like how their relationship progressed. (Even if they were initially spending time together for the weird scavenger hunt plan. TikTok is a weird place, it seems.)

I think, though, that some of the pacing of the story could have been better. Sometimes, things felt a little rushed, particularly some of the moments in which Angela dealt with her rising internet fame. Lots of the drama there seemed a little glossed over, which on the one hand was probably good for me (as I can’t stand that kind of thing, and to have to read more pages about it would have been a headache), but on the other hand, slightly diminished the emotional impact it had on the characters. And it felt like things wrapped up in a very convenient way. Not the Angela and Krystal romance, though; I mean the scavenger hunt/social media circus felt a little hastily concluded. But oh, well—again, that’s probably best for someone who has very little patience with social media.

In the end, though, Kiss Me, Maybe was a fun, light romance with solid main characters, good side characters, an excellent setting, and decently emotional arcs. There’s nuanced themes about sexuality and romance, exploring its complexities and presenting questions for the readers about the very natures of both those things. Some aspects of the plot were tiresome personally, but maybe if the reader cared at all about influencers, it would be fine. Still, Gamez is a decent writer, and I wouldn’t be at all opposed to reading more of her work in the future.

Kiss Me, Maybe is available now!