The Summary

In a hasty scribbling on the back of a napkin, Kate vows that the next New Year's Eve she will have found someone of her own to kiss as the clock strikes midnight over a catastrophic New Year's Eve and joyful couples rejoice all around her.

Finding someone to kiss is trickier than it seems when you're a forty-something cat parent who'd rather binge Netflix than risk the singles scene. When it comes to using hookup apps, speed dating, and DMing people, Kate is completely unprepared.

Kate appears to be further away from her objective than ever as the year's end draws near. Could Kate's obsession with her quest lead her to let real love slip through her fingers for all time as relationships fall apart around her and sinister, long-kept secrets come to light?

My Review

What a sweet story! Reading this novel was like riding a roller coaster. At a wedding on New Year's Eve, Kate, a woman in her 40s who is still single, promises inebriatedly that she will find someone to kiss in the next year.

In the book about loving oneself as much as finding love in others, the main character Kate and her friends embark on a journey of self-acceptance and healing.

I really admire Kate's character since she was true to herself and didn't try to change herself to appeal to a man. Even yet, I did find myself getting a little frustrated with Kate, especially because she continued to lack the guts to do action regarding the scenario that was constantly in front of her. But it also contributed to giving her character a more realistic edge.

Because they were all so expertly created, I absolutely enjoyed all of the characters in this. Ben kept to himself as his story developed. Despite the harsher tone of Julie's story, she had a profound impact on me throughout the entire book.

I really appreciated the author's emphasis on mental health and anxiety, and I gained a deeper knowledge of these important topics and the unseen struggles many individuals fight because to the author's use of different points of view and the glimpses of vulnerability they revealed.

She gave examples of how they affected the person, others around them, the strength of a support system, and the resistance to admitting you need help, especially if you don't believe you deserve to get better.

Even though the writing style is not my favorite and has certain shortcomings, I think you might still like the storyline and pacing of the story.

This novel is most definitely not the kind of romance you were hoping for when you started reading it, but in my opinion, it is more of a journey for someone who feels lost and behind, especially in light of the expectations of their culture, and anyone might connect to it.

But in the end, everything turned out okay. A pleasant book surprise.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.