I really liked the idea of this book, the idea that you could know how someone was going to die with just a kiss, the blurb sold me but I’m afraid the execution didn’t land with me.
I didn’t really believe in the love story between the main characters and can’t say I really cared what happened which was a shame.

Being a Carrie Hope Fletcher follower for years, I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of her book. Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for sending this one!

I devoured this over three days and did thoroughly enjoy it. There were some really lovely points and overall With This Kiss is a wholesome romance novel, that living in London I could really picture what was happening and where it was happening which I loved.

Whilst With This Kiss is a really lovely story, and the magical realism element was done perfectly, I really did feel like I didn't know the characters well enough to empathise with their story. The main character was selfish and annoying which normally I wouldn’t mind if I understood where it was coming from. The romance element of the book was quite unrealistic and although I understand the ‘magical realism’ element of the world Fletcher has created, a different rule for ‘love’ was never set out and therefore I didn't relate to this at all.

The ending seemed to drag for an eternity, with a nice easy read like this one you expect the two main characters to end up together so dragging that out felt unnecessary.

The two side characters were really underused. Riley - Loreli’s boss that ends up sleeping on her sofa - could’ve had an excellent side plot, but again I just didn’t feel anything for the character. Joanie - Loreli’s best friend - was dumped by her girlfriend at the beginning of the novel, and then it was never mentioned again . It felt like an unnecessary addition of a queer character that could’ve had some really interesting storylines and was just wasted.

All in all this is a lovely story, but the characters needed some more development to allow me to relate to them.

I read this within a day as it was such an easy read with heart warming feels.. Lorelai finds out that she can see a persons death through a kiss and so she hides away from all relationships. She also isolates herself from her family and becomes quite withdrawn and lonely. That is until she meets Grayson, someone she would like to have a relationship with.

Her best friend, Joanie, was probably my favourite character because she was sassy, funny and didn’t hold back. Lorelai was a bit frustrating at times and the internal turmoil that she went through felt a little long, then the ending rushed. I would like to have known more about her script writing and the relationship development with Grayson; however I still enjoyed it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc.

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Harper Collins for this advanced copy in exchange for a review! I've left my review below and will post on publication day, as a trans person I just wanted to share my thoughts on the trans character from the book club also.

"Film, books, theatre, magic, friendship, love and something dark...

Reading this book gave me the same warm, fuzzy feeling that you get when watching a cosy, familiar rom-com on a rainy day. It only took two chapters to fall in love with Lorelai and Joanie, their friendship was so real.

At times it felt like I was reading a book written just for me. It was just what I needed to escape into and it was so easy to fall in love with this colourful cast of characters. The settings were so rich and alive and the magical element was really unique. It was easy to read and I flew through it, I wish I'd made it last longer.

Lorelai is carrying so much and it's effecting all sorts of things in her life, I thought it was such a good metaphor for so many things, really beautifully told.


I only had one negative for the book (which isn't really a negative and more of a 'this didn't feel quite right). Joy and her boyfriend - the whole interaction with "ladies and gentlemen" at the first book club meeting felt slightly... Off? I understood completely what the goal of that section was and it was almost lovely, Lorelai was clearly learning and making a mistake but then correcting herself under Joy and James' instruction. It was a good explanation and handled thoughtfully. But the fact that everyone else in the group is described and has a defining characteristic but Joy's only description is that she's a trans woman makes the whole thing hit differently. Even if it was just that she's wearing a brightly coloured coat or smiles a certain way it would feel like she was an actual person and not just a device. I could picture everyone else in my head from how they were described but Joy was just "trans woman", it was important to mention that she was trans but there was no other descriptor. I don't think she was written as a device however, as she's written well later on, but you have a room full of thoughtfully described characters and then "trans woman". It sounds nit picky but I wanted to mention it from a trans person's perspective. I liked the fact that Lorelai wasn't getting it right at first but was trying her hardest, that's a really nice message to get across."

Lorelei has a superpower - at least that us what her friend and flatmate Joanie believes. But Lorelei see her power as a bug problem and it has meant that she has avoid relationships. Then she meets Grayson who makes her feel that she might rethink her situation. This is until they eventually share a kiss; and Lorelei runs away leaving Grayson shocked and feeling that no matter how much he is attracted to her, Lorelei is not for him.
This felt more like a story for teens or young adults. It was reasonably enjoyable but I did not feel really connected to the characters.

With This Kiss tells the story of Lorelai, a girl who sees and feels the death of anyone she kisses.

I loved the sound of this book, but sadly felt it failed to deliver. The deaths are traumatic for Lorelai and consequently she shuts off from the world and avoids love and relationships.
The characters weren't particularly engaging and lacked any depth or development. This makes it difficult to have any real interest in them or care what happens. In particular I felt that Lorelai's main love interest was one dimensional.

There were sections of this book where I felt I was scan reading - I just wanted it finished.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know of Carrie Hope Fletcher from her musical theatre roles and her social media but I have never read one of her books. I saw this on Netgalley and thought I would try it.

Hmm...not being horrible but I find this is the case with 'celebs' that get given publishing deals that they're not actually that good at storytelling! Carrie likes to use a lot of big words that aren't actually needed!

I would say this book should be marketed more at the YA/NA audience. I found it very childlike. The story didn't really interest me and wasn't told very well. Flat characters especially the hero. Insta love but didn't feel them fall in love. I liked her flatmate and that was about it.

I found myself getting bored. Unfortunately, it hasn't made me want to read her other books.

ARC provided by Netgalley.

I really wanted to like this book but I struggled. I just wanted to shake the main character and tell her to grow up. It seem to endlessly repeat her internal monologue of "I'm a monster; no-one can know my secret" - even though the one person she had told hadn't gone running scared, or thought she was crazy (more realistic response in my eyes), but instead thought it was pretty cool. But heaven forbid she told anyone else....

Lorelai is an outwardly normal twenty-something year old woman living an ordinary life in London. One day she meets Grayson and the attraction is instant. The catch? Whenever Lorelei kisses someone, she sees in painful detail exactly how they will die…

While the concept of this book sounded intriguing, I felt that the execution was only of limited success. For me, this was mostly down to the character writing. Lorelai and Greyson both felt quite thinly written and it simply didn’t feel like there was enough chemistry between them. A few extra shared scenes would have helped here. The plot as a whole felt rather flimsy.

With This Kiss will appeal to those looking for a light and romantic summer read, but unfortunately it wasn’t a book that resonated with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, HQ, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With This Kiss was a gorgeous love story that delved into the realms of fear, trauma and sacrifice, but also offered a journey of learning and change.

Lorelai is paralysed by a strange psychic ability. When she kisses someone she sees their death. This has driven her to run from any close relationships apart from with her best friend, the one person who knows her secret. When she meets someone she is attracted to, she walks away, haunted by grief from the deaths she has seen in the past. But when she meets Grayson, the sacrifice is a bigger burden than she'd ever expected. Encouraged by her best friend, Joanie, she goes on a journey of discovery to find out more about her curse and explore whether it could ever feel like a gift.

I love paranormal stories, and this one was a fascinating angle on the idea of being psychic. It was fascinating to see that question, 'will I find out when I, or someone I love, is going to die?' explored in an uplifting and romantic way.

I loved the characters in the book, particularly Lorelai's best friend, Joanie . She is a fabulously sassy and determined woman who has her heart set on seeing her best friend happy. She is the only one who has stuck around for Lorelai and no matter what, she refuses to give up. Grayson is a lovely romantic lead, comfortable in his skin, quirks and all. It's great to see a good, kind guy as the hero, and I was rooting for them right from the start.

I really enjoyed this book, it has an interesting concept and great characters. I would definitely recommend it.

Lorelai has forever kept men at arms length. Since her first kiss she has avoided relationships like the plague. No matter how much her friend Joanie tried to set her up, nothing could convince her to change her mind. If only it was as simple as all that. But Lorelai was keeping a huge secret, a secret so big she’d told nobody. Until one night Joanie’s pestering got too much and she told her the thing that had kept her from relationships her whole life. A secret that even though there are undeniable sparks between her and the gorgeous Grayson, will put a stop to anything other than friendship.

This is my first book by the author and it definitely won’t be the last. This books takes you on a whole journey and although the topic isn’t generally something that happens in reality it does make you think. I love Lorelai and her friendship with Joanie. A great friendship where they trust each other implicitly. It was a really lovely story and there was a moment of tears towards the end of the book. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really liked the idea of this book as it sounded unique and interesting. As with another of Carrie's books that I read a few years back, I feel like they're aimed at a slightly younger audience. I did enjoy the book overall, it was a quick and easy read and I really liked the Joanie, her sarcastic humour was right up my street.

With This Kiss is a nice story, it's quick to read and it has an intriguing fantasy side. For me the characters felt flat, they weren't well rounded, I didn't feel any chemistry between the main love interests, Lorelai and Grayson. Grayson is introduced and the two suddenly develop feelings for each other and the story goes straight into why Lorelai thinks they can't be together.

Most of the book focuses on Lorelai and her own feelings towards herself and her 'power' to see how people die when she kisses them, there are a lot of internal reflections and Lorelai does come a long way and has some decent personal growth. A lot of this could've been avoided with a good conversation with certain people and by opening up so it made for a frustrating read at times!

I didn't enjoy the insta love effect from all of this and wish there'd been more time spent on showing us what happened rather than telling, there was hardly any interactions between Lorelai and Grayson so I couldn't feel the chemistry growing.

I did enjoy the relationship between Lorelai and her friend Joanie, but the plot with Riggs near the beginning was a bit bizarre. There's no payoff and it seemed to have been forced in just to have a jealous moment with Riggs and Grayson.

Overall I feel quite conflicted, I enjoyed reading it and it didn't feel like a slog but it just needed more. It kind of doesn't feel finished, like it needs another edit or two to flesh it out and make it hit harder!

I loved this books so much. I absolutely adore carrie’s writing and I love that her books always contain a magical element and this one was no exception.

There were so many things I loved about this book:
- It was a such a unique idea that I’ve never read about before. The idea that when Lorelai kisses someone she can see the way in which they will die, which obviously puts her off the idea of kissing people because she doesn’t want to live with the trauma of seeing and knowing what will become of people.
- I really liked the main characters, Lorelai and Grayson, I thought they were both great characters on there own but came together to make a great pairing too. Joanie was also a really great side character, she was funny and added a lot to the story.
- Lorelai really struggles throughout this book, she has always had the mindset that love is not for her, that it’s not worth it to have to see the way people die but then she meets Grayson and has to start to reevaluate everything. There’s a lot of growth from Lorelai and she has to learn how to trust and let other people into her secret and life in order to be truly happy.
- The magical element was woven in really well.
- I love that she got the musical theatre and bookish aspects in there too, because I like Carrie love both!

Overall, I just really enjoyed this book. It felt like a warm hug and if you like magical books or are already familiar with Carrie’s books I’m sure you will love this one too!

I geuinely had a fun time reading this book. I really enjoyed the book. Perfect for those looking for a fun and quick read. A magical cute romance

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was a relatively short but enjoyable read, mixing romance with the supernatural. I was invested in the storyline, although felt Lorelai was underdeveloped as a character. However, this did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

This review is straight from my daughter, who is one of Carrie's no.1 fans:

By far Carrie's best writing to date! A page-turner that left me in tears of both sadness and laughter. This book was beautifully crafted to explore the different types of relationships and what a connection between two people can mean.
Lorelai has a secret she's kept hidden for years; whenever she kisses anyone on the lips, she sees how they are going to die. She keeps this secret from those around her and lives a mostly isolated life, decidedly distancing herself from others for years in fear of hurting them or herself. Until she meets Grayson. The one guy that makes her think differently from the moment he walks into her book club.

This novel was well-paced and refreshingly modern, intertwined with flashbacks that gave the characters more depth. Lorelai is a charming character that felt real to me as the book went on and I often found myself cringing at her mistakes or simply begging her to take the chance. Lorelai and Joanie's friendship is so genuine and the way Carrie narrates their connection is heart-warming. Lorelai's journey throughout the novel takes us through many highs and lows and the magical addition of her "gift" makes the novel more interesting. Carrie's views on trust and love were thought provoking and communicated in an effective way. This novel was unlike anything I've read before: what really made it stand out to me was the fresh relatability this book brings with it. The hard-hitting message is handled beautifully with care and is packed with honesty.
A charming, heart-felt and thought-provoking novel.

This is the story of Lorelai, who has a rather strange, isolating and quite terrifying ’super power’.

When Lorelai meets Grayson, the attraction is instant but Lorelai runs scared from romantic entanglements because, when she kisses someone on the lips, she can see how they’ll die.

It’s an unimaginable premise but the soul-searching and profound examination of what makes relationships, is very real.

I found this to be a well-written story and although I wanted to give Lorelai a good shake every once in a while, I did love the characters. Joanie is particularly wonderful and is arguably more meaningful than Grayson but he’s not bad either.

If you can suspend disbelief at the premise and don’t mind the meandering, scene-setting start, which did feel overly long to me, then you’ll be rewarded with a lovely story of how to find yourself and to live with and love your flaws. And ultimately of how to rebuild/build relationships. I found Lorelai’s observations about her relationship with her mother particularly poignant.

I hadn’t read anything by Carrie Fletcher before but a combination of the synopsis and a liking for her brother and sister-in-law (I know!) led me to request a preview copy through #Netgalley. Thank you to the publishers for accepting my request.

Sweet, candid and unexpectedly thought-provoking - give it a try, it’s a good one.

I have the same issue with all of Carrie's books, it takes me a while to get into them, but once I am in, I am hooked! Wonderfully written with cracking characters. Carrie knows how to write a good old love story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely read, my first of Fletcher's, but I'll be back for more!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.