KISSING GAMES

Aurora debuts her matchmaking program and frets over the seriousness of her own Prince Charming.

After locking lips in the school play in How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You (2016), Aurora Skye and Hayden Paris are dating. But their second kiss is a disaster: Her hair catches on fire, and she bites his lip so hard he needs stitches. She’s dubbed “Lethal Lips,” and the two can’t kiss again until Hayden heals. So begins Aurora’s worry spiral as Hayden’s mixed signals flare her insecurities. But love remains at center stage—her friend Jelena Cantrill announces that she’s running for student body president and she’s using Aurora’s “Find a Prince/Princess” matchmaking program to promote her campaign. Soon Aurora and her friends are busy meeting all of Jelena’s demands, working to ensure that three perfect couples emerge from the program, no matter what. Comedic antics abound, but serious topics like harassment and difficult parental relationships are touched on, too. Aurora must plumb new depths in terms of what it means to love as a daughter, girlfriend, and friend. Complex, Gilmore Girls–inspired dialogue fuels Aurora’s quirky misadventures, almost making up for the array of one-dimensional characters. Everyone’s a little too perfect, bossy, or cruel to feel real, but it’s an enjoyable ride all the same. The book follows a white default.

A fun, fluffy romp that tackles with fervor teens’ obsession with love.