Review – The Kiss List by Maya Hughes

The Kiss List; St. Francis U #2
(A standalone within a series)

Publication Date: March 3, 2022

Genre/Tropes: New Adult/Fake Relationship/Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

Author: Maya Hughes

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
Enemies to Friends to Lovers. The perfect trifecta.

To sum up the juicy details and make you dive right in: we have a school/love competition to win with a fake relationship to kick it off. Plus these two aren’t just faking it, they loathe one another with a passion of a thousand suns. This is the kind of yummy-hand over the popcorn while pulling up a front row seat for all the steamy-steam kind of book.

Cole and Kennedy have tons of friction. It rolled off them whenever they were around one another where you could basically get out the marshmallows and roast them in the the fire that was burning so hot in their vicinity.

What began as complete animosity was a lot of misunderstanding. These two truly did begin with a ton of attraction and a night that went horribly wrong, but that is just a small part of their story.

There is a puppy love game on campus that has a huge prize for the winners, but said winners need to actually be a couple. That is a huge feat for both Cole and Kennedy in general. Neither are known for dating or being in a relationship especially to each other. To win it all will basically take a miracle, or at the very least big acting skills. They are both uber competitive and neither of them wants to lose, but as the competition goes on, they may actually lose more than just the competition. With their hearts on the line, losing doesn’t begin to look too bad, until everything falls apart.

We enter again into the STFU world and while I adore these new characters, I still can’t get past the horrible coach. I was really hoping Maya would have lightened up on the storyline around him, but alas Mikelson is still there and still just as horrible.

The entire idea with the Kiss List is fresh and adorable; Cole and Kennedy are fun in their challenges with each other, but I would have loved to see what the other couples in the challenge were doing. Just a thought. While I loved the book, that would be my only complaint to this story, well aside from the coach, who seriously is just the absolute worst, non-redeemable person ever.

So far, I’m loving this new university series and I’m looking forward to more.

Synopsis:

Cole and Kennedy’s story.
A Fulton U rivals enemies to lovers, fake relationship romance.
If I were on fire, she’d break out the marshmallows.

It’s not that we don’t like each other, more like hate with the fury of a thousand suns. But it wasn’t always that way.

I still remember how her lips tasted. How they felt pressed against mine. How I wanted more.

How I still crave her.

Our disastrous night together ended with her storming out, me wondering if I’d ever be able to show my face on campus again and us as bitter enemies.

When a campus competition is announced for the best couple, she’s the last person I thought I’d turn to for help. But the prize could change both our lives. An internship for her and a chance to finally connect with my father. It’s too hard to resist. Just like her heated glares and tempting curves.

To win, we’ve got to prove to everyone we’re a couple. Head over heels, can’t keep our hands off each other in love. Fake the hell out of it for our chance at glory.

Maybe we’re a little too good at selling it to the whole campus because the lines haven’t just been blurred, they’ve gone up in flames. Can I convince her I want us to be together for real and keep the prize? Or will I lose them both?

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