Short, sweet and so cute!

Second chances, small-town drama, and a dash of fate—The Kiss Lottery has it all! When Everly returns to Rose, Tennessee, after ten years, she’s unexpectedly paired with her ex, Beckett, in the town’s annual lottery. Add in some old (and cute!) feelings, a bestselling novel where Everly is the villain, and sparks fly!

If you love witty banter, small-town charm, and a romance that’s all about second chances, this book will sweep you off your feet. The Kiss Lottery? Totally worth the gamble.

I will forever love and support this author. And I’m honored to have received an alc. I’ve listened to most of this authors backlog and have loved all of them. This one is no different.
This was a super cozy fun listen. The narrators did an amazing job bring the story to life. Although I’m going to assume it’s closer to a novella due to it being short, I’d felt like the story was complete with a hea at the end that will make you smile.

If you're looking for a charming, feel-good Valentine’s Day read, The Kiss Lottery by Ilsa Madden-Mills is an absolute delight! This novella delivers a heartwarming second-chance love story set in a quirky small town, packed with humor, chemistry, and a touch of mystery.

Everly Davis left Rose, Tennessee, a decade ago, determined never to return. But when she receives a mysterious valentine inviting her to the town’s annual Kiss Lottery—a beloved tradition—she finds herself back where it all started. Newly single and in need of a distraction, Everly sees this as the perfect opportunity to uncover the sender's identity while also gathering material for her travel podcast.

What she doesn’t expect? Running into Beckett Whitfield—the boy who broke her heart. Their past is messy, complicated by an old mistake and years of silence. To make matters worse, Beckett has turned her into the villain of his latest book, which only fuels Everly’s determination to ruffle his feathers. But fate (and the Kiss Lottery) have other plans when they’re unexpectedly paired together. As old wounds reopen and long-buried emotions surface, Everly and Beckett must navigate lingering resentment, unresolved feelings, and the undeniable connection that never truly faded.

This novella is packed with all the elements I love in a small-town romance—endearing side characters (Everly’s aunt and friends are fantastic), a town full of charm, witty banter, and moments that had me grinning from ear to ear. It’s funny, heartfelt, and has just the right amount of angst to keep you hooked. Plus, for a novella, it doesn’t feel rushed or too short—there’s plenty of depth and development.

For audiobook lovers, The Kiss Lottery is a treat! Narrators Savannah Peachwood and Sebastian York do an exceptional job bringing Everly and Beckett’s story to life. Their performances add warmth, emotion, and just the right amount of spark to make the characters feel even more real.

If you love second-chance romance, small-town settings, and stories filled with spark, secrets, and swoon-worthy moments, The Kiss Lottery is a must-read (or must-listen!). Go grab it—you won’t regret it!

4.5 ⭐⁣
1.5 🌶️⁣
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Everly hasn't been home for the last 10 years because of a heartbreak. She's now a successful podcaster. She received an anonymous mail for her to join the famous Kiss Lottery in her hometown. She had no choice but decided to join. There's a certain someone she doesn't want to see especially since she was the villain in his bestseller book. Beckett is now an author and the one who broke Everly's heart. They were childhood friends. They both got paired up for the Kiss Lottery. How are they going to overcome this tension? Will it be awkward? Or chemistry with lots of tension? 😏 You'll have to read to find out. ⁣
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I listened to the audiobook from Netgalley. It was by Sebastian York and Savannah Peachwood! Immediately Yesss!!!⁣
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TROPES:⁣
Small town⁣
Second chance⁣
Banter⁣
Childhood friends turned enemies to lovers⁣
Ex-boyfriend's friend

"The Kiss Lottery" by Ilsa Madden-Mills is a beautiful novella about second chances.
Everly returns to her hometown, Rose, Tennessee, after a decade away, drawn by a mysterious invitation to the annual Kiss Lottery. There, she reunites with Beckett, her high school friend and first love. Their past misunderstandings and secrets resurface, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.
The small-town setting is charming, and the supporting characters add warmth to the story. Despite its brevity, the novella offers a satisfying plot and well-developed characters. The tradition of the Kiss Lottery adds a whimsical touch. You can never go wrong with these two narrators honestly , they brought to life the characters to a t and made the whole experience even better in my opinion.
This is a heartwarming read about love, forgiveness, and the magic of Valentine's Day.
Very grateful to the publisher and @brilliancepublishing for my arc and alc through NetGalley, opinions are my own

There was a lot in this quick romance but in the very best way. This is a Valentine’s Day, Childhood Best Friend, Secret Crush Revealed, Second Chance, Return home to your small town romance.

Everly is returning home after 10 years away when a public humiliations forced her to leave and never return. Becket was her best friend and her secret crush but she was dating someone else. Now that she has returned to town, she is forced to finally speak with Becket and maybe resolve some long held hurts.

There are a lot of funny moments in this book. It’s a bit of will they or won’t they but luckily you don’t have to wait too long before they start to reveal some long held secrets and try to work past some misunderstandings. If you want a love story with two people who clearly belong together with some swoon and spice along the way, grab this book. Thank you to Brilliance Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to review the audio version. Loved it in Audio, the narrators did a fantastic job bringing this story to life.

This is a cute second chance romance. Life isn't always easy, the beginning is often pure, the middle can be very messy, but the good stuff comes when you or the work in to find your HEA.

ALC Review
The Kiss Lottery by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Narrated by: Savannah Peachwood & Sebastian York

This story was a bit deeper than I expected, in a good way. Everly and Beckett were best friends through childhood until something happened during high school that caused them to stop talking. After many years of not talking, Everly returns home for the annual Kiss Lottery - there is a lot of tension with both parties wishing things went differently.

The book has hilarious banter, meddling side characters, and a bit of mystery.

This romance kind of seems to be a cutesy Hallmark movie, and kind of a young adult drama. I liked that they were friends when they were younger, but there wasn't enough time in the novella to really bring on the emotion for me. I think this story would have made me feel a bit more if it was a full length novel and there was time to fill out the storyline and more character development. The audiobook is well done and I enjoyed the narrators.

No one writes charming small towns full of quirky but endearing characters like Ilsa Madden Mills. This is a fun and swoony novella that will have you all in the festive feel for your Valentine. I find that second chance romances yield them so well to the novella length- the established connection, chemistry, and history help the HEA feel more believable in a shorter word count. And with these two as friends 10 years ago and now all grown up and reconnecting at the Rose annual Kiss lottery, it's the perfect time for Beckett and Everly to finally re-do that failed first chance. Their chemistry is great, the small town shenanigans and everyone being in everyone's business is loads of fun, and I loved their sweeter moments the most. Fun, quirky, and sugary sweet.

This was really cute, especially at first - I was really into it and then it somehow lost me along the way. Being a novella, I felt like it should hold my attention all the way through!

Everly and Beckett had an adorable story, being childhood friends & experiencing many firsts together - first kiss, learning to drive, and more.

Beckett is holding on a to secret that had him pushing Everly away as teens, and resisting getting together in the present.

I really enjoyed it for a while, but then it just got TOO cheesy for me 😅 some bits just went too far for me, trying to be romantic but they missed the mark

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Honestly the audio bumped up my rating, it probably would have been a 3-3.5 for the story, but Savannah Peachwood + Sebastian York are just so fantastic it got me to a 4.

⭐️: 4/5
🌶️: open door, one scene

read if you love:
💜 Valentine novella
⏳ second chance (ish)
🏡 childhood best friends/first loves + neighbors
🧑🏻‍💻 thriller writer mmc
🎙 travel podcaster
🌳 return to (small) hometown
💞 dual 1st person pov

Thank you to Montlake, Brilliance Publishing, & NetGalley for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to receive this arc in exchange for my honest opinion .

I thought this book was a cute and swoony read . And I love a good second chance romance . The storyline was great , I absolutely loved Everly and Beckett . Also the narrators did such a fantastic job executing this . Definitely a great book to read around Valentine's day as well !

Romcom
Small town
Close proximity
He fell first


Audio review
Narrated by: Savannah Peachwood, Sebastian York

Novella length
Dual POV



Main characters
Everly Davis
Beckett Whitfield

Everly and Beckett were best friends growing up. They shared pivotal moments with each other. Then a betraying event tore them apart. Every stent to NY became a successful podcaster and rarely connected with anyone from her hometown.
Beckett stayed close and became a best selling author. He occasionally used Everly as the bad guy in his stories.

This a quick read but full of fun. The small town is full of great characters and crazy shenanigans. Plenty of LOL moments.

The Kiss Lottery is a cute and quick audiobook. Everly Davis has returned to her small hometown of Rose, Tennessee after she gets an inventation for the yearly Kiss Lottery. Everly only has one person she wants to reconnect with and that is with her former best friend and writer Beckett Whitfield. After Everly's diary had been made public she not only lost Beckett but also her boyfriend at the time. Beckett even made Everly a villan in his latest book and she is not happy about that. Soon Everly finds that she is recieving anonymous gifts that includes a kitten, a giant stuffed bear, a bottle of tequila. Will Beckett and Everly be able to put the past behind them and look toward the future? I wou;d like to thank both NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for letting me listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook.

A fun, quirky Valentine’s Day novella! A kiss lottery in a small town brings Everly and Beckett back together after many years. It’s a second chance romance told in a dual POV. It’s a little silly at times but a lot of fun. It was a great listen!

This was a cute novella, expertly narrated on audio. I love romance books however novella's always seem so quick to me and once again, I wanted more from this one. It wrapped up so quickly and again, I felt like I would have appreciated having more of the relationship drawn out so we could feel the chemistry more. This is obviously a me thing though and why I keep requesting novellas even though I feel this way, is beyond me. I do like this author though and love her writing style so I'll be reading what she writes next.

Cute and quick second chance romance set in a small town. The audiobook was worth the listen, and I would recommend to lovers of contemporary romance.

I received a gifted audio copy. This review is honest and voluntary.

Everly left town as a teenager for a reason. She didn't want to deal with the town gossiping about her, or glaring at her over her part in the boys' basketball team's terrible loss of the "big game" during her senior year. And she REALLY doesn't want to see Beckett, her ex's best friend, whom she had a huge crush on, whose existence in the pages of her diary was the reason for the big game fail, and who recently made her the villain of his latest best seller. And yet... there he is, still a hunk, and wouldn't you know she'd get thrown in his path repeatedly while she's home...

This is very Hallmark romance. She's a big time such-and-such going home to her small town for (insert festival here). He's constantly scheming with the townsfolk to be close to her. And there's a lot of big romantic angst.

It's cute-ish. It's a bit cheesy. It's VERY predictable. There is nothing that's a surprise here.

I listened to the advanced copy as an audiobook, and while the narrator voices were well done, and I'd definitely listen to more read by either voice actor, I noticed that there were a few moments where I heard the female reader's breathing, or her lips smacking or her swallowing or something. It was distracting, and I'm not sure if it's just that the edits were rushed in order to get the ARCs out to the NetGalley readers, or what. I'm hoping it's fixed once the title is fully released.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Who knew a writer turning someone into the villain of his book could create such an irresistible story? The tension between the characters was palpable, especially with her being a podcaster digging into her own truth. It felt like every interaction between them was charged with history and unspoken words.

The forced proximity brought out so many layers to their relationship, making their second chance feel hard-earned and genuine. I loved how their professions added a creative twist to the usual romance dynamic—it wasn’t just about love, but about understanding each other’s worlds. This story kept surprising me in the best ways, and I couldn’t help but be completely drawn into their journey.

The kiss lottery, is a fun adult romance. This is an eternal second chance romance. I not only liked the main characters but also the surrounding characters. Would like to visit this town again