Who would you…
Kiss?
Marry?
Kill?
Novelist Lori Gold’s sixth book, KISS, MARRY, KILL (Harper Collins; April 7, 2026) brings the conversation game, played (now famously) even by Taylor Swift’s fiancé, Trace Kelce, to life, asking: Which would you choose: kiss, marry, or kill? The book’s premise takes a question that haunts many of us—what if?— and Lori Gold delivers a page-turning novel that explores the path not taken, the push-pull between ambition and morality, and the powerful and complicated world of female friendships, all core issues ripe for discussion that audiences will relate to.
In a conversation, Lori discusses:
Why the viral phenomenon of conversation games, like Kiss, Marry, Kill, and the recent “TikTok 36 Questions” has taken hold and where it’s going.
https://www.instyle.com/travis-kelce-kiss-marry-kill-game-taylor-swift-2016-8600948
Why decision fatigue and the “just tell me” economy, where mental exhaustion and cognitive overload, combined with the “ease” of AI and recommendation algorithms, are leading us to lose our critical thinking abilities and just be “told” what to watch and buy, what jobs to take, and even when to seek medical help.
Stronger Together: The collective power of female friendships and how women coming together, embodied by the decision to collaborate rather than compete, when KISS, MARRY, KILL authors Lori Gold and Cara Tanamachi discovered their forthcoming books had the same exact title: https://people.com/lori-gold-cara-tanamachi-kiss-marry-kill-exclusive-11847790
The personal cost of “perfect” choices. Kiss, Marry, Kill is drawn from the author, Lori Gold’s intense period of personal crisis and became her way to explore how the pressure to make the “perfect” choice can become its own trap and how we can find peace with how much is truly out of our hands.
The post-pandemic cultural fascination of the multiverse and alternate realities, such, Kiss, Marry, Kill, as well as Palm Springs, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Dark Matter, The Midnight Library, The Measure, Maybe Next Time, The Husbands, and many more.
With Lori’s inspiration and the ripe themes in the novel itself, KISS, MARRY, KILL is the perfect story for readers looking to have meaningful discussions about the choices in their own life.
More About Lori:
Lori Gold is the author of the Zibby Media Summer Read pick and NPR Book of the Day ROMANTIC FRICTION. She is also the author of an adult historical and four novels for young adults (all under Lori Goldstein). She currently lives outside of Boston, where she fosters a writing community through her creative writing classes, book coaching, and writing retreats.
More About the Book:
When three best friends and founders of a health and wellness app on the verge of hitting the big time play a spin on the game of “kiss, marry, kill” at their company’s summer outing, they wake up the next morning in an alternate universe to discover they’ve each done just that. Kiss: In the “real world,” quiet, indecisive Aubrey is heartbroken over things ending with her fiancé. In the new reality ushered in by the game, Aubrey finds herself in bed, naked, next to their company’s newly hired graphic designer, ten years her junior.
Marry: Practical, straight-laced Ilena, on the brink of a divorce following a stressful struggle with infertility, wakes up six months pregnant and married to their company’s general counsel. Kill: Mallory’s philosophy is to ask neither forgiveness nor permission. Yet the reckless behavior of their biggest investor crosses lines even Mallory didn’t know she had. Especially since she’s been secretly sleeping with him for the past year. She’s mad enough to kill. But in this world, he’s already dead. Told alternately from the perspectives of these three best friends, this Sliding Doors-esque story explores the nuances of ambition, the power of female friendship, and the many facets of love in our lives, ultimately asking: if our choices define us or if we define our choices.
Lori Gold’s forthcoming novel, Kiss, Marry, Kill (Harper Collins, April 7, 2026, $18.99) follows three best friends and cofounders of a health and wellness app who play a spin on the game of “kiss, marry, kill” at their summer outing and wake up the next day in an alternate universe where they’ve each done exactly that. It’s part twisty book club fiction, part female friendship, and part meditation on control, chance, and the stories we tell ourselves.
This book is for all the readers out there looking for the perfect job, partner, or throw pillow to make their life complete. It is about the path not taken and the many facets of love in our lives, ultimately asking: Do our choices define us or do we define our choices
Advance Praise for Kiss, Marry, Kill
“Deviously clever and emotionally rich, Kiss, Marry, Kill is a sharp dive into friendship, fate, and the choices that change everything. I devoured it.” —Chandler Baker, NYT bestselling author of Whisper Network, The Husbands, and Cutting Teeth
“A wonderfully outlandish premise that delivers a clever, pacy, emotionally satisfying read. This thought-provoking Sliding Doors-style story had me fully invested in the lives of all three friends as they navigated the outcome of their life-changing game. My brain spun as I stayed up late to find out how it would all resolve!“ —Cesca Major, author of Reese’s Book Club pick Maybe Next Time
Lori Gold’s forthcoming novel, Kiss, Marry, Kill (Harper Collins, April 7, 2026, $18.99) follows three best friends and cofounders of a health and wellness app who play a spin on the game of “kiss, marry, kill” at their summer outing and wake up the next day in an alternate universe where they’ve each done exactly that. It’s part twisty book club fiction, part female friendship, and part meditation on control, chance, and the stories we tell ourselves.
This book is for all the readers out there looking for the perfect job, partner, or throw pillow to make their life complete. It is about the path not taken and the many facets of love in our lives, ultimately asking: Do our choices define us or do we define our choices
Advance Praise for Kiss, Marry, Kill
“Deviously clever and emotionally rich, Kiss, Marry, Kill is a sharp dive into friendship, fate, and the choices that change everything. I devoured it.” —Chandler Baker, NYT bestselling author of Whisper Network, The Husbands, and Cutting Teeth
“A wonderfully outlandish premise that delivers a clever, pacy, emotionally satisfying read. This thought-provoking Sliding Doors-style story had me fully invested in the lives of all three friends as they navigated the outcome of their life-changing game. My brain spun as I stayed up late to find out how it would all resolve!“ —Cesca Major, author of Reese’s Book Club pick Maybe Next Time
