Andrea K. Höst is one of my favourite authors but I was not planning on reading her non-fantasy story about high-schoolers’ sexy shenanigans. I read this on an impulse. Am still surprised how it made me care about the characters.

Mika plans to spend her final year of high school focused on getting into university. When she overhears three beautiful boys discussing their plan to find a girl willing to judge which of them is the best kisser, she decides such an arrangement wouldn’t disrupt her studies -- and so begins a series of secret lunchtime trysts.

It could easily descend into ugliness -- coercion, scandal or even just a morass of hurt feelings. And it doesn’t, even though the challenges are ostensibly a competition. In part because all four participants care about communication, consent, ensuring others’ comfort and keeping things confidential. They care, a lot.

The arrangement also works because the boys, a trio of second-cousins, are uncommonly committed to each other. And their tight bond is believable, given the pressure they are under -- demanding expectations from their very wealthy families, and intense scrutiny from their peers. They come to trust Mika, because she demonstrates early on that she will keep secrets and also, she’s as invested as they are in keeping her relationships with them secret.

I think all four of them are more used to making adult decisions than your average student, too.

It occurs to me that this is, in spite of the setting and the sex, such an Andrea K. Höst story. She’s still writing about characters who are exceptionally intelligent, talented and attractive! It’s just that none of them have magic.

There are various ways in which this could be a stronger novel, and other ways in which it could be more my cup of tea -- but it made me care about, and believe in, the characters and their relationships. And I like that, even though the story is about Mika’s interactions with three boys, both she and the narrative value her female friendships. ( )