Kismet

Sure to appeal to readers of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. and Super Sad True Love Story, this whip-smart debut is set in a world where a matchmaking app called Kismet has replaced traditional dating and redefined romance.

Our protagonist, Anna, is about to turn 30 and grappling with the central question of her life: is it time to settle for a secure and predictable existence, or should she risk everything for a life of passion and adventure? Her attempt to answer this centers on Kismet, which works by compiling your online behavior and showing your compatibility with passers-by as a percentage score: a 55 indicates mutual attraction, 65 warrants investigation, and an 80 means you'll almost certainly fall in love, most likely right there on the pavement.

But Anna isn't looking for love, or she shouldn't be. She is already in a committed relationship with a lovely guy named Pete, but she worries about their lackluster Kismet score (70), especially when she finds an engagement ring hidden in their apartment and guesses that he's planning to propose. So Anna secretly re-joins Kismet, and soon encounters Geoff, a dashing, forty-something journalist with whom she has a compatibility of 81. How can she not at least see where this goes...?

A funny and propulsive love story for our over-networked age, KISMET challenges us to take stock of how technology shapes our desires and what it means to "settle."