Air Kisses

by Zoë Foster Blake

If the devil wears Prada, then God wears La Mer.

Hannah Atkins - the girl most likely to be sporting unblended foundation, orange wrists or a wobbly trail of liquid eyeliner - has bluffed her way into the position of beauty editor at Gloss magazine. Just as she's carving a path into the shiny world of guerrilla air kisses, achingly hip PR campaigns and goodie-bag overload, she reads about her boyfriend and another girl in the gossip pages of the local rag. Then she gets dumped. By text.

Vowing to claw back some dignity and make her ex regret what he's done, Hannah adopts a manifesto of hardcore rules. Don't become best friends with the scary girls at work. Don't drink fourteen glasses of Moët & Chandon at PR launches. Don't go home with inappropriate men. And certainly don't get all besotted with your best friend's brother.

As her rules start to slip away, Hannah finds herself having to decide on more important things than just the perfect shade of lip gloss . . .

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Friendship, Fashion

306 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Zoë Foster Blake is an Australian author and the founder of Go-To skin care. Yes, she is writing this in third person.

Zoë writes mostly for young women, because she thinks they're wonderful and deserve nice books.

Zoë has published five fiction titles, THINGS WILL CALM DOWN SOON, AIR KISSES, PLAYING THE FIELD, THE YOUNGER MAN and THE WRONG GIRL (made into a network TV series in Australia).

Zoë has also written four non-fiction titles: a dating and relationship guide called TEXTBOOK ROMANCE, (written with Hamish Blake), AMAZINGER FACE, a compilation of beauty tips and tricks, BREAK-UP BOSS, (also an app) and LOVE!, essays from a decade spent writing relationship advice. She published CLEAN SLATE, an Audible Original about infidelity in a seemingly perfect marriage in 2020.

She also writes picture books: NO ONE LIKES A FART, which won the ABIA Children’s Picture Book of the Year in 2018 because farts are where it’s AT, BACK TO SLEEP, FART AND BURP ARE SUPERSTINKERS (titled NO ONE LIKES A BURP in the US), SCAREDY BATH, BATTLE MUM, HAPPY FARTER’S DAY, and BEST PRESENT EVER.

When she's not updating her goodreads bio she's writing her new novel, out Oct 2026.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Air Kisses is about Hannah Atkins and how she reacted when dumped by text. After Hannah Atkins was dump by her boyfriend, she decided to make a manifesto of hardcore rules. However, Hannah things did not work out the way she wanted. The readers of Air Kisses will continue to follow Hannah to find out what happens.

Air Kisses is the first book I read of Zoe Foster Blake. I do not usually read books in this genre. However, I did enjoy reading this book. Parts of Air Kisses I was unable to stop laughing with the characters of Air Kisses. I loved Zoe Foster Blake portrayal of her characters and the way they intertwine with each other throughout this book. Air Kisses was well written and researched by Zoe Foster Blake. I like the way Zoe Foster Blake describe the settings of Air Kisses that complimented the plot of this book.

I recommend this book.

[Jade17 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a pretty hefty book for such a shallow topic and I'm really amazed that I've finished it! Perfect if you want an airy-fairy beach read.

[Pollypoptart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't understand why this has got so many bad reviews. I reeally enjoyed it, found it entertaining, easy to read and loved the characters. I definitely want to read more by Zoe!

[Ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This vapid fluff-fest has aged extremely poorly and, as another reviewer commented, is brimming with internalised misogyny. On top of that, one particular part was so flippantly racist it made my jaw drop.

Infuriatingly, the few interesting plot points - a disastrous headshot, an unexpected presentation to a room full of corporate ‘big wigs’ - had no conclusion whatsoever? As soon as the scenes were set and my interest was piqued, these storylines were basically just discarded in favour of yet another inconsequential PR event or dinner.

The characters are plentiful, two-dimensional, and I disliked them all. The attempts at humour are overwrought and cringe-inducing.

In fairness to the author, this book was written 14 years ago and a lot has changed since then. I also read this straight after Daisy Buchanen’s excellent - and brand new - novel ‘Careering’, also set in the world of publishing and therefore probably drawing unfair comparisons in my mind.

With the above points in mind, I would give more recent work by this author a chance. I just resent that I wasted any time at all on this book and would discourage anyone else from doing the same.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9/5

I also really enjoyed this book. I never knew I was in a chick-lit mood til I picked this up and devoured it!

Air Kisses is again, the typical chick-lit scene. Girl mid twenties trying to figure out her love life and career - which of course she is a journalist. Though Hannah is a beauty editor at a pretty high up magazine - Gloss.

I read this book a while ago so a tad fuzzy on specific details but basically we follow Hannah - IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA - as she leads her new glamorous life of being a beauty editor and DAMN is it truly glamorous. It's all the perks of being a celebrity without the annoying fame and paparazzi. Honestly it was too fun of a lifestyle that I doubted its credibility in real life - ESPECIALLY in Australia! Do beauty editors really have such a party life? If so DAMN I WISH I LIEKD MAKEUP.

Nonetheless it was fascinating reading about Hannah's crazy fun life with swooning hot guys and drama. It was so different to most books I've read - definitely not YA lol - but I loved it. Especially as I myself am figuring out my career I'm finding I love reading books where the character questions or even just discusses their job and career in depth. And that was Hannah - as her life was her job but not in the 'working in the office til midnight' but more party hard everyday and office for 3 hours after 6pm because I was too busy drinking away the daylight hours ON A FREE CRUISE! You know... normal everyday things.

I liked all the characters decently - a tad amount of bitchyness but still some pretty good girl-love that I loved, some good friendships.

Speaking of friendships I loved reading about Hannah and Iz - they are besties and super cute. I love jealousy in friendships especially when it is resolved nicely. When Hannah was jealous of Iz spending so much time with her boyfriend and her final decision regarding said boyfriend - I loved it! petty me mwahah. But I also loved Hannah's (small) journey to acceptance.

The men. Damn Hannah had opportunities and I'm glad she took a few BUT I'm just confused regarding Jesse the initial boy. I read the blurb before reading the book where it says 'Hannah is dumped for the local TV weather girl' BUT had I not read that I wouldn't have thought that had happened at all. It's just weird. Jesse is mentioned in the beginning as Hannah's boyfriend who is always busy then she reads some article about him being cosy with the weather girl, so she calls and emails him to which he claims it isn't true they are just friends. He basically says she is overreacting and to chill - he is an idiot for that alone my friends. Alas, it continues until they talk and he does all the things and says all the stuff Iz said he would IF he were guilty, so Hannah goes nuts and he just is not bothered and leaves. Sigh. I know.

Reading all that I thought he hadn't cheated because he just seemed so calm and uncaring, but that his uncaring sense and how he treated his concerned girlfriend as a chore to answer made me think he didn't truly love her. Anyway she breaks up with him but NEVER CONFIRMED IF HE CHEATED ON HER OR NOT?! I'm assuming it was true because of the blurb but it's not like he officially got with the weather girl, he just was seen with a tonne of women. But then months later he suddenly is interested in Hannah again and she just ignores him and says 'yeah good riddance' BUT DID HE CHEAT WHAT HAPPENED?! Weird. I thought that was executed quite poorly.

Everything else was great tho - oh minus the ending - but besides that I enjoyed it all. I literally felt like I was reading some celebrity's life story. It was intense and my night time read because I could pretend I joined Hannah on her crazy drinking sexing fun. But also, not my scene because she is a beauty editor and I don't like makeup or care much about it anyway.

Interesting though, that despite me not caring about makeup and knowing zero about its application I found the makeup tips at the beginning interesting and loved reading about Hannah galling up and reviewing products. I just love learning about all things.

The ending. Listen the ending was fine. But it was just so sudden. After all the buildup. Especially with Dec it was just over like that. Like where is this going with Dec? He confesses he has had a crush on you for months and months if not ever and you just set up a date I NEED TO KNOW MORE!

But even more than about Hannah's love life ebbing cut off, I was BEYOND BUMMED that her career life was cut off. We get she is still at Gloss but that's it? The entire book we have seen her start at Gloss and grow more comfortable in her role and maybe have too much fun and decide she may want to branch and do more idea planning of spreads etc and does one successfully and then nothing... that disappointed me. Hearing about her career was my favourite part and it just ended on a underwhelming point.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannah Atkins has somehow managed to bluff her way to beauty editor at Gloss magazine and can’t believe her luck. Just as she’s learning the ropes in her new job she reads in the gossip pages of a local paper that her boyfriend Jesse is cheating on her with a weather-girl. Things get worse when Hannah finds herself dumped. By text. Vowing to claw back some dignity and show Jesse what he’s missing, Hannah vows to look and act fabulous 24/7 as well as steering clear of men who are unsuitable. As Hannah’s vows fall to the wayside, it’s time to decide whether love really is more important than lip-gloss.

I seem to be reading a lot of books based around the world of magazines recently – the book I read before Air Kisses was The Making of Mia by Ilana Fox (which magazine was also titled Gloss – what are the chances?) and after reading a fantastic review of Air Kisses I finally bought it for myself and decided to give it a read after reading the first page. I also follow Zoe on Twitter and she seems quite hilarious so I was really looking forward to a fantastic read.

When we first meet Hannah she’s about to have her headshot done for the first issue she’ll be appearing in in Gloss and she thinks she’s going to have her hair and make up professionally done as well as being given some fab clothes. So it comes as rather a disappointment when Hannah heads up for her headshots to be taken to find out that, actually, nobody is really that bothered. After having some mediocre headshots taken we learn that Hannah really isn’t like a regular beauty editor. She bluffed her way into her job for starters and hasn’t really got a clue about what she’s meant to be doing. Hannah then finds out about her boyfriend Jesse cheating on her with the weathergirl and after a lot of tears Hannah decides to make Jesse regret what he let go. Of course, nothing every works out as planned and Hannah not only ends up with Jesse potentially wanting her back, but she seems to have a trail of men after her!

I actually thought Air Kisses would be more like The Making of Mia/The Devil Wears Prada and Hannah would be the ugly duckling turned into a beautiful swan but Hannah wasn’t like that at all – she seemed made to work as a beauty editor. Nor is the book any kind of expose on what it’s like to work in the magazine world. Whereas The Making of Mia/The Devil Wears Prada make the magazine world look like the last place you’d ever want to work, Air Kisses makes it seem incredibly fun. Instead of everyone acting all high and mighty, most of them seemed quite nice. If I had more interest in make up and that kind of thing, I’d totally want to work at Gloss.

The book spends a lot of time discussing make up and cleansing creams and what products you should/shouldn’t use and if you’re not really into make up – I’m really not – then you should think twice before reading the book. Sure, it was interesting reading all of the helpful tips at the beginning of each chapter and reading of the excitement Hannah feels everytime she gets new packages full of fab new make up but for me, it didn’t hold my interest as much as I’d have liked it to. Make up isn’t something I spend a lot of time thinking about/using (kill me now?) so to jump into a book jam packed with it was very surreal. Who knew there were a) so many types of make up and b) people got so excited about it all! It was definitely an eye-opener into the world of make up and I feel very bad because I don’t really care for it!

As far as characters go, I really liked Hannah. She didn’t mope for the entire book about being dumped by Jessie (thank God) but instead she threw herself into work and what not in a bid to forget. She seemed incredibly nice – if a little out of her depth at first – and she’s someone you could see yourself as friends with. Whenever I imagine a beauty editor, I imagine someone super skinny, with sharp angles and perfect hair and make up so Hannah was very refreshing to the stereotype. My favourite character though was Iz, Hannah’s best friend. She was so so nice and I adored her throughout. Gabe is another friend of Hannah’s – the obligatory gay friend – and I found him rather amusing. There were a few twists when it came to Hannah’s love life and although I knew who she would probably end up with, I was surprised how some of them turned out. I didn’t like Jesse. At all. He came across as full of himself and incredibly arrogant and I just didn’t see what Hannah saw in him. I thought Trucker was incredibly sweet and I wish he had stuck around longer. Dan seemed perfect at first but he just goes to show that first impressions don’t always count – do they? And finally there was Declan. I love that name. I thought he was fantastic. Zoe Foster has created some immensely likable characters and I adored most of them.

The writing is fairly simple and easy to speed through. I did think that I was getting bored with the book at first and I wondered if I would finish it but to my immense relief, the book picked up enormously and I forgot what it was that had me bored early doors. The book is told entirely from Hannah’s point of view which absolutely works and I enjoyed Hannah’s insights. Zoe Foster seems to have a very relatable writing style and I found myself easily whizzing through the book. The ending is a little ambiguous, which was a shame as I’d have liked an epilogue just to tie things up nicely but it also leaves room for a potential sequel. Or, you know, you could just make up your own mind unless you’re lazy like me and like everything tied up in a neat bow exclaiming “This is how it ends”.

Air Kisses is fairly light weight but if it’s escapism you’re looking for then this is the book for you. It surprised me – after all I read lots of good reviews of lots of books and it doesn’t mean a thing, really – and once I got into it, I found myself really enjoying the book. Anybody who loves make up will undoubtedly love all of the tips and name drops in the book and will adore the book itself. It seems Zoe Foster has written a second fiction novel about WAGs – which I adore!! – so I wonder if that will be published in the UK? (It’s only out in Australia which sucks for me) I for one would buy it and I urge you to pick this one up!

[Tasnim Walid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light hearted and fun ✨ +bonus points for relatable mc

🧡 16
💛 13
💖 6
💚 0
💙 0

[Rosanna Hanlon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is…bad.
The main character is frustratingly dull. It was written over a decade ago and is a nice little flashback into dating pre social media. Zero spice = zero stars.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re after a good girly book that will make you laugh (and potentially cry) this is it. Meet Hannah - she is the new Beauty editor at Gloss, dating a wonderful TV presenter. Basically she’s living the life (lip glosses arriving on the daily who could hate that?!). But when her boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she’s sent into a spiralling journey of finding love again. With whirlwind romances, heartbreak and a lot of beauty products, this book won me over instantly (I mean it’s basically all of my favourite things...minus the heartbreak of course). Zoe Foster Blake is one of my favourite authors and this is another brilliant book by her!

[Gabriela Milicevic · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Slow and the main character was really dull.

[Kiana Carle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was funny. I like Zoe Foster's humor plus it was an easy read and that's what I was looking for.

[mint · Rating 2 out of 5]

First review of the year for me.

The cover and the title captured my attention. Has to be another romance or something. And I was right.

This book, from the first few pages, screamed “let’s try to write a book as alike to The Devil Wears Prada as possible” without actually making it The Devil Wears Prada.

Because it has all the elements of [author’s] book and worse. From the magazine, editorial job, to the beauty girls on high heels, a glow up to fit in, to a free-spirited best friend who knows better, to an unnecessarily complicated love life with all the different guys, and the oh-so-cliché I-fell-for-my-bestie’s-brother.

And the book barely has any noticeable plot. Its plot, from what I gather, seems to be about this girl’s love life from guy to guy as she navigates her work life just to eventually end up with the guy who has been there the whole time. The writing is repetitive, and at times I feel like I might have read one section twice (I did not) simply because of how similarly they resemble each other.

And why did I make myself stick with all three hundred something pages of this book? Because it was simply awful, and nearly half way through I realised that I am reading a Devil Wears Prada copycat, and I’ve prodded too far in to give up.

Anyways, it is my yearly tradition to read painfully awful books and I have thoroughly enjoyed disliking it.

[Katie (IG: katie.reads.things) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a huge girl crush on Zoe Foster Blake. She's hilarious (if you’re not following her on Instagram, you definitely should be), runs an amazing skincare company (#girlboss) and she has really great hair. As if that wasn't enough, turns out she writes great fiction too! Air Kisses is about Hannah, a rookie beauty editor at super stylish Gloss magazine. Hannah is usually more of a "dry shampoo and unblended foundation" kind of girl (a girl after my own heart!) but has somehow bluffed her way into what is a very glamorous position. Just as she starts finding her way through the air kisses and perfect manicures, her boyfriend dumps her (via text!) for the local TV weathergirl. Hannah vows to make her ex regret what he's done and show him exactly what he's missing. Along the way, she learns a little about her own strengths and might just have found what she was looking for all along.

These characters are hugely likeable and the inside look at the magazine industry is glamorous and fun. The romance is really sweet, and, rather than dominate the story, plays out alongside some really strong female friendships. This is a light, easy read filled with a generous dash of humour and just the right amount of cheesy romance. The perfect summer read!

[grace matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fully understand the critique of many others on this book as it is very repetitive and slightly misguided culturally (though it was written a while ago), but if you’re in search for a very superficial and girly novel, with fun beauty tips and quirky characters, this is the one.

Being the owner of a skincare brand herself, Blake evidently wrote about the world of beauty and makeup with so much genuine passion and experience that the triviality of the main character’s day to day, from having samples upon samples from high end brands to attending product launches with her friends, made the book so hard to put down.

Many also critiqued her similarity to ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, another great book (and film adaptation!), but, there is truly nothing new under the sun… so to be able to write or create anything without external influence, especially when writing about such similar topics, is largely impossible. (Though I do understand where you are all coming from because I partially pictured ‘Hannah’ as a less obnoxious Andy/Anne Hathaway)

Overall, this book is very much for the light and fun readers, not so much the deep and critical. I, as a sucker for a good romantic ending, personally loved it!

[Greta Mewing · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love ZFB and really wanted to like this - but it was full of flaws.
Like how on earth someone could go from essentially being an intern/assistant straight to beauty editor of a magazine, especially with no skills or interest in the topic. People spend their entire careers working towards that - that lost me upfront.
Then the character development itself was a problem. I had no idea what to picture thinking of her. As far as I could tell, there was nothing but vague descriptions of how she looked which made it really hard to visualise Hannah.
There were a few funny moments in there but overall it was a no from me.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, I’m not the biggest lover of silly romance novels, but I did enjoy this read and did read it very quickly.
The few things I really disliked were

the number of characters who flapped in and out of the story without me having any idea they were different

The fact that Hannah seemed to never do any work except go to PR parties

The fact that she came across as a very Andy-like character from Devil Wears Prada who doesn’t know a thing about her industry but continually fails upward

Otherwise, cute.

[Simone Strachan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve loved reading Zoe’s novels and although they are a light read they are just so enjoyable and I find myself unable to put them down. Air Kisses was no different- such a guilty pleasure and at times I found myself avoiding going out just so that I could read the book. I loved the concept that each chapter starts with an easy beauty tip. The story line is enjoyable and as a whole the book doesn’t take itself too seriously. A great read with a dash of romance on the side.

[Sarah Bramble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recieved it as a book subscription box read. Nothing special. I didn't mind it in general though nice fluffy read nothing outstanding. Zoe has a knack for writing the girly beauty shtick however it was your typical run of the mill book. I wouldn't go back for a re read again however a deserved three stars.

[Julie Paelmo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate the fact that when you're about to get your happy ending that it just ends abruptly. It doesnt even give you a chapter to satisfy all the heartbreaks and make it all seem worth it. Just a page, thats all you get. Its the same style with her other book The Wrong Girl.
Extremely disappointed.

[Rachel EC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really had to drag myself to the finish line with this one. It was vapid, contained internalised misogyny and was even a bit racist.

I wanted to DNF but.. sometimes the ending can make up for a muddling middle. Not this!

[Angie Flanagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book started out really great. I thought the storyline was great and I loved the characters. However, some chapters could’ve literally been left out of this book. It did not add any value to the storyline or to character development. However, I really enjoyed the story.

[Felicity Harber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read romance. I would have liked Dec and Hannah to get together a lot sooner. I found the relationship dramas of Han carried on a bit too long.

[Bettina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like Zoe's books, but I felt like this one ended a little abruptly. Did Hannah and Dec end up together in the end?... A great read though like all of Zoe's other books

[Nicole Shires · Rating 5 out of 5]

I

[Emma Strettell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast and fun.

[Alice21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and enjoyable read with a happy ending

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun light girly read

[Nova Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trashy little romance that is super light and easy to read!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, light-hearted story. Perfect for a relaxing holiday read :)

[Hannah Binfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and then you need a trashy romcom and every now and then you need a easy trashy read - this was it! Just what I ordered. Light hearted and read in a few hours