Timothy Janovsky

Dear (desperate, endless, never-been-quite-over-you) Crush, It's been a few years since high school, but I still can't stop thinking about the time we almost... Wren Roland has never been kissed, let alone been in love, but he wants that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Feeling nostalgic on the eve of his twenty-second birthday, he sends emails to all the boys he (ahem) loved before he came out. He didn't expect a response from anyone, much less Derick Haverford, Wren's #1 pre-coming-out-crush...and he certainly didn't expect Derick to admit he doesn't even remember that night Wren swears they almost kissed. Fine. Good. Whatever. Wren's no longer a closeted teenager; he can survive what feels like crushing rejection. But now that they're forced together at their hometown's vintage drive-in theater, Wren and Derick get to actually know each other and realize they have more in common than they ever realized. Maybe this summer, that perfect-kiss-before-the-credits is finally within reach. A feel-good summer LGBTQIA+ New Adult Romance.

Never Been Kissed

Lindsey Barnett

 Anything worth doing is worth doing right. 

sydney

This book was super cute and I really enjoyed it. I liked seeing Wren really discover who he is and fall in love. There was just something missing for me and I can't figure out what it is. 

I received an arc through netgalley.

Avery Baumel

Cute!!! Hallmark in a nutshell but in (almost) the best way. Cheesy

Dear (never-been-quite-over-you) Crush, It's been a few years since we were together, but I can't stop thinking about the time we almost... Wren Roland has never been kissed, but he wants that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Feeling nostalgic on the eve of his birthday, he sends emails to all the boys he (ahem) loved before he came out. Morning brings the inevitable Oh God What Did I Do?, but he brushes that panic aside. Why stress about it? None of his could-have-beens are actually going to read the emails, much less respond. Right? Enter Derick Haverford, Wren's #1 pre-coming-out-crush and his drive-in theater's new social media intern. Everyone claims he's coasting on cinematic good looks and his father's connections, but Wren has always known there's much more to Derick than meets the eye. Too bad he doesn't feel the same way about the infamous almost-kiss that once rocked Wren's world. Whatever. Wren's no longer a closeted teenager; he can survive this. But as their hazy summer becomes consumed with a special project that may just save the struggling drive-in for good, Wren and Derick are drawn ever-closer...and maybe, finally, Wren's dream of a perfect-kiss-before-the-credits is within reach. A feel-good summer LGBTQIA+ New Adult RomCom, perfect for fans of Red White & Royal Blue, Boyfriend Material, and What If It's Us.

emily

“I’m destined to be his maybe. He’s destined to be my almost.”

this book was soooo cute!! the pacing worked very well, it wasn’t too fast and it wasn’t too slow, and it didn’t feel rushed at the end or anything. this book parallels to all the boys i’ve loved before and it made me giggle when i realized how it did. this is a super fast-paced, light hearted queer romcom that kept me invested from the beginning. 

i have mostly positive thoughts about this book. i loved the demisexual representation. i felt it was handled perfectly and was a good representation of what being demisexual feels like! the way wren came to terms with it and the way derick supported him made me want to cry (as someone who is also demi and wasn’t sure about the difference between romantic and sexual attraction for a while, i felt seen). i loved all the characters, but i felt that the roommates avery and mateo were lacking something. they weren’t fully fleshed out to me. another thing that didn’t feel fully fleshed was derick and wren’s first main conflict. i felt like it resolved too quickly, but at the same time i felt wren was a forgiving person by nature, so it didn’t bother me that much. i laughed some of the pop culture references, but i wasn’t too keen on how the friend group would say abbreviations out loud. it felt more cheesy than a romcom is supposed to feel. 

overall, never been kissed is such a heartwarming letter to queer people who are still figuring themselves out, and that it’s okay to take it one day at a time. wren and derick’s relationship was super cute and i can’t wait to see what else this author writes!

Never Been Kissed

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