This was… fine.
It was a very easy story to consume and didn’t take much brain power, which makes it a nice, cute contemporary read. Even though the story was predictable (it’s in the title!) this didn’t draw away from my enjoyment.
I would’ve liked less talk of how long distance just doesn’t work. It was brought up three times with no discussion - just nope. That doesn’t work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Albert Whitman & Company, and Kalena Miller for the eARC of The Night When No One Had Sex in exchange for an honest review.

When Julia makes a pact with her friends for their after-prom activities, she has no idea what she is getting herself into. Everyone starts out with the same goal, but over time something other than sex on all of their minds. Told from alternating perspectives, follow Julia and her friends as they have to navigate friendship, relationships, family, and of course, sex.

I was worried at first when I saw that this book was told with so many different perspectives because they can all get confusing and start to mesh together. I'm happy to say that this book didn't do that and it was easy to remember what storyline I was supposed to be following within a specific chapter. With that said, I sometimes felt I was reading two different books. Alex's story line seemed so far away from the others' that I would frequently have to remind myself that they were all supposed to be in the same world and that everything was happening simultaneously.

I don't really know how all of these kids are friends; they seem so different. Other than the respective couples, they all just felt like acquaintances. I wish the friendships between the other characters had been more fully developed.

I'd recommend this to anyone in high school who likes books narrated by a lot of different perspectives and have the ability to pay attention to a lot of different story lines.

I'm giving this book 3/5 stars because the book felt all over the place at times, but had some good moments and some funny scenes.

this was an interesting book, however the formatting of the arc hindered my enjoyment of it. I loved the premise and found the characters interesting. it's a solid ya contemporary, in my opinion!

I thought this would be fun and a little cheeky - it literally tells you what's going to happen in the title. But it was super slow and the characters felt so immature. I was picturing a Can't Hardly Wait type of situation. It felt on the very young side of young adult.

This one was a bit of a slog to get through. A friend group of couples go to prom together. Since they are all going to Zoe’s uncle’s cabin in the woods, they make a sex pact for prom night.

The couples:
Zoe and Morgan- queer couple who are sexually active; Zoe is freaked out about being accepted into Yale; Morgan is freaked out because she is extremely protective of her twin, Madison. She doesn’t want her to have sex with her boyfriend Jake.

Madison and Jake- Madison has active lupus and is overwhelmed by Morgan’s constant need to protect her; Jake is a high school athlete who is leaving for college.

Julia and Kevin- longtime couple who want to lose their virginity to each other. Unfortunately, things don’t go as they planned.

Alex and Leah- blind dates to the prom; they are not part of the sex pact; when Alex gets news that his grandma had a heart attack, both he and Leah head to the hospital. Leah stays to help Alex and his family, even though he is not her boyfriend.

I thought most of the book was boring- however the chapters with Alex and Leah were good and I wish the author had focused on their relationship.

E-ARC graciously provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This book was super cute, and I will DEFINITELY be buying it sometime soon! I have a little trouble reading ebooks from time-to-time, so I read this bit by bit over the course of a few weeks. I’d love to buy my own physical copy and read it in one sitting. Heck I might even love it MORE that way.

This book is the perfect read when you don’t want something too serious. As usual, there were some characters I loved, and some that I could have done without entirely. Example: I LOVED Alex, but I didn’t care about Madison (or Morgan really) almost at all.

I loved and looked forward to anything Alex related. He was by far my favorite character, and his relationship with Leah was something I found myself invested in, yknow?

Okay, I take back what I said earlier. Morgan was FINE. I didn’t hate her or love her. But Madison? Her parts bored me and I couldn’t connect with her, so it made me hard to like her pieces of the story.

I will DEFINITELY reread this story, though classifying it as a romance is a touch misleading. I would definitely take it more to the contemporary side, because the main plot deals with a lot more than just romance.

This book was not for me. It just had too many things going on that it wasn't realistic at all. All this drama drama drama. So much angst. It was just too much for me.

Senior prom is over, but the night is just beginning! They’ve got a secluded cabin, and the group has made a pact - they won’t be virgins anymore by night’s end. At least, that was the plan. Told over the course of one night across multiple perspectives, we get to see the chaos that unfolds and catch up in the group chat over a truly unexpected few hours.

I really enjoyed reading this! I loved the range of life events and decisions that weasled their way into this night. Madison was the first character I’ve read who has lupus, and I was so interested to learn more about it, and see a glimpse of what it’s like to deal with that. Another great surprise was seeing someone who experienced pain during intercourse. It’s a problem that many people don’t seem to think about unless it happens to them, so seeing light shed on that was really nice. I wish we could have seen the outcome of it for her, but I get that the format didn’t allow for anything outside of that night. Also, Alex was one of my favourite perspectives to read, though all were enjoyable! The writing flowed really well and kept me wrapped up in the story.

Overall, I thought this was a fun, lighthearted, sex-positive read that dealt with interesting topics, and I would recommend it! (Side-note that isn’t important to the story: this cover is stunning)

Kalena Miller's The Night When No One Had Sex was really good. The different points of view were enjoyable to read. It added to the sense of friendship between them. It had a great voice and a very intriguing narrative.

This was such a fun read! I loved getting passed back and forth between the different character's POVs. It made everything so fast paced. And it gave really great insight into the depth of the friendship between the group. I also loved the group chat sections. Every time the chat name got changed it made me laugh out loud! I love narratives that take place over the course of a short period of time, like prom night. The fact that all the action takes place after prom was kind of cool too. Prom is usually the end of a lot of teen stories but this one explores what happens beyond prom and all the anxieties of a looming future. Just like the characters don't really know what's going to happen next in their lives I had no idea what was going to happen next in the narrative. I'm rooting for all of these kids.

A very cute and fun read! This novel was a great comedy of errors that accurately depicted the social pressures and anxiety high schoolers face. I especially loved the depiction of chronic illness.

This book was a cute quick read about a group of friends and their after-prom plans not going the way they expected.

The main thing I want to say is that this book made me smile. I felt really nostalgic reading this. While my high school friends and I didn't get into anything like what was going on in the story, it brought back some fond memories from my own silly experiences during that time with my friends. But the book wasn't all cutesy, though. It also touched on deeper topics such as illness and family expectations.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! The characters were interesting and relatable (I would have happily been friends with them). I also think the multiple POVs were well executed. This book was a fun, easy read.

Thank you, Albert Whitman & Company, Kalena Miller, and NetGalley, for allowing me the opportunity to review this book!

I went into this book with no expectations, I read the synopsis and it sounded like a interesting read. And it definitely was interesting, but in the best way possible. Our main cast of characters was very diverse and I really enjoyed that. There's LGBTQ+ rep, plus size, chronic illness and Asian representation. I thought that these were presented in a really good way and it didn't feel forced to the story. The problems in the story are real and you could really relate to them. The only thing lacking for me was that the plot felt very slow and dragged on at parts. Reading the title it really intrigues your interest asking "Does no one really have sex?" and I wasn't expecting what happened but I loved it. The change of perspective each chapter was a good choice for the story and it would keep you interested on where they left off (Leah and Alex in the hospital!). This book is a good read for anyone in high school and is worried about the pressures that come with it. It is a lighthearted read with important lessons throughout. 3.5/5

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the concept and the different storylines. I loved seeing this central point (prom) and how each and every person had this story that was so unique. It was really a great perspective of how you never know what someone is going through.

A nice read about a group of high school friends on their prom night. We follow a group of friends who are planning on having sex on their prom night. They were realistic characters.

They plan to stay at Zoe's uncles cabin, but things don't go always go right. Right away, Alex, finds out his grandma had a heart attack and he ditches his prom date Leah to go to the hospital. Even though at the beginning of he night Alex and Leah barely knew each other, they grow closer by the end of the night.

Julia and Kevin are determined to lose it that night, even though they've tried multiple times. Zoe and her gf Morgan have already had sex but tag along for the adventure. Morgan's twin sister Madison is spending the night hanging out with Jake.

All the characters have different problems and struggles and I was equally invested in all of them. it was light hearted and funny though it did have it's serious moments.

*** to be posted on goodreads closer to review date

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I gave The Night When No One Had Sex 4/5 stars! I am not usually a big contemporary fan (I am religious about my high fantasy novels) but this book was so adorable and I couldn’t put it down.
•
📖 What I loved 📖
- Each character had unique problems, personalities, and voices. Alternating the POVs wasn’t confusing or a problem because each voice was distinct.
- Everyone was realistic. It wasn’t obvious that an adult was trying to write in a teenage voice. Everything flowed fluidly
- It was hilarious. You feel for the characters, you can relate to what they’re going through, but they’re all hilarious nonetheless
- It really captures what graduating from high school feels like. The uncertainty of where your life will take you next. Will your friends stick around? Will your partner? Did you peak in high school? Where will you go from here?
- Enjoyable even though you know the outcome. The description tells you what happens. The title tells you the outcome. But it’s still an enjoyable read — with a few surprises along the way. I found myself wanting to be friends with these characters and I enjoyed their banter so much
- It’s light, fluffy, and cute
•
📖 What I didn’t like 📖
- There really wasn’t anything I disliked about this book. It was purely adorable and makes for a quick and fun read (especially between high fantasy novels). It’s great for keeping you out of a slump. I will say, though, that by branching off the characters into pairs, there will be storylines you’ll like more than others, but that’s only expected
•
OVERALL RECOMMEND?
Yes!

This was a lovely slice of life story about four teenage couples who just wanna have sex on prom night, dangit. Also that title is (pardon my word choice) a banger.

I felt like these characters could have, and would have, been my friends in high school. Their weird inside jokes, insecurities, and frank discussions with each other over what they want were super refreshing to read about. Zoe/Morgan and Julia/Kevin were so mature, even more mature than some adult relationships found in adult fiction--and that's not unrealistic to say, but it is uncommon in a lot of YA.

Alex/Leah were my least favorite couple because they were the outliers who didn't actually get to be with the rest having fun in the house. Secondly, I was bothered by Alex and his family's judgment of Leah just because of who her father was. I spent their chapters wanting to get back to the others.

Can't wait for more from this author!

This was a fun Contemporary YA book about friendship and growing up.

The book follows Julia and her boyfriend Kevin and their quest to lose their virginity on Prom night. Julia and Kevin don't want to do this alone so they invite their friends, Zoe, Madison, Alex, Leah, Jake and Morgan on their virginity pact.

The plan is to stay at Zoe's Uncle's Lake House where they can put their pact to fruition. But suddenly the night turns out to be way more complicated than any of the friends could have expected. It starts with Alex finding out his grandmother has had a heart attack forcing him and his prom date Leah to ditch their friends to rush to the hospital. Leah and Alex barely know each other but Leah spends the evening supporting Alex and his family as they wait to see his grandma. Leah and Alex find themselves more attracted to each other as they night goes on even though they both know that they will have to go their separate ways this summer.

After, Julia and Kevin try multiple times to lose their virginity to each other but ultimately this results with Julia being locked in a closet most of the night.

Zoe and her girlfriend Morgan have already had sex but to keep in the spirit with their friends they decide to play along. Only Morgan keeps getting distracted worrying about her twin sister, Madison, and Zoe weighs her impending future of continuing her families legacy of attending Yale.

All Madison wants is to feel like a normal girl and to not have her sister or her mom worry about her, especially with her illness. Madison spends most of the evening with oblivious, goofy, clueless Jake who doesn't quite know how to support Madison's illness but seems to do a great job at distracting her from herself. The night has Madison questioning if Jake is really who she needs after all.

I liked how the story unfolded, and each character had a set of different problems and different backgrounds that was entertaining to follow. I think I most enjoyed Madison and Alex's storylines the most as they both were going through more difficult situations than the others were. I loved the group chat between the friends and related to their witty and goofy banter as they shared their Prom night adventures with one another.

In the end only one of the couples manages to lose their virginity, but I won't tip my hand as to who it was.

Perfect for anyone looking for a lighthearted storyline with relatable characters.

This was really fun and funny. The teens in this book encounter and deal with obstacles to their plans of varying degrees of seriousness, and the four point-of-view characters, and most of their scene and/or romance partners, all have really good arcs. The very amusing...

***SPOILER***

title though, was total false advertising! I was told that no one would have sex!

***/SPOILER***

***Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for me to read and review***

This was a really fun read! There was a nice variety of characters who all had different yet interesting stories. As it seems from the other reviews, I am not in the minority when I say that I liked Alex and Leah's story line the best.

Although it definitely bordered on awkward more than once, I thought Julia and Kevin's story was also good. You don't often see depictions of sex in high school in which both parties are informed, fully consenting, and actively trying to make it a good experience while still having difficulties. It is important to show that what she was feeling isn't normal, and young women shouldn't accept it as part of the experience.

There were a lot of really cute, funny moments. I actually laughed out loud more than once (the elf roleplay and Alex returning Bulldog comes to mind).

Some of the characters were more annoying than not, and I was less invested in some of the stories, but it was still a good read for me!