This book is so sweet it'll make your teeth hurt.

If you're a movie buff, you'll love this book. It combines old movie charm with a budding relationship between the two main characters.

Wren is a stuck in his ways movie geek who feels out of sorts when his former crush Derek starts working at the drive in with him.

It's a quick read that will have you rooting for this couple by the end.

This was a cute lighthearted story. I really loved Wren and his passion for film history. I related to this a lot and got a lot of joy out of this part of the book. Wren and Derick are absolutely adorable. These boys make an adorable friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers couple.

The beginning of the book it was slightly chaotic and I had to re-read quite a few sections to understand what had happened in the scene. This chaotic writing style is sprinkled in throughout the book.

I loved the coming of age story of the summer after college and what do we do with ourselves now vibe. If you are in the mood for a lighthearted cute summer rom com that centers itself around a classic drive-in movie theater, then this is the perfect book to pick up.

A sweet, cute, and fluffy queer romance novel. Made of everything good about a traditional romance novel but, instead of yet another boy meets girl story, you have the parallel of boy meets boy. But don’t let the fluffy cuteness fool you, there is heavy subject matter covered in this book. Subjects such as discovering yourself and demisexuality in all of its incandescent beauty.

Never Benn Kissed is a story, and thankfully will be a series, that normalizes the spectrum of sexuality and love. Bringing all of it forward as one instead of separated from all others so much that “it must be different”. Because yes it is vastly different but, at its core love is love is love is love. And sexuality is a beautiful prism of rainbow colors waiting to be accepted exactly as they are. This book will prove this and so much more.

Plus this book has Derek! I love him okay and I need that energy in my life.

Thank you netgalley, sourcebooks Casablanca, and Timothy Janovsky for an e-arc of this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley the advanced read of this book.

I loved that this book gave me ALL of the summer vibes. I was itching to go to the drive-in and eat popcorn! Unfortunately that was my favorite part. Wren was an okay main character - nothing special & same goes with Derick and their love. I didn't really see how it developed, obviously they spent time together and what not, but a lot of it really seemed like friends hanging out.
Speaking of friends.. they drifted into the background more & more throughout the book when I felt like in the beginning they were Wrens world & when they did show up they didn't really have any significance or development. It was nice that Wren was gaining more confidence on his own, friends with that background don't disappear so much.

Overall a medium experience read with no notable characters for me personally.

It pains me to give this 2 stars as I really wanted to enjoy Never Been Kissed. However, I felt that marketing this book as "for fans of Red White & Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material" set the bar way too high, which led it to ultimately fall flat. When you think of rwrb and boyfriend material, you think of solid fleshed out side characters who can stand on their own, of prose that makes you laugh and your heart squeeze, and scenes that stick with you for months after you put the book down - I didn't really get that here. The premise of the book has so much potential, but maybe I'm just a grinch who just failed to connect with it. However, I really enjoyed the aspec rep and themes of figuring out who you are even in your twenties and beyond.

Hello beautiful people! I am coming to you with a review of this beautifully written book by @timothyjanovsky , Never Been Kissed! This picture does not do this book justice, so please forgive me! Movies have been a large piece of my heart all my life, so I immediately connected with Wren's character- a quirky, film loving nerd who doesn't eat finger foods with his hands and who wants a blockbuster love story and learns that he deserves it. The setting of this book spoke to my heart- a small town and a beloved drive-in movie theater. This book is full of well written side characters, from Wren's best friends Avery and Mateo to the mysterious and eccentric director Alice Kelly, the side characters pull you in with their lives as much as the main act. And, last but not least, Derick Haverford, the long lost love interest. In love with Wren before Wren even knows it, he's cute and adorable, and I do always love a photographer📸 this book was super special to me, please read it when it comes out May 3rd!!!
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What movie would you love to watch at a drive in?
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This was a sweet, fun read. I loved the idea of a what happens after you accidentally send emails to all the boys you’ve almost kissed or almost had a big moment with… the mortification felt after was something I could actually FEEL! It brought me right into the book. I truly loved the efforts that Wren, our main character, goes to save the beloved albeit struggling drive-in, a place that holds such a neat and dear spot in his heart.

What got me though, was the writing and the overall juvenile feel to this book. These characters were all supposed to be in college but it read very much like high school and it threw me off.

I loved the friend group of Wren’s and the shenanigans that ensue through this book. Ultimately this was a cute book worth the read for people looking for a sweet queer summer romance.

I was PSYCHED to get an ARC of this book and it did not disappoint! I love the author's writing style and found this to be a perfect rom-com. I love seeing increased representation in the romance genre, and this book handles demisexuality so well. It was less spicy than I usually want my MM romance to be, it's big on heart and I found myself not really minding the low steam. I highly recommend it and am really looking forward to reading more from this author.

'Never Been Kissed' is one of those books that I wish I could have found sooner. This is the kind of queer rom-com that calls to my movie loving heart.

This is a story about second chances, the ways that love can appear and those places and people that feel like home.

Following Wren in this journey has been great. After sending four e-mails to four boys he almost kissed, things will start to unravel. Having a demisexual main character is something that means a lot to me, and I'm glad that I was able to see it.

This is a perfect read for fans of romantic comedies, cute and funny reads with a pinch of chaos (the good one), and a big heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc for review.

Never Been Kissed opens with Wren celebrating his 22nd birthday onstage at a club with a drag queen about to give him a celebratory birthday kiss. At the last second, he turns his head away, leading to an expository scene in the club bathroom with his exasperated best friends, lightly but lovingly hassling him for still saving his first kiss for just the right moment at the ripe old age of 22. After keeping the party going with a couple more drinks at home, Wren drunkenly sends out 4 long-saved draft emails to four "almost kisses" from his past, in the spirit of To All The Boys I've Loved Before. One writes back (and another is a current best friend), and it turns out they'll be working together over the summer.

There are some great things in this book: the "save the drive-in" side plot is fun, and Wren's friendship with the grouchy, reclusive Alice is a highlight. If you grew up in a town with a drive-in, like I did, the book is worth picking up for that alone. The demisexual representation is also on point - probably the best part of this book. The thoughtful, considerate exploration of evolving sexuality and aligning what you know now with how you felt in the past really shines. These two aspects together bring this up to a solid middle of the road book for me.

There are also some things that I did not enjoy as much. This book feels immature in style, tone, and theme. If I didn't know in advance that explorations of sexual identity would be coming up, I wouldn't have been compelled to keep going by a plot about a college graduate saving his first kiss - I'm sure it happens, but it feels more appropriate to a YA book, something borne out by the writing style, as well. The behavior and voice of several side characters also feels very young. It was frustrating to read at many points, but only because we're meant to believe these characters are young adults - it was really hard to sink into this story and fully enjoy it because the bounds of credulity were continually stretched in that way. Add to that a writing style that felt like it was doing too much for me, and this cute story was brought down to just an average experience.

This book was not for me I'm afraid, I am not the intended audience which may be why it just didn't appeal. The story was fine but the characters just fell a bit flat for me.

This was a touching story that managed to be overall lighthearted and funny at the same time.
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It’s starts out with a “sending emails to your past crushes” trope, which I was wary about, but it was handled in a way that I hadn’t seen before, and I loved it.
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I don’t usually like reading about high school angst, but since Wren and Derick are college grads, the heartwrench is in the form of flashbacks, so we get the unrequited crushes without having to live through them in real reader-time. And it’s funny!
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One aspect of the book that really stood out to me, is that Wren is out as queer, but still figuring out his own identity. The book talks about how coming out isn’t a thing that happens once and done. He hears about demisexuality / demiromanticism for the first time (on page as part of the book) and realizes that that’s part of his identity, too.
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The resolution of the conflict worked for me to pull all the threads together, with a little extra sweetness from family reconciliation.

One final point that I appreciate is that there’s a friend-breakup that happened before the action opens, and this breakup is treated as just as painful as a romantic breakup. We really need more stories talking about deep friendships and not relegating them to “just” friends.
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I got a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My first thought upon finishing this book was: "CUTE!"

A delightfully tropey, serious-but-silly, sweet story of first loves, first kisses, figuring yourself out ... and, of course, the power of film. I really enjoyed the fact that one of the characters came to realize that they were demisexual - not something you see much in romance books - and that the drive-in movie theater played such a vital part in not only the main relationship, but how much it shaped the town and the way people lived their lives. I really enjoyed this book, and although it wasn't as steamy as I usually like my books, I am still really happy I read this, and will be recommending it to romance lovers and movie fans alike!

Never Been Kissed is a Queer contemporary by author Timothy Janovsky that's a perfect summer read!

Wren is 22, just graduated from college, and never been kissed. Drunk one night, he emails boys that he had almost had his first kiss with. One of those being Derick, a boy he considered his best friend till he ghosted him freshman year of college, shortly after their almost first kiss. His summer of working at his beloved drive-in theater and trying to decide what he wants his career to be is made more difficult by the fact that Derick is going to be his new co-worker. When he discovers the drive-in is going to be demolished, he's determined to save it. In the process he learns about his sexual identity, learns forgiveness and a whole lot of self-confidence with the help of current friends and old.

I did end up really loving this one, but it took me a little bit to get into. Wren is a bit immature for someone his age, at least in my opinion. I don't know it's been a long time since I've been 22 and even then I was married with a kid at that point, sorry I digress lol I love the story plot though. A guy who has never been kissed, obsessed with film and just wants that moment to be magical movie worthy, and he's not going to settle for less. While I didn't click with him at first, throughout the story Wren matures exponentially. He discovers that he's Demi, and he embraces that he needs an emotional connection with someone to feel safe enough to even kiss them. Which is 100% okay, and I was happy that he had the friend support system around him so that let him know how he felt was normal and valid. It was also really great to see his self-confidence grow and stand up for what he really wanted to do with his future.

Next we have his romantic interest, Derick. It was hard for me to connect to him, which often happens when a book is single point of view. I was right alongside Wren not wanting to hear any of his excuses. However, at the end Derick does his own standing up for what he believes and not backing down, at which point he pours out his backstory to Wren. At which time my heart broke for him and I wanted them to get their happily ever after, but I wish I hadn't had to wait till 90% of the book to feel connected to him.

As for the romance in this, it's very low steam, it's more focused on friendship and communication. Wren being Demi, he really needed that emotional connection and with his history with Derick it was hard for him to 100% trust him enough to take their relationship into physical. Therefore, there's nothing more than some hand holding and kisses.

In the end Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky was a wholesome Queer contemporary with a film obsessed MC, self discovery , apologies, forgiveness, tight friendships, family drama, drive in theater nostalgia, just one bed scenario, blueberry pancakes, a first date, and a long-anticipated first kiss.

P.S. - Have to mention one of my favorite aspects of the book were the Instagram comments from a user named 420Blazonboii 😂

I remember reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and thinking, this would be so much better if it were gay. Never Been Kissed proves that I was correct, and I absolutely loved it! I really needed a fun, light-hearted romcom, and this book was exactly that. If you’re looking for queer joy to pull you out of that post Heartstopper haze, this is the book for you!

Never Been Kissed takes the concept of sending off the embarrassing letters you wrote for past crushes and finds a new and unique voice. I enjoyed the fresh, new adult take on second chance love. My favourite thing about this book is how it discusses queer identity, and more specifically, how exploring your queerness does not have a timeline. Queer people often develop later than heterosexuals. Our first kisses are sometimes later than usual, a lot of us don’t get to have that senseless young love. Figuring out your identity can sometimes feel like a full-time job. I wasn’t expecting such a detailed exploration of demisexuality, but really appreciated what I found to be a nuanced representation of an overlooked identity. I loved how throughout the book Wren was slowly processing his current identity to make sense of his past. I really related to having that moment when you realise seemingly insignificant moments in your childhood may allude to an entire aspect of your identity you haven’t addressed. It can be so easy to label yourself too quickly, when you’re young and have not really had the time to explore your identity. When you realise your perspective of your own identity is evolving, it can also be scary to think about the new conversations you may need to have with those around you. Never Been Kissed represented that feeling brilliantly.

It can feel incredibly lonely when those around you are moving at an entirely different pace. I loved that the primary message of this book was – it’s okay to take your time! There is no rush to label yourself, and you certainly do not owe anyone clarity on something that can be so personal. When we label ourselves, we place markers on what we are allowed to feel. I’ve thought a lot about my own identity lately, and while I still haven’t figured it all out, Never Been Kissed is a reminder to myself that I’ll get there eventually. Being a man that likes other men is not as simple as I thought it was. Sexuality is so complex, and I don’t have to just be one thing.

Beyond the very important discussion of identity, this is such a well-executed romcom. Wren was the perfect disaster main character, completely oblivious to Derick’s advances. Their romance blossomed so slow and perfect, and of course, there were the classic romcom setbacks that make you want to scream in the best way. I also adored how this book had plot that was separate to the romance. As a huge film fan, I really engaged with the discussion of misogyny in the film industry and the treatment of female directors. I loved Alice as a character, and really enjoyed how this book represented multigenerational queerness. I want more books like this. I really do. Give them all to me.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca and the author for sending me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 rounded up! I listened to the majority of this book on audiobook, but also read some of it and I loved it! The narrator was great and the story was about so much more than I expected!! I can't wait for book 2 in the series, You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince!

Read this if you love:
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQIA+ representation
🌈 Demi representation
🎥 Drive-in movie theaters
👬 Fabulous best friends!
🎤 A great narrator!

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca & Dreamscapes Media for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

A cute queer rom-com about discovering your true self and the love for the US cinema.

My favourite part was, surprise, all the questioning that Wren goes through as he figures out the depth of his queerness and embraces his demisexualiy. It's the reason I've picked up this book in the first place, so I'm happy to say it delivered.

There's a great queer friendship group/found family dynamic and lots of references to US films.

Alice is probably my favourite character, that's where I see myself in some fifty years.

Overall, it's a quick fun read and I definitely recommend it, especially for the summer.

One thing to keep in mind is that even though the characters are adult, it has more of a YA feel to it (and it's not because there are no sex scenes, it's more about the overall writing style). I think it makes a lot of sense, as so many queer people figure out their identity, embrace it or are able to be truly themselves only later in life, we often see our 20s as second teenage years, full of firsts and figuring out who we are and how we fit in the world. It works wonderfully for me but it's something to keep in mind when you pick it up, so you enter it in the right mindset.

5 Stars.

As someone who’s not the biggest movie fan, but love drive-in movie theaters, this book was such a sweet treat that really brought me in. Someone with more movie knowledge will likely get the references, but even without it, I didn’t feel like I missed out.

Wren has dreamed of his first kiss for ages, wanting it to just be perfect. The perfect person, the perfect place, the perfect scene. But now he’s 22 and he still hasn’t had his first kiss, and after a drunk night out, he decides to send his “almost kisses” the emails he had drafted after each experience. 4 emails get sent out, and when he wakes up the next morning, he has a response from Derick, a crush he had his senior year of high school but who ghosted him freshman year of high school. Thinking this is all behind him, Wren knows he’ll be okay… until he finds out that Derick will be the social media intern at Wiley’s, the drive-in theater Wren has been working at for the past 8 years and is managing this summer.

The story follows Wren as he continues to figure himself out, as he develops a friendship with Derick, as he learns to manage the crew at Wiley’s, including his friends, and as he works to restore the house of a local hermit who once was a movie director, working to finally get the premier at Wiley’s that it deserves, though the director does not agree.

Following Wren for the summer is so refreshing, getting to see all the different aspects of his life - trying to separate from his childhood, figuring out what he might want as a career outside of the drive-in, and diving into other opportunities that may arise should he be able to get permission to Alice’s solo directorial debut. This book was wholesome and felt like a hug at times. The characters are well-developed and truly loveable. I would definitely recommend it.

The story of Wren and Derrick is a great heart warming summer read. It's a second chance romance, it's a story of self discovery with a great cast of friends, and was an all around feel good story with low level angst. I really enjoyed it, not to mention it made me want to go and visit my towns own drive in movie theater.

3.5

When I started this book (and based on the synopsis) I expected this book was going to be a 4 or 5-star read for me. While I still enjoyed it a lot, I ended up being slightly disappointed by it. Still, it was a fun, sweet book and I definitely think it's gonna work for a lot of people.

Never Been Kissed is about Wren, who has, well, never been kissed. He has this list of what a perfect kiss should be and he is waiting for that and will not settle for less. After going out and drinking one night, he sends emails to all the guys he liked and almost kissed before he came out. One such email goes to Derick, who ghosted Wren even though they'd been friends, but is also now going to be working at the same drive-in as Wren.

I enjoyed the idea of this book, I like second chance romance especially when it's about queer characters. I liked the setting of the story, I thought that Wren and his friends were really fun. I was very much there for the summer rom-com vibes this book was giving off. And that being said, there are a lot of things I enjoyed.

As I already mentioned, I liked the overall atmosphere of the book, I enjoyed the found family aspect, and I liked the drive-in setting. I enjoyed Wren as the main character for the most part. I enjoyed how much he cares about his friends, the drive-in, and movies in general. He is trying to save the drive-in from going out of business, and I loved the passion he has for it. I also enjoyed his interactions with Alice, who directed a movie years ago and then tried to leave all of that behind and is now seemingly a bitter old lady. I really liked the friendship they formed despite starting off rocky. (I am deliberately not elaborating here, as I think saying anything more would spoil too much)

The main, focal point of the book is Wren and Derick’s relationship. Former friends reconnecting, facing each other after a while, there was bound to be some tension when they finally met. Wren drunkenly sent the email that started off their reconnecting, and given that Derick had ghosted Wren, he is now understandably stand-offish and still upset about how their friendship ended. I will say, I wish we got more about their relationship as it was before, I feel like establishing the previous relationship is an important part of second-chance romances, and here it was slightly lacking. I wish there was more simply because it felt like the tension just completely disappeared as soon as they “resolved” the issue in the first 50 or so pages. However, I still enjoyed their relationship and thought it was perfectly sweet. I had minor issues with how Wren reacted to some things later on in the book – to say it without spoilers, I feel like it was established that Derick was facing a lot of pressure from his father, and Wren seemed to disregard that when a conflict arose. From my viewpoint, Derick was doing the best he could, all things considered, and Wren was understandably upset, but also misplacing the blame on Derick. This issue was resolved but I still feel like Wren was in the wrong here, and that really wasn’t addressed. I think it’s why I enjoyed Derick’s character a lot more, Wren came off slightly childish at times – and that is probably why I didn’t connect with the book as much as I thought I would.

I really like how this book explored figuring out your sexuality and taking your time with that. I really enjoyed the demisexual rep in this book, I like how it was made clear that it’s okay if you’re still figuring it out, that you don’t have to know everything about yourself right now. I feel like there is a lot of pressure that you experience trying to figure out your sexuality and everything, I enjoyed this book’s message of “it’s okay if you figure it out as you go”. And just in general I am very much here for figuring stuff out after your teen years, I feel like that’s always refreshing to see.

My biggest complaint is probably the storyline with Wren’s friend and roommate, Mateo. Mateo starts working at the drive-in with Wren, but combining stress and not really being into the job, he does a very poor job constantly. He is making a bad impression every turn and dragging Wren down with him, as Wren got him that job. He is just all of the time disregarding Wren’s valid criticism and creating even more trouble, finally causing Wren to snap. I think Wren should have done it earlier, but now Mateo is mad at him, like Wren did something wrong. They make up in the end, but this was never properly resolved. Wren is the one that ends up apologizing, and that annoyed me to no end.
In general, I feel like Wren’s roommates started off strong, but kind of faded away as the story went on. While I enjoyed them in the beginning, I really do wish we saw more of them.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. I expected this book to be a new favorite, which unfortunately it is not, but I still thought it was really sweet and would recommend it! I feel like me not enjoying this as much as I expected is to no fault of the book. If you’re in the mood for a quick, sweet read, this might be your book!!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.