3.5

This sweet new adult contemporary romance was exactly what I needed after a stressful week. Wren was such a great main character. He is a dramatic romantic who just graduated from college and is trying to figure out his place in the world and just wants the kind of love he sees in movies. I really enjoyed following his journey.

Yes, aspects of this plot were really predictable and at times cheesy, but I really appreciated the commentary on sexuality. Wren's coming out as gay and then re-coming out as demisexual and his frustration over the societal expectations of a relationship timeline and of life post-coming out versus the reality he and many other queer and specifically ace spectrum folks deal with were all done so well and I found a lot of it deeply relatable.

I also loved the way Wren's relationship with Derick developed. You get hints of their time as childhood friends and then you get to see them reconnect while working together at Wiley's Drive In and I just thought it was very sweet.

Overall, very solid debut. I will be interested to see what Janovsky writes next!

well. I loved this a freaking lot.

Never Been Kissed is a new adult rom com with an out gay MC who maybe doesn't relate just quite with gay. He's been saving his first kiss for something special but he's 22 and feeling behind the game. Of course we all know that there isn't a timeline and whichever romantic or sexual acts you choose to partake in are not a symbol of adulthood, but I digress.

Wren ends up drunk sending out emails to his past almost first kisses. One of whom is an ex best friend and who also just happens to be in town working at the same drive in the for summer.

As Wren and Derrick reconnect and grow closer, Wren still isn't sure about physical contact. At some point, the terms demisexual and demiromantic are mentioned to him and he is shook. Because he never had the words, he couldn't have realized that it might fit.

This is why education is important. It's why we need LGBTQIA+ education in k-12 schools and beyond. It's why we need representation and advocates. It's why we need allies to step up.

I related hard to Wren in a lot of ways. I was in my mid twenties when I finally heard the term aromantic and started deep diving into other aspec labels which eventually led me to find comfort and validity in the terms arospec and asexual for myself.

4.5 Stars (Rounded)

"I like the way you see the world through the movies."

I've been saying for years now how I'd love to see an early 2000's-inspired queer romcom made, & Timothy Janovksy delivered just that with Never Been Kissed, a joyous debut that made my heart soar.

This was friends-to-lovers perfection - Wren & Derick, our leading men, were just adorable, & I could totally relate to how much of a hopeless romantic Wren was throughout the book. I was beside myself waiting for their relationship to develop into more, I don't read this trope often enough but Janovksy really nailed it - the longing these two had for one another! I loved getting to see Wren explore his sexuality & the conversations around how our sexuality can evolve as we're introduced to identities we may more closely identify with. The demisexuality rep was so refreshing to see & shined a spotlight on a community that's not represented nearly enough in adult MM romance. Janovksy's love of film was so evident &, as a fellow movie buff, I just adored all of the references throughout & the entire storyline with saving Wiley's - drive-ins are truly magical places. I don't want to give anything away, but Alice's story in particular really struck a chord with me, I loved the role she played throughout the book & how she helped tie the entire narrative together. & also, I thought that the IG/Twitter threads Janovsky included were so clever, the comments from 420BlazinBoii had me cackling every time! I hope this isn't the last time we see this cast of characters, I'd LOVE to see Wren & Derick's story beyond the epilogue.

This was such a charming, heartwarming book through & through & I can't wait to see what Janovsky has up his sleeve next with You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince! Thank you so much Timothy Janovsky, NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

ummmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

It was decent. Representation was perfect but is that enough for a good plot!
tbh the characters are not likable. They are just 'there'

Got an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.75

Of course, I have to read this because people said it has an ace rep. I was happy when another book is soon to be published has an ace rep, and the demisexual representation is done right.

"What if the world were a place where being queer didn't necessitate a crisis of conscience, as he put it, but rather was just accepted as part of the norm?"

I badly wanted to like this book. I do. I liked Avery after finding out she's trying to flirt with Stacia in the first chapter, and it was cute. But, in the next chapters, I cringed at how she uses acronyms (not the btw, smh, fyi, etc.) on almost everything in a conversation. And then, in almost the middle chapters, Mateo was excessively annoying because of how he made trouble for people around him. At first, I was understanding him because he was new on the job and then realized it was because he wasn't listening to Wren at all irritated me. When it happened again, I didn't like him anymore. And, of course, our main character's, Wren, point of view isn't consistent; it tends to be flat. AND THEN, our love interest was cringy, which made our main character cringy. Oh, I also don't like how Avery and Mateo dismiss and mock Wren for wanting his first kiss to be special in the first chapters.

Alice isn't the main character, but how I wish to have read a book about her and Tammy. I cried because of Tammy, she was loved by Alice, and the letters were added to my pain.

Alice's letter to Tammy, which she crossed but can still be read:
I loved you from the day I met you. I only wish you were here to see this.

To the side, she added:
Glad you weren't here to witness that after all.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Never Been Kissed is a really cute and fun new adult queer romcom. I didn’t know much about what to expect going in, except that the premise reads like an homage to popular romcom movies with its initial comedic start. And in truth, it is that, but also about finding oneself and figuring things out, the now-rare experience of attending events at a drive-in theater, and fighting for what you believe in.
Wren is incredibly relatable. As the title implies, he has yet to have his first kiss, and at points in the book, he expresses identifying as demisexual. It’s lovely to see a romance about a demi person, and not feel like there had to be a way to accommodate them eventually having sex.
I generally liked his relationship with Derick, although I’m not sure it was the strongest element of the book. I did like their interactions overall, but I can’t say I was super upset for them when the Dark Moment that broke them up.
I did like how Derick’s involvement in his father’s business played a role in the larger issue of the story, however, even if it did feel a bit underwhelming on the romance front. It was fun to read about the impacts the drive-in theater and this local movie star had on the community and how they celebrate both, as well as seeing the major characters band together to fight to save it.
The pacing of this felt a bit odd. I could swear I sensed the signs of it ending, what with the main conflicts resolved, but it still went on for a few extra chapters. And there were some moments in the middle which might have been compressed as well. However, it is a debut, so I am willing to cut Janovsky some slack, in hopes he’ll refine his craft going forward.
This book is a lot of fun, and a great read for lovers of New Adult contemporary and for teens looking for a gentle intro into adult romance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5
Release Date: May 3rd, 2022
Age Rating: 14/15+ (I am aware that this is being marketed as a NA romcom however as there is no explicit content, I think this appropriate for older teens)
CW: Alcohol Consumption

Never Been Kissed follows Wren Roland’s journey of self-discovery while simultaneously dealing with the consequences of his drunkenly sent love confession emails. Panic sets in because Derick (one of the receivers of the emails) has responded and as much as Wren would love to forget everything ever happened, he can’t if the two are going to be working alongside each other at Wiley’s Drive-In. As the two begin to work together to hopefully save Wiley’s, they start to become closer and question their feelings toward the other.

There are books that seem to reach your life at the exact right moment, and for me Never Been Kissed was one of those books!

Pros:
-This was such a fast read, I sped through the book because I enjoyed it so much. Everytime I went to put the book down, I would pick it up seconds later because I wanted to know what happened next.

-The whole thing was super well-written, I didn’t even know this was Janvosky’s debut novel until after reading and you certainly couldn’t tell!

-The characters were my favourite part, Wren and Derick were super well-developed.I loved when the two began opening up to each other which in turn helped us to learn more about them. The entire cast of characters was funny and enjoyable to read about.

Cons:
-While I absolutely loved reading Never Been Kissed, the plot often lacked depth and I found myself wishing it was a little more intricate.

Never Been Kissed (out May 3rd!) is a delightful queer romcom from debut author Timothy Janovsky. On the night of his birthday, Wren drunkenly pulls a “to all the boys I’ve loved before” move and sends out emails to all the boys he almost kissed. Among them is Derick Haverford, Wren’s crush and his new coworker at the drive-in movie theater where Wren spends his summers.

Wren is a film nerd and I loved all the references to movies he makes as well as the way he tries to live his life like a movie. Wren and Derick team up to help Wren save the drive-in and I loved all their flirting as well as Wren’s truly delightful friend group.

One of my favorite parts of the book was Wren’s relationship with Alice, the crotchety woman he agrees to help in exchange for letting him screen her film, a passion project she shelved years earlier.

Wren has wonderful friends and lots of passions and it was so much fun spending the summer after he graduated from college with him as he learns more about himself as well as what he wants for himself and his future. Wren is already “out” as gay but finds that the term doesn’t sit as well as he wants and a lot of this book is realizing that his journey with his sexuality doesn’t have to end there which is a lesson I’ve so rarely seen in books.

This was just a really cute and delightful romance that I had the best time reading. Highly recommend for some cozy feels.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is delightful! Yes it can be cringey at times, but what more can you expect from a romance book? It is a sweet story and made me smile, and I can’t ask for more!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an ARC to review.

Wren and Derick almost kissed back in high school but after the failed kiss, Derick ghosts Wren. Five years later, the out and proud boys have a second chance at love. And Wren has a second chance of getting that perfect first kiss he has always dreamed of.

The cinema love that this book throws out is just as good as the romance between the two boys. It gives a lot of fun nostalgia with a deep look into figuring out one's sexuality. While formulaic, Never Been Kissed does a great job of giving us a fluffy romance and some great LGTBQ representation in the genre.

This book was such a fun and sweet summer vibes read. There is demisexual rep; it was already told from the teasers by the author but, my brain being what it is, I completely forgot about it. So when it was said on page I was like OMG HELL YEAH! My heart was happy!
Reading about the character questioning his sexuality, being opened about it, confiding with friends and finding out a label that fit him best, was an amazing part of the book that made us understand the character so much better.

So what is the book about? Boy has never been kissed, boy writes emails everytime he almost kisses a boy in his pre-coming-out era, boy is drunk, boy sends the emails, boy is in big trouble! Well, not really. Only two people get the email and one is his bff roommate. The other, though? The other is Derick, and he's back in town after graduation, he's flirty af, and he'll be working with Wren at the drive-in, the place that needs to be saved because things aren't going very well financially.

The book is NA, with characters who are 22yo, but it reads a bit like a YA. Not because it's not explicit (I've read tons of not explicit adult contemporaries), but the overall vibes of it. I caught my brain picturing them as teens more than once.

Long story short, I really liked how sweet it was, how passionate the MC was about movies and everything he did to save the place he loved so much. And I loved the second chance, ex-bff to lovers romance. Cute!!

A stunning and heartfelt romance that celebrates the love for movies and that little bit of drama that exists in all of us.

Wren Roland is a cinema major that was promoted to being the manager of a local Drive-In. The lot is a classic institution of his hometown and has been struggling with competition - also known as the majorly popular streaming services. Wren is trying his best at adulting, all while trying to solve a local mystery involving a recluse female director and a cancelled movie premiere, and trying to find his movie-perfect love sequence. Also known as being kissed for the very first time at age 22.

This beautiful 'friends to lovers' romance is a homage to the golden age of classic rom-com. It might be a tad too cheesy, but it compensates for it with the best heartfelt moments and delightful side characters.

A must-read!

A fun and enjoyable romance. Wren did read a little young to me and there were times I wanted slightly more emotion from the two leads – it felt a little formulaic and textbook. But overall, I enjoyed it and would probably read another book by the author!

This was a fun second chance romance between two queer young men as they work together trying to save a beloved drive-in theatre from closing one memorable summer. While these characters aren't in high school anymore, they do deal with their high school baggage and the book overall gave off strong young adult/coming of age vibes. Definitely don't go into it expecting a love story between two adults.

I enjoyed the demi-sexual rep but at times the book felt almost textbook, with a lot of definitions and explanations rather than more personal feelings. If you loved the movie Never been kissed and enjoy a good underdog story this is one to add to your tbr. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copies.

3.5 Stars

This was cute. I liked Derick and Wren's chemistry and friendship. Wren read a little young for me for his age but he really had a good heart and meant well. I wish there was a little more at the end to wrap everything up, but all in all a fun story about second chances and saving what you are passionate about.

TIMOTHY JANOVSKY – NEVER BEEN KISSED ****

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a debut novel that does everything right. From opening sentence to closing, it keeps on course, charting the first kiss of a twenty-two-year-old gay man, Wren, and his bunch of college friends. Though that is the core of the plot – his teenage crush turned, he hopes, into a boyfriend - Wren is an unusual young man.

He doesn’t just like films, he adores them; they are his reason for getting up in the morning. Celluloid runs through his veins. He is assistant manager of the local drive-in cinema which is going to be demolished to make way for a massive out of town car park. “Settle is not in my vocabulary” he says at the very beginning of the story, which foreshadows the battle to come.

In another equally important thread, the town is home to a reclusive director and star Alice whose film, for various reasons, has never been shown. Wren befriends this cany and cantankerous recluse, and their friendship changes not only their lives but the fate of the town.

This is a different and interesting story, well told. For me the writing lacked some of the emotion for which I had hoped, but it has sufficient drama that I could see it playing on a Sunday afternoon at my local drive-in. If we had one. Living in England, we don’t.

This book is like a love letter to movies and the queer undertones inherently present throughout the history of film. Wren, the quirky protagonist, is at a turning point in his life. He’s on the verge of figuring himself out, whether it be his own sexual identity or his career path, and he’s convinced he just has to have his first kiss to kick-start his future into gear. After some unfortunate drunken emails are sent to past boys he has almost kissed, his estranged best friend, one of the recipients of the letters, is thrust back into his life. Can Wren ignore the attraction he still feels for Derrick or will the whole summer be ruined by the ghost of a kiss-that-never happened years ago?

This book was adorable. I loved the setting of the old drive-in as a backdrop for Wren’s coming of age story. The side characters were all fun and engaging, although I wished they had been a little more supportive of Wren's timeline in figuring out his own sexuality. Wren’s love interest, Derick, was just the right mixture of charming and goofy. Wren himself is a little fussy, often being referred to as the grandpa of his friend group, and his huge heart and love of movies shines through every page of this book.

I am so elated at seeing more and more demisexual rep in the books I’m reading. I wish that when I was a teenager or in my early twenties I had known what this was and that it was a valid sexuality. I love seeing Wren figure out more about himself, and his trust in himself enables him to fully trust those around him. Derick and Wren reconnecting after so many years and realizing that there is a connection there even after all that time is so sweet and it was written so well!

The story line of Alice Kelly and the drive-in wove through the main love story seamlessly. I often find myself rushing through other plot lines in romance novels to get back to the main couple, but I was just as invested in the outcome of Wiley’s and if Alice would finally get her premiere that I savored those moments just as much as the scenes with Derrick and Wren. I would not be opposed to reading a full novel on Alice’s life!

Overall, I absolutely adored this novel. The setting, character and plot were all spot on, and the author did a fabulous job of crafting this story to be both engaging and heartwarming. Derick and Wren have found a place in my heart, and I’m thrilled to have discovered this gem of a book.

Never Been Kissed stars Wren, a recent college graduate, who has never been kissed and has big cinematic dreams for his first kiss. He drunkenly sends pre-written emails to the boys that he has almost kissed or wanted to kiss and one of them replies; Derick, who unbeknownst to Wren will be working at the same drive-in with him over the summer. This starts a chain of events over the course of a summer which involve falling in love, starting a career and exploring different paths, an attempt to save the historic drive-in from being demolished, and (spoiler-warning) first kisses.

The best way I can sum up this book is *Charming*. Everything about this book was so incredibly charming and it reading it felt like sitting in a car on a summers night with the windows rolled down and stars visible overhead, peaceful and contemplative. To start with the things I loved, the discussion of sexuality was so well-done. I really appreciated the nuanced discussion of demi-sexuality and how the relationship between Wren and Derick was shown. The romance was so sweet, and I was rooting for them the whole way. Even though we only get Wrens first-hand perspective I felt like I understood Derick’s character and motivations very well by the end and they worked so well as a couple. The other relationship in this book that I absolutely adored was between Wren and Alice. It was so wonderful to see two people who are from very different places in life find each other and help each other to grow. Both of them got something really valuable from their time together and the banter was top-notch. I also really enjoyed the humor in the book, Wren was a super fun narrator and there were a lot of humorous internal moments and references that had me laughing out loud. Some of the humor and quirks didn’t hit as well for me (I’m thinking specifically about the ongoing acronym thing with one of the side characters) but the book is so incredibly charming and there’s many types of humor that it didn’t really impact my reading experience.

I will admit that I found the beginning to be a bit slow. Looking back on it this was probably because there was just so much to set up. This book has many side characters and plots that it took some time to be introduced to all of the relevant aspects, but it definitely paid off after the 20% mark. I also felt a little unsatisfied with the side-characters of Wren’s friends/roommates and coworkers. I think there was just too much else going on in the book to really do justice to those characters and relationships. It left me feeling like I either wanted much more from them or much less.

Overall, I adored this book and I can’t wait to read anything this author writes next.

This was such a sweet, wholesome read that gave me alllll the fuzzy feelings. I loved how Wren and Derick's relationship slowly developed through their joint endeavour to try and save the local drive-in theatre, and how they learn about themselves while doing so. The secondary cast of characters were great too - from Wren's BFFs Mateo and Avery, to Alice, all of the characters felt alive and real. Each of them have their own flaws and are tackling their own problems, but the many side plots in this book were woven together in a way that enhanced the overall story, rather than detracting. The representation in this book was excellent too, and I looked forward to seeing what the author writes next!

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and Casablanca Sourcebooks for the ARC!

I loved this slow burn, second-chance, friends-to-lovers contemporary romance. Wren just graduated from university where he studied film and has never been kissed. He returns to his hometown to work at the local drive-in, a local landmark he has worked at every summer and that has special meaning to him. He finds out that his former estranged friend (and former crush) Derick will be working there over the summer.

Wren’s own growth is a big part of the book, which takes place in one of those big life transition points where you start to figure out how to adult. I found him to be a really charming and relatable character in a lot of ways. I loved his friend group and the side story with Alice and the premiere. The developing love story with Derick was really well done. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

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