I received an advanced copy of 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe from the publisher Little Brown Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Penny and Tate have always clashed, but unfortunately, they’re stuck with each other as their mothers are lifelong best friends (read: nearly sisters), so they have spent a lot of time together and gone through a lot of stuff with each other. When Penny’s mom decides to serve as a liver donor to Tate’s mom, things just got more serious. And to make matters worse, the moms are combining househoolds for emotional and financial reasons, of course. Tate and Penny agree to a truce, they will play nice and not cause unnecessary drama during this trying time. However, the plan may not work, because well, Tate and Penny, are constantly finding them in positions where they almost end up kissing!

What I Loved: This book truly surprised me in the best way. This book is why I keep reading YA fiction as an adult, because there are gems like this. While there is a romance here, this is not a rom-com, and the happy ending does not come easy. There is a lot of trauma here, especially for Penny who watched her father die and also seems to have taken the blame for his death from her mother. The way this trauma and loss is handed is painful and infuriating but done so thoughtfully. It also has the idea of two teenagers looking out for their parents, which is a trope that normally infuriates me, but here it made since given the loss of a parent and also the chronic illness of another parent. Also, Tate is a gem and I really love her. This book is very excellently done and reminds me quite of Nina Lacour. This is YA at the best!

What I Didn’t Like: The switching between the past and the present timelines so it could cover the six times Penny and Tate almost kissed, kind of made the flow a little weird and difficult to place chronologically.

Who Should Read It: People who love well done YA fiction. People who are fans of Nina Lacour.

Summary: Penny and Tate are frenemies who have been through a lot together and may also have feelings for each other.

“It means something when a girl who doesn’t let people even see her wounds inside lets you touch the scars on the outside.”

This was such a deep and beautiful book. From the writing, the story to the plot. Hoping between timelines and POV, following the mystery of knowing there were 6 times they almost kissed and wanting to know what they didn't, was what draw me into the book.

But after a few chapters I became attached to both Penny and Tate. To the way Penny is learning how to live with her grief and absent mother to how Tate is dealing with her mother's illness. This book screamed character, and as someone who loves character drive books this was more than welcomed.

This story was heart clenching, and one of the best stories I've read in these past years. It reminded me of why I love YA and reading so much.

'6 Times We Almost Kissed [and One Time We Did]' wasn't like I expected it to be! It was way deeper. The death of Penny's father played a big part in the story, which was unexpected but worked really well. It really focused on the trauma and how this brought the main characters closer together. Penny and Tate are a bit complex, just like we all can be. Which made them feel realistic to me.
Because the romance part was a smaller storyline, their love developed slowly, but that didn't make the rest of the story feel like it was dragging or boring.

Their moms are long-time friends, which is why Penny and Tate had to spend time with each other in the first place and experienced each other's hardships from up close. Even though they don't like each other at first, they are like magnets. They always find a way back to each other.

The relationship between Penny and her mom is rocky, to say the least. Throughout the book there is a distance between them. A tension that's palpable. Grief changes a person and this book is really good at showing what that can look like and how everyone deals with their own grief in a different way.

Even though I needed a bit of time to get into the story, once I was in, I flew through it!

Sadly this is a case of it's me, not you. I tried this book many times and I just am not feeling it. It isn't the book for me but that doesn't mean it isn't the book for you.

This is definitely perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nina Lacour. The relationship between Penny and Tate is wonderfully done! I love their semi-enemies to lovers progression. This was so well done.

At the heart of the narrative lies the palpable tension between Penny and Tate, a tension that simmers beneath the surface of their interactions and threatens to unravel the carefully constructed facade of their truce. Through a series of poignant flashbacks and present-day revelations, the novel deftly unravels the intricacies of their relationship, revealing layers of longing, regret, and unspoken desire. "Six Times We Almost Kissed" is a stunning testament to the transformative power of love, friendship, and forgiveness. With its richly drawn characters, evocative prose, and heartfelt storytelling, the novel captures the beauty and pain of the human experience, leaving an indelible impression on readers long after the final page is turned. A triumph of storytelling and emotional resonance, this book is sure to captivate and inspire readers of all ages.

I loved this rom-com book! It was a sweet book. I would recommend this book. I have always loved Tess Sharpe books and I will continue to buy them!

I think the U.S. cover to this is terribly misleading. This is a good book, but oh man, is it not a cute and fluffy rom-com. This is a strongly emotional love story that involves trauma from witnessing your parent die, medical access, and money troubles. I think it's very well-crafted and the payoff is definitely earned, but the content of the book does not tonally match the cover, which was a missed opportunity on the marketing team's part.

Tess Sharpe is a master! I loved following these characters and their almost-romance through the book, discovering their backstories and relationships throughout. Charming, smart, funny, and deeply-felt.

Enemies to lovers!! A very cute sapphic novel. It's not complicated, but it is effective. I'd definitely recommend this to fans of lesbian YA.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

So tropey, and yet so emotional. The tears at the end of this one were totally earned. A heavily character-focused book that brings readers deep into the lives of these teens and their families, 6 Times is a love story set within a coming-of-age. I loved the fan-fiction framing because absolutely none of this work felt derivative. Sharpe used a popular prompt and came up with something entirely original and worthy of its own fan community.

Penny and Tate had an entertaining push-and-pull throughout the entire novel which kept a later of lightness throughout all the dark topics that Sharpe touches upon. This is a signature in her books, and the levity truly adds to the experience. The jokes all land correctly, and they’re necessary in some places to keep this firmly as a rom-com instead of a drama.

Sharpe wove the storylines between past and present together in a way that added key narrative detail at the right times, but also withheld occasionally and kept me guessing. I loved this. I know some readers disagree with the back-and-forth, but I enjoy having details tied into both stories at the same time. This helped avoid info-dumping about the girls’ histories and also kept some key emotional details for near the end, packing a big punch.

I definitely cried at multiple points in the novel. I loved the concept of Penny and Tate being each others’ safe spaces, since they have been there for all the bad moments and entangled histories. As I said earlier, the tears were earned with impeccable dedication to character development that was definitely dramatic but still felt grounded in reality. There were some moments where I found it hard to believe that so many events could happen to a small group of people, but the realism of Sharpe’s writing created an environment perfect for suspense of disbelief. Penny finally getting the opportunity to vent all her pain and experience emotional honesty with the people around her was incredibly poignant to me.

I’m a main character girlie, but I was pleased with the storyline development for all of the characters. Penny and Tate’s moms, Penny’s grandmother, and their friends all had interesting moments of their own throughout the book and we got to see how all their stories wove together. I think the pared-down cast list was necessary since this book is so focused on Penny and Tate in the best way, and other characters didn’t need to be introduced since they would only have distracted from the primary story.

Overall, I’m giving this novel a 5/5 and a definite recommendation for all fans of contemporary novels, romance or otherwise.

The cover of 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) makes it look like it is going to be a sweet easy read. In reality, it is anything but easy. The main characters are each working through some difficult situations and are constantly finding themselves crossing paths. This becomes even more true when they are forced to move in with one another to support their mothers.

Penny's life was turned upside down when she and her father were in a rafting accident together. It has been some time but, she is still finding herself having trouble healing. Alot of this has to do with her relationship with her mother which has been very tense following the accident. Plus, her mom is best friends with Tate's mom, and Penny and Tate are not and will never friends.

Tate's mother has been on the edge of dying for several years. She is in need of a liver transplant and it isn't until Penny's mom gets tested that she even has a chance of a donor. Due to her mother's lack of ability to work, the finances have been tight, and Tate has been forced to make sure everything is covered. It is much more than a teenage girl should be worrying about.

When their mothers inform Penny and Tate about the liver transplant surgery, it is also decided that they will all be living together during the recovery period. There is not very much time between their announcement and the actual surgery date forcing Tate and Penny to work together packing up one house and setting up another. Being in close proximity forces the two of them to actually reflect on their dynamic. This is told from each of their points of view and it has several "almost moments".

I really liked the way that this story was told and how it unfolded. Penny and Tate have admittedly never been friends but, for some reason they have always been there for one another when things have gotten rough. It was fun to watch everything unfold between the two of them. Each of them have had their childhood innocence ripped away from them and each recognizes this in the other. I enjoyed their bantering and the way their connection grew even when they didn't even realize it.

This review is a little all over the place but so is Penny and Tate's relationship. Each character is complex and needs to do some deep soul searching to figure out each exactly what they want. The flashbacks are very well done, and will have you wanting to give each character a tight hug as they try to figure out their lives and their potential feelings for each other. 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) is not always an easy read as it tackles topic such a parental neglect, grief, survivor guilt, mental health, and trauma but, it is done in such a realistic beautiful way.

An emotional and insightful story about 2 teenage girls falling in love amongst a backdrop of both grief and hope.

I loved these two MCs and their complicated relationships, with each other, with their mums, and with grief. Both Penny and Tate felt real and raw on the page, as did their mums, and the exploration of mother-daughter relationships was a highlight of this book.

However, I am really glad I saw another review telling me this isn't a rom-com before I read it. Looking at it now, I think the blurb has changed from what I originally saw on Netgalley (which, combined with the fanfic style title, gave off a romcom vibe) and better reflects the nature of the story.

Overall, an excellent sapphic YA novel!

Fair warning to people who read this, this isn't just a fun lovey dovey read. It's super emotional, which is definitely not something I expected from reading the synopsis. It doesn't mean I didn't like this book though! Far from it, I enjoyed the relationship between Tate and Penny, and I definitely shed a tear or two.

Wow, this book is so good!! Emotional and heavy at times, but it is so well done. Penny and Tate have both been through so much. The way they kept coming back to one another, the way Tate continued to find Penny, was so beautiful.
There were so many real and raw emotions throughout this book. (Grab a tissue or two!) I wanted to reach out and hug both girls and I loved how it all wrapped up.

CW: death of a parent (on page), sick parent, grief, mental health, mother daughter relationships

Penny and Tate are not-friends, each the only child of a pair of best friends. Penny is the bullet-journaling hot need who watched her father die to save her from a river rafting accident. Tate is the star swimmer who watched her mom be sick for most of her life, and then watched as Penny's mother lost her mind over the accident and stopped engaging with her own daughter because of the grief. But when Penny's mom decides to donate part of her liver to save Tate's mom, they're thrown together while everyone deals with the surgery and recovery. Oh, and they're in love with each other.

Ugh. The slow burn here felt never-ending, and not in a great way. Penny got handed a crappy lot by getting the mom she has, and reading all the ways her mom destroys the world around them is heartbreaking. All the "almost" moments feel a little contrived, and it's like the writer just thought of an arbitrary number and then wrote herself 6 almost kissing scenes, and then filled the details in wherever she felt like it.

I like Tate's mom, Anna, and their relationship based in mostly truth. I wanted to throw Penny's mom into the river that drowned her dad, because that's almost what the mom deserved for how she acts throughout.

I didn't love this. It wasn't terrible and it's written okay, I suppose, but I feel like I wasted time I could have used to read a better book instead.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

I have an embarrassing confession: I can't remember the last time I actually read a fanfiction with this format. Fic hasn't been my thing since I started writing myself—something about it just doesn't work for me anymore, not when every time I consume stories, it constitutes research for my own. So getting to read this book was a wonderful gift! I really do enjoy this format, jumping into the many times in the past that things could've gone just a little differently. Penny and Tate are incredible; you can tell that Tess Sharpe is a seasoned writer who knows how to make characters come alive. I love this book. I want more of this book. It's just amazing.

3.5 stars

6 Times We Almost Kissed is a story about two high school girls, Penny and Tate, who have been circling around each other since they were kids. Both girls have had a lot to deal with recently. Tate’s mom has been suffering medically and needs a new liver. Penny, on the other hand, lost her father in a tragic accident and her relationship with her mother has been strained ever since. When Penny’s mom decides to donate her liver to Tate’s mother, the two families decide to combine households to save money during the recovery process.

While this is often advertised as a sapphic romance novel, the heart of this book is actually about the depth of grief, and how it can affect us all in vastly different ways. The book explores the twists and turns that are present in all relationships, whether they are romantic, platonic, and/or parental in nature. Don’t get me wrong, there definitely is an element of slow-burn romance to this novel, but there is also so much more than that.

As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety and is currently trying to figure out the best way to get a therapist, I’m always a huge fan of books who normalize therapy and coping mechanisms. There are many lessons in 6 Times We Almost Kissed about mental health and how a strong support system is one of the best things you can have when you’re struggling. Tate and Penny may not be the best of friends, but they have always been there for each other when times got rough. I wouldn’t call this an enemies-to-lovers because Tate and Penny were never enemies. They were like twin souls who just happened to bickered a lot.

I felt this novel didn’t vibe with me as well as it could have was because I wanted it to be longer. I felt like the conflict between Penny and her mom was never really resolved. Instead it felt like a quick bandaid fix was applied at the end of the book that wasn’t going to last very long. Similarly, I wanted to see more of Penny and Tate at the end to see how much their relationship has changed over the course of time.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Books for a copy of 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe, in exchange for an honest review.

'Penny and Tate have always clashed. Unfortunately, their mothers are lifelong best friends, so the girls’ bickering has carried them through playdates, tragedy, and more than one rom-com marathon with the Moms. When Penny’s mother decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom, ending her wait for a liver transplant, things go from clashing to cataclysmic. Because in order to help their families recover physically, emotionally, and financially, the Moms combine their households the summer before senior year.
So Penny and Tate make a pact: They’ll play nice. Be the drama-free daughters their mothers need through this scary and hopeful time. There’s only one little hitch in their plan: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.'

This was a quick, lighthearted, YA read that I flew through fast. This swoonworthy read is great for the weekend!