“Meeting is different than becoming friends.”
— Tess Sharpe
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Seventeen-year-olds Penny and Tate have known each other since they were babies, because their moms are the kind of inseparable BFFs who will undoubtedly end up as two old ladies sitting on a porch together, knitting. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Penny and Tate—the two girls aren’t exactly enemies but they don’t get along either.

When Penny’s mom decides to donate her liver to Tate’s mom, Penny is distraught. She’s already lost a parent and even though her relationship with her mother has never been the same since, she doesn’t want to lose her too. Neither does she want Tate and her mom to move into her house. And yet, she can’t stop it.

In an attempt to keep the peace between their families, Penny and Tate enter a truce. But their truce for cohabitation is fraught with tension because Penny and Tate? They’ve almost kissed six times. Is there going to be a seventh almost? Or a first finally?

A beautiful, heartfelt novel about friendship, grief, mental health, terminal illnesses, young love, hope, and mothers and daughters, SIX TIMES WE ALMOST KISSED (AND ONE TIME WE DID) by @forest_of_arden is perfect for fans of emotional YA stories and adorable sapphic romances. Thank you to @tbrbeyondtours and @littlebrownyoungreaders for my advance reader’s copy! Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book and there more of them on my IG post @hoardingbooks.herdingcats

💘 “Hope—it’s a terrible thing. This is what I have learned.”

💘 “Grief makes you think crazy things. That’s what they say, right?”

💘 “Some things, they can’t be unsaid. Some things mothers shouldn’t hear.”

💘 “We all suck at feelings. I think it’s part of being human.”

💘 “If there are sides in this, I’m on yours.”

💘 “She is forever my contradiction. My downfall.”

Penny and Tate have known each other for a long time, thanks to their moms. Even though their mothers are best friends the same can’t be said about Penny and Tate. They are usually bickering but due to some circumstances, both girls have to show a united side. However they might not be able to uphold the end of the bargain as they keep almost kissing – a lot.

I enjoyed this story a lot! I loved the characters, I absolutely adored the cute little arts inbetween the chapters and I just couldn’t get enough of the writing.

I felt with both girls a lot and had to groan at some parts. I never really knew which side to be on and that was frustrating! But this also means that Sharpe did a great job with the characters of this book.

Beware this story is very emotional and once you start reading it you won’t stop anymore.

I would love writing more about why I loved this book but I would end up spoiling the story for you. So please, give this one a try!

ARC REVIEW

The only words that come to mind when writing this book is emotional roller coaster.

This book has a lot heavy topics, but the author has a way of integrating everything into the narrative where we can see how it affects the character and their development.

This book to me is the perfect book you pull up at night when you’re not sure what you’re in the mood to read and end up binging until the early morning just so you don’t have to put it down. I would highly recommend.

It was a relatively quick read too which I enjoyed as it didn't feel dragged out.

"For everyone who’s stayed up too late reading slow-burn fan-fic waiting for the kiss”-Tess Sharpe 💋
This was my first Tess Sharpe book and let me tell you it did not disappoint in any shape or form.

The cast of characters was phenomenal. Penny and Tate were everything I wanted them to be and more. The side characters were just as great. My favorite aide character was Marion(the Grandma) because she was the backbone of her family and stepped up to the plate to make sure everything was going to be alright.

I read this book in one sitting. The writing flowed so smoothly that it made you feel like you were right there in the book experiencing everything with the cast. I was actually really surprised and overly happy because, for me, this read like a John Greene book, and it was something that I needed and didn’t know I was missing.

Sharpe delicately wrote about trauma, loss, depression, and several other issues and the outcomes it could have on you and your family in such a way that it made my heartache for everyone.

Do I recommend this book? Yes, with my whole heart. Please make sure you check the trigger warnings before reading. Some triggers include, death of a loved one, alcohol, abandonment by a parent, depression, and etc.

Adorable. Devastating. Hopeful.

I devoured this story. Everything from the characters to the plot was amazing. The tension, oh my days, the tension. Done perfectly without infuriating the reader. The pining, a wonderful representation of wanting but not having.
Tate and Penny are two relatable girls, both going through terrible life curves, with two vastly different home lives. Their journey is not one I’ll soon forget.

This YA is now arguably one of my favorite reads.
I’m…enamored by this book.

Penny and Tate's mothers have been best friends since high school. However, Penny and Tate have been clashing more often than not. They're really not friends so when Penny's mother decides to give part of her liver to Tate's mom and that to help with cost and recovery, they will all move in together, they're not happy. But they'll pretend to be for the sake of the mom's. And then, things get messier…

If you're expecting a light, fun romance, stop. This is not that. This was a heart-wrenching, sob-your-heart-out story. And I loved every single second of it. This was everything. It spoke of difficult subjects like parental abuse and more… (I invite to check out the trigger warnings on the author's website.)
I truly loved everything about this. The structure was appealing, the the plot was captivating. I laughed and cried and cried some more. What a book. Tess Sharpe truly does it again.
The dynamics between the characters really drove the book from beginning to end. The relationship between Penny and Tate, of course, but also the ones between each of them and their mom, the grandmother, the friends. It was truly enthralling and so well layered. I honestly could not recommend this more. I have bought the UK edition and am planing on getting the US too. A masterpiece and I'll most definitely reread this.

Tess Sharpe somehow managed to create an enemies to lovers sapphic romance that was also childhood-almost-friends to lovers but also not??? From the start the characters both dislike and pine for each other simultaneously, but it never seems like insta-love since we get so much build up and back story, with alternate timeline and dual POV. I loved it! The slow burn as we travel though the history of all their "almost" kisses! the forced proximity! the mutual goals that bring them together against all odds! This book has a lot of fun moments but it is definitely heavy too. There were amazing discussions of grief and mother daughter relationship hardships. I really admired the characters in this story. They were very dimensional and layered. Everyone were messy and had realistic faults but somehow still made me root for them. I felt the emotion they felt: anger, grief, love. It was the perfect balance of coming of age, discovery and identity, but also queer romance representation with characters whose sexualities are already majorly established. At first the back and forth timeline was a little confusing but as I kept reading I got used to it and was glad to have the different perspectives. Thought-provoking, fast-paced, and capable of pulling at your heart strings, I highly recommend this one.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

6 Time We Almost Kissed is a Queer YA Contemporary by Tess Sharpe. This is my first time reading the author, but It won't be my last!

I'll be honest I did not read the synopsis' to this one, all I knew was it was a YA about two girls who repeatedly almost kiss and OMG was I given that and so much more. I was not ready for the emotional impact of this and the tears 😭 I'm not going to go into detail because I went back to the synopsis' and it doesn't reveal much, but FEELS.

The relationship between Penny and Tate is a slow burn push and pull. They really aren't friends, but they don't hate each other, they their own social lives and separate best friends. Yet no matter what they are always there when the other needs them. I loved Tate for many reasons but most importantly the way she put her own feelings aside to take care of and support Penny when she needed it. I loved the way she stood up for her and defended her. I also love love loved her relationship with her momma. Penny my heart absolutely broke for. She was an emotional mess and with good reason. They fact that she was still going day by day proved how strong she and resilient. Together they literally have a bunch of almost kisses where they are either interrupted or one of them pulls away. Their story is so much more than the romance between them and I was here for it the entire time.

I almost let me hatred of Penny's mother reduce my star rating of this one. She was seriously the worst and failed as a mother when it was most important. I appreciated that the author didn't try to redeem her, and that Penny didn't fully forgive her by the end. It was real. Sometimes relationships are better off growing apart. Just because someone is family doesn't mean you have to forgive and forget.

I loved the positive mental health rep in the book. Penny made so much progress when talking to a professional, and the fact that her mom took that away from her hurt. I was so glad that in the end she fought for her own mental health, which is so important.

As you can tell, I loved 6 Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe. This book gave me everything I enjoy, dual POV, bi rep, emotion, and well placed flashbacks. A completely satisfying contemporary with almost kisses, supportive best friends, a loving grandmother, color coded plans, late night kayaking, family, mental health, forced proximity, and a just one bed scenario.

Tess Sharpe writes a young adult story that is full of missed moments, friendship and romance. Tate and Penny have always had shared experiences and moments, with their mother's being best friends, but also with life circumstances. With writing through dual points of view, the reader is taken into both Tate's and Penny's thoughts and individual and shared experiences. This story took me on quite a few emotional rollercoasters, especially grief, but all making the journey an overall enjoyable one. What will become for Tate and Penny through this journey? Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I find myself quite liking anything that Tess Sharpe writes. There is always a really emotive edge to her stories that make them feel so very real and relatable, and this one was definitely no different.

We're introduced to Penny and Tate, whose mothers are lifelong besties with some complicated histories of their own. Tate's mom is ill, and Penny's mom decides to be a liver donor to hopefully return her to health, which means Penny and Tate are going to become a lot closer- in fact, they'll be moving in together. This story is told in both present, and glimpses of the past, where we see how Penny and Tate get to the point where we meet them. Things are rocky, as they share a sort of love-hate relationship with each other.

While it's clear that they'd do anything for each other, it is obvious from the start (and the book title, heh) that there is definitely some romantic chemistry and tension between them. And some bad blood, frankly. So they have to navigate their relationships with each other, their friends, and their mothers- and trust me, it is a lot- to make it through this very challenging time.

I love how many layers there are to this story. Obviously, we're dealing with Penny and Tate's story together, but there is a lot that they are dealing with as individuals as well. And they both have some pretty complicated relationships with their moms, too. I loved how realistic it seemed, that one relationship doesn't take a character's whole focus, it is just part of the bigger picture. There were times where the emotions were heavy and palpable, and also some lighter moments that were really great too. It was a perfect balance of sweet and real, and I adored the story wholly.

Bottom Line: Such a perfect blend of emotions makes this book feel so incredibly real and honest.

When I read my first Tess Sharpe book in 2021, I immediately fell in love so when I heard she was releasing a new book, I might have squealed with joy.  You probably heard me.  Anyway, I devoured 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) and have been mad that it wasn't out yet so I could make everyone else read it.  But it's out now and you have to read it.
It's sapphic, it's heart wrenching, it's heart warming, it's funny and it's so so real and I cannot recommend it enough.  Content warnings for grief/loss and illness of a parent (I don't want to get more into it in a review but I will if you message me).  I cannot say enough good things about this book and Tess Sharpe's overall ability to write.  Penny and Tate were the perfect definition of I hate you/I love you and I could have read a zillion more pages of them just being them.
Please, if you like young adult contemporary sapphic books, please pick this one up.  It's out now wherever you buy books.  I'm impatiently waiting on my physical copy so I can read it again.  Thank you so much to @tbrbeyondtours and @forest_of_arden for an early, gifted copy.  I loved it so much.

At first glance, this story is about two young women who tolerate each other at the best of times. Now, being forced to live across the hall from each other, things have the potential to get explosive. But the closer we look at Penny and Tate, we see two women who are there for each other, no matter what, and not just because of the lifelong bond of their mothers.

It took me a while to warm up to Penny because of her type-A personality. But the more I read, the more I wanted to hug her, tell her she was enough, and give her everything good in the world. We’ll circle back to Penny in a second because I want to talk about Tate. Tate has always had to be strong. Her mom Anna is sick again, and if Tate isn’t strong, she can’t take care of her mother. Tate, too, deserves all the best in the world.

Poor Penny feels that outside of her Gram Marion, she’s alone in the world, and she’s not entirely wrong, to some degree. She has Tate and Tate’s mother. But she wants a mother who loves her, who was there for her after her accident and doesn’t shut her out of her life. Her mother, Lottie, is absolute garbage who will make you rage so hard that even if you don’t love Penny at first, you will, and you’ll want to give her all the care the world can offer.

I am not a fan of long reviews, and this one borders on a novel already. So I will finish by saying that this book has a slow-burn romance, mental health rep, drama, friendship, and more. It’s raw and honest, and will appeal to so many readers.

Love, loss, and beloved fan-fic story structure

***I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

I laughed, I cried, I had my heart broken and put back together all within the course of the novel. 6 TIMES is a brilliant, unforgettable, and achingly beautiful story of love, loss, and what it truly means to heal.

There are some books that are so devastatingly perfect, that hit all the right notes, that break you apart and put you back together again. They take up residence so thoroughly in your brain that you aren't sure you'll ever be able to read them again, because it might destroy you.

This is one of those books.

And you'll want to take the risk and re-read (and re-read, and re-read), knowing it might be the last thing you do.

Beyond the incredible emotional depth of the novel, something else that makes it truly unique is it's structure, inspired by one known to any fan-fic readers. Sharpe executes the familiar structure with finesse.

I cannot recommend 6 TIMES enough.

This was an absolutely delight and hard-hitting slow burn between these two girls who have always been in each other's lives, and can't seem to escape the gravity of their shared experiences. I really enjoyed seeing different points of context through flashbacks, and highly recommend this book.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) took me on an emotional journey I was unprepared for. The cover might be really cute, but be prepared to cry several times while reading. It did take me a bit to get into the story because I wasn't feeling Penny's POV at first, but I loved Tate's immediately. One of my favorite parts of the book was Remi and Meghan's text messages. The formatting of the book in general was unique and made the book hard to put down because I kept wanting to get to Penny and Tate's near misses. Penny's mom was a very nasty person, but I did like how the book showed how grief over the same situation can affect people differently. While the romance was an important aspect of the book, it was balanced well with the pain Penny was going through, and the responsibilities that she and Tate both had to face while they should have been enjoying their childhood. Overall, this book surprised me in the best way. It's the second book by Sharpe that I've read, and I can definitely call myself a fan now.

So the title of the book would lead you to believe you’re in for a sweet, light romance. You don’t have to read to far in to start to see the situation is a lot heavier than you’d expect. Both Tate and Penny have to endure far more than any teenager should have to handle. The story details their strained relationship and all the feelings they seem to running away from. We find out each character slowly as the story unfolds and it’s nice to learn about them individually. Somehow their chapters feels very similar and makes it difficult to keep straight who we are reading about despite being told one is Type A and the other isn’t. Their voices don’t come across as distinct. The love is sweet but also painful and the story moves forward as they struggle to keep themselves afloat. This was definitely a great read but it might be a little heavy for some expecting a cute romance. It feels heavily based in reality and places a focus on family dynamics and personal relationships. This is a deep read that I thoroughly enjoyed and would suggest others check out.

CW: death of a parent, illness

The premise intrigued and I was curious to read this and I like it. A bit of a sad one but a good one.

Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours for including me in the tour for this book and sending me a physical ARC from The Novl in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) is a YA contemporary. The cover is so fun, but it has hidden depths and a lot of emotional trauma. This book follows Penny and Tate in a dual POV along with text exchanges between characters. Penny and Tate have been in each other’s orbit forever, but when Penny’s mom donates part of her liver to Tate’s mother, the two girls become roommates. The girls come up with a truce, maybe this will keep them from almost kissing again.

This book made me cry and that's not something that happens commonly. I finished last night and wow it had ALL the emotions. The way grief, trauma and PTSD were portrayed in this book has the reader in the emotional trenches. We’re there with Penny as she claws her way through her grief. We see Tate as she navigates a complicated parent situation and trying to be there for Penny. The way these two were there for each other made me ache. Girls caring for girls is the energy I want to see in 2023.

I wouldn’t call this a lighthearted novel because a lot of it is heavy, but it’s done in a way that we can tell Sharpe cares deeply for these characters and what they’ve gone through. 6 Times is a book I won’t forget in a long time. 6 Times also has idiots to lovers energy and I want more of this for sapphic books.

Rep: white bisexual cis female MC with anxiety, PTSD, and intrusive thoughts, white bisexual cis female MC, white cishet side character with AF1 liver disease, various white cishet side characters.

CWs: Death, death of parent (from drowning/rafting accident), grief, emotional abuse, mental illness (anxiety, PTSD), intrusive thoughts, medical content, chronic illness, toxic relationship (familial, MC to SC). Moderate: Medical trauma, sexual harassment, past sexual assault mention, cancer, injury/injury detail, self harm, underage alcohol consumption. Minor: Bullying, infidelity, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt.

That sweet sweet Penelope (Penny) Connor ??? Gillian (Tate) ---> Penelope (Penny) Connor & Gillian (Tate) ---> Penelope (Penny) Connor/Gillian (Tate)

Absolutely brilliant, heartbreaking, emotional romance/contemporary about grief, love, and the things that come with those two emotions.