First Kiss is the first book in the new Kit and Tully triology by Mocha VonBee and the trilogy is the first part of a wide nine book series, with each book being written from the perspective of a different character. It’s a YA coming of age novella with fantasy elements explored through references to Celtic mythology. First Kiss is set in 1990s Ireland and this first book focuses on Tully, the new guy in town, who finds work in a local video store and becomes friends with Kit, Felice and Spike. Tully falls for Kit the moment he sees her but she’s pining for Mac, the lead singer of a local up and coming band who Tully ends up playing guitar for. The group discover a half-forgotten Celtic legend and accidentally awaken a Celtic god, adding wonderful fantastical and mystery elements to what initially appears to be a simple YA romance.
First Kiss has a male protagonist – eighteen-year-old Tully – and this is a choice I appreciated as exploring the blossoming relationship between Kit and Tully from a male POV added a unique element to what could have been your typical coming of age romance novella. Tully seems like a total sweetheart and I was totally rooting for him to get the happy ending he deserved.
The novella is book is very short and lacked any real drama, it seemed to be more of an introduction to the next book in the trilogy rather than a novella in its own right. I am in two minds about this as although personally I found that the trilogy would work better as one single book split into three distinctive parts, I recognise that for teen readers (the intended audience of the series) these short and snappy books could be ideal.
First Kiss has some queer representation through the character Spike but the only real references to his sexuality were when he was victim to a homophobic attack and this was used more as a vehicle to further the plot and allow Tully to meet the rest of the group than anything else. This was disappointing and I do hope that this representation is better in the later novels in the series.
The series is set in the 1990s but unfortunately the references to the time period were largely too subtle for my liking. Without occasional references to things like the lack of mobile phones, existence of tape recorders and video rental shops or the recent legalisation of divorce in Ireland, it was easy to forget the time period the book was set in. As a reader, if the author has made a choice to set their book in a certain time period or location, I want that choice and the reasoning for it to be clear within the text. First Kiss felt like it could have taken place in any decade or location without the story needing to really change at all and this was disappointing for me. I also think it is worth noting that as the series is targeting at younger readers who largely won’t have the pre-existing understanding of the 90s that an older audience would, it is even more vital that the references to the time period are explicit.
Overall I’m excited to read the next book in the series and see how the cliff-hangers we’re left with in First Kiss play out.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Publication date: January 3, 2023.

I honestly don't know what to think of this book. My mind's jumbled up and I can't seem to find the right words for it, but I'll try, in simple words.

The book is fast; I finished it within two hours, but the story is slow. It seems like a normal boy likes girl, boys tries to get the girl to notice him, with a side order of music.

BUT the first chapter, First Letter from Aonghus, messes me up real bad. It made me wonder and ponder whether was the action of Tully Cabe really his? Did the approval from Kit's parents really come from the good impression of Tully? Or was something larger at work here?

And it frustrates me that the next book, with explanation to all these probably, will only be releasing in a month. And that it's a nine-book series. NINE BOOKS!!

There are moment in this book that seems out of the ordinary, especially after Tully's set, but with no further explanation as to why these happened:

Just for an instant, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Mac staring at me with murder in his eyes. But when I look again his express is normal. It must have been my imagination.

"Yes." Her voice is doubtful, a troubled expression casting a shadow across her face.

Why? Why would you pique my interest and curiosity and then leave me hanging and tells me oh, you have to wait for a month? This is almost murder and I don't hate the author for that, honestly.

It was interesting that this whole book was told from the pov of the main male character. It’s rare that I read a romance book that is told from the males pov the whole time. I feel like this whole book was just a really drug out prologue. I would like to know what happens next, but I don’t feel that a whole book was needed to give me the information this book gave me. I also felt that the FMC could care less about the MMC. I liked the elements that they tried to incorporate into the story, but in the same breath the mixing just seemed jumbled. I think if the Celtic folklore had been more fleshed out it would have made it a more enjoyable read.

This was ok. I prefer entire books to separate prequel/duets though.
It seems like Tully is fighting an uphill battle for Kit, who clearly isn't interested in him.

First off all I would like to thank Netgally for giving me this ARC.

Music or love? Is the big question Tully and Kit have to face throughout this book.
It was a short book but it was enjoyable, I was rotting for the characters and wanted to see what was going to happen to them next. They were interesting and we could see the potencial of more stories being created and explored in the next book about who they are today and what their dreams are.
The Irish atmosphere of the book was great, with subtle references to Irish culture and what was happening in the country at the time the story is set.
It was and interesting plot, of seeing how Tully wanted something, his big dream, but knew that to pursue he would need to leave other things behind.
The main romance reminded me a lot of Paper Towns by John Green, and I'm looking forward to see what happens next.
However I felt like there was something missing and that feeling stayed with me for most of the book and perhaps that will be something that will be developed in the next couple of books.

I was really interested in this book as it was a male POV, versus female in the YA world and also learning that these are meant to be shorter books. I think that could definitely be a positive for some readers. For myself, I wish it was longer as I wanted there to be a bit more character and world building and a bit more of an arc, but that being said I enjoyed it and learning a bit about Tully.

This was a cute love story from music to a wonderful setting to loveable characters. It was fun seeing how music impacted this book. Thus book was approved by netgalley and the publisher for me to read and review n

ok so I have mixed feelings on this book. the male pov was interesting, especially as most YA books are written from the fmc's pov but besides that? I feel like the book was lacking in world and character building. I still know nothing about anyone or anything, and that's not just because of my terrible memory.

(arc received via net galley)

Tully is an 18 year old who loves music and playing guitar but understands that is not life. His mother (who is ill with something, not sure what as his home life was discussed vaguely) and he have moved into a little town where he has to work and take care of her and their living.

One late night after getting off work he stumbles upon Simon who has been badly beaten up. After helping him these two become fast friends leading Tully to a summer of adventure with new friends and playing a little music with an up and coming band. Tully is enjoying his new home but honestly only has eyes for Kit. Problem: Kit barely sees him.

This is a quick read but definitely leaves you needing to know what the future holds for everyone. Tully, Kit, Simon, the band, his mom. All of them.

Side note: this book has an abundance of exclamation points and could stand to lose a few.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

I started this book with zero expectations, and ended up loving it. Tully is so sweet that you want to hug him when he has so many insecurities about Kit and about himself. It's a young adult's book about chasing dreams. It is not a book with much depth or many details about the individual life of each character, but if it is a perfect introduction to welcome the characters, I don't know if what I say makes sense hahaha. It's basically an introductory story, short, entertaining, very interesting and sweetly pretty [with Tully in the equation, of course]. It is not without certain clichés typical of this type of story, but it is really worth it. I'm looking forward to reading the second book.

This was a short but fun read set in beautiful Ireland. A cute little romance with Celtic gods, music and choices. I really like our main character Tully a lot and want to see the best for him. I like the little friend group he makes too, though I didn't love every character right away they grew on me for their own little quirks. The weird part about this book for me was that it does not tell you about the time period but you get hints from the story. In the beginning it felt weird but then I realized this is not set in today times but probably closer to the 90s or so😂. I can't wait to see were this story goes in the next books and will be keeping an eye out for them.

First Kiss by Mocha Vonbee.
Kit and Tully Book 1.
When new guy, Tully, falls for sixteen-year-old Kit, he needs to find a way to win her over. Because, right now, she only has eyes for scorching hot lead-singer, Mac Whitehead, who's turning every head in town. Neither believe a half-forgotten legend is true, but once a sleeping Celtic god awakes, it's too late to turn back, too late to refuse his offer
A good read. Little slow but readable. 3*.

Thank you for allowing me access to this arc. I think this was an amazing introduction to the series of short books. I liked that the story was told from the males pov usually books are only told from the females pov. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series when they come out.

This was an easy, quick read. I enjoyed this one but I don’t think I would read anymore in this series as it wasn’t exactly the genre I like. With that said, it was a good book. The banter between the characters kept me interested. I liked how it was from the male POV. Overall, it was a cute for a YA romance.

⭐️Book Rating: 2/5
✍🏼Author: Mocha Von Bee
📖Genre: YA Fiction

💭My thoughts:

I think this is a decent book for YA. The banter between the characters were engaging. Really liked Tully and how he found himself towards the end of the journey. However I don’t think I want to continue reading through the rest of the stories, the storyline fell a little flat for me with the ending.

This is not my typical genre or read, but I enjoyed it for what it was and see that many will likely gravitate not only to this story, but also to the series it's starting.

We meet Tully, an 18-year-old who's looking for work (and finds it at the local video rental chain store), for friendship (and finds it with Spike and Kit) and for his place in the world (maybe with Mac's band?). This story is entirely from his perspective which is a fresh, welcome change for me as I read mostly stories set only in the female main character's perspective, or a dual perspective. In this case I could have used a dual storyline/perspective but apparently that's what book two will do for readers - filling in some of the blanks from Kit's story.

It was a quick read, fast-paced and laced with just the right combination of family, friends, culture/history and tension. I probably won't pick up the second book (at least not right away) but did truly enjoy my time-warp back to a pre-cell phone era = that was a really refreshing thing and I can't believe how much I enjoyed that aspect of it - however 'mundane'.

this book was a really quick read and I finished it in no time
it was really entertaining to read and I loved the characters and romance and the setting
I liked how it was fast paced
i'd recommend this to any fan of young adult fantasy

A cute novella introducing us to Tully and Kit. The story takes us through a journey from the first time they meet to their first kiss.

The cover of this book is so adorable. I enjoyed getting to know Tully and Kit in this short novel. I loved the 90s vibe with the video store and the lack of cell phones. I also found the Celtic God aspect an interesting addition to the story.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Not for me unfortunately. I struggled to get into it so put it down and didn't return to it to carry on

this short novel was the perfect book to get me out of my reading slump. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot despite it being incredibly short! Tully is a really good character and I liked that this novel was from his POV - it’s not often that books are in a male MC POV!
The chapters were the perfect length and kept me interested and I read it pretty quickly!
The only slight con, was that it was very fast - I would have preferred the book to be slightly longer and the plot lengthened out. Yet, I really liked the fact that it was set in 1990 and embedded with Irish culture too :) I would like to continue this short novel series and find out what happens to Kit and Tully!
Thank you Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review