a cute short romance! i thought this book was a quick read and very sweet!

thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance E-Book copy of Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel in exchange of an honest review.
"Delving into the world of LGBTQ+ literature, 'Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous' by Mae Marvel proved to be an absolute delight. At its core, the novel tells the heartwarming story of Katie and Wil, a couple whose love for cats and each other is irresistibly endearing. The slow burn and second chance romance aspects of their relationship add layers of complexity and anticipation, as their secret affection from high school reignites after 13 long years.

One of the standout features of the book is the portrayal of their meddling yet lovable mothers. These 'nosy little mother hens' playfully push Katie and Wil together, while also expressing their genuine concern for their children's happiness. Their presence adds a warm and relatable dynamic to the story, proving that family can often be both a blessing and a source of support.

The author skillfully weaves a tale that captures the essence of love and second chances, while also celebrating LGBTQ+ representation. It's refreshing to see diverse narratives being portrayed with such care and authenticity.

Overall, 'Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous' is a captivating novel that radiates warmth and resonates with readers. Mae Marvel has crafted a touching and entertaining story that proves love knows no bounds. This book is a delightful addition to the LGBTQ+ genre, and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a heartfelt and enjoyable read. Prepare to be won over by the adorable romance and the skillful storytelling of Mae Marvel."

Have to start by saying I LOVE the premise of this book. Hollywood starlet returns home and meets up with her high school crush. Twists (but no spoilers!) are that her high school crush is still pining for her AND is internet famous.
I have to say I like a level playing field, or level-ish when it comes to friends to lovers tropes because it’s clear they can help each other grow, but it’s not one depending on the other to pull them out of whatever slump.
Loved the FF romance aspect of this book and the journey is nice. There is some tension but it didn’t leave me panicked or anxious, and instead I got to enjoy the beautiful love story.
So happy I read this book! Thanks NetGalley for trusting me with this ARC.

Mild spice.
Love the cat “sidekicks”
Great supportive characters
Perfect romantic twist.

This was my first book by this author and there were things I liked about it and things I didn’t. I thought the storyline was very unique and the first couple of chapters were very strong. I found the idea of Katie teaching her cats to talk with the word buttons to be very interesting and also a little creepy.

What I didn’t like about the book and ultimately why I didn’t rate it higher had to do with both the writing and the way the humor was used throughout. What can sometimes happen with rom-coms is an overuse of humor at inopportune times which can detract from the serious/romance side of the story and I feel that happened here.

Another thing that I observed was an overuse of exposition and the writing was just very wordy at times, so much so that I found myself skipping paragraphs just trying to get to the point.

I also found that while the author was able to create a good amount of sexual tension and build-up between the two leads, something about their relationship just didn’t connect for me. Perhaps the overuse of humor hindered my ability to empathize with and take these ladies seriously.

Overall a solid effort but in my opinion would benefit from a healthy dose of editing.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this ARC, but this one wasn't for me. While there was great character chemistry and development, I feel like the plot lacked and the pacing dragged on. I would have liked a bit more conflict/drama to keep everything moving. Overall it was a cute, slow-burn story, but I preferred something a little faster.

Since graduating from high school, Katie has moved up in the world—made a name for herself as an actress, earned more money than she'll ever need, and more recently started to make a name for herself as a director too. Meanwhile, Wil has been quietly humming along in Wisconsin, having put her dreams on hold and never picked them up again. She's TikTok famous, making out with new people regularly on the Internet, but her plans (law school, for example, or living somewhere other than Wisconsin) haven't materialised, and she's not in a rush to change that.

But Katie's dreams—so tangible, and so close—are being consistently undermined by her ex, the truth about whom she's kept secret for years. And Wil's dreams aren't gone, but she's buried them deep. And when Katie comes home for the holidays and stays awhile, suddenly they're each in a position to help the other...

This was a lot of fun to read. The book is navigating and balancing a whole host of different things: Katie's career, Wil's double life as a TikTok sensation, #MeToo (though not in so many words), being a woman in Hollywood, grief, and on it goes. (Also: very, very vocal and—more to the point—eloquent cats. I am not convinced.) Their relationship, as it develops, is not without its difficulties, but I always appreciate it when those difficulties are more external than internal—that is, in this case, there's very little 'if we'd just had an honest conversation the book would be over already' and a great deal more 'even if our relationship is straightforward privately, it will be complicated publicly'. Both of them roll with it, which is also very satisfying.

A couple of quibbles: first, at times it felt like Wil was only becoming fully formed as the book went on—she gets more butch, I think, and while it's possible that I just missed the clues, it felt like something that was only solidifying for the author as time went on. Second, while the supporting cast is generally fab, I wouldn't have minded seeing some more complexity from them—they tend to be either diverse, liberal, smart, compassionate Wunderkinder or (admittedly and fortunately rarely) Just Generally Bad. And not to complain about having diverse/liberal/smart/compassionate Wunderkinder around...but I suppose it stays a bit surface. Finally: Katie Price is an odd choice of name for a character who is an actress when there is already a real-life person by the same name who has worked very hard to be in the public eye.

Altogether lively and on point, though. 3.5 stars and would read more.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I loved this slow-burn romance that was easy to follow and the characters were so well-developed. I thought that the tension throughout the book was strong and I really appreciated all of the healthy communication between the two main characters.

Unfortunately I DNF'd this one. I had high hopes and really really enjoyed Wil and Katie but it was just dragging soooo badly

I do want thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC

A beautiful sapphic romance about two old friends reconnecting and navigating their present lives once they realize they're in love, and maybe always were. I loved everything about it. The characters and the plot were wonderful.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Really enjoyed this -- very sweet celebrity romance with a lot of witty banter. I also like that it subverts/dodges a lot of the more problematic romance tropes while still indulging in others. Both main characters were really relatable and engaging, and watching their budding romance was truly heartwarming. Highly recommend

Famous movie star Katie Price returns to her hometown in Green Bay for holiday and at her parents' holiday party she reconnects with her high school friend Wil Green, an Instagram sensation for her twice weekly often hot & steamy kisses with random strangers. Both have had a lot of things happen in their lives in the past ten years, both good and bad, and as they share bits and pieces of the lives with each other they realize there is definitely chemistry between them. Can their budding romance survive Hollywood? Should they even attempt a relationship? Can they make law school work for Wil while Katie moves her film career in a new direction? Will they deal with their pasts in order to have a future together?

This is an unexpectedly, totally enjoyable, witty, emotional hot romance that is well-written as well as captivating. One of my favorite things about this book is that two young adults deal with their pasts, issues, budding romance, and their problems by talking things through, asking the other to describe her needs, and actually communicating with each other in a mature, respectful manner!

This book is a remarkable departure from typical romance tropes, offering a refreshing tale of two female characters who communicate openly and honestly with each other.

This book’s portrayal of love and growth, without the usual drama, is refreshing. The chemistry between the leads is electric, and the tension leading up to their first kiss is simply mesmerizing. This book is an absolute must read for romance fans.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC.

Read this as an eARC. I would give this more like 3.5 stars. I would have given it a 4 star, but the chapters were almost 20 ePages long each, so it felt very long-winded since this book was switching between two characters' perspectives. I typically love getting both perspectives but I think with this structure it didn't work as well for some reason. This is marketed as a romance, but I think it also has a significant coming of age aspect with the two characters trying to find their place in their respective fields which I did really like. I also haven’t read a romance with this type of plot before which was really cool for me because I've read A LOT of books. I think this had a really good story, but for some reason I just didn’t find myself really yearning to finish the book. I can’t really articulate what it was, but I wasn’t very attached to how the story would unfold like I am with many other books of this type. Overall, I think I would recommend for others to try it out, especially for the fantastic depiction of coming of age in late 20s/early 30s.

I loved this! More romance novels where the couple is functioning as a team instead of constantly trying their level best not to be one! The characters were thoughtful and nuanced and sexy—I often find that books this steamy are not delivering the substance I want, but this one really exceeded expectations. I loved all of the characters and I particularly loved that the Bad Men weren’t actually characters in the books, they were off to the side being terrible on their own time. I look forward to reading more from Mae Marvel (and I’m keeping my eye on the charming bi NFL player they slid in there for a scene)!

I loved the concept of this book. Small town girl becomes famous comes home and reconnects with her childhood friend who is now a relatively well known tiktok creator and it’s queer. The characters were deep and well thought out but I feel like they weren’t always well developed. There were so many times I felt like I was either hit with a wall of text explaining Katie’s life or just left to figure it out. Overall though, I had a good time. 3.5/5

Supercute cover. Fun premise. Didn't realize it was LGBTQ+. Too much steam. DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Enjoyable queer rom com. The characters lacked believability for me, seemed a bit too on the nose at times. But overall solid.

This was the 40th book to complete my 2023 reading goal and im so glad it was! Wil and Katie are for real communication goals! The love and patience and understanding portrayed flooored me. Loved the it's never too late to follow your heart's desire of it all and the reminder to always give yourself grace no matter what stage you are in your life journey. So much to love here definitely one of my fav reads from this year!

I want to thank Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review as well as the author for this free copy.

The magic of first love is truly unique, and its loss can be heart-wrenching. Yet, when life grants a second chance, rekindling that initial flame can be incredibly heartwarming. "Everyone I kissed since you got famous" eloquently encapsulates this sentiment.

I awarded it four stars since, occasionally, the storyline left me a bit perplexed or struggling to fully grasp its intended essence. However, in its entirety, it proved to be a splendid book, one I'd gladly revisit.

I adored this sweet and steamy romance. With lots of mutual pinning and questions about the role of women in Hollywood. In this novel, Katie and Wil asked eachother and themselves who they are and what choices they had, questions that propelled the characters’ behavior and motivation. I found it to be heartwarming and encouraging to see them find the answers to these questions together.