thank you netgalley for the free e-arc. i did not enjoy nor did i finish this book, dnf at 20%. i got pretty tired of katie's cat life quickly. i thought the writing was both too wordy/flowery and not well-written enough. there seemed to be a disconnect where katie was traumatized by her last relationship but the second she gets alone with wil (who she hasn't seen in almost 15 year), everything wil does turns katie on. the dialogue the entire time was childish and unrealistic, no one speaks this way.

I was thrilled to dive into this book for my Pride Month reading list. Super megastar celebrity Katie Price is home in Wisconsin over the holidays writing a screenplay for her next big project. Being home brings her back into the orbit of Will Greene, TikTok sensation and high school best friend of Katie. Thirteen years has gone by since Will and Katie have spoken, but the chemistry of their senior year picks up right where it left off before they went their separate ways after high school.
I really wanted this one to work for me, but unfortunately it did not. Having not seen each other for thirteen years, the pining that went on immediately between Katie and Will did not feel as organic or believable as I think the writers intended it to be. Proclamation of their love for one another only a couple of days into their reunion felt kind of anticlimactic. There were many times where I contemplated DNFing this one, but given as it was gifted to me as an ARC, I wanted to see the story through. An enormous part of the story was lengthy and long winded dialogue between Katie and Will. Like, by the time I was 50% through the story, I think the bulk of it had been three super long conversations between the two sitting in Will’s Bronco—a Bronco that we were reminded repeatedly was the same Bronco that Katie and Will spent their senior year cruising around in, and presumably talking. I just really wanted something to happen, but alas, it never picked up for me-- and it ultimately just dragged on.

There are many highly rated reviews on this one, so I still think there is great potential for other readers to find something here that clicks with them. While it didn’t work for me, I think it could (and will) work for others.

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous offers a compelling premise with its blend of nostalgia and rekindled romance. The story centers on Katie Price, a small-town girl turned A-list star, who reconnects with her high school flame, Wil Greene, during a rare visit home. Their reunion sparks an intense and passionate reconnection, but the story explores whether their love can withstand the test of time.

While the book has its strengths, there are several aspects that left me with mixed feelings. The narrative often feels overly long, with certain parts dragging and losing momentum. The detailed descriptions of the characters' lives, while interesting, sometimes felt excessive and detracted from the main plot.

Wil's peculiar habit of kissing a new person twice a week is an intriguing subplot but lacks sufficient motivation beyond serving the plot. The reasoning behind this challenge wasn't fully explored, leaving me questioning its significance.

On a positive note, the book handles heavier, emotional conversations around family health issues and toxic relationships with sensitivity and depth. These moments add a layer of realism and emotional weight to the story, making the characters more relatable and their struggles more poignant.

This is a decent read with engaging elements and heartfelt moments. However, the pacing issues and some underdeveloped subplots prevent it from being a standout. It's worth a read for those interested in stories of rekindled romance and personal growth, but be prepared for a few slow sections along the way.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: June 11, 2024

So much chemistry and tension in this sometimes sapphic romcom about HS friends who reconnect 13 years later, after both have reached different levels of fame for wildly different reasons.

I really struggled with the dialogue in this—a lot of the conversations and interactions were over the top and I was constantly thinking “wait, real people don’t talk like this” and it kept taking me right out of the story.

I loved this sapphic/bi-awakening romance. Wil and Katie grew up together in Green Bay, WI. Their moms were best friends so they knew each other since they were babies and went to the same schools. Wil was always magnetic, popular and lived a "normal" life growing up. By contrast, Katie was always drawn to the theater and performing, knew she wanted to be an actress from an early age and spent most of her formative years performing, taking special classes and traveling around to various shows. Because of her busy schedule, although their lives overlapped occasionally, they didn't become close until their senior year in high school, when suddenly they became inseparable in the way intense teenage friendships suddenly develop. However, life happened, Katie went off to become a huge star in Hollywood, while Wil stayed home in Green Bay, seemingly stuck in place after her father's untimely death from Huntington's disease.

After not seeing each other for thirteen years, Katie and Wil reconnect when Katie comes home for Christmas. Katie is a mega-star, but Wil is no slouch herself, having started a viral Tiktok series in which she films herself kissing two different people a week. When they reconnect, it's as if Katie never left. Old feelings from their high school years, unacknowledged at the time, rise up in both of them. They finally admit to an attraction so deep and strong that it seems to have withstood the test of time, but can they find a way to honor those feelings and make room for each other in the middle of two very different and busy lives?

I loved how honest and direct Katie and Wil were with each other. Although they played flirty games, they did so as adults who weren't afraid to examine and acknowledge their feelings, and had no problem with acting on them. Their attraction was so strong that it leapt off the page. I'm not a fan of flashbacks so I also loved that the authors didn't resort to them to show Wil and Katie's previous connection but instead let their shared past unfold in the course of the present day story. There were a few times when the characters were a bit too much in their heads and I lost the thread of the story, but overall, I thought that it was a smart, engaging read, with two strong, sympathetic MCs who very much deserved all the happiness that they found with each other. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This was a struggle for me. I was really excited about it but honestly if I didn’t have the audiobook (the narrator was fantastic!) I probably wouldn’t have finished it. The characters were well developed but they had zero chemistry together. I also thought the story dragged on.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, prior to its release date (June 11th I believe) so thank you as always to NetGalley for the fun reads!

Right off the bat, I have not had very much luck enjoying reading anything remotely romance related haha. A friend of mine told me I should get out of my typical thriller genre and try some queer romance so here we are! I’m glad I listened, this one surprised the hell out of me!

I thought it was very well written, took me about 50 pages to get invested in the plot but I really enjoyed the main characters once I did. I was worried that the whole “famous actress in Hollywood” angle would be overdone and supremely unrealistic… happy to say I was yet again wrong! Haha. There was a good amount of spice and longing (is it even a queer romance if there isn’t endless longing) and my only real negative feedback is just that it felt a bit long and overly wordy in some parts. I would def recommend this to a friend though. Well done Mae Marvel, I went in expecting not to like this but it’s a really cute story and I enjoyed it very much 😊

This might be the best romance novel I have ever read. It is stunning in concept and execution. It hums with sexy anticipation for its entirety. The kind of book that makes you say "holy shit" and wonder if you will ever come close to writing anything that so completely sticks the landing on a gravity defying premise. Sheer perfection 15/10

I ended up DNF’ing around 20%. I tried a few times to pick it back up, but just could not really get into the story.

This book was a breath of fresh air. I loved the books concept of a starlet Kate returning home and reuniting with her former best friend Wil now a Tik Tok sensation . The friends to lovers trope was everything. Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes so this had me so invested from the very beginning until the very end. I loved the main characters Kate and Wils growth and development and their support of each other. Such an awesome work. I will definitely recommend this work again and again. Thank you for early access to this book.

DNF @ 15%. Something about the writing style was just irritating to me. It was a lot of telling and not showing with dialogue that didn't make sense and didn't make me care about any of the characters. I didn't feel like Katie or Wil had any chemistry, and they just felt like such flat characters. I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't get into it or make myself care.

This was a really sweet book. I loved the history of the FMCs; their lives ran parallel until their senior year of high school when they were inseparable. Both Wil and Katie are those kinds of people who just have that spark of something special that naturally grabs someone’s attention. They are learning that there was more to their feelings than BFFs back in school when they start seeing each other again. It got long in some places and a little confusing at times but it has fantastic characters and a solid plotline.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the both the book and audiobook advanced reader copy.

I tried to get into this audiobook/book but just found myself rolling my eyes and thinking I can't wait until it's over. Clearly I am one of the few as all the other ratings are 4 or 5 stars. Sadly this book was just not for me.

Unfortunately, I found this book quite boring. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the couple and I wasn’t rooting for them at all. Just not the story for me.

Sapphic celebrity romance? Fun! It’s childhood best friends with a little second chance thrown in when they reconnect as adults, when one of them is a Hollywood celebrity. Wil and Katie. Best friends in high school because their mother’s were life long best friends. Until Katie went to Los Angeles and shot to stardom as an actress. Wil remained in their Wisconsin hometown instead of going to law school, and runs a viral TikTok account where she kisses random people. When Katie returns home for Christmas, the pair reconnect and pick back up where they left off 13 years ago - before Katie found herself in and got herself out of a toxic, abusive relationship or Wil’s dad passed away. Their spark quickly turns to inferno, but both are determined to not cross the line, knowing that Katie has to return to her Hollywood life and Wil isn’t ready to move on with her life post-loss. But when their being together becomes front page news, can they put their reservations aside to make an actual go of it, or will it be another 13 years until they see one another again? Full of delicious tension and drama, and powerful women who take on the toxic masculinity of Hollywood, Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is a fun and tender read!

Full disclosure: I’m not usually a romance novel reader. Fuller disclosure: one of the women in the writing partnership Mae Marvel is a friend. Which leads to the final disclosure: most of the romance novels I’ve read in my life (particularly since age 16) have been written by one or both of these two talented women,

Several years ago, one of the Mae Marvel duo said to me that romance novels are usually a constructed around a fairly narrow set of criteria expected by readers: there must be a happy ending, usually preceded by conflict or tension; the lovers are the main aspect of the plot; and the story should include one of the common romance-novel tropes, like enemies-to-lovers, secret identities, or a love triangle. One of the reasons I love Mae Marvel books is that they work within the rules while creatively expanding them. In “Everyone I Ever Kissed,” the leads are beautiful, wealthy, star crossed lovers, but one of the central conflicts is the fear that one of the leads will be exposed as a normal, everyday person. The other lead has a viral TikTok where she kisses people on camera for a full minute. This provides much of the early sexual tension in a way that allows the two leads to explore their relationship in relative privacy - at least for a while. In the meantime, their relationship grows (and steams!) while they treat each other like adults and each respects the other’s journey.

The writing is wonderful- evocative, poetic, and intelligent. The lovers are deeply drawn, and create compelling narratives, especially as the book winds to its conclusion. And while there is struggle, the lovers never lose faith in each other, and the relationship comes to a beautiful happy ending. Romance novels are still not my thing, but this one is definitely worth reading..

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Mae Marvel and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Getting through this book was a bit of a struggle for me and I feel like part of the reason is timing. There have been many romance novels published in the past few months where the characters have high energy chemistry that is all encompassing. By comparison, Wil and Katie’s chemistry was not quite as dynamic and I had trouble connecting as a result.

I enjoyed the old friends to lovers trope; especially as each character began to understand the nature of their high school relationship. The author does a fantastic job of revisiting memories as Wil and Katie discover the nuances that they were unable (unwilling?) to recognize as teenagers.

I loved the Wisconsin references and particularly appreciated setting this sapphic romance in a traditionally conservative location.

Ultimately, I felt the book was a bit longer than it needed to be and, thus, felt like this contributed to the drag I felt at times. I would have preferred a quicker pace to hold my attention.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Ya know when you start a book and at first you are super into it and think it’s going to be amazing and then you slowly find yourself losing interest?

That was my experience in reading Everyone I’ve Kissed Since You Got Famous. I thought it was so good at first and sped read through the first 30% and then I just slowly started losing interest. I’m not sure if it was the fact that the story line just seemed to drag on but not actually get anywhere or that the communication between the two FMC’s seemed off.

For now it’s a DNF but I haven’t ruled out picking it back up in the future.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

My thoughts regarding Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous are… confusing. On the one hand, I genuinely loved some of the characterization of Wil and Katie. I love a good second chance romance, ESPECIALLY a queer one. Like, high school friends who always felt like they were meant to be “a little bit more” is forever and ever one of my romantic sweet spots. LOVE it.

However, there were a lot of parts in this story that left me scratching my head. The dialogue between the characters seemed at times like just a giant exposition dump and it didn’t feel natural. It sort of reminded me of the way that I used to write Glee RPs with my friends on Tumblr back in 2013.

I found myself skimming through the end, because it felt like so much of the story was just sort of all over the place. There were a lot of different plots that just sort of seemed thrown in or unnecessary.

…And did they have permission to write Busy Phillips in as a character? I don’t know how that works, but I was like, “BUSY PHILLIPS IS HERE?”

I have other thoughts, but I cannot seem to be able to string them all together.

I really enjoyed Wil and Katie’s love story and I enjoyed the quiet moments with them together. I have a particularly soft spot in my heart for Katie and her cats, especially Sue. But the rest of this left me mostly confused.

Thank you again for this ARC.

2.5 stars.

"Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous" by Mae Marvel is a mixed bag. I love sapphic romances so, so much. Some of my all-time favorite novels are sapphic love stories. Unfortunately, this one is as dry as a bone and boring as hell. The very beginning of the story makes it clear that the main characters, Wil and Katie, haven't seen each other since they were in high school over a decade ago. They were very close friends and then they were nothing. Katie went off to become a Hollywood starlet. Wil found success as a TikToker who kisses different people twice a week and uploads the videos online. The two are quickly thrust back into each other's lives when Katie returns home for the holidays as if no time has passed at all. That's where the crux of my issues lie. There is no sense of longing or pining because it doesn't feel like *any* time has passed at all! After this quick introduction to the story, the rest of the book unfolds so, so slowly... and not in a good way. It's less slow-burn, more turtle-slow-paced. It truly felt like this book never ended. There are a lot of other subplots going on in this book: Wil dealing with her grief after her dad's passing, Wil not doing what she really wants in life, Wil's TikTok videos, Katie's struggle as an actor, Katie's ongoing "feud" with her stardom and the paparazzi, Katie wanting to direct a movie, Katie's trauma at the hands of her ex, Katie's cats, etc. While Katie and Wil have excellently executed backstories, none of it matters if there's not a lot of chemistry, and I just didn't feel much of anything between them. I felt more of a spark when Katie was describing how she felt while watching Wil's TikTok videos than I did when Katie and Wil were in the throes of passion. I appreciate the conversations around gender and s3x, about identity and taking the time to explore a relationship, about establishing healthy communication as a partnership. In a better, less plodding book, I would have eaten this stuff UP. If I hadn't had an audiobook version of this story, I probably wouldn't have finished it. I have come to love second-chance romances, and while "Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous" had all of the makings of an instant classic, unfortunately, it just goes nowhere, isn't executed well, and lacks any sort of chemistry whatsoever.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mae Marvel, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.