Member Reviews
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!
Loved this sweet audiobook about Katie and Wil. Best friends from a young age they reconnect after more than decade during which Katie became a famous A list actress. While they were best friends as kids they are now….more than friends. Wil has a lot going for her, too, in her own way - she’s TikTok famous for kissing a new person every week. I thought this book was thoughtful, deep, and lovely. It was a believable romance and I really enjoyed it - I can’t wait for readers to get to meet Katie and Wil and experience this moving friends to lovers story, too. I love the narration and how it kept the story moving along!
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC! Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is out now!
This second chance story was all about the anticipation... It's about growing up in parallel and not fully seeing another person until it's almost too late. It's about the time in between leaving the place a person calls home and all the times they return. It's about finding new ways to explore oneself when you're a bit lost and alone. It's about lost loved ones and delayed opportunities. It's about trauma and learning to find and trust yourself again. It's about quiet but fierce queer love, that despite time and distance doesn't diminish.
It's not about the kind of man who sees something special and tries to take advantage of it and cling to relevance, no matter how much he may want it to be about him.
This audiobook quietly builds but was persistent in my brain. The narrator perfectly captures the anticipation and slow edge to this story, showcasing the drive, fear, and love throughout.
I loved the audiobook version! Great narrator!
Fun, witty banter and full of SPICINESS so tantalizing! I really enjoyed this cute read! I love second-chance romance and especially one with your very first love, perfect! This queer romance really HOOKED me and kept me turning pages!
Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel
Narrated By: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 2.5/5
Narration: 5/5
Length: 13h 35m
Genre: Contemporary LGBTQ+ Romance
I can't believe I've never read Mae Marvel before! Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous won’t be my last! This sapphic romance is funny, emotional, and full of lovable characters. The narration by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw was wonderful! It was so easy to separate the two main characters and feel their emotions.
Wil Greene and Katie Price, best friends from high school, reconnect after ten years apart. During those ten years, there was a viral video, a public breakup, and a whole lot of internet sleuthing so neither would forget each other. Wil starts a kissing series on social media, kissing a new person twice a week, making her a viral sensation. Her journey through grief, unrequited love, and self-discovery is powerful. Celebrity Katie’s story is darker, dealing with trauma from being an overnight celebrity at such an early age and those who were supposed to look after her. Reading about her growth is remarkable.
Everything about this story made my heart flutter. The mature handling of their past traumas and the refreshing communication between all characters were impactful. The book avoids the miscommunication trope—one of my least favorites—and instead, offers genuine, heartfelt dialogue.
The tension!!!! OMG, the tension was too much for me. I was screaming when they finally got together—so steamy! While there were a few parts that jumped around quickly, causing some confusion, overall, it was an easy read, full of love and great character development.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I immediately liked Katie. A small-town Wisconsin girl who became an A-list Hollywood star who has a lot of similarities to the life of Taylor Swift (which I loved), she must decide between having an uncomplicated career and her feelings for her childhood best friend Wil. I understood Wil's character less; her thing with kissing random people on TiKTok was honestly a little strange, but her chemistry with Katie was palpable. I love a good second-chance romance, and this had all the elements of a great one. Really enjoyed this one!
Thank you so much for an opportunity to review this book.
I really enjoyed this book once I got a good idea who everyone was. It took a minute to actually to actually figure out all the characters were since it is written in third person and I find that writing perspective a bit harder to get into. There was tons of new age references like TikTok and honestly didn’t mind it whatsoever and felt it made the story most understandable. This story was fun once I got a feel for it but I really had to work to get there.
*3.5
It’s a cute book, but I was expecting a little more, maybe because I’m a huge fan of Hollywood romance and second chances! The characters are adorable, I really enjoyed them and their relationship. The romance is very well written, and I swoon for them!
Unfortunately, I think that the themes of the book are a little off, a little superficial and that’s a pity. This book could really be astonishing, but it’s just cute.
However, I enjoyed it and I want to read more of this author.
THANK YOU NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THE ARC!
Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous had a fantastic premise and cover. I was instantly intrigued with the history between Katie and Will- what really happened to make them not talk to one another for 13 years? Also, who doesn't live a midwest town that scorns lgbtq-- so realistic in today's society and relatable! However; I couldn't get behind the third person point of view for this one and wish it was (in this case) in either character's head but not both. I found myself bored and wanting to "skip to the end" at the 25% mark as the book seemed lengthy and not well paced out. I would definitely try another by author Mae Marvel and those who enjoy second change LGBTQ may enjoy!
**3.5-stars**
Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is a sex positive Sapphic Romance story. While it had some slight pacing issues for me, I'm glad I read it. I def had fun with the characters.
This story follows A-list celebrity actress, Katie Price, who returns home to Wisconsin for the holidays and ends up reconnecting with her long-lost best friend, Wil Greene, a budding internet star known for kissing strangers. It may have been a decade since Katie and Wil last connected, but once they do, it's like they never left each other sides. The mutual attraction is undeniable.
Each of the women are going through some personal struggles, and we do get keyed into those things. So, while there's a lot of cutesy romance moments, there's also some substance and relatable life issues. I really enjoyed the start of this, meeting Katie and Wil, as well as learning their thoughts and feelings on one another. I was immediately struck by the amount of chemistry the authors were able to create between these two women.
There's something so sexy about mutual attraction that hasn't culminated yet. The pining for one another, as they get reacquainted. I feel like the authors really nailed that feeling. I felt it in my stomach, the butterflies. I also really enjoyed the last 20%, including the overall conclusion. Sadly, the middle bit did drag for me. Some of it, the thoughts of the MCs, in particular with regards to one another, started to feel repetitive and I wanted more consistent forward motion with the plot.
It made the story feel longer than it actually is. The middle of the story just failed to capture my attention and keep it, unlike the beginning and the end. I enjoyed Katie's perspective a little more than Wil's, so that also added to my sense of unevenness with the book. With this being said, overall, I feel like this is a fun, oft-steamy, female-female romance that a lot of Readers are going to enjoy. There are many different aspects of this to connect to, and for the right Reader, at the right time, I can see this becoming a new favorite Romance story for them.
I appreciated how open Marvel made these characters. They talked through everything. Their past, their wants, their fears; they even had close relationships with their Moms. That was a treat to see. At the end of the day, while this didn't necessarily knock my socks off, I'm excited to see where these authors go from here. I will def check out whatever they write next.
Thank you to the publisher, Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I hope Katie and Wil live happily ever after!
I can see why this one has a lot of buzz but I personally didn’t love it. It tried to expose a lot of things but it sometimes felt like too much at once. The author was tackling both characters realizing they loved each other years ago on top of the corrupt Hollywood network. I’m happy the characters found their true selves, but other than that this one was ok for me.
🌀Synopsis
Katie price was a small town Wisconsin girl but now she made it big. She’s so well known that everyone in America knows who she is. Which is why Will is a bit surprised that she’s getting invited to her hometown holiday party. Surprised and excited.
Will and Katie were best friends their senior year, they did everything together. It was right after that when Katie left and the two didn’t keep in touch. Now they’re reconnecting after all of these years and realizing what they felt so long ago was love. That love is still there but their lives are much more complicated. What’s sweet is that they are both willing to set their lives aside to give it a chance. It’s rocky, but they are determined to make it and shake up Katie’s industry in the process.
Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous
By Mae Marvel-new to me author
Publication 6-11-24, Read 6-12-24
Genre: Adult/Women's Fic, Contemporary Romance
Tropes: sapphic romance, 2nd chance romance, celebrity romance, friends to lovers, small town, Christmas, mental health, grief, in love w/ my BFF
🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC and ALC💚! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.
🌎Setting: Green Bay, Wisconsin
Format: e-book and audiobook
🏃🏾♀️Run time: 13:34
Rating: 3/3.5 ⭐
🗣️Narrator: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw does all characters with dual POVs. The voices fit the characters perfectly with Wil's the most distinct because of her sensuality, but I could tell the difference between all characters. The reading style brought the story to life especially with its slow pacing . The narration and the author were in sync, but it could have been one hundred pages lighter. The narrator paused and announced every time a new chapter came. The book had a table of contents which helped me follow along with the e-book and audio.
Summary: Katie Price is an A-list actress turned producer/director. She returns home for the holidays hoping to see Wil Greene-her BFF from senior year of high school. They rode around in Wil's Bronco until they graduated. At eighteen Katie hooked up with Ben Adelsward who took her to Hollywood to become a famous actress. He was thirteen years older, a leading man, and left her heartbroken three years later. When Katie and Wil reunite sparks fly, and both have to confront past hurts and grief.
🤔My Thoughts: I'd recommend the audiobook just to move the story along. It was pretty long but nostalgic with "the one who got away" trope. Katie and Wil re-entered each others lives like no time passed. I felt Katie's pain about Ben, and she really did the work to get over the trauma he caused. Wil's TikTok fame for kissing a new person twice a week was pretty strange, and she offered no real explanation so I'll move on. Their mothers Diana and Beanie were sweet and motivated them to be together.
Thank you Mae Marvel, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this beautiful book. I wanted to make sure I diversified my reads more, especially in honor of Pride Month and this was just so wonderfully written. This second chance love story shows the power and depth of true friendship being at the root of intimacy and touches on so many important subjects in such a tactful way. The characters make you FEEL and they’re likable and entertaining. Overall a great read!
This was a cute, entertaining read. I enjoyed the humor and the overall tone of writing. The characters were well developed and the scenes played out beautifully in my mind. I highly recommend! The narration was great and I did not notice any errors.
i’d give this a 3.5ish more or less! i really enjoyed it and i loved watching katie and wil’s journey back together! it was genuinely such a heartfelt story and had so much depth! i also really loved how unique it was!!! wil’s tiktok is something i can certainly say i have never seen or even considered being a thing? but it worked so well and i loved so many of the tension filled conversations about it, especially between wil and katie!!!
however, the pacing wasn’t quite right for me. i was super hooked at first, and then the further in i got, the less i wanted to listen/wanted it to be over. it felt like there was a lot of fluff that didn’t need to be in the story as well and made it feel super long (and i was listening to the audio at almost 2x speed!!). at around 60% i felt like the book could’ve been ending and then we still had a whole other plot to get to. but it did pick back up and i’m really glad we got that whole last plot it was just hard to see it through?
the writing, at times felt very overly melodramatic and while the two were pretty great communicators there were also some big things they also just didn’t talk about so i was expecting a hugeeeee crash and burn and i was SCARED! that def had a hand in me dragging my feet.
but i will say the ending was really great and i did really enjoy this despite everything. and the audio was so great! i’m never not so insanely impressed when one narrator can pull off 2 povs and extra side characters and still make them all feel so distinct and separate.
The concept of this was great, but it was soooo slow with so much internal dialogue. I also just simply did not find the interactions between the main characters to be believable.
This was deeply emotional and very horny, the way I like romances to be! Overall, I was quite impressed that something that's definitely got Taylor Swift fanfic underneath it all won me over. There were points when it dragged, mostly in career content (that's always going to slow me down.) I was annoyed that the author didn't do enough research to know that "pre-law" is not going to be a major at any credible undergraduate institution, which made me way less invested in the career stuff. I was also annoyed by the cat communication system, though I can imagine some people will be charmed by that. Still, overall I was really invested in this story and I was so glad it was SEXY.
Wow. Just wow. Between the amazing voice of the narrator and the fantastic writing from the authors of this book, I was completely obsessed with this audiobook. The authors did a great job of capturing the emotions of the main characters and took us on a fantastic ride. Wil and Katie knew each other from high school. Katie is a big time actress and Wil is an insurance adjuster. They are both from a small town in Wisconsin. Wil started a blog where every week she kisses a new person. I loved how these two characters who had grown apart in the ten years organically came back together and began a very wonderful relationship. The character growth and writing of this book pulled me in and did not let me go until the end. I listened as much as I possibly could for 2 days. I enjoy love stories of all kinds. I also enjoyed the mom's of the heroines. They were so much fun--kind, caring and fiercely protective of their kids. This book had it all family, second chance love and all the feels. Huge thanks to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for allowing me to listen and review this book.
This was a cute read. I liked the queer take on friends to strangers to lovers. It was sweet and the high school pining for each other felt realistic. However, I think the story was a little too long and I never really understood why Wil started her YouTube show. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a LGBTQIA love story. Overall, 3.5 star, rounded up to 4.
“𝘽𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙩, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚.”
Wil hasn’t seen Katie since high school, but she’s kept up on all her acting and directing success. Meanwhile, Katie has been secretly keeping up with Wil’s successful TikTok account, where she kisses random people twice weekly. They reconnect, and immediately fall back into that comfort they always shared, but maybe there was always something there on top of their friendship.
This was a very sweet, tension-filled, slow burn romance. It was the type of romance where there was a lot of communication between the two leads. The flirtation and longing between them was evident from their first meeting, and that tension just built and built as their emotional connection grew stronger.
I loved how they helped each other battle the different hurdles in each of their ways as they were each facing life altering changes and decisions.
Definitely a slower romance read, that was enjoyable to sit in while I was listening.
Audiobook notes: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw narrator for both POVs, but I thought she did well individualizing the performance of each of the characters.
Thank you to @macmillan.audio for providing me an ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What this book is giving:
✅ Contemporary Romance
✅ Dual POV
✅ Sapphic
✅ Second Chance
✅ High School Best Friends
✅ Award Winning A-List Actress/Filmaker
✅ Kissing TikToker
Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️½ / 5