Never Been Kissed

A really sweet, slow burn novel that's not all about the romance. Told from Wren's point of view, Timothy Janovsky's Never Been Kissed is more about the story than the romancin', and I totally enjoyed that. We've got great secondary stuff going on: Alice's fascinating life and film, the drive-in's dilemma, Wren and Derick's families, and Wren's journey of self awareness. Every time I read a story with a well written demisexual character I feel grateful to the author for the positive exposure.

I ended up thinking that this was a very good book. I'm going to be honest and admit that it was kind of slow going at first and I had to push myself to continue but once things get going, I found myself truly enjoying it. I thought the author did a great job of balancing a cute and fun romance with the deeper more serious issues that were addressed. In the end you end up with a romance that delivers The Feels and The Swoon while also inspiring some interesting thoughts and opening your mind to some things that you might have never given any thought. I am independently posting an impartial review.

Audiobook Review: Overall – 4 Performance – 4 Story – 4 I ending up liking this. For some reason it took me a quite a few chapters before I really got into this story. Mark Sanderlin did a fine job with the audio but I honestly felt like his voice sounded too young for a 22-year-old and that may have been why it took me a bit to get into it. I guess I also felt like the characters acted a bit immature for their ages. The only thing I really have to base this on is myself; I was much more settled at that age with a good job, a husband and a mortgage. As for the story, by about 50% into the book I was totally invested and couldn’t stop listening/reading. I loved Alice and how she interacted with Devin and Wren and how she helped them try and save the drive-in. This story really made me feel nostalgic for the days when my husband and I went to drive in movies. Alas there are no theaters left in the city where I grew up. An advanced copy of this book/audiobook was provided to me at my request via NetGalley but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author/narrator.