This book was an absolute delight, keeping me thoroughly engaged from start to finish.

The characters were impeccably depicted, with just enough detail to lend credibility to their actions and decisions. Wil, in particular, exuded an aura of dominance and allure, making him my personal favorite throughout the story. Katie, on the other hand, portrayed an endearing blend of innocence and exploration, having once been Wil's close friend in high school before achieving fame. As they reignite their friendship, one wonders if their connection runs deeper than mere camaraderie. Could they have overlooked their true feelings in their youth, blinded by naivety?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. Childhood friends reconnect after one of them gets famous. This book was lovely; healthy communication and such a beautiful relationship. The dedication let me know I was in for it from the very beginning.

It’s no secret that I obsess over thrillers BUT when you read them back to back you almost feel like you need to change things up to appreciate them even more and “cleanse your palette”

I have noticed lately that I am actually really enjoying other genre’s so why not broaden my horizons and continue to try new things .

This is the perfect book to jump start my countdown to summer .

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous

I enjoyed this light read and it definitely pulled at my heart strings . I adored Wil and Katie!!! I laughed ,I cried, I laughed some more.

The passion is ever present and you could literally feel the love.

Kudos to Mae Marvel on her sure to be grand slam of a debut!

Teaser :

Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Reads of 2024

Hollywood glamor meets “‘Tis the Damn Season” in this irresistibly buzzy sapphic romance, perfect for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur and Casey McQuiston.

Katie Price is known in every living room in America. A small-town Wisconsin girl who became an A-list star, she rarely makes it home, but this year is different . . . Little does she know it will lead her straight into the piercing blue-eyed gaze of Wil Greene.

A lot has happened in the decade since those cold Wisconsin nights when Wil and Katie drove around in Wil’s Bronco senior year. Since then, Wil's law career hasn’t taken off. Her father passed away. And what started as a personal challenge―kissing a new person twice a week, every week―has made her a growing sensation, but her life is still stuck in phase one. Through the years, the two have never left each other's thoughts and desires, but now suddenly, they are back in each other’s lives. Their reconnection is instantaneous, and the passion is palpable...but can it stand the test of time?

This was a light, easy read. It was outside my normal genre, but I enjoyed it. I felt a connection with the characters. While there are some touchy subjects, they are handled with care and not gone too in depth. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous follows Wil Greene and Katie Price as they reunite for the first time in thirteen years. Thirteen years ago, they were seniors in high school in the kind of intense friendship that in retrospect feels more like a relationship. Now, Katie Price is a famous actress on the verge of a big career transition and Wil Greene is an insurance adjuster by day TikTok star famous for kissing two different people a week in her free time. When Katie comes home for time to work away from LA, she reconnects with Wil, picking up their friendship where it left off, except maybe it was more the whole time. I really enjoyed the overall plot of the novel and the characters of Wil and Katie, but the prose was a little too much for me. I love characters in a romance who communicate but it was honestly a little too much for me. It felt like it took some of the pining out of the build up. This was a book I enjoyed but likely won’t return to.

Although I did not read this, it does not mean I won't circle it back to eventually.it has an interesting, Evelyn hugo-esque premise.

Vibes: second chance (or first chance after you never took the second), figuring out what love actually is, the cult of celebrity

Heat Index: 6.5/10

Wil Greene and Katie Price grew up together--their moms were best friends, after all. Then, in their senior year of high school, they became best friends... and almost more. But Katie went off and become a super successful, internationally famous actress; and more recently, Wil has become known for a viral TikTok account where she kisses new people every week and posts the videos. Katie's seen plenty of them. And now that she's back in Wisconsin for a month, she may be ready to finish what she and Wil almost started all those years ago.

This is an overall lovely (though imperfect) heartfelt, funny, and sexy romance that sort of mashes second chance with friends to lovers, though like--were they ever friends? Or were they finally allowing themselves to be close to each other despite the burgeoning tension? It's hard to say.

Don't worry about the celebrity angle--it's not that sexuality doesn't matter here, but you don't have a lot of "but what will the public think?" angst. Not that that's inherently wrong for queer celebrity romances. But this book is focused on something else, and though I think it sometimes got wrapped up in the characters' heads, it still leaves me wanting to read more from the Mae Marvel team (yes, that's a pen name for two writers!).

Quick Takes:

--Okay, so I want to get something out of the way here, as the back copy mentions 'Tis the Damn Season: how Taylor Swiftian is this? I would say, overall... enough to where, even if you notice a thing here or there, you can overall ignore it. The biggest thing for me was Katie's cats, which she's quite well known for having. And really? That probably wouldn't have come off as Swiftian to me if not for the TtDS comp. So... while I get it, I do wonder if that comp will turn some people off. I hope it doesn't.

--There's actually a really interesting connection between Wil's TikTok videos and Katie. Like, I was initially hesitant about the TikTok aspect, but the way it loops back to this connection between the two of them (beyond Katie being turned on by them... which she is) is clever. I appreciate that degree of thought going into it, the subtle character work.

--What's not subtle is the way that Wil and Katie talk to each other! I was of two minds on this. On the one hand, I kind of like that right out the gate these two are upfront about being into each other. It dodges a lot of the issues I find with friends to lovers stories, because again... are they friends? When they admit that they at minimum want to fuck from the beginning?

On the other, I did feel like these two communicated a little too well. I've seen a lot of reviews celebrating this, and I get it! But there's good communication that feels real, and good communication that's a little too good to be true. This was the latter, though it isn't too big of an issue. It's just that--at some point, I was like "okay we know where we stand, let's get this tied up". It's not because I wanted the story to end... But a huge part of any potential central conflict never happened, because Wil and Katie were on the same wavelength from the jump. Again, for a lot of people that's going to be great. For me, it did slow the book down a bit.

--In the same sense, these two just like each other so much. They're so besotted. And you get that over and over in the narrative. How amazing Wil thinks Katie is, how remarkable Katie thinks Wil is. And I would say that most of the time, that's really cute and genuine and sweet and soft. But it did go a little overboard.

--There's a really compelling backstory on both sides, and both are so real (in often sad ways). And in general, this was something I liked about these characters. Even when the sequence of events isn't that realistic--Katie has done a LOT in her young years, even by super famous actress standards--the leads still feel real. It adds to their love story and the intimacy between them.

The Sex:

The sex in this novel isn't that explicit, though I appreciate the diversity of sex acts and the way in which it was all seen as sex. You get about four-ish scenes. But beyond that, there is SO much sexual tension in this book, and it's hot. I mean, a lot of this novel is about kissing, and the moments before kissing, and knowing you want to kiss someone... It's delicious.

Was this a flawless book? No. I think there are still some things that need to be smoothed out, more of an emphasis put on the things that really leans into the raw and honest moments Marvel writes. But it's a fun read, and if you want to read about two ultimately good women falling in love--this is it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was fabulous. As other reviewers have mentioned, it starts out slowly, and there's a lot of telling rather than showing, and our heroines are both The Most Impressive Ever - instantly charismatic, effortlessly gorgeous. Katie has two Oscar nominations, a hit TV show, a Tony Award (this was the point where I said out loud "Are you kidding me?") and is starting up her own production studio, as well as transitioning to directing; Wil has a mesmerizing and wildly popular TikTok channel as well as a keen legal mind despite never actually entering law school - she was published in the University of Michigan Law Journal as an undergraduate and a renowned attorney tells her, a decade later, that her paper was so "brilliant" he still has it "bookmarked" which, no comment (that's not what attorneys do with papers in law school journals) (it's just silly). There is a lot of name-dropping of celebrities (including cameos) which feels somewhat discomfiting given that the book deals a great deal with the downsides of fame, #MeToo, and abusive and toxic relationships conducted in the public eye - so many references end up not aging well, and it feels like it very specifically dates this book. What I'm trying to say is, it's not perfect.

I reminded myself - right around the Tony Award - that I read a ton of M/F romance where the male lead is a billionaire entrepreneur artist lumberjack MMA fighter and I roll with that just fine, and that was enough to get me over the initial hump of "How interested am I in watching two over-accomplished people find love?" (I will add that despite the levels of accomplishment/brilliance, both Wil and Katie felt fully-realized and fascinating as characters.) And the romance itself was such a delight - watching Katie and Wil find their way back to each other felt really joyful and true. By the end, I was completely won over.

This took me a very long time to read, I just could not get into the story. It was too slow for my taste

I liked the premise of this one, but the pacing felt pretty slow and I felt that the tension could have been a lot stronger. Wil and Katie haven't seen each other in thirteen years, and each think the other's been avoiding them, yet the first time they're face to face they immediately fall in with each other as if there's been no time gap and start talking about masturbating during a holiday party in a room full of their parents' friends.

I can see this one appealing to other readers, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you St Martins Press for this eARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I laughed, I cried, I blushed...It was such a refreshing book with a romance you're rooting for immediately. I sat there feeling anxious about the miscommunication trope I assumed would happen, and it was SO nice that actually, these characters knew how to communicate like adults. How novel! I also LOVE their moms, although Katie's mom was a bit confusing to me. Regardless, I'm excited for this to be officially published, I will be recommending it to everyone.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the ARC!

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is one of the sweetest books I’ve ever read! I loved Wil and Katie’s relationship, and the premise was unique and fun! I love a good sapphic romance and this one was really special.

Thank you again for the ARC!

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is a lovely slow-burn second chance romance. Wil lives in Green Bay, WI after the death of her dad. An insurance adjuster by day, at night she films intimate kisses with strangers. When her childhood friend (who has since become a huge celebrity) returns home for Christmas, Wil wonders if they will reconnect. Katie has never forgotten Wil and regrets falling out of touch. Sparks fly as they reconnect, but will their newfound relationship last past the holidays?

I really enjoyed this! Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous had a bit of a slow start and it took me a bit to feel invested. But once I was hooked on the characters, I couldn’t put it down. Wil is a very interesting character who has a lot of guilt and complicated feelings about her dad’s death. She struggles to find what her next steps in life should be. Meanwhile, Katie is grappling with the price of fame and an egregiously terrible ex. I loved the side characters, including their moms and the many cats. While this second chance romance is a slow-burn at first, when it heats up there are delightfully steamy scenes. I look forward to seeing what Mae Marvel writes next!

Thank you to Mae Marvel, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Instagram, Storygraph, Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.

i feel kinda meh about this one, it wasn’t bad but it also didn’t blow me away

the main character and the love interest and pretty well written and the attraction between them is obvious but i found that i could never fully get immersed in the story.

the plot wasn’t significantly interesting to me and i was honestly bored a lot of the time. the characters made up for that but i probably wouldn’t read this again.

I loved this sweet read! A former high school couple reunites after much time apart, and the spark is still alive. Time has passed and a lot has happened since they were together the first time, so will that get in their way of being together this time around? You have to read to find out!! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book for an honest review.

3.5. The cover and blurb sparked my interest for this book as I hadn’t heard of the author, later learning it was actually authors. I liked the storyline and thought the chemistry between the MCs was there, but felt as though there was something lacking that made this one a bit harder to keep my focus. The characters jumped a lot during conversations and it was sometimes hard to keep up with. Overall, I enjoyed the story though.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️From the publisher St. Martins Press: Katie Price is known in every living room in America. A small-town Wisconsin girl who became an A-list star, she rarely makes it home, but this year is different . . . Little does she know it will lead her straight into the piercing blue-eyed gaze of Wil Greene.

A lot has happened in the decade since those cold Wisconsin nights when Wil and Katie drove around in Wil’s Bronco senior year. Since then, Wil's law career hasn’t taken off. Her father passed away. And what started as a personal challenge—kissing a new person twice a week, every week—has made her a growing sensation, but her life is still stuck in phase one. Through the years, the two have never left each other's thoughts and desires, but now suddenly, they are back in each other’s lives. Their reconnection is instantaneous, and the passion is palpable...but can it stand the test of time?
******************
My review: I really really wanted to like this book. Great premise: Hollywood star comes home, LGBTQ+ themes, pet friendly characters, finding yourself....but it was boring. Wil and Katie reunited perfectly and talked so rationally about everything that it seemed unrealistic to me. I found myself skimming certain parts. And it took too long to get to the REASON why Katie was so damaged and MIA. Perhaps it could have been shorter, there was a lot of extra inner thinking. I prefer a rom com with more dialogue and banter and humor. This book didn't have that and it dragged for me. It was spicy enough though ;).

⭐️⭐️1.5 rounded to 2 because I think some readers would like it a lot. Wonderful representation. Also the heavy emphasis on social media is interesting...wish there was a bit more of that.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review.

I had a lot of high hopes for this one, but it was really a cut and dry sapphic romance. I'm relieved to have the ability to read standard sapphic rom coms, and I absolutely still enjoyed my time reading this. I'll happily recommend this to others, as it was a fun and romantic story. But this is more a book I'd want to read during a flight than one I want to rave about.
I am, however, excited to see what comes from Mae Marvel after this one. I think she can only go up from here, and I have a lot of faith in her writing something absolutely spectacular.

An absolutely wonderful, steamy and heartfelt sapphic novel. As a queer individual I am constantly on the hunt for good romance novels and general representation in all genres, and yes Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous delivered! Childhood friends to nothing to something more, set in small Midwestern town, filled with nostalgia and self discovery. I had such a blast reading this story (spent lots of time blushing and kicking my feet as well), I cannot wait to own a physical copy and add it to my shelves.

As a Midwestern girl myself I was immediately drawn to this novel and part of why I enjoyed it so much was seeing references to my very own home state. I felt extremely drawn to both Katie and Wil's struggles in their own rights. I highly recommend this novel to my queer female individuals. Both characters felt extremely real and three dimensional, and their banter was unmatched.

If you are a huge Casey McQuiston lover (just like me) I promise you will fall in love with this novel. Another unapologetically smutty and queer novel to treat yourself to this summer, do not miss out!

This book was a sweet and cute story of two friends finding their way back to one another and embracing their love despite any challenges they face. I think the author did a good job at portraying how being in the public eye can complicate many parts of life, but I also loved the Midwest influences the book had too. Quick and easy romance to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.