These Crush novels are becoming my new favorite guilty pleasure, because this book was so delicious and I couldn’t help but enjoy it!

I will admit I started reading this because of how nerdy a Hypothesis for true love sounded and I am so glad I did! The First Kiss Hypothesis is a novel for excited hearts, those dreaming of love, and those who think that childhood best friends turned lover stories are some of the cutest.

This novel is not without its flaws some of the initial reasoning that Eli had for trying to disprove Nora’s theory was a little sketchy, but in the end it was good intentioned.

The moments they had together were filled with love and pie and while it made me hungry it also made me very happy. However the person who made me happiest was Eli’s brother who has a mental illness. Eli’s brother is adorable and honest and I couldn’t help but love him.

I also loved all the matchmakers in this novel from a women who is a master pie baker to Eli’s teammate in his lacrosse team it was a huge love fest of Cupid’s that put a smile on my face.

The First Kiss Hypothesis is filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. However, it is a rollercoaster that you may never want to get off of.

Why do I continue to torture myself with books with the most frustrating romantic antics? Because they are so passionate and annoyingly good. When it comes to The First Kiss Hypothesis, I have never wanted two characters to kiss so bad. In a nutshell, this book contained several young adult tropes that I love, and I am so glad I kept turning the page to the very end.

The First Kiss Hypothesis drove me nuts in the best possible ways. Nora, the main character, is so focused on proving a hypothesis that originates from her grandparents’ relationship, where their first “earth-moving” kiss equaled soulmates. Nora wants that type of love and fails to see that relationships are more than just one great kiss. And I liked that Eli, through science and tricky persuasion, challenges Nora’s expectations and her theories.

Nora and Eli are neighbors and best friends. They are opposites in many way, but they have the best things in common (like their love for pie). They make each other laugh and they’re always helping each other when it comes to facing life’s difficult challenges and even small milestones, like getting your driver’s licence. From the beginning, these two characters have a burning chemistry between them, and the tension between these two characters made me so flustered.

And one of the best aspects about this book is that pie always seems to be the best answer and cure for a bad day. So if you’re in the mood to read a fun, sweet, but infuriating romantic book, definitely give The First Kiss Hypothesis a try. This book will have you craving pie and rooting for the boy next door to get a second chance to woo his best friend.

Such a cute story!

Nora and Eli were absolutely adorable together--best friends to lovers in the best of possible ways, with just a tiny little detour (or, okay, a whole book's worth) thanks to Nora's love of science and her more-than-a-little-questionable "hypothesis." (Still, I got where she was coming from, and fortunately, like the excellent scientist she was, she knew when it was finally time to let that particular belief go.)

So...best friends to lovers, an adorable kitten, a little brother who is wise beyond his years, and pie, pie, and more pie (Pie Fixes Everything) plus quite a few LOL moments (Eli's descriptions of Nora's driving attempts--OMG, too funny) makes The First Kiss Hypothesis a really fun YA read. This was my first book from Ms. Mandelski, but it definitely won't be my last!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

What a fun, fun book! The characters were likeable and felt realistic. The alternating narrations keps it flowing and kept the reader engaged. The premise was just plain fun to watch dissolve as the story progressed. Great book that I think will be enjoyed by a wide audience.

Such a cute read! I really enjoyed the characters in this one, and loved seeing them fall in-love!

I think this is one of my favorite Entangled Teen Crush books yet! I love the friends-to-lovers trope and this one was absolutely adorable.

I felt so bad for Eli! He was so sweet and obviously so perfect for Nora. I did like Nora, though she was a bit stubborn at times. Those two had such great chemistry and you couldn't help but root for them. The romance was cute and light and exactly what I needed at the time.

The First Kiss Hypothesis was such a fun, sweet, and swoony read. I would definitely recommend it to young adult romance lovers out there.

Nora is a teen scientist who has a theory that when you first kiss the person who will be the love of your life you'll know because your reaction will be so strong, it'll be like an earthquake. She's developed this hypothesis based on stories told by her Gran Gigi, and is out to kiss as many frogs as necessary to find her prince! She even runs a kissing booth at school events to both raise money for good causes and to give her more opportunities to kiss more of her peers! However, she still can't get her neighbour and best friend, Eli, out of her head and heart, even though he failed the test when he was her first kiss back when they were thirteen. Now they're eighteen, plans for college, careers and the future loom large for both of them. They'd planned to go to State together, then Eli shockingly discovers Nora has secretly also applied to Elory without telling him or her Mum. He decides to up his game and try to win her heart but lacrosse, injuries, driving and pie will all have important roles to play before this engaging teen crush can reach its HEA!

This is a delightful teen romance with all the angst and turmoil associated with those times! Told from alternating points of view of Eli and Nora, their anxieties, pressures and emotional upheavals are shared in a manner which makes it easy to empathise with them both - and shows how sometimes friends and family see emotional connections more clearly than the couple concerned! It is an engaging story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It has a great mix of humour, mischief, family drama all shared with a healthy dose of love. Ari is a brilliant secondary character, he's Eli's younger brother who says what he thinks and is instrumental in bringing folks to their senses at times - especially if it involves Marie, Sponge Bob or pie!

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

Nora and Eli have been friends and neighbors since they were kids. Because of Nora's hypothesis that a first kiss determines if that person is "the one" and their first kiss years ago was a bust, she has crossed Eli off her list. He loves her and she loves him but her hypothesis keeps her from giving into her feelings.

This is a fun cute read. It helps that Eli is hot and he absolutely loves everything about Nora. There are times you want to shake some sense into Nora and make her see what a great guy Eli is. This frustration pushes the story forward and makes you turn the page. It is a sweet romance that has you rooting for both of them.

I look forward to future books from Christina Mandelski. She has a way of writing romance that is realistic yet fun. Can't wait to read more!

The First Kiss Hypothesis is a perfect cute & fluffy. It has a interesting, sporty & sweet hero and a fun, intelligent, likable heroine.
This is the first novel I read by Madelski, I really enjoyed her writing style and her wit. While she doesn't dwell too much on issues, she does dig deep enough to give it some weight. It's not just fluff, there is a wee bit more to this.
The story line is swoony, sweet and fun. I mean the outcome is kinda clear. But the ride there is thoroughly enjoyable.
The past part however for me was the character building. I loved the dual POV. I like Nora. Though until about halfway or so, I couldn't relate to her stupid outlandish theory. But with time, I could see her fears, and not only got where she was coming from I related to her. My heart broke for her...
Eli? Well I simply adore him. He is just what I would want in a book boy friend (if we talking 17yr olds lol) Hot, a sporty, sweet, insightful (most of the time, when he isn't clueless like every male out there) passionate and funny. I loved his POV. Totally fangirling here. He had me from the get-go. And while there were moments, where I thought, why doesn't he bloody do something, I am a fan. I am swooning.
Now having done my fangirling act, let's take a quick look why this isn't a 5Star book for me:
I like that it is in some ways unique- but let's face it it's your classic cute & fluffy mostly. Very very enjoyable, but no-one is re-inventing the wheel here.
Though I did like the storyline, the last couple of chapters were just too convenient. We had this huge build up and then...Boom! Everything falls into place. Done. Well actually there is the epilogue which is why this is wasn't 3.5Stars. Because let's face it, it is awesome and a great finish.

A perfect read for an autumn afternoon, when you feel like something cute & fluffy. It will make you laugh, disappeared and yearn. I don't think I was ever so desperately waiting for a kiss, like ever.

Nora has a very scientific theory based on evidence that shows a first kiss reaction is needed to find true love. And she has had a lot of first kisses to try and find that special someone, but with no luck. Eli thinks Nora's theory is ridiculous, but as her best friend he tries to support her. But when it seems like his carefully planned world is in danger, Eli is ready to shake up Nora's "hypothesis".

I am a sucker for best friends turned love interests and thought the idea behind this book sounded really cute. I mean seriously, a good first can mean a lot... This was a really enjoyable teen romance with the relationship and self discovery taking the main focus in the story. I liked the introspection that the characters went through and the growth as people they made. This was not a plot driven story, but a character driven book which I do enjoy when the characters are quirky and interesting, which Christina was able to create.

Nora was a scientist down to her romance looking soul. She was using scientific theory and hypothesis testing to try and determine what made chemistry and long lasting love- she is the first person I have read about that uses science for true love. Basically, she was a little crazy, but in a smart endearing way.​ I wanted to throw her theory Her family dynamic was a big component as to how Nora came to be this way, and I liked that Eli and Gigi had a relationship also (he was able to understand where the hypothesis came from). I will admit I found her kissing booth idea equally cringe-worthy yet an ingenious idea to test her science.

​Eli ​was anything but the bumbling, waiting in the shadows nerdy best friend that you typically see in books and 80's movie. Instead, he was this incredibly attractive, popular, insightful and sought after boy who was content to keep his relationship with Nora the same- that is until he fears that she is slipping away, and then the big guns come out. He was adorable with his autistic brother as well as keeping his cool in the sad situations with Gigi (and his driver lessons were probably my favorite part of the book!) His problem solving skills were...interesting- "All I have to do is make her question everything she believes, get her to fall for me, denounce her dumbass first kiss theory, and now, make sure she doesn't kill us both in a car accident. Sure. No problem." (hehe).

​This was a really fun read, with some sweet moments and some hysterical parts to help keep me invested- there was both heart and humor which is a must in a romance for me. This is my first book by Christina but I will keep my eyes out for more.

I received this title for reviewing purposes.:

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book from netgalley, Entangled Teen, and Chapter by Chapter blog tours!

I absolutely adored this book! It's an easy read and the romance in it is perfect with a touch of angst about three quarters of the way through. Although I must admit, that Nora had me worried when she talked about the first kiss... considering I've had one the way she described and he and I are not together. Makes you wonder if there can be more than one person out there for you!

I really enjoyed exploring Eli's perspective of the storyline. Usually I get bored when a story is written in a guy's point of view who's into sports mainly because I usually can't connect with the character.

Nora brought out the scientist side of me again and I found that we're actually pretty similar. It was a little strange that she set up a kissing booth simply because that's how her grandparents met. I mean, a first kiss shouldn't be exactly the same way for everyone.

I adored the dual perspective of this one. It fleshed out the plotline more and didn't give me anxiety on whether they both shared the same feelings or if Eli meant what he said when they fought.

I'd love to get a sequel to this one! Maybe exploring the storyline once Eli moves to Atlanta?

3 1/2 stars

The First Kiss Hypothesis is an enjoyable young adult story about Nora Reid, who, after listening to her grandmother's story about how she fell in love, has decided that the first kiss is how one determines a soulmate. Her first kiss with Eli was less than stellar so even though she's always crushed on him; he's out.

For the most part, The First Kiss Hypothesis is a quick enjoyable read. Although it does delve into some heavy subjects like divorce, Alzheimer's, and autism, the touch is light.

Nora and Eli are mostly likable characters. However, it's their flaws that kept me from giving this book a higher rating. Nora's stubborn blinders-fully-on approach grew a bit tiresome. Scientists must always be open to having their hypotheses challenged. Nora just steadfastly clung to hers, unreasonably it seemed to me.

While I liked Eli in Nora's narrated sections and at the beginning of the novel in his own, I grew to dislike him slightly. My recurring thought was: I know this violence is just in his mind, but he has some anger management issues. I realize that the toughness depicted in his thoughts is probably the author's way of expressing Eli's maleness, but ugh. I'm pretty sure that his being an athlete with stinky gear probably took care of that.

That said, this is a cute, quick read.

Some YA readers might have issues with imagined sexual fantasies (they have no depth, but are unusual in this type of read).

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled: Crush for the opportunity to read and review The First Kiss Hypothesis by Christina Mandelski! Nora has a sound scientific hypothesis that she created based on her loving grandparents, their wonderful marriage and a kissing booth where they first met and kissed for the first time. Nora has a huge crush on Eli and he’s also her best friend and neighbor. She tried testing her hypothesis once on Eli but he had just taken a big gulp of soda, so it didn’t turn out well. Now she’s even more determined to prove her first kiss theory. The ups and downs of the relationship between Nora and Eli are funny, frustrating and everything in between. The story is fun, cute and romantic with entertaining secondary characters and main characters that are impossible not to root for. 5 star worthy!
I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary consideration!

I love the friends-to-more trope. A romantic relationship built on friendship just seems so much more stable than one built on lust. Plus, there's that whole 'meant to be' aspect to it, with everyone around knowing that two people will end up together before they do. The First Kiss Hypothesis had all this, but it also did something different. Usually, this trope involves either neither character realising they like the other, or one character pining over the other while watching them go for other people until realising they liked their friend all along. While they didn't know the extent of their feelings towards each other, both Eli and Nora admitted right from the start their attraction to each other, their crushes.

Which, as you can imagine, made this book super frustrating. In a good way. There was so much tension and back and forth and simply sweet moments between them, and I wanted to smash their heads together. I think a lot of characters in the book felt the same way. I wanted to grab Nora by the shoulders and shake her while telling her to give up on the hypothesis. I loved Eli’s counter-hypothesis, even if it was grabbing at straws. I love science, too, but Nora was way too attached to her idea, and there were flaws in her methodology. (Like basing the whole thing on one anecdote…)

While they weren’t perfect people, I actually really loved the adults in this. Ok, so Nora’s dad was clearly not the best, but her mom was trying to be a good mom while still being human. Eli’s dad was very much a dad. Nora’s grandmother? She was clearly a very sweet and important woman to both Eli and Nora, and her circumstances were a bit heartbreaking. Then there were the myriad of coaches and teachers and waitresses and so on that popped into the story to not only support the romances, but also support Nora and Eli with their futures.

Special mention goes to Ari (full name Aristotle??? Which is definitely fitting) who I adored. It was nice to see that he wasn’t portrayed as some sort of freak or treated any differently.

At around 250 pages, this was a quick read. I finished it in a day, partly due to length and partly due to being so eager to see Nora and Eli work things out. It was sweet and wonderfully frustrating and had touches of realness that grounded it. If the friends-to-more trope is your thing, then add this to your TBR!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
Nora's grandparents met and shared an earth-shattering kiss, and they spent the next 40+ years living happily ever after. As the child of divorce, Nora is holding onto her dementia-addled grandmother's inspiring story of love, wanting a lifetime of what her grandparents had, never what her parents did/have with other people. This has skewed Nora, missing what is being offered by her next door neighbor best friend, even if she's always had a crush on the boy.

At age thirteen, Nora and Eli shared a gross kiss, where no sparks flew, and she's held it against him ever since. The scientist-in-the-making doesn't realize sexual chemistry and romantic connection aren't scientific experiments. There's also the fact that at thirteen, you can't expect sparks to fly when your hormones have just started to do their business in the developing body.

Eli has always had a crush on Nora, but she won't give him a chance after that horrendous kiss where he just pounded a Coke and needed to burp. The poor guy spends the entirety of the novel chasing after Nora, trying to get her to see the truth.

To be honest, Nora's quest for kisses becomes a bit tedious and frustrating, for Eli but also the reader. The character development is where this novel shined. The characters speak and act as their age group, they have fears and worries that match their ages as well. Nora and Eli are both concerned with Nora's grandmother, with leaving/staying behind with their families when it comes to college. Where to go to college and what to study...

Nora and her driver's license: I feel as if the author plucked that out of my head. I struggled with anxiety, perfectly able to drive, and never got my license. I'm 39, and the thought of driving gives me a visceral reaction, so I connected with Nora's character on this front. Eli stating he'd drive Nora around for the rest of her life had me laughing out loud for real.

Recommended to adults and young adults alike, something for everyone to connect with emotionally.

Young Adult age-range: 13+ due to language. Kissing.

A cute read.. I never thought Science and Pies will go a long way!

I just really loved this book. I loved Eli and Nora. I could tell from the beginning that Eli was perfect for Nora if she just gave him a chance. Nora is convinced that she will find the love of her life just like her grandmother did. One kiss and that spark will show he is the one for her. Unfortunately she has kissed pretty much every guy in town and hasn’t found it. Her best friend Eli is convinced he can prove to Nora he is the one for her even though their first kiss was kind of a disaster. I loved Eli. He really was so sweet up until a certain part. I loved that he said he wasn’t going to kiss Nora again until she realized she was in love with him. That was just the cutest thing ever and it really set him apart in my eye from many heroes in romance. I get why Nora was so stuck in her ways. Her life was kind of unpredictable with her grandmother’s memory loss, her driving status and the fact that she didn’t think she could afford her dream school. I think the kiss experiment really gave Nora something to focus on other than her mom, grandmother and her crush on Eli. I loved the secondary characters in this one too, like Eli’s brother and his friends even Nora’s grandmother and the pie. Thank goodness I don’t live in a small town because all the pie talk made me go out to the store and buy one at like 11:30 at night. This is the perfect book to read with a slice of pie. I would definitely recommend this one.

4+ stars

I liked the premise of this book even if Nora's hypothesis needs a little work. So Nora and Eli kissed in eighth grade and it was bad...bad timing and just plain bad. So enter the hypothesis that if the first kiss doesn't cause an immediate and intense reaction - then he's not the one.

So Nora goes on to kiss a lot of boys and Eli goes on to hook up with a lot of girls. But it's easy to see that these BFF's are meant for each other. But just as one falls - the other gets their feelings hurt and turns into a jacka**!! It will take a lot of pie and apologies to get these two on the same page.

I enjoyed the storyline and it's a refreshing take on young love. It will remind you of your first crush whether it turned out to be THE one or not.

I submitted a request to the publisher to read and voluntarily review an advance copy of this book via Net Galley.

This book is really cute. That pretty much sums it up. I could almost leave my whole review at that. Oh, and it made me want pie. Basically, the book is exactly what it claims to be—nothing more, nothing less—which, if I’m being honest, was a teensy bit disappointing to me (don’t get me wrong, I still liked it!). I guess maybe I’m a little tired of this formula—I’d given this type of book a good long rest in my reading and thought I could come back to it fresh, but it still didn’t feel particularly fresh to me.

BUT it gave me all the things I’ve come to expect from this type of book—a nice family dynamic (including a super cute little brother whose autistic and a grandma with Alzheimers), a friends to lovers angsty romance, a highly intelligent female MC, a sporty (and not quite as intelligent) male MC. Surprisingly, I actually connected to Eli much more strongly than I did Nora. His chapters made me feel more.

Unfortunately, the story also came with the sort of frustrating climax that I’ve come to expect with this type of book—it’s the type of climax where you sort of feel like the author said, “Shoot, they can’t get together yet. But I don’t want anything to really go wrong between them, so I’ll have them get in a really big fight (for basically no real reason except that they need conflict at this point of the book) and that will keep them apart for a bit longer.” This is where the disappointment came in. (I actually thought something completely different was going to happen. If you're curious about what that was, you can view the spoiler of what didn't happen on my blog). One other minor issue that I had with the book was that Nora supposedly is super analytical and comes up with her theory based on science, but she ignores the very basic scientific principle that you can’t base a solid theory off of the results of one case (her grandparents). For some reason, this really bugged me.

Anyway, the book is cute. And for teens who like this sort of angsty romance with a low dose of actual conflict, it’s probably perfect. I give it 3/5 Stars.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

Love Eli. Poor dude was friend zoned due to a silly hypothesis and kiss in like 7th or 8th grade.. he was a sweet kind guy just trying to find himself and resigned to feel like he was not much. I think this was because he felt that is how his parents saw him. He was smart but didn’t really apply himself. He was hopeless in love with his next door neighbor. A girl he respects and trusts. A girl he believed in and wanted by his side no matter what.

Nora though friend zoned him due to a story from her grandma and her parents acrimonious divorce. Nora believes in what she calls her first kiss hypothesis. She believes that one kiss will be the telltale sign to the one you are meant to be with. this hasn’t exactly given her a warm and fuzzy reputation. Only one person knows of her hypothesis and it kills him inside. Nora even hurts him because of this silly hypothesis and in turn he lashes out at her.

Nora is a smart but dumb cookie. She is book smart but not people smart. She is inflexible in her beliefs and hides things from others. The secret she kept was the first to hurt Eli but also get him to go on a mission to get Nora to see her hypothesis was wrong and give him another chance. Nora though was stubborn even when her feelings were confusing her. She stuck to her guns and almost loses her best friend in the process.

The story is fun and light. Eli and his brother will have you from the beginning. They are both just to adorable. Eli is so kind and just adorable. He has so much going on that no one really sees. His POV you will love. Nora takes time to grow on you. She is very analytical and stubborn. She plays with Eli’s emotions a little to much and when he lashes out she reacts and finally shows him emotion. Nora needed to grow up and see what she had in front of her. Eli was the best friend and guy for her and she came close to letting this go due to her stubbornness.

A truly fun light hearted sweet romance with a great guy and a girl who needed to grow and admit she was wrong. A story with fun times, sweet moments and a lot of introspection on both characters but especially Eli as he tries to get Nora to be more than a friend and at the same time figure out his life.