DNF I really wanted to finish this book! As i continued reading. It just lacked interest. I couldn’t feel with the characters. It was just dull. I might give this another chance in the future. Just wasn’t for me at the moment.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange of an honest review!

I loved the description of this book. I was really excited to read it and was on cloud nine when I got approved.

Sadly, the book disappointed. Let me first say that I did not finish reading this. I tried to, but could not. I don't know if it's just me or if the book really does drag too much. It could easily have been a 100 pages shorter. I just felt really bored while reading it, and decided it was best for me to stop reading this and go read something that interests me more.

What was great about this book was the representation of Jewish, bisexual, and lesbian characters. I loved that there is a book where the LGBTQ+ characters are not the usual White, Christian, Americans. That was good, and this book had so much more potential with these characters, especially Lilah. If the execution was better, this could have been amazing.

4.5/5 Stars
The best one-sentence summary I have for this book is that it is a 21st Century Sapphic Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Rom-Com. Featuring characters readers love to love and characters readers love to hate, readers also experience their favorite tropes like only one bed, miscommunication, and locked in a room. This book also includes poly, trans, and non-binary representation, though brief or minor.
Noa is a proud Jewish lesbian (and this book actually says “lesbian” which is important and one star is for that alone) and Lilah is a shy Jewish bisexual. They make a fantastic pair to read about. The tension throughout all of the stages and changes of their relationship was solid. I really enjoyed seeing how their religious beliefs and traditions carried on through their relationship. It was not stereotypical, and it was a refreshing natural take on Jewish culture, practicing and non.
The mystery element to this book had me on edge. The great ground work in the initial revelation to the reader of the stalker carried on with great build up to high tension. I had my suspicions, but the reader doesn’t get enough clues until the story wants the audience to know. It was handled perfectly, in my opinion.
This is more than just a love story. It is an adult coming of age sprinkled with mystery and lots of special effects makeup. This book will be loved by readers into cheesy horror films and costuming and special effects. Alexander really delivered on details and brings the set right into the lap of the reader.
The only reason this is half a star shy of a five star read is because this isn’t one I’d immediately gravitate to wanting to pick up again and again, though that’s due to personal taste. I will absolutely be recommending this book before and when it comes out.

1.5 stars rounded up.
Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy this book and give it one star for the concept / idea and another for the diversity and LGBT focus. I couldn’t get into the book or the characters and found myself skim reading through the book after the first 30% of the story and eventually decided to not finish the book at about 50% through.

What I liked:
- the storyline and concept of the story line. Love a good Hollywood movie set story - such a different life than mine so it’s fun to escape to.
- The diversity in the characters
- I’ve been looking forward to reading about more lesbian and/ or bisexual characters and was excited for a trans character too!

What I didn’t like:
- I struggled to connect with the characters. There’s something about them that I’m finding just lacks some depth or something in the writing 😕.
- Also found the descriptive scenes in between talking long and drawn out
- Overall the book was a little slow building and could have used some tightening / editing in my opinion.
- Was a little too slow burn even though I usually like slow burn.

Thank you so much NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me an eARC of this book!!

First of all, I want to say that this is not an attack to the author in any way. This is my honest and personal opinion.

I hate to say it but I did not finish it. I tried but I couldn’t. It bored me too much, and I realized life is too short to read books you don’t like. It felt like a chore, something I had to finish, instead of something I liked to do.

It had potential, reading the sinopsis the story sounds great. But the pacing is too slow, nothing happens, it’s just the main characters overthinking everything and jumping to conclusions all the time. I’ve read 70% of it and I don’t remember anything important that happened.

Additionally, the characters felt flat. They didn’t have a distinct personality and I felt no connection between them. I couldn’t understand why they liked each other, they just seemed to instantly have a crush on each other for no reason. What didn’t sit right with me is why Noa liked Lilah so much before knowing her. She wasn’t a “famous” actress, so why was she so obsessed with her to have her as a lock screen? And if she was actually that famous, there’s no way the production would hire a young woman with no experience to do the special effects make up. I could tell the author has worked in the industry, and, as a film major, I really appreciate the details, but the relationship made 0 sense. I didn’t care about any of the characters.

I started reading with no expectations and I still ended up disappointed. I feel like the author thought of this book like a movie, no it would have made more sense as a movie, but as a book it lacks something.

If you are wondering wether or not to read this book just ask yourself one question: do you want an elaborate story with complex characters or do you prefer a simple romance? Maybe you’re in the mood for one thing or maybe you’re in the mood for the other, but don’t expect much of this book, because, if you do, it will disappoint you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warning: stalking

Pros: Overall, I Kissed a Girl is a light and fluffy read with a jewish bisexual main character and a jewish lesbian main character! I really enjoyed Lilah's character, her coming out, and struggling with her identity. Lilah was very relatable especially as she learns that bisexuality is valid.

Cons: The book was a little too long if it was 300 pages instead of 400 I think it would have held my interest more. The story was underwhelming in my opinion. I wish the romance portion would have picked up more...I did not feel the chemistry between our two main characters.

I would recommend I Kissed a Girl for light hearted fluffy rom-com.

I Kissed A Girl follows an up and coming film scream queen and her newfound makeup artist. Lilah is trying to break out of the mold she's been continuously cast in while Noa is just trying to get her foot in door so she can do special effects. Spending so much time together has both girls catching some feelings.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I thought the premise was super cute and different. However, it read more as a young adult book than new adult which isn't necessarily a problem, it just wasn't what I was expecting. The two main characters were pretty immature in their thought processes and some of their actions. I really didn't like how Lilah was not empathetic about Noa potentially losing her job, and not being able to step on the breaks for just a couple of weeks. I did like the drama happening on set and the mystery of the online stalker. I also loved Tanner and his little fur baby. The description of things happening on set and the filming process was super cool and interesting to hear about. For me, this book was a 3.5/5.

I received a digital copy of this book free from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and SourceBooks Casanova for my advanced copy of I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander.

The premise of the book really appealed to me, the idea of learning about your true self and breaking free of the shackles of expectation when it comes to former beauty queen turned B-movie actress Lilah Silver. Noa has lived as herself for sometime and has taken her own risks by not pursuing education in favour of learning hands on instead as a make up artist/special effects creator... There's also the fact that both main characters are Jewish and I liked the way their religion comes into play in their everyday life.

Lilah is a character who comes to life from within the pages of the book, she feels very real and relatable as she navigates her persona versus her reality. She knows she's bisexual but hasn't truly experienced what that means and is aware that appearance is everything within the movie industry even if its battling unrealistically designed dinosaurs!

Noa, however reminds me too much of women I have been initially attracted too myself. She comes across at first as very non-judgemental and accepting of Lilah but that swiftly disappears as Noa tries to justify why she shouldn't pursue a relationship with Lilah and her reasoning is all very superficial and turns her from this appealing, fun and non-judgemental to someone who is unworthy of Lilah's very sweet and kind nature.

There doesn't feel to be any real chemistry between the two that draws you in. Noa makes snap decisions and objectives Lilah and I feel doesn't truly acknowledge that being open about her sexuality isn't easy for Lilah as it's new to her. I wanted to see a real, deep connection between the two - something definitive that makes you believe that they're destined for true happiness and it's not there.

There is a sub-plot that focuses heavily on Lilah and is both historic as well as present and it's that plot within the book that held my attention and was one that was very well done with excellent characters coming out from the shadows and secondary characters who give it depth at first. This too however kind of fizzled out into something farcical which at times had me rolling my eyes in despair.

I wanted something that held my focus from beginning to end but this wasn't it. Lilah was the saving grace of the book, which felt like it dragged on and could have easily been shorter than it was, some of the secondary characters add nothing to either plot in the story and my hopes for what could have been a brilliant LGBTQ represented book were lost early on.

It's HEA, but I cannot fathom why as Noa and Lilah just don't make sense in the end. I think in reality they would have been a brief flirtation before going on with their own lives...

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the advance copy of this book!

3.5 stars.

Lilah is a b-list actress with dreams of making it to the a-list. Noa is a college student looking to make it big in the special effects industry, who may or may not have a big crush on Lilah. When the two of them end up working on the same film, Noa can't believe her luck and immediately puts her foot in her mouth upon being introduced to Lilah. The two of them overcome the awkwardness and become close during filming, but will it turn into something more than friends? Not if an unhinged super fan of Lilah's has anything to say about it.

I struggled to get into this one, I won't lie. It's not a bad story, at all, but I found myself much more interested in the side character Chrissy than I was either of the main characters. It was also a very long book, and I kept having to talk myself into continuing to read.

The story is a cute idea, the characters are likeable enough, and overall this was an okay read.

I really loved it!!!

I'm finally reviewing this after my pretty long hiatus from reviewing (I have 24 books I need to review, TWENTY FOUR) and this is going to be a review filled week if everything goes to plan. Review after review after review coming your way.

SO, after I finished the mindf*ck that was The Love Song Of Ivy K Harlowe, I needed a good, normal, predictable, angsty yet fluffy rom-com, and THIS F*CKING DELIVERED ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY WANTS.

I loved our MCs, most of the time, at least; I didn't like how judgemental Noa was of the romance genre in general, and she never really completely apologised, or even acknowledged out loud to Lila that maybe she was being too judgemental, but because I ended up really enjoying this, I decided to let it go. Also, both of them were Jewish, which is a rep I haven't actually read a lot of, so that was amazing to read about!

I really loved Chrissy's friendship with Noa, and Lilah's complete friend group; they were such good friends and such a great support, to both of them, and I just loved it! There was a whole lot of rep in this, bisexuality, trans, lesbian, polyamory, gay (that last scene was so cute!), and others I might not remember, and I loved this diversity!

I also loved the way this book got into the whole movie making industry, especially horror, which is not a genre a particularly enjoy or watch (mainly because my parents don't really watch it so then I just haven't) and I loved all the behind the scenes we got, both on the acting as well as the makeup artists, stunt artists, and other different people like the on site scientist (God, I feel sorry for that guy).

The one thing I didn't completely love was the way we were like building up to this something with the guy who was giving her the creeps, and then nothing happened on that front, and then we were having this nice rom-com when suddenly there were snakes and murderous creepy stalkers (I don't really know about murderous, but I think we can agree that that was attempted murder, or rather manslaughter). But I still didn't hate it a lot, so I didn't change my rating for any of it.

I just loved the fluff to angst ratio in this, it was perfectly balanced, but tooth rotting fluff interspersed between hardcore angst, denial, and feelings. I will definitely be checking out more books in the future from Jennet Alexander.

On the whole, an amazing rom-com, though with slightly out of this world ending that kinda reminds me of of the bollywood movies from the 80s and 90s (because those are the only ones I've really watched, and then also only some of them), like Angoor. I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys f/f rom-coms, loads of lgbtq rep, the whole celebrity romance thing, insight into the film industry and the art of makeup, and amazing fluff to angst ratio.

3.75 star round up!

This was a super sweet sapphic romance about an up-and-coming actress struggling to come out and a new make-up artist struggling not to let her fangirl out.

Lilah and Noa’s characters were both lovable and realistic. Both characters faced their own struggles and issues and resolved them in a very realistic and grown-up way.

The author really does know how to drag you in with the emotions, I felt like I truly understood the characters and what they were feeling, from hesitancy, regret, paranoia, and fear it was all so well written!!

The representation in the book was great, we saw all different kinds of relationships and the main characters are Jewish so there was a bit of cultural diversity as well. The writing was also very nice and slipped in all the diversity flawlessly.

Overall a nice and sweet read!


Review will be going live on Instagram in the next few days!! (before the end of June)

Easy, fast-paced romantic comedy that fits perfectly into the genre. Light story you’ll find delightful from beginning to the last word.

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52914857-i-kissed-a-girl
Blog Post:https://mgthacker22.wixsite.com/librarymouse/post/i-kissed-a-girl

I was given a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m gonna start by saying I’m a big sucker for Hollywood romance stories, especially ones with amazing representation-trans, lesbian, and polyamory to name a few- like this one. But, honestly, this was kind of underwhelming to me and I found myself wishing the book was about Chrissy rather than Noa and Lilah.

I didn’t find either main character special. They weren’t unlikable, they just didn’t really have any character building and their personalities weren’t really built up enough outside of their relationship. I couldn’t really make myself care about them together, because I didn’t care about either of them as people.

I felt like the stalker subplot should’ve been a way bigger part of the book if it was gonna be the catalyst it was made into at the end. I feel like a lot more could've been done with it. The whole book felt somehow both rushed, and like it kept dragging on.

I also feel like in a book the characters either need to have attraction build slowly, or get together faster than what happened in this book. Noa already has a celebrity crush on Lilah before the story even starts and Lilah instantly is attracted to her, so it feels like it just takes too long for this story to get going. I’m also just not a huge fan of fan-becomes-significant-other type stories a lot of times no matter what you do, the romance feels one sided and the power-dynamic between the two never quite sits right with me.

Overall, I would recommend reading this if you have some spare time, but it’s not on my must read list, and it won’t become a staple on my shelf.

We love wlw romcoms!

I kissed a girl is the story of a horror film actress and a special effects make up artist falling for each other. We follow Noa and Lilah through the ups and downs of their new relationship. Noa is trying to break onto the scene in Hollywood and risks her job to pursue Lilah. Lilah is wanting to be more than just the final girl, a pretty face and nothing more. We see her struggle with her insecurities and work through the process of coming out to those around her. I Kissed A Girl is packed with cute little scenes between our MCs and some quirky roommates. To top it all off we have a one bed trope moment. Overall this story is pretty light and fluffy and I enjoyed it.

This book was extremely cute the entire time while reading it and with ever page I fell more in love with both Lilah and Noa. The central romance was so genuinely heartwarming I could have read about these characters for another 300 pages. The quick paced nature of the book made it a perfect story to consume all in one day which made the reading experience so much more enjoyable. The representation of saphir characters and relationships was also well done in my opinion as a sapphic women and accurately described the experiences of a wlw relationship without falling into too many cliches. The themes of Hollywood and fame was such a unique spin that made this novel both unique and left me as a reader with a breathe of fresh air. A standout novel!

Sweet sapphic romance. Easy and fast paced read! Not life changing, but an enjoyable read for anyone who loves romcoms.

I first want to thank Net Galley for allowing me to read an ARC of I Kissed a Girl. This book was okay, it isn’t my normal go to but I wanted to branch out. It’s cute from what I read (about 35%) but honestly I wasn’t able to finish it. I tried but every time I reached for it I couldn’t finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an entertaining and charming sapphic romance book filled with misunderstandings, drama, the one bed trope, and a stalker. It was a really good read with great representation and an enjoyable storyline.

While it was a bit long, I thought it was well written and the characters likable. I also enjoyed the Hollywood and filmmaking aspect of this book.

The relationship between Lilah and Noa was somewhat of an insta-love romance, while it was still very cute I would have liked just a bit more development between them.

The stalker plot line was a bit of a letdown, just thought it was going to be a bigger part of the overall story. It was also fairly predictable. The ending wrapped up pretty quickly but the epilogue was still very cute.

Overall, just an enjoyable romance book with a cute happy ending.

The premise for this book sounded so good, but the execution was just underwhelming for me. I think that that might be the result of Liliah being already infatuated with Noa from page 1--if her attraction for the makeup artist would be done slower, then the story would not feel so dragged out, and I think I might have enjoyed it more. Another thing I did not particularly like was the underdevelopment of the attraction between the two women. The story just did not sell it to me, no matter how hard I tried to find the little details of why Lilah would fall for Noa (who constantly makes judgments towards Lilah). And the stalker sub-plot was...there (the mystery of which was obvious from the start).
Overall, it was a cute story with a nice Jewish rep, however, I could not find myself caring about the characters, and as someone who has a phobia of snakes, I did not enjoy the last quarter of the book.

Reviewed
Goodreads: June 16, 2021
Storygraph: June 16 ,2021
TikTok @meghanlew_: June 17,2021
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but honestly I ended up super disappointed in it. Overall I found the romance pretty lack luster and tiresome to read. Also the characters themselves felt like they had little depth and every step of the way I was wondering when the book was going to be over.

The biggest part of the romance that fell flat for me was that it was instant, and instant romances to me always seem inauthentic. And since we didn’t really get a good look at the characters and there personalities, I felt that there was no chemistry between the two main characters. The end part of the romance also felt really rushed and that nothing was actually resolved.

Both characters seemed really flat. This caused me to no really care about what happened to them. While we knew what the sexuality of the characters were and their surface level interests were, there was nothing deeper. This defiantly contributed to the lack of chemistry between the characters as well, because not only did we not know anything about them, they didn’t know anything about each other. The author gave very little to root for.

The sub plot could have been used a little more as well, often times it felt like an after thought in the book. I thought the pacing was pretty good as well, while I didn’t care much for the characters, at least everything was moving along,