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,

3.5/5

I have varied feelings about this book. The premise was really interesting to me, I have a soft spot for Hollywood romances, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. There were parts of the book that really worked for me, but other parts that just didn’t sit right.

Lilah is a b-movie horror actor who really wants to be taken seriously as an actress. She’s got a job working as the Final Girl in a horror b-movie. Noa was able to get a job as a special effect artist on the show and she’s looking forward to creating bruises and scars and working on set. This is different than working on a friend’s home movie and this time she’s working with Lilah, who she’s obsessed with for years. The two are forced to spend an extended amount of time in close quarters and they wind up bonding with one another.

I really liked Lilah, but I didn’t really enjoy Noa for the most part. Neither character is horrible or anything, I just really didn’t see the appeal for a character like Noa. Lilah is unbelievably sweet and vulnerable, and I want to know more about her past because it is clear that it left her with some emotional/mental scars. I just adored her and wanted to know more about her constantly, especially when more things kept getting revealed. Noa didn’t do that for me. She was judgmental at times, but even when she wasn’t doing anything wrong, I just didn’t like her. The only thing I personally liked about her, was her passion for her work.

The fight part was messy, but not in a bad way. They were both in the wrong for their actions and I really enjoyed that Noa got called out in that fight. She’s very judgy about things that, as she says, she thinks is cringy. She gave off “not like other girl” vibes during a few different parts of the book so I was very happy that someone actually called her out for that behavior. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the book because I genuinely enjoyed it. No one was painted in a perfect light, and it was likely one of the more realistic parts of the book.

I’m not sure how I feel about the stalker plotline that was added to the book. It was a bit obvious, but not blindingly so. My biggest issue is that it felt a bit forced, I guess. I feel like it could have been more than it was. The best part of it though was that it managed to make everyone seem a bit suspicious. So, I’m conflicted. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t amazing either.

I know I’ve mentioned a few things that I didn’t enjoy about this book, but there were parts that I really enjoyed and would have loved to be explored more. I quite liked how the author wrote about being on the set and how their days would go. It was nice and descriptive without going overboard. I really love Noa and Lilah’s friends and I want more about them. I specifically want more about Lilah’s friends because I feel like they are a supportive yet slightly chaotic group.

This book is good and I enjoyed most of it, but Noa took a bit away from the experience. I don’t regret reading this book and I’ll likely reread it at some point. It’s about 300 or so pages and I enjoyed about 200-250 pages of that. I’d recommend it if you’re just looking for a queer Hollywood-style read.

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for a fair and honest review. I am very thankful that I was able to get this book early.

Noa and Lilah gave me hope in love. They are both attracted to each other but their own ovef thinking and insecurities get in the way....

Noa and Lilah assume alot about each other while crushing on each other.

The storyline was surprisingly multi level with the Lilah obsessed fan..

I do wish the sex scene wasn't a fade to black scene but all in all a super cute story

Thank you, Sourcebooks Casablanca! Four out of five stars.

This is a book that is definitely about sapphic secular Jewish girls. And it was absolutely felt! (Or if not so secular, who knows, I myself consider myself that so maybe I'm projecting). But it felt so true and real, sprinkled through the book-- the sudden worry that they'd missed a holiday, annoyance that a different holiday came early, celebrating one holiday with dairy and making jokes about lactose intolerance. This has been so much of my recent Jewish experience and I really did feel seen with the general just... presentness of it. The queer awakening at Hebrew School (and those that I suppressed at mine, though definitely not as great as Noa's!), and it was... I really felt comfortable reading it. Thank you, Jennet!

I also enjoyed Noa and Lilah's relationship fumbles at the start, and I thought the miscommunication tropes between them were handled well. I really liked many of the side characters on and off the set we got to meet, especially Tanner, Chrissy, Peter, Sadie, Dr. Cosby, and Rasputin. The discussion of bisexuality and the reassurance of it was really sweet, as was the discussions both young women had with their families. This was overall a fun, escapist read, though the book does deal with stalking and being watched.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙧—𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙝’𝙨. 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙮-𝙘𝙪𝙩 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚-𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚.
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I Kissed A Girl follows the life of an upcoming actress who works on horror flicks and goes by the name, Lilah. Our other protagonist Noa is a makeup artist who is assigned to work on the set of the same horror flick that Lilah is a part of. As they meet, the chemistry between the two is evident but neither acknowledges it. Gradually, Lilah opens up about her fears and how she wants to make it big in the movie industry. Noa decides to go all in and help her achieve her dreams. But will their love survive beyond all the glitz and glamour?
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The book was interesting and good with LGBT Jewish MCs and other diverse characters. But the author has tried to include a lot and that has made it very messy and difficult to follow. Also, the story is very very long and becomes exhausting after a point. I appreciate the author's efforts to carve an unique and new story with LGBT reps!! 🌈

This book was super cute and fun to read! As a fan of both scary movies (the cheesy and the more mainstream) and romances this was right up my alley.

Noa, our main character, drops out of college to pursue a career in the film industry. Her dream is to become one of the greats in the horror makeup and effects department. Thanks to her roommate Chrissy she lucks out and lands a job on the set of a campy B movie staring one of her favorite scream queens and celebrity crushes Lilah Silver. Immediately sparks fly between Noa and Lilah, despite the latter not being out as a bisexual.

I loved all of the cheesy behind the seen movie moments. I really felt like I was on set and joining in the fun when all of the crazy blood spurts and explosions were going off - who wouldn’t want to be in a room with a giant exploding pterodactyl full of random purple goop? So fun! The romance between Lilah and Noa was very sweet as well. I also loved all of the LGBTQ representation. It was a great read for during pride month and Lilahs insecurity about not “being bi enough” felt very real.

The stalker was a bit predictable (maybe I just have good creeper radar) but I appreciated the author using him as a vehicle to show that women’s fears and concerns aren’t always taken seriously. Overall I thought this book was sweet and fun.

On the whole, this book was very underwhelming to me. I Kissed a Girl follows a up and coming makeup artist, who gets a job applying stage makeup to a B list actress, Lilah Silvers. They clash, they have misunderstandings, but ultimately they're both very drawn to each other. This sounds like the perfect recipe for a rom-com, but this book unfortunately just didn't hit the mark.

Starting with the good, I absolutely loved Lilah Silvers. She's a bisexual actress struggling to get out of her type-cast mold of B horror movies. She's a former beauty queen from the parent circuit, but she's so much more than that, something it takes her makeup artist Noa a while to understand. I felt super connected to her, she had a compelling story, and I loved her personality.

Unfortunately this book just couldn't sell the romance between Lilah and Noa to me. Noa makes snap judgements about her based on her past, she insults her for reading women fiction, and it takes a pretty long time for her to stop viewing her in a very objectified manner. We watch their romance blossom as they grow closer, but the chemistry just... isn't there? There was never a scene where I felt "oh, this is why they make sense. This is why they belong together."

I did enjoy the stalking sub-plot involving Lilah. I think it added more depth and excitement to the story than even the romance, which is supposed to be the main plot. I do think the stalking sub-plot became a little campy at the end, which I wouldn't have an issue with if the rest of the novel was also camp, but this discontinuity was cringe to read.

The story also really dragged. I confidently think the author could've cut out about 100 pages of this book and ended up with the exact same story. We're taken on set almost everyday with painstaking detail. Did I need to know what Lilah and Noa's day to day lives were like when so many scenes had no relevance to the story? Nope.

Overall, Lilah was definitely the saving grace to this book. I didn't enjoy much of the story, romance, or writing style. I think the plot idea was great, but the execution was really lacking. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy for review.

I Kissed a Girl follows Noa, a makeup artist, and Lilah, the lead girl in a horror movie as they work together on set. This book’s main focus is on the romance between Lilah and Noa but very early on a mystery stalker subplot is introduced which I very much enjoyed. This book felt like it was much longer than was necessary so the combination of the mystery and the romance kept me interested throughout.

One aspect that continually bothered me throughout the book was that most of the issues were created by a lack of communication between Noa and Lilah as well as Noa’s judgemental attitude toward everything feminine. For me, this may have been okay initially but even the stalker subplot only advanced due to the fact that Lilah was told not to talk about it.

While the representation in this book was amazing I can only give it 3 stars because every other aspect was just okay.

I picked this expecting a frothy LGBTQ rom com off the description and the cover. Silly me, this was a fun and creative mashup of a romcom and thriller. The tension! OY VEY!

The yays: so much representation! We got a Jewish lesbian MC, a Jewish bi MC, a trans side character! We got heroines recuing each other! We got a puppy with no sense of personal safety and a taste for socks!

The nays: This is a post #MeToo world. If you have a stalker YOU SAY SOMETHING, so I didn't buy that she wouldn't for a hot damn second. It felt long, and I couldn't even tell you why. Also there was actually too much foreshadowing that it gave it away immediately. OF COURSE THAT'S A CAMERA. OF COURSE IT'S [redacted due to spoilers]. There were no other suspects for me, and I hate when I figure out a thriller too fast. Plus Noa was judgy and mean, and as a Jewish woman, it felt almost like a stereotype. I wanted to root for her but I couldn't Lilah was the much better developed character. And man- did I wish we had more Chrissy. Chrissy needs a solo novel.

Overall it was okay, but it felt similar to those free Kindle Unlimited thrillers- so I would recommend it for fans of those types of books.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m torn on how to truly rate this book. There was so much potential and I don’t think it entirely lived up to it. We’re there moments I adored? Yes, but they were mostly in the first half. I think the author did a good job on the first half of this. They established the relationship and built up the individual lead characters. However, I think they didn’t keep that momentum going in the second half. I wish they had either played up the stalking plot a little bit more or gotten rid of it altogether.

I absolutely love any jewish sapphic representation that I can get, but this book fell a little short of my expectations.

Lilah is an amazing character. She has so much depth and substance and I fell in love with her within the first couple chapters. Noa on the other hand was judgy and mean for a lot of the book, and constantly made fun of traditionally feminine things. She hates the color pink, made fun of pageants nonstop, and gagged at Lilah when she said her favorite genre was romance books. I wanted to love their relationship but Noa was just so ‘i’m not like other girls’ that I was getting annoyed.

The side characters were for the most part fabulous. Noa’s roommate Chrissy is a trans woman in a six person polycule and she’s possibly the funniest person in the book. I would die for a book abt Chrissy and her various lovers to be honest. Lilah’s Zaydee (Grandfather) is so precious, he deserves the world. Their relationship is so cute and I wish we could’ve gotten more of it.

There was a scary stalker subplot that never really got fully fleshed out but then ended up being a massive part of the final chapters which was confusing. I think the book would’ve been better off without it, it honestly felt like something thrown in at the last second in an attempt for shock factor.

Overall I enjoyed it, it was cute and a one day read. I wish Noa had been just a little less anti femininity but that’s just personal preference.