This was very mediocre. Very forgettable There was really nothing wrong with it, but it didn't spark any joy.

This is another case of it's me and not the book - I enjoyed Kiss and Repeat ok, and it was a bit of a novel experience getting this sort of book from a male perspective, but YA contemporary is just not for me (I think). I appreciate the representation of someone with Tourette's Syndrome, as well as the southern setting, but I just had a hard time connecting to Stephen and his friend group. However, I do think that this might be a really enjoyable read for someone closer to the demographic of the characters in the book. So once again, it wasn't the book's fault - I just need to refine what I choose to consume. 3 out of 5 wine glasses.

I didn't dislike this book, but I wouldn't say I liked it either. I thought the way Tourette's was talked about was great and very accurate, but from the beginning, I didn't enjoy the quest on which Stephen decided to embark. He decided to kiss as many girls as he possibly could and it felt wrong from the start, especially since he himself thought it didn't feel right. Also, I didn't actually like any of the love interests and I thought his relationship with Joan was SO RUSHED. However, I did enjoy the way religion was talked about, as it felt realistic, but very modern and not like the author was trying to shove Christianity down our throats.

Kiss and Repeat is a YA romance about Stephen, a boy with Tourette’s syndrome who’s never been kissed. He goes to a party with his best friend, gets roped into a variation of spin the bottle, and realizes that when kissing, his tics stop.

The book’s description says he uses the scientific method to kiss as many girls as he can to test whether all kissing works, but his method didn’t seem very scientific. Instead, Stephen is pushed into trying something by his best friend that he doesn’t exactly want to do. But he doesn’t exactly not want to do it either, which I think was really more the crux of the book.

Stephen’s mom is a pastor, and he struggles with the morality of how he’s treating the girls. The “experiment” is dropped pretty early on as Stephen tries to navigate the realization that girls might actually like him tics and all. But could that be true for his years-long crush who just broke up with her boyfriend?

Thinks I liked: Stephen makes a lot of cringeworthy choices and I enjoyed seeing him grapple with them. I also liked the neurodiversity representation although I have no idea how true-to-life it was. Reading this book made me think about my own kids and the struggles they’re going through; why they might lie to me and how they justify those decisions. I also thought the narration for this book was great, and I liked seeing a YA romance from the POV of a male protagonist.

Thinks that didn’t resonate as much: I thought most of the characters were a little flat and the romance seemed to just happen. There wasn’t much chemistry or build up. I didn’t love the way some of the female characters were portrayed—although I’m sure there are girls like this in the world. Morality and religion were definitely front and center in a way I think a lot of readers might enjoy, but isn’t necessarily my cup of tea.

Ultimately this is one of those YA books that I think will work better for a teen reader. Which, you know, is not really a criticism since that is the intended audience. Thank you so much to @netgalley and @swoonreads for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️.💫/5 Stars

Thanks to Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!!

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars
Steam: none (YA romance with kissing)

It was a relatively short audio book around 4 hours.

Narration: so look the narration of this audiobook is okay! The narrator has a good voice and kept me mostly interested. The only thing I would have liked was if the narrator was more distinct with voicing when different characters are talking, I often found it not easy to know who was saying what.

Pros
I like that this Romance had a Main Character with Neuodivergence (Tourette’s syndrome) as well as anxiety. The MC at a party realizes that his “ticks and flexes” disappear once he kisses someone. He’s never had them disappear completely before, even with his medications. So he sets out to test his theory that kissing might help with his Tourette’s. I also like that they discuss consent in this book, often this concept isn’t overtly talked about in YA romcoms so I liked that. It should be in every romance.

Cons
There wasn’t really a plot. Things just kinda happened. I didn’t really get to know the characters all too well either. No character was developed and that made me not care about this story at all. The main point?about testing the kissing hypothesis only lasts 1/3 of the book kinda in a way as it’s not really even a plot at that point. and then it’s about him finding a relationship? Still not totally sure as again none of the story is well developed. Some romantic elements at times.

This book had potential! It had great neurodivergent representation! I just wish it also had a plot, character development and a better romance.
Thanks to Netgalley

Dreamscape Media
for providing me with this audio book in exchange for my honest opinions and review.

I was so excited to read this book because I haven't seen Tourette's Syndrome represented in books!
Unfortunately, this book was pretty average.
The plot of this book was pretty typical for a ya romance which is fine BUT I did not like either of the love interests.
(if I had to choose I would choose Jan). If you have read other ya romance books you have read this book too because it was just so typical.

Kiss and Repeat by Heather Truett is the story of Stephen Luckie, a teenage boy with tics caused by Tourette's Syndrome, who wants to test a scientific theory that his tics go still while kissing. I really enjoyed this YA debut, and I loved the Tourette's representation in the story. The premise for this one was fun, and I loved all of the supporting characters in the novel as well. One of my favorite aspects of the story was that it was told from Stephen's point of view, and I feel like the rom-com genre is lacking stories told from this point of view. Stephen's character was witty and it was enjoyable being in his head. I felt that the story did a nice job of capturing the stress of dating and love in a high school setting with a neurodiverse twist.

The audio for this title was performed by Nick Mondelli, and at 5 hours and 16 minutes it was a really quick listen. I thought the narration was enjoyable and engaging and added to the overall story. I wanted to keep listening to this one, which is always a treat!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing the audiobook. This did not affect the contents of my voluntary review. All opinions are honest and my own.

I'm a big fan of YA books and was hoping to love this one, but it fell flat for me. However, I loved the Tourette's and neurodivergent representation. Awareness is key and I hope readers are able to gain a better understanding and appreciation for those that are different from ourselves. I love when books celebrate the uniqueness that we each bring.

Likes:
Narrator - he did a great job
Male protagonist - I don't read many YA books with a male lead.

Dislikes:
It moved a little too slow for me.
I was never invested in the character or story.

Thank you to the publisher for an audiobook arc.

I loved this so much. It was amazing seeing a disabled main character in a book where the focus was not the disability. Stephen has Tourettes I do not have Tourettes but I am disabled, I love how the representation was handled. It felt nice to read about a character who uses academic accommodations in school and has issues at times with his disability but the focus of the book was romance. The romance was so cute, I loved the discussion of how toxic religion can be sometimes and how Stephen was not perfect he made lots of mistakes like any other teen but learned from them. The narrator did such a great job with the audiobook. This made me so happy and was a solid YA contemporary romance. I want to see so many more romances with disabled main characters.

I really wanted to like this one more than I ultimately did. There was GREAT neurodiversity representation with the main character, Stephen, who has Tourette's and has to deal with that extra layer of being different as a high school teen. He discovers that kissing a girl helped stop his ticks and so embarks on an experiment to see if kissing many different girls will validate his hypothesis. Though that is only a small part of this rather short book, I found the characters (aside from Stephen) for the most part fairly one dimensional and uninteresting. I struggled to stay invested in this story but was rooting for Stephen to learn to accept himself and all the things that made him special. Overall, great message but the story lacked the level of emotional depth that makes a great YA novel (in my opinion). Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced listening review copy of this book.

Favorite quote:
"It turns out neurodiversity isn't just about me being different, it's about everyone being allowed to be themselves, freely and truly."

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my honest review.

Loved the representation seen in this book.

I received an ARC of Kiss and Repeat by Heather Truett thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

By far my favorite part of this story is the Tourette's representation. While there are some instances of bullying (high school sucks), I love how generally 'accepting' and understanding many of the characters are. I also love that while the tics are incredibly frustrating for Stephen, he accepts that they are not under his control. However, the entire purpose of the book is to experience no tics. Which only occurred when he kissed a girl. Hence the book title.

I loved watching Stephen's character development. It felt very real and the inner conflict made me want to give him a hug. From the blurb I thought it was going to be Stephen sleeping around with all the girls, but that wasn't the case. This was much sweeter and I love how the awkwardness of being a teen is shown. The desire to be accepted overshadows his morals, which is the main conflict of the story.

Honestly, this book gave me Dear Evan Hansen vibes mixed with Paper Towns. Really well done and I definitely recommend.

I think this book had a great storyline and I enjoyed the introduction of kid who has Tourette’s which brings awareness to the subject, however this book just kinda fell flat for me. It may be because it was a YA book, but I just wanted it to move a little quicker. There was a few times when I was like “was this part necessary?” I know sometimes teachers look for books for their middle schoolers and sometimes they read YA. If you are one of those, this book discusses sex and parts of the female body, but other than that isn’t too graphic. If you are into YA books, this might be a great one for you.

Stephen seemed to have an embarrassment of riches with his kissing experiment. But with one girl thinking they were dating and more girls hearing about his experiment and volunteering. 
Things were getting complicated.

The one girl he wanted to kiss was still unattainable and kept catching him in awkward situations.

This book was a fun look at high school, how fast gossip spreads, the parties, studying, getting grounded, being a kid but almost an adult. This in-between time where emotions are high, everything changes and relationships evolve.

I enjoyed his inner monologue with his tics. His idea of why his tics increased and decreased was interesting and his feelings regarding them. His friends more or less ignored them but in a way that bothered him. 

This cover is so pretty too! There was a lot of bike riding! 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you net galley and dreamscape media for my advanced Audiobook for my honest and voluntary review.

This was such a cute book! I love the diversity in the book. The character growth and relationship was so sweet. Stephen has so many struggles because of his Tourette and is learning a lot about life and girls. He gets caught up between two girl he doesn’t go about it the right way but that’s okay it all gets figured out in the end! It was a very good YA! I loved it! I got the pleasure of listening to the Audio through Net Galley and the narrator was so spot on and did a amazing job telling the story!

upon immediately finishing this one, I loved it. I had only happy thoughts but as I reflected a little more I came up with some very serious and very frustrating conclusions. The first being that there is not a single queer character at all in this whole damn book. in addition, the only two BIPOC characters are two Asian characters. That's legitimately it. Are we really out here publishing books with casts that are 99% white and cishet? is that a thing? apparently.

alright, for the actual book, its good. It's interesting and the Tourette's and neurodivergent rep is a welcome addition to YA lit. Stephen hasn't ever been kissed and he's convinced he can't find love because of his tourette's. When he ends up having his first kiss during a game of spin the bottle and his tics stop, he and his best friend concoct a plan to have him kiss as many girls and possible to see if this could help his tics. There's some blurry consent in this that isn't really challenged too and that made me uncomfortable. going up to people and kissing them should not be a thing that happens in books, especially books made for teens. But moving on, Stephen is kind of an asshole. He's the kind of asshole who thinks he's the nice guy and he makes a lot of mistakes. It felt very realistic. In his experiment, he lies and kind of cheats and leads others on etc. its a big ole mess, but that's kind of what being a teenager is like right? messy and complicated and so in your feelings it feels life-altering when something doesn't go the way you expected.

As a whole, this book is fine, a decent addition to neurodivergent literature, but I can't get over the sheer lack of diversity.

Kiss and Repeat was such a delightful book. I can’t say that YA is a favorite genre because again, it’s YA. However, this book was so cute and adorable with an important message. Being a teenager is hard enough as it is, now add Tourette’s to the pressure of being in high school? Stephen was such a likable character with real-life dilemmas in accordance to his age. Stephen navigates High School and attempting to cure (control) his Tourette’s by kissing girls. I thoroughly enjoyed the high school dynamics and the complications of the teenage angst. The narrator was great and kept me engaged throughout the story.

This coming of age Kiss and Repeat was a joy to read!
This is a YA romance that was written so well!
I had the honor of listening to the audio version and the narrator did not disappoint I loved the audio.
This book is a heartfelt read and I actually learned a thing or two!
Stephen, a teenager with Tourettes syndrome and he finally learns kissing helps his muscle twitching!
He wants to start an experiment and see how how many girls could he kiss!
This is a funny, cute, heartfelt book!
And thank you for allowing me to listen to this advanced audio book!

I thought this was a really cute read. I often struggle with maintaining my attention during audio books but I had no problems at all with this one. It was engaging and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I did find it a little hard to follow at times since I dont have a huge experience with church and Faith was such a huge component of the book. Overall a great listen to make my commute seem quicker

A cute short but sweet YA romance! I thought the story flowed very smoothly and enjoyed the storyline. I like that in was an inclusive read. I thought the narrator did a great job at making the characters come to life. The only reason that I rated it 3 stars is there was nothing that really stood out to me that will make me remember this audiobook longterm.