Big thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advanced listener's copy of I Kissed a Girl.

I want to start this review by saying this book was a good light romance book that I enjoyed reading. I think that the audiobook really helped bring the world of this book alive for me. The audiobook narrator Natalie Naudus was an absolute joy to listen to, as always. She is one of my auto-listen narrators!

The blurb of this novel really got me excited to read it, I love all things horror movies and a sapphic romance is right up my alley. The execution of the plot felt a little surface level, I wanted to go deeper into conversations with the characters and get a clearer picture of the world.

The pacing of the story felt a little touch and go for my taste. The middle section was way longer proportionally than the beginning and the end, which led to a long period where there was very little action going on. The ending was very rushed especially after a relatively big twist, I wanted to spend more time in the aftershock of that reveal.

I liked the dynamic created between the two main characters. Lilah was lovable in her journey with integrating her queer identity into her professional career. Lilah had some laugh-out-loud funny moments equal to the tender and heart-melting moments with her realizing her affections for Noa. Noa is a more cut and dry character I had a hard time getting on the same page with. I found her judgemental and negative, which is fine but not my personal favourite character traits in a book character.

A lot of the conflict in this book revolves around the misinterpretation trope, which was good tension building at best but annoying at worst. I find this trope is worn out in queer spaces and wished this book explore another avenue for conflict between these two characters. There are only a handful of intimate moments and none are anywhere near explicit. So if you are looking for a queer romance with minimal sexual content, check out this book.

Overall this book was fine for me. A solid 3 stars. I liked the premise and I am exciting to see what comes next from author Jennet Alexander

Cute at times but never more than merely fine. While I didn't hate either of the main characters, I didn't find either particularly compelling in a way that made it hard to root for the relationship in the beginning and then frustrating when things got difficult later in the book. It was hard to tell the lead's points of view apart, even though it alternated it felt like it kept blending together as well. The genuinely unsettling and even scary parts of the book were a weird tone clash with the rest and it made the climax not entirely pay off. I liked the angle of the filmmaking world though!

I Kissed a Girl is Jennet Alexander's debut novel. It's a contemporary romance where sparks fly between a makeup artist and an actress on a movie set. Horror-buff Noa Birnbaum is looking to find her place in the world of horror movie makeup, and she can't believe it when she's assigned to work on her long-time crush, Lilah Silver. Meanwhile, Lilah is drawn to the out-and-proud Noa, and hopes that Noa can help her find her place in the queer community.

My favorite thing about this book was Lilah. The depiction of her coming into her bisexuality, learning to find her place in the queer community, and battling internalized homophobia resonated so strongly with me as a bisexual reader. Her journey felt genuine and real, and I was rooting for her every step of the way. I can't personally speak to the Judaism rep, but I did love how both heroines bonded over their faith.

Unfortunately, I struggled with Noa and the romance blossoming between them. Noa is incredibly judgemental towards Lilah (from her love of romance novels to the feminine aesthetics of her home) and while it's clear that Alexander wanted to show Noa growing throughout the book, it often felt too much as though Noa was trying to fall in love with her idealized version of Lilah, rather than who Lilah actually was.

Still Alexander's research into Hollywood, makeup, and movie making really shines. The details she included brought the setting to life without ever bogging the story down.

The narration is done by Natalie Naudus, who is just fantastic! Naudus has such a gift of infusing the humor from the text and characters into her narration, keeping a natural flow of conversation in all of the dialogue, and giving characters distinct voices.

While this wasn't a hit for me, I am looking forward to seeing what Alexander does next! I do think that readers who enjoy romances featuring actors or the movie business (particularly B-movie horror fans) will find a lot to enjoy here.

choppy writing and an almost instant DNF. I could not handle the unnecessary hatred Noa seemed to have for Lyla. Whilst I am a fan of good enemies to lovers dynamic this felt so unnecessarily catty for no good reason. It's a cool concept but overall Noa did not work for me at all

A cute book but it didn’t really keep my attention as long as I would have liked. An ok YA for addressing the topic of being who you are instead of who others expect you to be, just generally but with a focus on sexuality.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

It took me SO LONG to finish this audiobook. I thought it would be a quick listen and I would be interested enough to listen for long periods of time. I couldn’t listen for more than one chapter at a time towards the middle/end. I got frustrated with the characters and the decisions that they were making almost in every chapter, but it wasn’t too bad since I did finish the book.

Both characters, Noa and Lilah, were in the wrong in many of the situations. To me, it felt like the disagreements and arguments could’ve been avoided if they just COMMUNICATED! Anyways, this was a good romance audiobook, and it did have a good build up to them getting together.

It wasn’t bad, in fact it was good. The characters just had some things they were dealing with, that being together just kind of made it worse. I really liked the narrator, and how I could tell when the point of view would switch. Overall, this was a great audiobook to listen to, and I think it would be a great read even.

Starting with the audiobook itself, I have positive things to say. The narrator did a good job making it clear whose POV we were in, as well as who was speaking. She was clear and gave a dynamic performance of the book, which was delightful!

As for the book itself, however, there was less to love. At the end of the day, a successful romance brings the charm factor, making me want to root for our main couple throughout. I KISSED A GIRL does not have that charm factor. I didn't mind either of our leading ladies, but I also wasn't endeared to them, or truly believe their chemistry. While I appreciated Lilah opening up about her sexuality and the role it played in the story, I really didn't care for the stalker storyline, which seemed to take up more space in the story and in the minds of our characters than the romance itself did. I also figured out who our stalker was very early on, which made the whole reveal rather frustrating. While I understand the role it played within the story, it felt like it overshadowed the romance itself.

Overall, I'm bummed this one didn't click for me. I love the cover and the title and there is quite a bit of disconnect from that to the book itself. As there as also a disconnect from the story and me. Despite our interesting main characters and fun setting, this romance did not score big at the box office.

This book has so much great representation, we have lesbians, bi character, trans characters, polyamorous relationships, queer Jewish characters—what it does not have is literally anything happening in the first half of the book.

Things I liked:
1. Lila’s conflict about “dressing/looking gay enough” for people to know shes into girls while being femme was very relatable to me.

2. The overall lgbt representation in the book

3. The suspense and main conflict outside of the relationship (no spoilers)

4. Chrissy

Things I didn’t like:
1. nothing happens until 50-60% of the way through. I think you could fit every important detail from the first half of the book into one chapter and then just pick up in the middle.

2. The beginning has a lot of set up and drags. I soft DNFed four times. I liked the characters and I wanted to push through since you could see the bread crumbs and clues for the mystery but there just wasn’t enough happening to hold the audience.

3. I get that Lila is more than her looks but her issue with people calling her pretty or beautiful was annoying. She’s literally a beauty queen. She knows she’s pretty.

I listened to the audiobook for I Kissed a Girl on a whim, excited by a story about a horror movie actress infatuated with her makeup artist. As a whole, I enjoyed the book. I thought it had a lot of fun subplots (or maybe not "fun," but interesting), and wrapped everything up nicely. I've seen a lot of reviews kind of hating on this book, and I don't think it's THAT bad--I would recommend this one if you're looking for more Sapphic, celebrity romance in your life. The biggest issues I found, and seem to be others' complaints as well, are the unlikability of Noah's character and the relatively slow pacing.

Noah is a pretty judgmental person. This is something that's brought up throughout the book, so the author is definitely aware (and potentially accomplished her goal?) but I think the author crossed the line from flawed to unlikable. Noah, our makeup artist, seemed to judge Lilah, our actress from the get-go. She was one of those people who seemed to be in love with the idea of Lilah, rather than Lilah herself, as is sometimes the case in celebrity romances. Noah definitely did have character growth and development throughout the story, which is why it didn't bother me too much, but I think it could have been improved.

It's interesting, because this audiobook is narrated by the same narrator who does One Last Stop. And she's a fabulous narrator, IMO. Though for the first few chapters I kept having to remind myself I wasn't listening to One Last Stop, because she does the exact same voices for the main characters, and it's also a f/f romance. A little jarring at first, but I soon got over it and into the story. Plus, the narrator is so good she probably improved the quality of the story as a whole.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ALC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
tw/cw: stalking, snakes

4 stars - 6/10

A very sweet romance between an actress and a make up artist working on the set of a horror movie. I found this book so uplifting and positive. I would recommend it for adult or YA audiences.

A little bit of everything here.

It starts out as a coming out/first time/friends-to-lovers story, and ends up with a kind of zany mystery. With nods to horror flicks all throughout the story, Jennet Alexanders' I Kissed a Girl turned out to be a lot of fun. With loads of chuckle worthy moments, Jennet Alexander breathes new life into this genre without taking it all too seriously.

Four stars to I Kissed a Girl, for its toung-in-cheek handling of a hallway full of snakes!

Audio performed by Natalie Naudus who does a wonderful job. The quick shifting between characters couldn't be easy, and this voice actor handles it perfectly.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I Kissed a Girl follows Noa & Lilah, two young women trying to make it in the movie industry who meet on set of a dinosaur horror movie and start to fall for each other.

This book was really fun and fast paced for the most part. But it also provided insightful commentary on the movie industry — the way young people but especially women are afraid to speak up when wronged, for fear of being black listed and never worked with again. I thought it was really well done!

The romance was also super cute. Lilah's fear of how her bisexuality would be accepted in the queer spaces Noa was introducing her was so well done and felt very authentic to me, as a bi woman. And I appreciated how she was able to come out on her own terms, and feel comfortable with owning her sexuality.

I do wish there had been a bit more character development — particularly for Noa. But it didn't really bring down my overall enjoyment.

Rep:
- both MCs are Jewish
- lesbian and bi MCs
- sapphic trans SC, queer SCs, POC SCs

CW:
- stalking
- minor incidents with fire & snakes
- brief mentions of transphobia & biphobia

Unfortunately, I was quite underwhelmed with this one... I'll admit, I have a really high bar for sapphic reads, but this one didn't even get close for me.

Synopsis:
Lilah is an up-and-coming actress. Noa is a make-up artist on the set of a new movie Lilah is starring in. They nearly immediately fall for each other, but fall into the traps of "no fraternization" at the workplace, discovering sexualities, and miscommunications.

Thoughts:
One of the few things I liked about this book was the representation. Lilah and Noa are both Jewish WLW and they bond over that. There is also a sapphic trans character.
Unfortunately, this story fell really flat for me. The "romance" happened way too fast, and I didn't feel like there was any build-up or connection between Lilah and Noa. It was an "insta-connection" that didn't work. Additionally, the "we have to hide this relationship because we work together" trope is overdone... especially in Hollywood... and when you're putting it on top of a queer relationship. It kind of seemed like the author was going for them not being able to be open due to work, instead of fears of the actress "coming out," which didn't seem all that believable to me.
There is an element of a stalker in this story too, which is the only thing that kept me listening, but the conclusion of that plot also fell flat.

All in all, this was a "straight" book, I wouldn't have finished it.

I was greanted audio ARC access to I Kissed a Girl via NetGalley, and I actually did finished it before pub day, but then the schedule on my review blog didn't give me room to post and share about it on time. Oops!

So, what's this book about? It's a New Adult coming-of-age sapphic/bisexual romance heavy with miscommunication tropes and a side of creepy stalker. It's certainly not bad, but it's not great either.

I love the ladies in this book. The chemistry works well, and some of the miscommunication tropes are my favourites. I'm also all for a sweet sapphic story.

Everything that happens beyond the leading ladies, though... it's a no from me. I'm sure low budget films really are plagued with budget mishaps and constantly changing schedules, but it felt like every time the film production had to adapt it was for the purpose of getting the plot around these ladies to the next preordained hurdle, rather than the plot designed to fit a setting. There's a whole lot of plot convenience happening here. Then there's the stalker. I can't go into specifics because that would spoil the ending, but it feels like the author picked 2 or 3 of the most absurd and unhinged stalker archetype villains from Criminal Minds and gluegunned them together to create this character, but the glue didn't work and 2-3 different villains got sections of the book to themselves.

I finished this book think "aww, that was cute, I'll probably give it 4 stars" and then I unintentionally left the review on the backburner for a week. In cooling off, it lost a star. I don't remember any of the finer points about the romance other than I thought it was cute when it was going right. I do remember the stalker climax, and it keeps on feeling like the sort of C-rate movie pitch well off actors agree to as something fun because who cares at this point with their resume of box office hits, life's too short, let's do something stupid. It's fun if you don't give it too much thought.

Lilah Silver is a young actress who dreams of moving up to better movies. She has the lead on this dinosaur movie. Noah Birnbaum is a brilliant makeup artist and special effects expert but she has learned how hard it is to get into the union. She is working long hours to do her best and keep everyone happy and she is run ragged. Noah has a crush on Lilah but thinks that she is heterosexual. Lilah is secretly attracted to Noah but is unaware that she is a lesbian. They develop a friendship as Noah is the primary makeup person for Lilah. They begin a relationship but must keep it secret as Lilah isn't out of the closet to the public and Noah's boss has said that she will fire any of her staff that date the actors.

Thank you, NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I Kissed A Girl is a new adult romance between an up-and-coming actress and her makeup artist. I thought the characters were charming enough, and there was some good representation throughout the book, including two queer Jewish main characters and a polyamorous trans woman. Other than that though, this book was kind of a let-down. It's not bad by any means, just kind of boring and underwhelming. A lot of the conflict seemed superficial, when there was conflict. It's pretty slow paced, which is not my usual preference.

I read this book in ebook format, as well as audiobook, alternating between formats when I had time to physically read vs when I was in the car. I preferred to listen to the audiobook, mainly because I liked the narrator. Maybe I would've enjoyed it more if I'd read the whole thing in audio format.

I don't think this book is bad, just mediocre. I give it 3 stars.

Noa Birnbaum dreams of being a Hollywood makeup artist, and when she gets the chance to work on a horror film, she jumps at the chance even though it means dropping out of college. It doesn't hurt that the actress she has been crushing on, Lilah Silver, is the female lead in the movie. Lilah hopes that this movie will be a breakthrough movie for her, pushing her past the B-list of celebs she is currently on. Lilah immediately likes Noa but is not out as a bisexual and is unsure how to become part of the LA LGBTQ+ scene.

The premise didn't live up to the actually story for me. Unfortunately, I didn't quite buy the romance in this story. Noa has had a crush on Lilah from afar, but when they get up close, she judges Lilah's taste in books, history of entering beauty pageants, etc. Lilah seemed mostly to like Noa because she's part of the LGBTQ+ community that Lilah wants to figure out how to enter. I also think the story dragged on. The story was OK but could have been so much better.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Diversity Representation: Lesbian Jewish main character, bisexual Jewish main character, trans & polyamorous side character
Content Warnings: Stalking, blackmail, fear of coming out, gory special effects, snakes


Fun, light, entertaining, breezy, cheesy, cute
Quick Summary: Noa is a brilliantly skilled makeup artist working hard to break into the union, which is more challenging than she thought possible. Lilah Silver is a young actress who dreams of stardom. When Noa gets a life-changing job on the set of Lilah's first role as the lead in a movie, this could be the big break each of them is hoping for. Will their strong connection be able to survive through long hours in the makeup chair? Will they each catch their big break?
My favorite parts of this book were the diversity in Noa's roommates and how Noa introduces Lilah to her community. Community and friendships are so important, that Noa showing Lilah a sense of community gave off such a comforting feeling. The best part about Noa showing Lilah her community was that we got to see so much of the incredible side characters like Noa's roommate, Chrissy, a polyamorous trans woman!
This book is cute and fun, but it is cheesy. It was a quick, fun, popcorn read. The pacing was a little strange, and there was a stalker subplot that paralleled the horror movie plot well, but I think it fell short in its delivery a little bit. Despite that, I thought this book was a perfectly entertaining, easy read to not take too seriously!

This was a super easy listen! A lighthearted romance story with an lgbt storyline that you don’t see that often. Additionally it gives the Bi community proper visibility they don’t often get. It was sweet and had small amounts of conflict that didn’t distract too much from the main point.

I very much enjoyed this first offering from Jennet Alexander. I was a bit concerned going in due to the average ratings that I was seeing, but I'm glad I took a chance and came to my own conclusions about the book.

I liked the development of Lilah and Noa as characters as they got to know each other while on set and slowly began to loosen up. I enjoyed the stalker mystery that was tied into the book which gave an additional plot point apart from the budding relationship. The narration really added to the enjoyment of the story. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it quite as much without the different voices from the narrator.

I found this to be a very enjoyable story and one that I would come back to and listen to again at a future time.

I received a copy of this audiobook to listen to in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.