I received a audio copy of this through NetGalley and when I first looked at other reviews on Goodreads I am shocked to see so many negative reviews. I didn't actually read any of the reviews until I had finished the book, because I didn't want to be swayed, but even the average rating was so low. Now that I finished I don't quite understand.

While this book isn't my favorite, it's a perfectly good sapphic rom com.

It reminded me a lot of a less developed Plain Bad Heroines but as a romantic comedy.

It's about Lilah who is an up-and-coming actress. She is closeted but comes out during the book as bisexual. She is currently working on a horror film and she took the part as a stepping stone instead of being a huge fan of horror. She's a pageant princess and it's just trying to make a name for herself. Lilah's character arc was my favorite of the two MCs, just because she had a lot of growth. She had a career subplot, romantic subplot and a thriller-esque sub plot involving a stalker.

The other MC is Noa and Noa is an out and proud lesbian who is a die-hard horror fan and a special effects makeup artist. Noa quit school to work on this film as a makeup artist and struggles kind of, throughout the book about her career path. Noa has also had a crush on Lilah for years, and when she figures out that she's going to be working with Lilah, Noa wants to impress her and befriend her but nothing seems to be going her way. Noa has a big case of "foot in mouth" syndrome and f**** up quite a bit at the beginning. Some of the things that Noa says are extremely off-putting and I was glad to see her character ark redeem some of those bad moments and also to see how Lilah dealt with it.

This is very much a instant attraction/insta-love story. There is a lot of depth to the characters relationship and instead realize heavily on physical attraction. This is part of the reason why this book just fell a little bit flat for me. It wasn't bad by any means, but it could have been better.

As a whole, if you're looking for a low key sapphic rom com, this is your book. There is a CW for stalking. This is a adult fiction book and while the two MCs have a romantic and sexual relationship, there are no on-page sex scenes. It's always refreshing for me to find adult romance books without on page sex. So that's just something to know if you are sexual post but still want to get your romance fixed, this one is safe for you.

As a petty comment, I am annoyed at the spelling of their names. The fact that Lilah has an unnecessary H and Noa has no H is silly to me. But whatever.

Rep: white Jewish bisexual MC, white Jewish lesbian MC, trans secondary character, gay secondary character, multiple queer tertiary characters.

4.5 stars

This one was fun and sweet. As romcoms with good, diverse representation go, this one seemed to do pretty well, and I was invested in the MCs’ romance. It was mostly light-hearted but still had enough angst/tension to drive the plot, and honestly, I think it was just what I needed right now. I wasn’t entirely sure about the audio narrator at the beginning of the story, but she had really grown on me by the end and was, I think, a good fit for this narrative. I’ll be looking for more books by Jennet Alexander in the future.

I Kissed a Girl is about 2 girls in the showbusiness one a up and coming makeup artist trying to break into the industry Noa with a love for Horror and special effect makeup. And about Liah Silvers, an actress best know for her horror movies with hopes into bigger roles.
Noa has a crush on Liah and Vise Versa and its insta love with the most awkward encounters. They are mean and then also jealous who each other.

I'm not a fan of insta love and this style was really strange. Then you throw in a stalker and everything just kinda goes all over the place. I had a hard time rooting for them and thought Liah always acting and putting on a show instead of being her true self was to much for me and Noa being really judgmental and mean was a turn off.

I wanted a little more from the story the writing style wasn't my favorite either. and with the whole stalker bit once it came to who is it it was rushed and then it was all about snakes and I just wanted it not to be oh crap run away.

This just wasn't a cute romcom that I hoped for.


Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me with an Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook!

What I loved: SUCH GOOD REPRESENTATION! F/F Jewish workplace/forbidden romance with characters of color, trans characters, and poly side characters.
The setting of a B-horror movie set with the main characters being a closeted bisexual former-beauty-queen-now-actress and a lesbian makeup artist and fangirl were fun set ups. I liked all the stunts and special effects talk, and the workplace romance aspect was enjoyable enough.

The writing style wasn't really for me. It was overly flowery and descriptive in a way that slowed the progress down a lot. I also didn't really think the stalker angle added anything other than more length to the story.

Content warning: stalking

I wanted to love this book. It has great bisexual, lesbian, and Jewish representation when it came to the main characters, and great Black, Indian American, Trans, rep when it comes to side characters.

*This review contains spoilers*

I’ll start with the things that I liked:
The premise ; make up artist falls for Hollywood’s favourite horror movie final girl.
Relatable job struggles, and the hard decisions involved in following your dreams while risking security, or defying expectations.
I loved Lilah - she was an interesting and well rounded character; she didn’t follow any rules or expectations about what a bi woman should or shouldn’t look or act like. She was great

However, so much of this story seemed great in theory, but fell flat in execution.

I found the second main character, Noa, to be extremely unlikeable, despite attempts at redemption. She was extremely judgemental of Lilah for being “too girly”; liking the colour pink and enjoying romcoms. She treated Lilah’s “traditional femininity” as a defect. She eventually comes around and is convinced that she was too harsh/ judgemental of Lilah (but only after spending hours together and lilah proves to her that she is interesting and complex despite all the pink).

The banter between the two characters was really cute, but there were just so many misunderstandings and miscommunications that I left the book wondering if they were even well matched for one another ! Opposites may attract but neither trusted or respected the other for Most of the book. It seemed like Noa only liked Lilah because of her celebrity crush, and Lilah just latched onto the first gay girl she met.

I also completely forgot about the secondary plot of the stalker until the end; it almost felt like an after thought. It was a really interesting addition and I felt could have served more in the story If given a little more attention.

Overall I liked this book- it was a light, fun read and pretty fast paced. I loved Lilah and all of the side characters, but wasn’t invested in her romance with Noa.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for this ARC

I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander is a sapphic rom-com about Lilah, a Hollywood actress, and Noa, a special effects make up artist. The novel takes place on the set of a horror film where Noa spends long hours getting Lilah ready for the camera. These two characters feel an instant attraction, but they experience some uncertainty and misunterstandings throughout the course of the novel.

I listened to the audiobook of this title which was narrated by Natalie Naudus. The audio came in at 10 hours and 22 minutes, but it felt like an easy, quick listening experience. The narration was enjoyable and Natalie Naudus did a nice job bringing life to the characters. I loved the bisexual representation in this story. I particularly enjoyed Lilah's character and appreciated her growth throughout the book. I would recommend listening to this one if you're a fan of sapphic rom-coms, insta-love/attraction, and characters in different stages of the coming out process!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the ALC of this title, which did not affect the contents of my voluntary review. All opinions are honest and my own.

This was…fine, I guess.

The book features a lesbian and a bisexual who are both Jewish, and those aspects I really enjoyed.

But a minor personal epiphany for me was the realization that the “celebrity with a stalker” trope just does nothing for me. Like, at all. In addition to that, it kind of contributed to a feeling that the book couldn’t really decide what it wanted to be — millennial coming of age in a harsh and insecure work environment, romance, thriller, something…else I’m not even sure what.

I also didn’t really buy into the mc’s as into each other. They both had better chemistry with a piece of cheesecake than each other. I’m also a little frustrated with the sapphic dynamics I’m seeing in a lot of contemporary romances where there’s this endless song and dance of “oh is she into girls? But oh is she into ME? But oh I don’t want to presume or take any action whatsoever that can be construed as moving this relationship forward” and I’m just tired of it. I also have a lot of trouble when the main characters of a romance are suspicious of each other over comparatively low stakes stuff and do stupid things because of it.

I can see this being really enjoyable for people who like theater themed romance, celebrity/non celebrity romance, and romantic suspense, but this really wasn’t the book for me.

This was a cute book. They story flowed well and there was some suspense. I felt like the love story took a backseat to everything else. I was looking forward to that story. Though, the movie make up aspect was fascinating and unique!

I enjoyed the narrator, her voice seemed to fit well in this story.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and sourcebooks casablanca for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book was such a fine light hearted read. I did feel like there was something missing for me but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I listened to this audiobook in 2 day. 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.
I enjoyed the book but sometimes there were useless details. It could have been a 300+ page book instead of 400+. I absolutely adore the characters

3.5 stars

I Kissed A Girl, Jennet Alexander's debut novel, is a delightful romance between a Hollywood starlet trying to break out of the horror genre and her makeup artist who has dropped out of UCLA for her first big job. I loved the diverse cast of characters that Alexander included in this story and appreciated that she not only included people of different sexualities and races, but also people in various types of romantic relationships. The backdrop of the movie provides an excellent backdrop for our leading ladies Noa and Lilah to fall in love and I adored the level of specificity that Alexander put into the descriptions of the set.

I was a little taken aback by the inclusion of a stalking plot; while I understand that the author needed a conflict, I would have never guessed from the cover that such a dark subject was a part of the plot. That, along with the book being about 50-75 pages too long, did take me out of the story quite a few times. However, no book is perfect and I think that there are definitely people out there who would give this a rousing 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I listened to this audiobook in 1 day. The story was an overall pretty cute wlw romance. Lilah is an up and coming actress working in horror movies, even though they are not her passion at all and falls for Noa, a special effects make up artist working on the set of her new movie Scare-odactyl. Lilah is a bisexual who hasn't really gotten a chance to explore queer spaces/feel involved in her local lgbtqia+ community. Meanwhile, Noa is a lesbian who is much more connected and while they fall for each other Noa also introduces Lilah to the local queer community.

And while this romance was cute, the stalker-fan subplot, if it can even be considered a subplot because it occasionally and more towards the end became the main focus. At some points I even for got this was a romance because it became quite focused on this mystery/thriller element rather than the romance.

I enjoyed listening to this book, and it only took me a day. The narrator is excellent, and the story is entertaining - it's the perfect light-hearted beach read. However, it feels a bit like two stories mashed into one to make a full-length novel. The pseudo-mystery is predictable and frequently forgotten when convenient, and the romance takes precedent over any real character growth. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

There's a lot to love about this wlw romance. Lilah's characterization was an absolute gem. I loved reading about her exploration of queerness and what it means to her as a person who largely inhabits allocishet-normative spaces. I was drawn to her journey of self discovery and really enjoyed learning about her experience as a horror movie actress and all the ins and outs of the movie set. I was less drawn to Noa, who felt less developed. I found Noa to be realistically flawed, but... not much else. I wished she'd had a stronger character arc that investigated why she's judgmental and afraid of big feelings more and engaged with why she felt that way and her journey to working toward not judging people so much, but alas she fell a little flat. I think this book succeeded in telling Lilah's story tremendously--the plot with the stalker and her journey to self confidence and feeling like herself were wonderful--but I didn't buy into the romance as an endgame happily ever after, more like a first step for Lilah into the world of queerness and her own journey. I think the author is talented and I'll look forward to reading more of Alexander's work in the future!

I love Natalie Naudus and wlw romances so I knew I had to request this one. But I am DNFing it at 18 percent because I just can't get into the story. It already has so many issues between the characters that would be fixed if they JUST TALKED TO EACH OTHER. There are also so many details I don't need to know about (the daily schedule of things going on set, what scenes are shot, etc).

Lilah is a rising actress working in a low budget movie where Noa is in charge of special effects makeup. They are attracted to each other almost instantly but their completely opposite personalities seem to be too big of a difference for anything to happen. Having to deal with being open about their sexuality, the pressure of working long days and relationships forbidden between cast and crew, Lilah and Noa end up forging a friendship they both wished was more.

It was a really cute romcom, I loved reading the about all the works of filming a movie and the characters were likeable and unique. I loved the growth the characters had and the LGBTQIAP+ and jewish representation was very well done.

I listened to the audiobook and although the narrator is great and she had different voices for the characters, the inner monologues were done with the same voice so it was hard to know who was who until a few chapters in when you knew the characters enough.

DNF at 20%
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this one change for a honest review
This one was just boring to me. I didn’t really care for the characters or their behaviors. There wasn’t a lot going on either.

I requested this because I love Natalie naudus as a narrator and I love sapphic romance but I have to DNF. I listened to 70% of the audiobook on a long journey but a) this book is WAY longer than necessary, this should be no longer than 8 hours on audio but it's like 10 and b) I'm not invested in the characters. it switches too much between noa and Lilah so I'm not always sure what's going on a d there's no chemistry + poorly done instalovs

DNF

I went into this novel with no expectations yet I still found it dissapointing.

The relationship really wasn't anything special and I found it to be quite lacking at times. There was barely any chemistry between the main couple. Insta love has never been a favorite trope of mine and this didn't sell me.

I also found myself bored throughout parts of the book which obviously isn't something I'd hoped for.

I was going to try and continue but I didn't feel the need to try and finish something I have no interest in.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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.

As for the audiobook, I really enjoyed the narrator. She has a smooth voice that's enjoyable to listen to, and she had great inflection and diction. The audiobook definitely added a layer to this book where I felt more immersed than I did when I was just reading it. I rate the book 2.5 stars, and the audiobook 5 stars; I'm taking an average and giving this book 4 stars on Netgalley.