A beautiful coming of age story that has so much heart and humor. I adored how it discussed the experience around shame and how it shapes young people. Danny learns to come out of shell, growing and changing to experience a new way of life. There's a person underneath this quite demeanor and leads to self-discovery like no one before. I loved the theme of found families.

Highly recommend this story!

A surprising preapproved title that I might not have picked out on my own. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was funny, heartfelt, and gave me all the fuzzy feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This awesome novel put me through a range of emotions and I ultimately loved it! Danny is in the hospital when the book opens and his boyfriend, Tobbs has just abandoned him. He then is "kicked out" of his house as his roommates are having a baby and need his room; he moves in with bestie Jacob, who is flamboyant, over-the-top and hilarious. Their house includes an assortment of wonderfully quirky characters and as Danny absorbs this as well as begins to see a therapist for his "issues," his life finally falls into place as he realizes he is worthy and capable of love. I laughed, I cried, I ultimately cheered for Danny as this book is colorful as well as insightful!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a good LGBTQ book set in England about a young man trying to find his way in the world and figure out where he fits. The culture and British slang isn't something I'm familiar with, but the author wrote brilliantly about fitting in and mental illness and where one tries to live in a way to fit in with other's perception of how he should be rather than him living how he wants to live. Heartfelt and sometimes humorous. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

I’m not really sure what I think of this book. As a mom of an LGBTQ+ son, this broke my heart. The idea that the entire LGBTQ+ community suffers this way. The idea that it’s inevitable for my son to face hardship and questions of himself as portrayed in this book made me cry. I keep telling myself that it’s better than it was when I was younger, that easier for the community. But maybe it hasn’t maybe I have lied to myself because i want it better for my baby.. As a result there were parts of this book that made me uncomfortable, that isn’t a negative, its a positive actually. Taking me outside my comfort zone, means that it’s causing me to reflect and look at things from a different perspective. They were parts of this book that I felt were unnecessarily vulgar, but having friends in the LGBTQ+ community, I also know may normal. This was a mixed bag for me, on the one hand I felt I should rate it higher because it made me uncomfortable and because I know this has important messages to share. Then I thought to myself, if LGBTQ+ was not a hot topic and normalized, how would I rate this book? When I thought about it that way, I felt like this book had solid themes and solid characters. This book was about figuring out who you are and being true to yourself, which is relatable to anyone. However, I didn’t love it, I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t wow me enough to get it higher than the three stars. It’s good solid writing and a good read.

# First Time for Everything is by author # Henry Fry . A debut novel that is just wonderful. Anytime a author can make me laugh it's a winner.
This is a about a gay man who seems to have everything go wrong. But along his new experience's he faces his demon's and realizes how little he knows about himself. Is he really fine after all?
Thank you for the advance copy,
# Netgalley and # Random House-Ballantine

a fun and fresh debut from Fry, a great first Pride month read! I really connected with Danny and there’s a lot of very relatable musings on modern queer culture packed into a mostly fun contemporary story.

I want to be very upfront about my reservations about reviewing this book. I was deeply uncomfortable by what I felt were the stereotypes that the author deals in. However, I'm not a part of the LGBTQIA+ community (only a friend/ally), and I don't pretend to be able to speak to the stereotypes presented.

The world of young, queer London is presented to us through the eyes of Danny Scudd. Danny wants to be a journalist, and currently works in that gray space between journalism and social media, for a company that may or may not just be trying to exploit its readers with clickbait. Danny is out, although one wouldn't call him proud, and is about to find himself single and in need of a new home. Danny also suffers from crippling anxiety, and he seems to think that a good way to deal with it is to get roaring drunk and do really stupid things (which he's then anxious about the next day).

Enter Jacob, Danny's long-time best friend, who is outer than out and prouder than proud. Jacobs insists that Danny move in with them and their collection of off-beat housemates, and that Danny start therapy, thus setting in motion Danny's realization that although he's not actively hiding the fact that he's gay, he's not exactly embracing it either. Danny's path to figuring out how to come to terms with what it means to be gay will take lead him to take some unexpected actions, and may or may not cost him his friendship with Jacob.

But the message that Danny gets as he goes on this journey of self-discovery was part of the stereotyping that I was troubled by. To me, it seemed as though all the other queer people (men, in particular) in Danny's life were telling him that the reason he wasn't happy was that he was trying to fit himself into the heteronormative paradigm of monogamy as a form of self-hatred. Yes, there is at least one example of a deeply committed, happy, monogamous queer relationship in the book, but that seemed like it was supposed to be something that was definitely out of the norm. So if they can do it, why can't Danny?

***2.5 stars***

Danny Scud did it! He moved away from his hometown to bustling London to live a better life. Though whether or not it's truly better is debatable. His home isn't the best, he's still got roommates, but it's a space he's welcome in. His job is also not the best, but its related to what he wants to do, so he's sticking with it for now. He also has a relationship with someone he believes is good for him and that others would want to be with him so he's therefore lucky. Then everything changes. His roommates, who are married, announce they're expecting, and they need his room to be a nursery. His job, while he gets paid to write articles, really isn't as great as he has convinced himself it is. He's thrown into a new living situation that he isn't completely ready for as he's still learning what it means to be gay, for him. Join Danny as he tries (and fails, multiple times) to learn what it means to be a gay 20-something in London.

I really wanted to like this one. I did, in the beginning, but it quickly went off the rails for me. I don't know if it's just that I'm very much not in the target demographic but I just couldn't connect with the protagonist the way I'd like to. The supporting characters, especially Jay, saved this a little bit for me. They were flamboyant, sassy and supportive in all the right ways. I will say I recognize how this is an important story to be told, it just wasn't for me.

This is the quintessential quarter life crisis story I never knew I needed. I loved how chaotic and relatable this story was. I loved the wide array of representation and the heart and soul that the author infused into the story as well.

Fun quirky read that’s well written but I just didn’t love. It was a unique story idea but not a novel I would typically pick to read on my own. A good but forgettable story

I enjoyed this book! This was such a tender and heartfelt read. I enjoyed this coming out tale and journey from Danny. What an interesting character!

Danny Scudd is absolutely fine. He always dreamed of escaping the small-town life of his parents’ fish-and-chip shop, moving to London, and becoming a journalist. And, after five years in the city, his career isn’t exactly awful, and his relationship with pretentious Tobbs isn’t exactly unfulfilling. Certainly his limited-edition Dolly Parton vinyls and many (maybe too many) house plants are hitting the spot. But his world is flipped upside down when a visit to the local clinic reveals that Tobbs might not have been exactly faithful. In fact, Tobbs claims they were never operating under the “heteronormative paradigm” of monogamy to begin with. Oh, and Danny’s flatmates are unceremoniously evicting him because they want to start a family. It’s all going quite well.

Newly single and with nowhere to live, Danny is forced to move in with his best friend, Jacob, a flamboyant nonbinary artist whom he’s known since childhood, and their eccentric group of friends living in an East London “commune.” What follows is a colorful voyage of discovery through modern queer life, dating, work, and lots of therapy—all places Danny has always been too afraid to fully explore. Upon realizing just how little he knows about himself and his sexuality, he careens from one questionable decision (and man) to another, relying on his inscrutable new therapist and housemates to help him face the demons he’s spent his entire life trying to repress. Is he really fine, after all?

This was an enjoyable book with a great band of characters. It's funny and witty and timely. I will say that it did drag a bit, so if you're not into character driven books this one may not be for you as there isn't much "action", but the character development and stories are written very well. Thoroughly enjoyed the side characters and really loved reading a story with a non-binary character! I believe this is the first time I read a story with an NB character and wasn't sure if it would be too confusing, but honestly it wasn't. It was easy to follow and I thought Jacob was just a wonderful human.

I also really loved the story of having your life turned upside down and having to right your own ship especially at a younger age. Having experience similar situations it was refreshing to see someone struggling and working their way through.

This was a great debut novel and I would definitely recommend for those who are fans of character-driven stories.

This book is a delight to read! It reminded me of the male version of Bridget Jones, which I loved.
Danny is in a relationship with Tobbs and he doesn’t treat Danny well at all. It’s Danny’s only relationship his ever had and he loved him truly, he’s committed to Tobbs and believes it’s mutual but he discovers through an unfortunate situation the truth. He has a fabulous friend Jacob that he moves in with and helps him move on with his life.
This is a well written story, I truly enjoyed my time spent with these characters and can see this being a movie or tv series, it’s that great!
Highly recommend this one!!!

Danny believes everything in his life is going along just fine until all of a sudden he finds out it isn’t. His belief in a monogamous relationship and the fact he thought he’d found the love of his life isn’t all Danny is wrong about.

This is a well told story and was easy to read. It was interesting looking at the world through the eyes of a gay man trying to find his own way in the world and where he fits into it.

Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishing/balantine for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Danny is a young man whose world gets turned upside down and is trying to find his way through life. After having to start all over and moving in with his friend Jacob we as the reader get to see his journey through therapy and a lot of relationships while he finds his true self. There is a lot of pop culture references which left me feeling like I am still able to fit into the young and hip crowd! I loved the whole journey through the book and the "bad" part of life has to be lived through the same way that the "good" stuff gets to happen!

I've never wanted to a hug a character more than Danny. He was daring to live his life well, until it was not. He accepts that he has to make changes, and doesn't shy away from therapy with the help of his best friend Jacob. This story had me laughing, crying while finding moments of joy for Danny. The debut novel was a true delight.

And, what there is TV adaption in the works??? Please tell me it will air in the US!!!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for the advance reader copy.

This is one of the funniest books I've read and I could not put this book down. It is a wonderfully written, witty, charming coming of age read. Danny is a gay 20 something year old finally figuring out who he is. After leaving a toxic relationship, he is enlightened to be his true self and navigates his purpose in life. Super relatable for anyone who has struggled in life.

Danny Scudd left small-town life for London, and after five years he has a stable career as a journalist, a relationship with pretentious Tobbs, and roommates he likes. Unfortunately, it seems that Tobbs wasn't faithful and Danny's roommates want to kick him out to start a family. This leaves Danny moving in with his best friend Jacob, a nonbinary artist living in an East End commune. Navigating queer life, therapy, work, and relationships, Danny must learn who he actually is after all.

Within the first few chapters, Danny strikes me as the anxious, timid wallflower of romance novels that makes me grind my teeth. His boyfriend and roommates are awful to him, belittling his interests and identity, and making him question how much he actually means to them. He bends over backwards to make them happy, then insists he's happy and loved. Laura is obnoxious and self-centered, as are all her friends, and Danny's interactions with them make me want to pull him away and say "Oh, honey, no," and point him toward better people. While he certainly isn't the flamboyant person that Jacob is, he's loved and appreciated for who he is by them. Jacob pushes Danny into therapy after several panic attacks, and I agree it's sorely needed after the chaos of the first quarter of the book.

Though he's an adult, Danny acts like he's going through a second adolescence. Which probably gives you a big clue about the erratic emotions and behavior he has and the conflicts that develop. He suppressed his true personality for so long, trying to please everyone, that now he's trying hard to be the exact opposite. It goes about as well as you expect. He does work on his behavior; thanks to therapy, he has a grounded sounding board to help him give context to the world around him, helping him to move forward. I wish him well and was glad to see a positive outcome to his struggles.

I feel awful, but I just did not love this. There were a few moments that I thought were funny, but overall I found the dialogue somewhat taxing to read and the characters not as fun and likeable as I think they are meant to appear.

This is a little different than the types of books I normally gravitate too, and I applaud the author's efforts as I am sure this book will be enjoyed by many. Personally, I just did not find as much to connect to and found it tough to finish.