I really enjoyed this book! It was a bit of a slow start for me but once things picked up a little, I was invested and couldn’t put it down. I loved the chemistry between Wren and Derrick and really just with the whole group. It had a good cast of characters and I loved how it dealt with figuring out your identity and understanding that there’s more under the queer umbrella than just gay and bisexual. The poor communication (from multiple parties but especially Wren) grated on me but not enough to ruin the rest of it!

Think "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," but make it queer! This book was so fun. I loved the plot, the setting of the drive-in, and characters. Wren's story to figuring out his identity was excellent. It's a great example for teens who may be struggling with their identity as well. I'm also a huge fan of the "trying to save a town's historical landmark" trope. I loved seeing the town rally behind saving the drive-in.
The narration was fantastic and I look forward to more books by this author. It was a great debut.

The beginning of this was like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but the New Adult LGBTQ version. And that was enough to get me hooked. It was so impossibly cute. Definitely the serotonin I needed at the time.

Wren has never been kissed. What he did was write up emails about the “almost kisses” the way he wants to remember them. But after a drunk night he realizes that he actually sent them out to the people who they were about. But just when he thought it was all over, he sees that his crush from long ago is here and is going to be helping him work at the drive in movie theater. He hates it, not because of him, but because of what he’ll be doing. He likes things to be the way they are. So when things are changing, like his graduation and the fate of the drive in, he realizes that he can’t stop them, he can only roll with the punches.

This one was pretty ok to me. I LOVED the setting. I know it’s stupid, but I really liked the feel of the old movies and the way that Wren was all into the older movies. (Reminded me a lot of me and books) But Idk, I could just imagine the place where the movies was surrounded by trees, and I could just see the run-down concession stand and ticket stand and I just thought it was pretty cool. The movie in my mind had this whole thing I brought up, even while I’ve never even been to one before. But now I desperately want to go lol

The characters were pretty cool, tho some of them were annoying. Like one of Wren’s friend was really, really childish. To the point of he got on my nerves in literally every scene. And then there was Wren his self. He was childish too, just not as bad as the other dude. But Derick was pretty cool and he kind of made up for Wren’s weirdness.

Which brings me to the romance. It was cute! I loved how chill Derick was about it and how he wanted to talk about everything vs try to force everything away like Wren. I did hate that they didn’t get much time to actually be together tho. Wren spent so much time angry at him and then they got together for one chapter and then they broke up again. They didn’t get back together until the end so the epilogue was very welcome.

But since there was an epilogue, I’m hella curious on what the next book is going to be like? One of his friends? Who is this going to be about?! If nothing else, I’m going to read it to be nosey and find out who it’s for.

The narration was good. It took me a while to get in to this book and the narrator's voice, but once I did I was able to sit back and enjoy the story.

This was a slow-burn romance and it is nice to see LQBTQIA2+ representation other than gay or lesbian within the novel.

I would read books written by Timothy Janovsky in the future.

Timothy Janovsky’s debut novel, Never Been Kissed, is such a fun summer read. This book has so much to offer including aspec rep, second chance romance, queer chosen family, a local drive in and a fun plot surrounding giving a shunned, recluse female director the movie premier she deserves.

There were so many things I loved about this book! One of the many things I loved about this book was the message that it’s okay to take your time. I don’t feel like there is a ton of representation in the media for people who have had their first kiss later in life and I love that this book has that. I loved that Wren and Derick had very open communication about going at their own pace in their relationship. It also shows that it can take a lot of time to figure out your identity and how you want to label yourself and that's okay!

There were times when I wish I could have seen a little more of the romance between Wren and Derick because I loved seeing their friendship and relationship evolve but I still loved what we got from their two characters.

I enjoyed Mark Sanderlin narration and thought his voice embodied Wren.

Overall, this was such a sweet, slowburn coming of age romance and I look forward to reading more of Janosky’s future work. This was a 4.5 for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Never Been Kissed is basically To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but instead of a Lara Jean, we have Wren, a queer college graduate with an affinity for all things related to film. And you know what? This story was so cute that I didn't even care that it resembled another book so closely. Wren, his love interest, Derrick, and other important characters were really well developed and so loveable that by the end of the story I was sad to have to say goodbye to them! If you are looking for a lighthearted, feel-good summer rom-com, this is the book for you.

Thank you for NetGally and Dreamscape media for a copy of this arc. This review and the opinions within it are entirely my own.

I think the premise of this book is fun and unique exploring the Peter Pan syndrome many queer-identifying people can face, when it comes to first, as the title suggests. In addition, I found the demi rep in this book to be refreshing and important to read, this being a part of LGBTQ+ I do not see often.

However, the largest hurdle I had to overcome when reading this novel is most ideas feeling half-baked and I just wanted them to cook a bit longer.

The main character Wren has many friends, family members, and characters he interacts with along the way, but none of them feel more than one-dimensional side characters lacking a feeling of authentic living or purpose. Similarly, Wren feels like a Twink to a T, missing a feeling layered or complex feeling to him as well, outside of trying to achieve his linear goals throughout the story.

Overall, I think this could be great for someone's first queer book or first book to get back into reading in general. Although, the simplicity of the plot, setting, and characters left me wanting more.

That being said, this author still holds potential for me and I know this was their debut. They have a queer Christmas Romcom coming out this year I have already preordered and have higher hope for it!

I thought this was such a cute book, light and funny, but also explores things like identities. I'd definitely give this to any teen.

Liked the book and the representation but the pacing was a little slow for me and I found I wasn’t super invested in the characters

Big thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advance audiobook via NetGalley. This review is being given honestly and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked the narrator for this audiobook which was honestly my first to finish. I’m not usually a fan of American narrators because almost every audiobook I’ve tried has had some seriously boring and/or monotone narrators but this one was perfect. I could absolutely picture this being Wren’s voice and thought the narrator had a lot of emotional inflection that not only brought the story to life but kept me engaged and focused on the story.

This a debut novel by Timothy Janovsky and I have been a huge fan of this book since I first heard of it. I’m really glad that this book lived up to my expectations and thought it was a great debut and romance novel.

I really liked Wren and learning about his queer journey and how it continued even after he had found his ‘label’, as well as the professional and emotional development we got to see from him. Derrick was a sweetie pie who I loved! I love the way Janovsky included Derricks own story and struggles as a plot line without it taking over the romance or Wren’s story. The romance was very cute and filled my heart with joy. Overall I really loved this book and thought the supporting characters really helped pull the story together.

I think my only complaint was that the ending felt rushed and the third act breakup. I’m just generally not a fan of the third act breakup and felt the novel would have been great without it which also plays into the ending. I felt the conflict was a bit unnecessary and it was introduced and resolved in a very short time making me feel lackluster about it.

Overall this was a great debut and I’m already anticipating the authors next novel coming this fall!

This was such a fun and whimsical coming of age story that explores life after college graduation, sexuality, queer labels, found family, hopes and dreams.

I love a good coming of age story, but so many are focused on teenage years, so I love that this story focuses on what next after college graduation and how messy that summer after graduation can be.

Wren and Derick were both such fantastic characters. They are both just trying to figure out what’s next after college and engaging in some messiness along the way. Their chemistry and banter was really fun to watch.

I’ll definitely be checking out more books by this author.

Really enjoyed this one! The narrator was fantastic, and the book itself was really good. For seeing many rereads in the future!

Mark Sanderlin’s emotional first-person POV narration of Timothy Janovsky’s New Adult, LGBTQ Romance Never Been Kissed, Boy Meets Boy #1, drew me in from the first scene. I was interested in the audiobook because I love the “Never Been Kissed” and friends-to-lovers tropes, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the story and Wren’s journey. Wren Roland has never been kissed. But he’s been planning and dreaming about the perfect first kiss just like a scene from a movie for years, wanting that movie-perfect ending more than anything. Feeling nostalgic after a night out with his best friends on the eve of his birthday, he sends e-mails to all the boys he had crushes on and almost kissed before he came out. Unfortunately, Derick Haverford, Wren’s high school BFF and #1 pre-coming-out-crush—who ghosted him after their senior year of high school—suddenly re-enters his life as his drive-in theater’s new social media intern. To make things worse, Derick received and responded to one of his rashly sent e-mails. But Wren’s convinced Derick doesn’t feel the same way about that almost-kiss that blew up Wren’s life anyway. Working together to save the drive-in from closing, they renew their friendship, getting even closer than before. Verging on a deeper relationship, Wren’s movie-perfect kiss before the ending credits may become a reality.

Sanderlin’s narration nicely complements Janovsky’s emotional, humorous story and film referential narrative style. Sanderlin’s narration is filled with emotion and cadence, bringing Janovsky’s characters and story to life with distinct voices for the characters—female and male—capturing their emotions, personalities, and moods for each scene.

Janovsky’s characters are complex, quirky, and fascinating. It’s very cool how diverse the characters’ ethnicities, sexualities, and genders are and how it influences the story and how the characters react to situations within the novel. The most significant example concerns Wren’s sexuality. Janovsky writes about his character’s exploration and confusion about his sexual identity with nuance, depth, introspection, and sensitivity, offering new territory that I haven’t read explored in detail in romances—an exploration of romantic attraction vs. sexual attraction. Via Wren’s exploration of his sexual identity—among others in the novel—Janovsky brilliantly examines the complexities of sexual identity. I love how affirming and encouraging Wren’s friends are of his searching, questioning, and exploration of his sexual identity. They don’t pressure, judge, or push. Instead, they listen and offer information, advice, and support. Emotional, sweet, and reflective, these scenes are among my favorites in the novel. Sanderlin wonderfully captures Wren’s emotions during the book overall, but especially during these scenes.

Janovsky wonderfully develops relationships between his characters that feel authentic. They challenge, support, frustrate, love, and drive each other crazy from one moment to the next. I love Wren’s friend’s circle. They keep things interesting. Janovsky skillfully develops Derick’s and Wren’s relationship through a combination of texts and personal interactions that are sweet, funny, angsty, and filled with tension. The tension stems from pain over their separation and sexual attraction. He deftly describes that ache of being distant from a friend to whom you were once so close.

Never Been Kissed is a sweet, angsty, adorable, funny, and thoughtful LGBTQ friends-to-lovers romance about self-discovery, sexual identity, friendship, first love, second chances, and standing up for yourself and your beliefs.

After twenty-something Wren Roland celebrates his birthday a little too hard, he gets morose thinking about all the kisses that never were (he is still awaiting his first kiss)… and wakes up to find that he drunk emailed 4 people he had almost kiss experiences in the past…

This is the set up for our twenty-something virgin and his 4 almost kiss situations… now at this point I had thought that the love interest of the story would be his roommate, but I was wrong. I also thought that this book would take us through exploring his relationships with all past near kiss companions… wrong again.

After this, I was thrown for a look as we amp up the importance of Wren’s summer job running the local drive-in and his attempts to keep the business afloat. This also forces one of the near kiss finds back into Wren’s life as he takes on an internship for the drive-in as their social media person. And this is were the story really starts and we get a cute and sweet second chance romance as the team up to create a special event to save the drive-in.

🎧I was fortunate to receive an audiobook arc and even though it took me a little while to hit my stride with the book from the above mentioned plot set ups, the narration fit the characters and made me what to continue on even when I was unsure of where the book was going in the beginning. Mark Sanderlin had a good grasp on the character of Wren and voiced him authentically, expressing his excitement and worry in a tangible way.

Overall, this was a slow burn sweet second chance romance with a YA feel. The characters were fun and their work to save the drive-in was compelling.

#NeverBeenKissed #TimothyJanovsky #Netgalley #pinkcowlandreads

Wren Roland has never been kissed, but he harbors sweet memories of the four almost-kisses he had. On the night of his 22nd birthday, he sends drunken emails to those four guys recalling how he felt about those almost-kisses. One of those emails went to Derick Haverford, Wren’s high school friend and longtime crush, though they fell out of touch in college. Now, Derick and Wren are working together at the local drive in for the summer. As they work together on a project to save the drive-in, they rekindle their friendship…and maybe more.

The growing relationship between Wren and Derick is only one of the great story lines in this book. Some of the characters in the book were annoying, but Alice was my absolute favorite. I wish the movie mentioned in this book was real so that we could watch it. I love love love seeing demisexual representation in this book! Mark Sanderlin did a nice job narrating the audiobook.

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

Congratulations to Timothy Janovsky for publishing his debut novel Never Been Kissed on May 3, 2022! I'm grateful to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley providing a review copy of the audiobook. I experienced a lot of nostalgia while listening to this because drive-in movies were a fun part of my high school years.

There's a lot to like about this contemporary LGBTQIA+ romance:

- 20-something main character who's never been kissed for reasons other than religion
- passion for movies, drive-in theaters, and a local business
- intergenerational friendship between a fan and his idol
- use of social media to advance the plot
- narration by Mark Sanderlin which perfectly represented the main character

This is the first novel I've read featuring a character who is demisexual - someone who experiences desire only in the context of a strong emotional or romantic bond - so that was a good learning opportunity for me. I didn't enjoy that the friends of the main character weren't developed; I couldn't tell them apart which was confusing at times.

The author's second novel is expected to publish in October 2022 and is titled You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince (I challenge you to say that without singing it). With its green cover, it sounds like a fresh and clever option for holiday reading.

This is the definition of my favorite romances -- swoony but also grounded. There is fantastic representation throughout this book and continual conversation about what it means to discovery who you are. If you love "To All the Boys" then I think you will adore this book.

This debut romance is full of heart and charm, perfect for fans of The Charm Offensive and Casey McQuiston. Wren is a 22-year old movie buff with a film degree who's never been kissed. When he accidentally sends out a series of draft emails to all of his almost first kisses (a la To All The Boys I've Loved Before), he's mortified. But his life only goes from bad to worse when he learns that the former best friend who ghosted him after an almost-kiss will be working alongside him at the drive-in movie theater this summer. I loved the dawning realization and acceptance of Wren's demi-sexuality and how he and Derrick figure out their relationship dynamics. Also the drive in and exhumation of a lost, local horror flick! Great, fun read. Also, a little bit heartbreaking since my local drive-in is closing soon, so that storyline really hit home.

I received an audiobook copy of Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this book. The characters were well developed and the plot was entertaining enough. The story is filled with different tropes that each help to complicate the story while also furthering the plot. I found the characters to be lovable and at times I found myself questioning some of their decisions. Yet, this only helped in keeping me enthralled with listening to the book. However, I will say that the first quarter of the book was a little hard to get into, but after finishing that quarter Never Been Kissed became a quick read. Finally, this book includes some much needed Demi representation, which was well thought out and refreshing as it did not fall into the love at first sight category! Therefore, I highly recommend this book as it is the perfect combination of friendship and slow burn romance!

As a note, while this is technically a New Adult book as its characters are in their early-ish twenties, it reads young and is definitely appropriate for a Young Adult/Teen audience. I think going in expecting a sexy New Adult rom-com sort of messed with my expectations when it really belongs to a Young Adult audience. Overall, this rom-com was very okay for me. I didn't find it particularly engaging or any characters particularly lovable or any scenes particularly swoony, but it was a fairly solid rom-com, I guess. I won't be recommending it, but I also wouldn't jump in anywhere to say it's bad; I think the book and I just didn't mesh.