A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins is a phenomenal sapphic romance story!
This book is an absolute delight. I read the entire thing with a stupid grin on my face and almost immediately fell in love with both of our MCs.
These might be the most likable characters ever!! Literally all these characters were so wonderful. There was never a boring moment!
This was an amazing, funny, beautiful, Black sapphic romance story that I absolutely LOVED!!

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Heat Factor: Gets fairly explicit.

Character Chemistry: Everyone they know thinks they’ve been dating for the past year.

Plot: Cyn and Jucee, ride-or-die besties, hook up. And then fail to communicate in truly spectacular fashion.

Overall: I loved the voice, but had some problems with the arc of the narrative.

I’m going to start with a quote from Chapter 1, because I read it and laughed my ass off, and it pretty accurately captures the narrative voice of this book:

"When people saw me, a five-foot-ten, dark-skinned, three-hundred-pound, masculine-presenting woman with a taper-fade and a bottom grill, the assumption was almost always that I was a carpet-muncher and not just a fat tomboy. And the assumption was one hundred percent correct. I mean…genetics made me fat, but I did indeed love to eat."

If this sounds like something you could get down with, read on!

Let’s set the scene. Cyn, a music producer on the rise, and Jucee, a stripper who is doing pretty well for herself, are best friends. And let me be clear: when I say they are best friends, their lives are completely enmeshed. Jucee brings meals to Cyn at the studio when she’s working. Cyn gives Jucee her new songs to perform to at the club before they’re released to build the hype. Jucee goes to barbecues at Cyn’s parents’ house. Cyn’s grandmother takes care of Jucee’s child every day after school while Jucee is working. They also do things like have movie night and go clubbing and grab lunch and all the other things you may do with your besties. The first third or so of the book is spent establishing this friendship—so while the beginning does feel slow, it lays important groundwork for the rest of the romance.

One night, Cyn and Jucee are out on the town and this other woman hits on Cyn and it’s kind of a wake-up call for both of them, as they realize that they’re hot for each other. Cue cycle of sex followed by miscommunication, wash rinse repeat.

The great thing about this romance is how clearly Higgins shows the care and connection between Cyn and Jucee. Here’s Cyn the first time they hook up:

"“I— I’m just…” I snapped my lips shut as I realized I didn’t have an answer— not one that wouldn’t sound ridiculous. How did I explain that the way she was taking charge had my mind frazzled? I was a top. I ran the fucking show.

"From the way Jucee licked her lips and twisted them into a sensual smirk, you’d have thought I’d spoken out loud. Had I spoken aloud? Had she read it in my eyes? Oh, duh.

"She definitely read it in my eyes. Jucee knew me too damn well.

"Or maybe she knew me the perfect amount.

"Because the way Jucee crawled toward me and placed her hands on my hips had me trembling."

Here’s Jucee, when she and Cyn are in the midst of communication issues:

"You know that feeling when you’ve been traveling for days, or even weeks, and you’ve been sleeping in hotel beds and eating restaurant food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you’ve been wearing your shoes more than ever because you aren’t at home so you don’t feel comfortable walking around barefoot in a strange place, but then. Then you get home, and you kick off your shoes, and you eat food you cooked, and you shower in your own tub, and you jump naked under your own sheets, and everything smells like home and warmth and yours?

"That was the feeling that consumed me when my lips accidentally on purpose landed on Poppa’s. It had only been weeks since we’d kissed in any capacity, but, no matter how hard I willed it to not be true, Poppa was my home and kissing her felt like getting my footing after stumbling over and over."

[Note: Poppa is Jucee’s special nickname for Cyn.]

Now, both of these cases are the characters telling me about the special connection, but it works because I’ve already seen it, in that first third of the book where Higgens did all that work to show how close their friendship is.

Unfortunately, the book faltered for me toward the end. When I say I had some problems with the arc of the narrative, it’s not because this is a character-driven miscommunication book that falls more on the vibes side of the plot-vibes spectrum. That is what it is, and you either like books like that or you don’t. However. In order to be effective, their miscommunication should stem from their characterization, right? The way the miscommunication was set up, I felt strongly that their problems were entirely due to Cyn being not great in the way she was treating her friend, and that Jucee’s protective pulling away was a normal response to what was going on. But then, at the very end of the book, something is revealed about Jucee’s backstory that indicates that she was pulling away much more aggressively than the situation warranted; this one scene made me question my reading of their miscommunication dynamic (and not necessarily in a good way). Cyn and Jucee have it out and make up right after this scene, and the book ends pretty shortly after that, so the ending felt very abrupt—perhaps because I didn’t have time to sit with the late-revealed information about Jucee’s life.

Soapbox moment: I’ve seen a lot of other reviews highlighting the representation in this book, and not just because Cyn and Jucee are Black lesbians. Cyn is a fat stud. Jucee is bisexual and certainly has some junk in the trunk. So I’d like to address the other side of this, which is the potential pushback of “oh these characters aren’t relatable.” I am now speaking to my fellow white ladies who listen to country music and haven’t been to a club in fifteen years: it is precisely the specificity of the portrayal that makes these characters human and relatable. Even though on the surface I have nothing in common with Cyn and Jucee, I related intimately with Jucee’s balance of being a mother and also her own person, with Cyn’s fear of messing things up, with both of their struggles to navigate their way through making their friendship more than what it was.

And speaking of specificity, the food writing here is unbelievable. Yes, I do want to eat at a Texas sushi fusion place called Yee Raw, which sells things like baked bean gyoza, please and thank you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

Nothing beats D’Vaughn & Kris plan a wedding— that book lives in my heart. A Little Kissing can stand next to it though! This was fun, flirty, a little frustrating (the friends to lovers trope drives me batty!). This was well done. I always know I can settle into a Chencia Higgins book and know that she is going to take care of her readers.

I didn’t know before reading this (cause adhd) that it’s the same author who wrote one of my favorite reads of last year. The pacing was amazing. I finished the book in about a day. I really appreciated the sex worker representation in a positive light. Both main characters were lovable and well developed. The spice was doing its thing. Shout out to dominant femmes!!! I’m not gonna say to much but well done again!!!

Oh no this was so cute! I really enjoyed A Little Kissing Between Friends. It was the perfect contemporary romance: sweet, warm, funny. The perfect summer read.

* All of the characters seemed relatable in one way or another, but their speech patterns were kind of weird to me. Some of the words and phrases used were just not everyday phrases and it was a little weird to me. 
* There was a LOT of internal dialogue in this book, some of which didn’t actually help the plot.
* I enjoyed that the story was set in Houston and that the characters were a stripper and a music producer. 
* There were a lot of gaps in the story line. There were some parts of the story where it said something previously happened in the book and it didn’t. Not sure if this was just typos in the advanced copy, but it made the reading experience less enjoyable. 
* I probably wouldn’t read it again, but this would make for a good book club pick

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
After loving D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding, I was excited to see what Chencia C. Higgins would write next. A Little Kissing Between Friends absolutely delivered in that regard.As the cover promises, I particularly loved how the book, as reflected by the cover, shows body diversity and diversity in gender expression, with Cyn being fat and butch, and Jucee being full-figured/midsize and femme.
I really liked that both Cyn and Jucee were successful career women, being a music producer and dancer respectively. They’re longtime friends, and seeing them discover their feelings for one another was really sweet. There were some communication issues, but I wasn’t that bothered, because these two were so delightful as they navigated their relationship. The book leaned a little more toward being “no plot, just vibes,” which impacted pacing a tad, but these characters sustained my interest enough throughout the book.
This was an enjoyable read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a sapphic Black romance with body diversity.

In my opinion the book was okay. It was a slow read for me and I often contemplated on DNF, but I wanted to know how it ended. The book was super steamy, like the spice was UP THERE! I like how the author depicted sex worker in a positive light as well as two black women who were best friends finding love and joy amongst each other. While this book isn’t one of my favs that I have read recently, I appreciate that it’s a queer contemporary romance that brings a great story to both the lgbtq and black communities. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking to read a queer, friends to lovers romance novel.

I fell in love with this book in the first paragraph. I fell in love with Cyn and her daddy in the first chapter. I fell in love with Juleesa in Chapter 2 and by Chapter 5 I loved everybody and everything about this book. A Little Kissing Between Friends is a love letter to multi-generational community, friendships, music and food.

Chencia C. Higgins starts with Cyn remembering the day she let her daddy know that she liked girls. It came out as a part of a story about getting into trouble for a shoving match with Britney Berry (you have to say her whole name because there are 4 Britneys in her class). Cyn’s father focuses on reminding Cyn she had other options that were better than pushing, and quietly accepts the news that his daughter has a girlfriend. This moment of gentle and firm parenting gives the reader the foundation of Cyn’s community – loving, accepting, supportive, and expecting its members to treat others with respect and care.

Cyn is now a successful music producer, still based in her Houston neighborhood. She’s just spent weeks in LA working with a big name, but she signed an NDA, so she can’t talk about it. When she returns and sees her best friend Juleesa again, something has shifted in the way she sees her. This shift, the desire and sexual attraction pull the rug out from under Cyn and she does not know how to handle it. Juleesa, on the other hand, has been down this road before and has her 5 year old son to show. Cyn brought Juleesa and her son into her family and made Juleesa a part of it. Juleesa is wary of letting outside opinions push her into a romance with another best friend, but when Cyn makes a move, she is ready to reciprocate.

I love a well done friends to lovers romance. It would seem like an easy, low stakes transition to make, “we are friends, and now we are in love!” Higgins brings the confusion, fear, hope, and love to life. When Cyn bungles the first morning after, Higgins shows us how big the stakes are for Juleesa and Cyn.

I love the vibrant, multigenerational community. I love the way even in the midst of upheaval, assumptions, and miscommunications, respect for the other is at the center. Chencia C. Higgins is a fantastic author and A Little Kissing Between Friends is peak Higgins.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Harlequin/Carina Adores and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

4.25 ⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

A super steamy friends-to-lovers Black Sapphic romance.

Cyn and Juleesa are best friends who absolutely adore each other, but something shifts between them that leaves them wondering if more could be on the table. Between Cyn's insecurities and Juleesa's fears from her past, the two women gotta figure it out or lose everything they have together.

This is a low plot, all character story that highlights the Houston music and club scene. Love the positive sex worker vibes and the found family. Higgins is so good at making you love her characters. I also loved that Jucee is a single mom making it work with her community behind her.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This is a sexy, sapphic Black friends-lovers romance; Cyn is a Grammy-award winning music producer who's a stud and a bit of a player. She regularly collabs with Jucee, who's a dancer at a popular Houston strip club. Juleesa and Cyn have one of those friendships where eeeeveryone asks them if they're together and they're all "omg no why would you ever think that?" Which is obviously indicative of their chemistry, which is there right from the start (like come on, Jucee literally calls Cyn "Poppa" on the reg), and it's the kind that feels comfortable and worn-in but still pretty damn hot.

As far as rep goes, there's so much about this book to appreciate: Chencia C. Higgins is a Texan and she wrote about the Houston music and club scene in a way that feels so loving and immersive in its details. She also wrote a story where Blackness and queerness is the norm and celebrated (including AAVE, something I rarely see used consistently in contemporaries, even ones with African-American MCs). And the fact that Jucee is a single mom co-parenting with her ex and his new wife? It's touched upon just the right amount, but otherwise it's no big deal. The book is also sex-positive but also portrays the reality of potential romantic partners judging Jucee for her career while still fetishizing her for it.

In terms of the romance, I think this story does fall into that friends-to-lovers trap of the reader being unable to tell exactly what changed how they view one another, from friend to potential sexual/romantic partner. The catalyst is ostensibly a groupie who briefly hits on Cyn, but it feels too insignificant to really change their dynamic because both have acknowledged each other as sexy and attractive to other women without jealousy really getting in the way in the past. Ultimately, there's a period of hook-ups and lot of will-they-won't-they in terms of a real relationship (the messiest point being bi erasure on Cyn's part when it comes to Jucee which... yikes, BUT there is a grovel) until near the end.

The sex:

Solid as far as contemporary romances go; I appreciate that sapphic romances have been bringing the heat of late and this book does not disappoint there, including a strip club lap dance that turns into a full strap-on moment. I also love how their bodies are written as sexy and desirable, curves, rolls and all, rather than simply being glossed over.

Overall:

This is my third review of a Harlequin Afterglow book and while the romance didn't hit the quite the same way the other two did, I appreciate the fact that it's a queer contemporary romance that brings the heat and the diversity in a way that feels reflective of our culture in a time when contemporary romances are feeling increasingly homogenous. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a light-hearted, queer friends-to-lovers romance.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.75/5
Heat Level: 3.5/5
Publication Date: May 28th

2.5, rounded to 3/5

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

okay i struggle with this author a lot ....

first with what i enjoyed- i love seeing two black characters finding joy and love with one another! also let's go stud representation!!!!!!! I also love seeing sex work depicted in a positive light by all of the characters, that was really refreshing. it did feel like an easy read, but i just struggled with it a lot.

i gave this book a shot— i didn't love the authors last book and i really wanted to, i thought it might have to do with the insta-love aspect, so i was really excited to see a friends to lovers story coming out (no pun intended). but. but but but. i dislike how quickly we go from friends to lovers? it feels like they groundwork for friendship and that relationship wasn't established enough for them to go from bffs one second to "oh wow i want to fuck her ....? 🤨" ???? i felt like there needed to be some more dialogue and scenes between jucee and cyn for their mutual attraction to each other to make sense, because at first it was very strictly "no that's just my friend". there didn't feel like there was the gradual transition from that into realizing the attraction. i also felt that there were So Many Characters it was hard to keep track. i wish that had instead been focused on building up cyn and jucee's relationship :/ it just felt very rushed and honestly if i was jucee i would've never forgiven cyn :/

i would recommend this if you want a quick romance with not a lot of plot. it was cute but not something I’d go back to.

Now THIS is a friends to lovers!! Chencia Higgins is the greatest at writing characters that you fall in love with and root for the entire time. Even her side characters are lovable and have you wishing for their own books! I really enjoyed Cyn and Juleesa’s friendship and their slightly rocky journey to becoming more. I loved that this was very character driven with low stakes it was just such a sweet read! It did take me a little bit to get into the book bc the beginning kind of took off before I got my bearings with who was who and what was happening. This is such a perfect summer romance read!

Cyn and Juleesa are just friends, no matter what everyone else thinks. Yeah they touch and spend all their time together, but what's a little kissing between friends? This sapphic friends to lovers story would be a simple slam dunk if they could just get on the same page. The banter in this is top notch, and ther were multiple times that I actually laughed out loud. The references to the H and the relateable slange were a nice touch, and I loved all the queer rep and sex positivity. The pacing was a bit off, and I think this book needed to be longer or shorter. It's in a weird middle ground where there was some fluff and descriptions could have been left out, or the story expanded to do more showing instead of telling. That said, I had a good time reading this and I will keep picking up Chencia's work.

Omg where do I start 🫠 first of all I’m a sucker for a friend to lover trope 🤗 ! Poppa what’s really good cause jucee was all about you and you was playing in my girl face 🙄 anyway I thoroughly enjoyed this book , I couldn’t put it down and Ms. Jucccccceeeeeeeee oweeeeeee 😈 Iykyk sis wasn’t playing and wasn’t ashamed to express herself 🤭 jucee ,She deserves some genuine love ! You have to read it !

This book was an absolutely fun read, romantic and funny. I loved it from beginning to end plus who doesn’t want worked for happily ever after. Absolutely adore the characters, plot and love …this author really wrote an amazing book.

Thank you to netgalley and Harlequin - Romance | Carina Adores for allowing me to read this book. I enjoyed the book and the characters. I loved the body positivity of the book and the characters.

4.5 Stars :)

Cyn Tha Starr is no stranger to beautiful women as a successful music producer. And with her career taking up most of her time she’s elected to keep her circle small. Who needs a relationship when you have your dream job and an endless rotation of groupies? But when a night out with her best friend Jucee takes a flirtatious turn she realizes her feelings may be more than platonic. Does Cyn have what it takes to commit, or will she sabotage her first chance at real love?

Juleesa Jones is one of the top dancers in Houston with a fiery personality and a body to match. Not to mention she’s just as confident off the stage as she supports her son and friends with enough unconditional love to fill the city. But when she makes a move on her best friend Cyn she’s stuck reeling. Is what they have enough to make it romantically? Or will Jucee be left picking up the pieces of her heart? Commitment issues and community have met their match in, A Little Kissing Between Friends.

I binged this in a day it was so fun. A vibes fueled friends to lovers featuring themes of family, trust, communication, sex, and body positivity. With a Black mid-size femme bisexual single mother and a Black fat masc lesbian as main characters. Talk about underrepresented characters in queer, contemporary romance. Truly another win for the sapphics by Chencia C. Higgins. And spice!!!!! If you are a person who loves masc x femme spice then you will be so happy.

Cyn is one of the most authentic masc characters I have ever read. I expected her to be well-written since Kris from D’vaughn and Kris Plan A Wedding was such a solid character but Chencia has truly outdone herself. She was masculine in her style and mannerisms but didn’t overcompensate with toxic masculinity. She was a genuine butch lesbian which is hard to find in the media since they operate so explicitly outside the male gaze that they are excluded and written off. So to read a character like Cyn who is largely respected and well known in the music industry is refreshing. Not to mention her being a switch!! I don’t want to spoil the spicy scenes but if you’re a sucker for butches bottoming (me) then you’ll enjoy yourself. Cyn is also sober which is amazing because I never see sober characters in romances.

Jucee was such a complex and fun character to read as well. She is one of the best representations of femme bisexuals I’ve ever read and the most sex-positive character. Her confidence in her sexuality and work is a highlight of the story. No one batted an eye at her career and encouraged her to excel. It was never used as a diss or drag, especially towards her as a mother. She was just shown as a working parent who provided handsomely for her child and was supported by her community. Plus her relationship with Cyn’s family made me tear up at multiple points. It was a genuine and heartfelt connection that anchored the whole story together. Honestly, that family deserves the entire world.

Now if you are the type of reader that needs high stakes and a rigidly structured plot you may not be the biggest fan. This book is 1000000% character-driven. The entire time Cyn and Jucee are just trying to get their ish together and figure out what they want from themselves and each other. Which I love because it feels so authentic. Real-life love stories aren’t out here with a seven-point plot outline. They are messy and full of back and forth. However, I am not normally a fan of the miscommunication trope, which is a key point in the story. I’ll admit it is why I didn’t give this book 5 stars because it was exasperating at times. But overall it did make sense for these characters and their love story. So, although it was a bit much at times it was done well and didn’t take me out of the book.

All in all this heartwarming, spicy, and family-centered romance is a must-read! From the sexy club scenes to the hunger-inducing BBQs you’ll go from sad tears to frustrated tears back to happy tears. All while your stomach growls from how mouth-watering all the food sounds. Not to mention mad you can’t stream Cyn’s latest hit on Spotify. If you like romances that are vibes-driven with uniquely diverse characters and enough sexual tension to fill a room then you’re in the right place. Happy reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for sending this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Starting this review off by saying I loved and I mean LOVED D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding - another story written by this author. And I mean LOVED. I literally reread it at LEAST once a year. A Little Kissing Between Friends for me, however, just didn't fill me with the same joy. We're introduced to Cyn and Jucee, and the story follows a friends to lovers storyline. I felt like we missed a lot of their background/connection and didn't see enough of the foundation for me to be invested in them as a couple. There was a lot of miscommunication and internal dialogue that I wish had just been done a bit differently. I did appreciate the representation, however, and will absolutely read more by Chencia Higgins in the future.

I love that this is a sapphic romance between two plus sized black women.
I also love how one of them is a sex worker and how we support sex work.

I could see the characters and their personalities.