I have really enjoyed all of this authors books and this was no exception!

I really loved the bachelorette style date set ups and th0ught that there was a great amount of character and relationship development throughout the story. The only thing that was bugging me a little bit is the pacing of the story. I enjoyed that it was set over a full year, but I wish we would have seen more than heard about different events and things that happened throughout the book.

I LOVED who the main character ended up with in the end (I was rooting for him the whole time) and will be slotting this pretty high in my author ranking.

I liked the premise of this book, and enjoyed it overall but it wasn't a straight away hook for me. I thought the main character, Madeline, was relatable and enjoyable and she was definitely the highlight of the characters. I found her story to be very relatable, but also overdone. I found Katie, the SIL, to be very annoying. I will say though, there is character development and I'm happy with how the book ended. Overall, it was enjoyable.

A First Time for Everything follows Mads dealing with her older brother's engagement to Katie who is closed-off and seemingly stuck up. To Mads's surprise, Katie asks Mads to be a bridesmaid. Determined to build a bond with Katie, Mads agrees not only to being a bridesmaid, but to also going along with a Bachelor-esque journey and letting Katie and the other bridesmaids help Mads find the perfect plus-one for the wedding.

I really loved how this book was a combination of YA romance (Mads going on dates to find her plus-one) and a family-centered story with Mads trying to get to know Katie and build a relationship. The dynamic between Mads and the older bridesmaids was fun to read. I do wish we got to see more bonding moments between just Mads and Katie, either throughout the entirety of the book or at the end after the conflict resolution. It would have been interesting to see more of their character growths through the lens of their relationship.

I also like that the book took place over the span of a year. It made the overarching romance between Mads and who she ends up with more believable vs. being an insta-love plot. With that, I'm so happy the childhood friends to lovers plot had its chance and wasn't completely ruined by 1) the guy best friend actually being the WOAT or 2) their friendship being completely ruined after. It was such a fun and refreshing depiction of a healthy platonic relationship and a guy and girl being best friends who love each other -- just not IN love with each other -- with zero other expectations.

I am a big K.L. Walther fan so it is no surprise that I absolutely adored this book. But what I loved most was not the romantic aspects but the family aspects. I really enjoyed reading Mads learning to love her soon to be sister-in-law and seeing what her brother saw in Katie. Katie was such a great character, she was so complicated and wonderful. Mads was a great MC to follow, I saw a bit of my younger self in regards to dating in her. She was determined and passionate and stubborn as hell. And Marco was fantastic, from the first time we meet him I was hoping it would be him in the end. This book was fun and emotional. It felt a little different from Walther's other books and I loved it.

This had everything I've come to expect from a fun YA romcom by KL Walther. There's tons of wedding planning/party/ceremony shenanigans involving the FMC's brother and fiance PLUS the other bridesmaid's are determined to get virgin, never had a boyfriend before, field hockey jock, Madeline a date to the wedding through a series of bachelorette style dates. Nothing could go wrong there right? I loved that there were two dads in this family but was a little disappointed because I thought for sure Madeline was going to fall for a girl not a guy. Aside from that it was still a fun story and great on audio narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was my second book by K.L. Walther. I LOVED The Summer of Broken Rules. I also enjoyed this story with the younger character nagivating the world of being a bridesmaid and getting into college. I am from Philadelphia and love how she writes about this area. I feel like the characters are believable. As a teacher, it felt like my students will be able to relate to the problems in the book. Honestly, I plan on continuing to read everything she writes!

A First Time for Everything was a sweet and nostalgic coming-of-age story that captures all the awkward, exhilarating, and emotional moments of firsts—first crush, first kiss, first time stepping outside your comfort zone.

That said, while I appreciated the heart of the story and the overall message, the pacing felt a bit slow at times, and some of the dialogue and internal monologue didn’t fully resonate with me, especially Katie overall. The overall Bachelor Nation plot also seemed weird to me considering she was only seventeen.

Still, I think this would be a comforting read for anyone looking to reminisce about those in-between years—awkward but formative, uncomfortable but unforgettable.

I loved this companion book to the Summer of Broken Rules. This book reminded me what I love about K.L. Walther's writing style. This is the story of Mads, reluctant bridesmaid in her brother's wedding, searching for a wedding date. Mads isn't sure how she really feels about Katie, her brothers fiancé, but when the other bridesmaids encourage her to date around (in an almost bachelorette way) Mads isn't sure that this plan is what she was really expecting it to be. Torn between feelings for her best friend and the college age guy she is starting to see as more than a friend, this story is woven with fun romantic moments and serious, heartfelt ones. I enjoyed this book and was thrilled to see Meredith and Whit return, set a few years after the Summer of Broken Rules. This was a fun YA romance and how can you go wrong with all the Taylor Swift references??? Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A First Time for Everything

Okay as an Upper Bucks County native, my eyes popped out of my head when I read Council Rock North!🤣. My oldest and I are big KL Walther fans. We both loved Summer of Broken Rules and I read and enjoyed What Happens After Midnight (it’s on her TBR).


A First Time for Everything follows 17-year-old Mads who is pursuing college and hopefully also an invite to an Ivy League field hockey team. Her brother Austin is getting married, and she is a bit lukewarm on his fiancé Katie even though they’ve been together for years. Mads tries to be grateful when she is invited to be a bridesmaid, but it’s really out of her wheelhouse as a kid in high school. During a game of truth or dare with the bridesmaids, she admits that she has not had a boyfriend or her first kiss, which makes the girls take her on as the latest ”bachelorette” contestant with a goal to hook her up with someone by the wedding. You can imagine how that goes. 🫣 Mads tries dating, and also grapples with her feelings for her best friend (and boy next door) and her old friend Marco.

I love Mads’ relationship with her brother and with their dads! 🥰 I also liked how one bridesmaid in particular really looked out for her. Though things became clearer As the story went on, I wasn’t totally sold on her soon-to-be sister-in-law, until the end. Her dating adventures were cringy but totally relatable. Overall, this book was a great read! I read it in an afternoon over spring break, and enjoyed it a lot!

Themes
🏑Coming of Age
🏑Boy Next Door
🏑Bucks County 😍
🏑 Dating Disasters
🏑Brother’s Wedding


Spice: really none other than some kisses until a tiny bit of closed door at the end
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone
Thanks to KL Walther (@Klwalther9) and Net Galley (@netgalley) for the ARC copy! This is my honest review.

I was lucky enough to receive this ARC from Netgalley. This book was a joyful read. It took me a minute to get into the book, but once I started really understanding the characters it made the book fly by. It even had me crying for them in the end. Young love is always a discovery and this book was a fun light hearted read about just that.

4.25
Ya romcom
Coming of age
Friends to lovers
Family centered

If you know me you know love a KL Walther YA feel good coming for age story. They are a perfect pallette cleanser and always such a great time! This was no different. Thank you @rbmedia for this ALC/arc The audio was so well done and kept me interested the entire time!

Mads has always been focused on field hockey. She hasn’t had a boyfriend or her first kiss. All she wants is to get into Penn State and play for their field hockey team. Mad’s brother, Austin, just got engaged to Katie. However, Katie seems to hate Mads and eventhough it seems like Katie was forced to ask Mads to be her bridesmaid, Mads got along with the bridal party. After the bridal party found out that Mads hasn’t her first kiss or first boyfriend, they made it their mission to help her find a date to the wedding and started setting her up with guys.

This was cuteee! I loved it! I read it in one sitting. There’s moments when I do wanna yell at the characters for making the wrong choices but I still ate this upp!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC 🫶🏻

3.75 ⭐️
I enjoyed this, but I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it also. The pacing was interesting and it felt back and forth at times. I really loved Mads and most of the characters we meet along the way. Her final relationship was very sweet and I loved their last scene together. It felt odd to me because there was no epilogue, and it felt like it ended abruptly. I would have loved to have seen the actual wedding day play out and then what life for Mads was like in college. I did enjoy the story though and I would absolutely recommend this book!
Also, for anyone currently reading the book who is reading this review, Katie’s character arc is truly amazing. It does feel kind of quick, but just stick with it because I really did not like her at first.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the digital ARC! All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this lighthearted, yet emotional story from K.L. Walther. Last year, I read another one of their books and enjoyed it as well. This one revisited some beloved characters, while building on their friendships and relationships, as well as introducing new people in their lives as well.

Mads is so relatable in the fact that being part of a wedding as a young adult comes with so many feelings. She grapples with "losing" her brother to his fiancée and yet finding her own in her sport and her own life. It's so fun and emotional to get to go on this life journey with her. I thought it was such a compelling story, even though sometimes dealing with just the day-to-day life.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much, the family, the characters and everything all the relationships in the book weather it was romance or friendships. Every character that was friends with Mads or related to her were all very supportive throughout the whole book. That’s all I’m going to say for now

Thank You again NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire
The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

A First Time for Everything is about Madeline and so many of her ‘firsts’. A true coming of age story for this junior in high school. She reluctantly is a bridesmaid in her brother’s wedding and the other bridesmaids found out she had never had a kiss or a date. The other girls decide they are going to try to find her a date. A book filled with so many heartfelt moments and a great coming of age story.

I thought this was a cute coming of age or family dynamic novel. The romance was secondary to me, but also cute. I really liked the timeline of the book rather than the short timeframe so many books often have. It really helped to get to know the characters. I will say some of the characters annoyed me at times, but they grew on me by the end. I think this is great for YA audiences, but has good themes even for adults.

I’ve become such a fan of KL Walther’s over the years. The Summer of Broken Rules literally broke me and put me back together. I really enjoyed this one, but I can’t say it was my favorite. I will also preface this with the fact that I am 32 years old so I may not be the target audience for this. It was still such a cute story and loved the setting!

I truly love K.L. Walther’s books! The Summer of Broken Rules is one of my favorite YA novels, as its setting is super nostalgic for me. We get to see the main characters from that one throughout this, which I loved! This story along with a general romance theme, also had more to it with Mads navigating her new dynamic of gaining a sister in law. I do wish we saw more of the growth portrayed throughout the story of her sister in law Katie opening up, instead of it just happening all at once in the end. Overall I enjoyed this as a quick and easy coming of age story!

One thing about me is that I am a K. L. Walther stan and have always found myself adoring her novels. This one didn’t necessarily do it for me, but I still had a wonderful time with the characters and seeing old ones from the past. A First Time for Everything follows Mads through her junior and senior year of high school, trying to go on dates for the first time ahead of her brother’s wedding. While it shows Mads finding romance for the first time, familial dynamics play such a heavy role and are equally are prominent of a storyline as the romance. That’s what I love about Walther’s books is her ability to craft romance stories that always have deeper underlying family ties as the main themes. This one was no different!

I think I was just too old for this novel which is why I didn’t connect to it like her other’s in the past. I think this novel is perfect for that middle school to high school age range and even early college. It truly talks about how not everyone is as they seem and to not jump to conclusions about people while also figuring out your preferences when it comes to dating and the change that comes with age.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.