This was a super cute, feel good, YA romance full of female friendships, family relationships and “firsts.” I really enjoy this authors writing and I love how she can transport me back to those high school butterflies you get from the simplest moments.

There were a few scenes throughout the book I wish had played out slightly differently and maybe had more length and detail to them. There was also way too many characters for me to keep track of personally. I had to really figure out who to pay attention to and just ignore the rest to keep with the plot.

Overall I’d say 3.5 ⭐️

Title: A First Time for Everything    
Author: K. L. Walther       
Genre: YA    
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Madeline has always been extremely close to her family, so she is shocked when her older brother gets engaged without including them (or even giving them a heads up!). Mads has never been the biggest fan of his fiancée, Katie, so in order to remain one happy family, she is determined to bond with Katie before the big day, which includes reluctantly agreeing to be a bridesmaid.

During a late-night bridesmaids-only game of "Truth or Dare" Mads is cornered into revealing she has never been kissed or even been on a date, which spurs the other girls to unite on a quest to find Mads the perfect plus-one for the wedding. Next thing she knows she’s navigating a series of disastrous dates that include some major misunderstandings and mishaps.

All of a sudden Mads finds her heart tugged in different directions: to Connor, the boy next door who knows her best. To Marco Álvarez, the former classmate who knows how to push all her buttons. And to some of the new suitors who surprisingly aren’t all bad.

As the wedding draws nearer, Mads has to figure out who she wants most as a forever dance partner, while also making sure her brother isn't making the biggest mistake of his life.

I liked Madeline and the rest of her family, too. I didn’t find this story to be unexpected, but it was a solid read with characters that I liked—although the bridesmaids were pretty much all interchangeable to me.

K. L. Walther is from Pennsylvania. A First Time for Everything is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 6/9).

this was alright. Plot and pacing was a bit all over the place and the main character was quite annoying. It felt like the author couldn’t decide what the main plot should be and it felt a little bit all over the place. I did LOVE the Meredith and wit cameos and they made the book and the Lily hopper mini cameo was also great. Still enjoyable overall but also a frustrating read

This was such a fun read. I have always loved K. L. Walther's book this just adds to the list of ones I love. I loved the characters and how they grew over the course of the story. I will be recommending to others!

"I love you, Mads," he whispered. For whatever it's worth." ☀️🏑🌊💍💐
a first time for everything ARC 4/5⭐️
Thank you to Net Galley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book! I loved this book so so much! I loved that it had Meredith and Wit in it from the Summer Of Broken Rules aka my fav book by KL Walther. This is definitely my second fav book by her. This book was so fast paced and it takes place over the course of 4 seasons. This book is about Madeline and her brother who just got engaged. She has never been the biggest fan of her brothers fiancée. She agrees to be her bridesmaid and hopefully form a better relationship with her. During a late-night bridesmaids-only game of "Truth or Dare" Mads is cornered into revealing she has never been kissed or even been on a date, which spurs the other girls to unite on a quest to find Mads the perfect plus-one for the wedding. I can’t wait till this book is released I will definitely be buying a copy to add to my shelf! This book comes out June 3rd! Be sure to check it out if you like young adult romance and a fun summer read!

📚ARC Review 📚

A First Time for Everything⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had high hope for this book because I loved The Summer of Broken Rules and enjoyed her other books, but this one fell flat for me. I couldn’t really connect with the main character, Mads. I felt like she complained about everything. I get she’s 17 but still it was a little annoying. This book focus on her brother getting married and her relationship with future sister in law and honestly, I didn’t like her either. She was cold and didn’t make any attempt to really get to know Mads or her family.
The storyline of Mads finding someone was a cute concept with how the bridesmaids bunch helped her but it also fell a little flat for me. I liked the idea of the love triangle with the her best friend and the other boy who was kinda an enemy to lover type trope but the chemistry really wasn’t there.

Overall, I give it 3 stars because it was a cute concept but just wasn’t what I had expected, especially after reading and loving The Summer of Broken Rules. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my advanced readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced E-ARC of this title!

I really love this author and think she does YA/NA so well. Her books always feel like a warm hug and are rooted so deeply in family and friendships.
This book is a coming of age story about changing family dynamics and finding your people in life.

The author explores the dynamics of being a future in-law, a best friend, and a sister while the MFC explores the world of dating. The story takes us through many firsts for Madeline, who is inexperienced and naïve. It is really about opening ourselves up to change, accepting people as they are, and broadening our mindset.

There are a lot of characters in this one and we get cameos from Meredith and Wit! The K.L Walther universe is large, but she keeps it locked in with the smallest of details weaving them all together. Her characters feel real like they could be your best friend or your next door neighbor. I will never not read one of her book

Once I opened this book, I immediately fell in love. The characters were personable and relatable. The character growth throughout this book was incredible and I felt almost as if I was apart of this book. After reading "The Summer of Broken Rules" by K.L. Walther, as soon as I saw her name as the author I quickly clicked to request access to this book and I am glad that I did. I love how she added in characters from her other novels and connected them in a way that made you feel involved and invested in the story. This book had me laughing, tearing up, and smiling all at the same time.

This book was amazing, but not the best by the author. (What happens after midnight was way better). I think K L Walther is my new favorite author but I do have one complaint: the gay dads were unnecessary to the story or plot, and felt like forced representation

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on May 15th, 2025. Links provided.

This novel centers around Madeline, a teenager whose close-knit family is thrown off balance when her older brother suddenly announces his engagement — without so much as a heads-up. Mads, already skeptical of his bride-to-be, Katie, reluctantly agrees to be part of the wedding party in hopes of smoothing over tensions and honoring her brother. As she navigates the pre-wedding chaos, an impromptu game with the other bridesmaids exposes that Mads has zero dating experience — a revelation that kicks off a whirlwind mission to find her a wedding date. Cue a string of misadventures in dating, involving awkward setups, romantic near-misses, and a bit of emotional whiplash as she finds herself torn between multiple possibilities: a childhood friend, an old classmate, and a few new faces. At the same time, Mads is juggling family dynamics, college dreams, and the pressure to play along with the "excitement" for the wedding. As the big day approaches, she’s forced to confront what — and who — she really wants, and whether she can trust that everyone else is making the right choices too.

Honestly, I came into this book with high hopes after loving The Summer of Broken Rules. That one had charm, heart, and a setting that just clicked. But this one? It felt like being stuck in someone else's drama, and not in an entertaining way. The biggest issue for me was the main character herself. Mads' headspace was not a fun place to be. She spends the majority of the book irritated by everything — the wedding, her future sister-in-law, dating, her own lack of experience — and it started to wear thin pretty fast. It’s one thing to write a conflicted character, but it’s another to make their internal monologue so dominated by complaints that it drags the mood down. I didn’t expect sunshine and rainbows, but I also didn’t sign up for what felt like a never-ending rant. Her relationship with Katie (her soon-to-be sister-in-law) was a huge part of the story, but honestly? Katie was just as unlikeable — cold, dismissive, and borderline rude for most of the book. She never really made an effort with Mads or the rest of the family, and it’s wild that she waited until basically the week of the wedding to finally address any of that. She’s the older one in the situation, and if she had issues, she should’ve gone to Austin — her fiancé — and worked through it long before this point. I kept waiting for her to take some accountability or even just apologize, but it never came. And it’s hard to root for any reconciliation when one side refuses to admit they’ve done anything wrong. Also, Katie not knowing how to spell Mads’ name after four years?? Wild.
The dating plotline also felt kind of meh. There were a bunch of random guys, but the real focus was on two dudes from her past: one had zero personality outside of being the “nice guy” best friend, and the other gave major “emotionally unavailable” energy. I didn’t feel much chemistry with anyone, and Mads seemed way more into ranting about how much she hated dating than actually being in a romance. There were also a couple moments that made me cringe a bit — particularly when the author dismissively explained that a girl’s first time having sex is supposed to hurt and be kind of awful. What was even the point? That’s a damaging trope, and I wish it hadn’t been treated so casually.
That said, not everything was bad. The side characters were great — especially the bridesmaids and Mads’ dads. Their family dynamic was sweet and probably the one part of the book that actually felt warm and supportive. I wish we’d gotten more of her brother, though. For someone whose wedding was the whole reason this story existed, he barely showed up, and when he did, he didn’t seem to notice or care that his fiancée and sister couldn’t stand each other. In the end, I just didn’t have a good time with this one. The setup had promise, but the execution left me frustrated. I know a lot of people might still enjoy it, especially if you’re into messy family drama and secondhand awkwardness — but for me, this was a miss.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of A First Time for Everything in return for my honest review.

I was lucky to get this ARC from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book! This is my first KL Walther book and I absolutely loved the story! The characters dynamic and family connection I loved so much! This was also my first ARC I have ever gotten, so this was a fun first to read!

I've been a fan of KL Walther's other books and was looking forward to this one. I was a little disappointed in this one. The story seemed more predictable and the conflicts were simple in that the solution was very obvious. This became slightly frustrating when the conflict dragged on. Overall, it was a nice read, but not my favorite.

Told over the course of five seasons, the book follows Madeline, known as Mads, during her junior and senior years of high school. Mads' older brother Austin is engaged and his fiance, Katie, asks Mads to be a bridesmaid. When all of the other bridesmaids find out that Mads has not only never gone on a date, but she has also never been kissed, they set out to find Mads a match, Bachelorette style. Mads goes on some blind dates, while also confronting the feelings she has for boy-next-door, Connor, and former classmate, Marco, who seems to be everywhere that Mads is.

A First Time for Everything would be a great coming of age book for any high school or college aged reader. It's probably more mature than I would let my middle schooler read and was not as relatable to an adult audience. I enjoyed the story over all and found it to be very cute. I am just not the target audience for the book. Meredith from A Summer of Broken Rules makes an appearance here as one of the bridesmaids. It was a general feel good book and I was rooting for Mads to find someone to complement her.

A First Time for Everything is a bingeable young adult contemporary novel that explores the importance of family relationships and the beauty of finding your people in the world.

We follow Madeline as she agrees to be a bridesmaid for her brother's wedding, which ends up coming with a lot more than she bargained for.

The bond between Mads and her family was wholesome and Katie’s character development was very interesting to follow. The many people Mads encountered throughout the book added a lot to the story and taught her a variety lessons. I really liked the final love interest, although I wished that there was more time spent with him. The cameos from A Summer of Broken Rules were a pleasant surprise. It was nice to be reunited with those characters again. I highly enjoyed the way the book was structured based on each season. The length of time that the story took place over was larger than most books of this genre, which I appreciated. Overall, this was a quick, lighthearted read that is akin to K.L. Walther’s other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an e-ARC.

I could not put this book down. I loved it from the very beginning to the very end. From the first time we met Marco at the engagement party, I kept saying “but Marcooooooo” and I know she needed to figure it out with Conner but Marcoooooo! I mostly loved that the characters actually felt their age. Marco made some dumb decisions but he’s 20 and a freshman/sophomore college kid. I have loved both books I’ve read by K.L. Walther and I need to go back and read the rest of her books. Especially since I’ve met Wit and Meredith! Would highly recommend picking up this book if you enjoy YA novels!

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules, A First Time for Everything is a fun new coming-of-age romance full of dating disasters, powerful firsts, and the importance of family.

Madeline, or Mads, has always been close to her family, so she’s shocked when her older brother gets engaged without including them in his plans. Not only that, but she’s never been a fan of his fiancée, Katie. Determined not to be left out of her brother’s life, Mads reluctantly agrees to be a bridesmaid and get to know Katie better before the wedding.

During a late-night game of "Truth or Dare," Mads is forced to admit she’s never been kissed or even been on a date. Katie and her bridesmaids make it a mission to find her the perfect plus-one for the wedding. What follows are a series of hilariously disastrous dates that leave Mads confused and torn between a range of very different boys: Connor, the boy next door who knows her best; Marco, the former classmate who drives her crazy; and some unexpected new suitors.

With the wedding approaching, Mads has to decide who she really wants to be with, while also making sure her brother isn’t about to make a huge mistake.

Friends-to-lovers may just be my favorite trope. Walther has perfected the perfect balance of flirty tension needed for the slow burn. And come on, how cute is the nickname “sweet tart”?

Honestly, what I loved most about this was the family dynamic between Mads, her brother, Austin, and their dads. I love how open and honest they are with one another and I think this sets a wonderful example of healthy family values, boundaries and communication for YA readers.

I rated this one four out of five stars. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

As always, our queen KL Walther transports you into a perfectly magical, ordinary world. Best part about this book? Proving friends to lovers doesn’t always have to be used. It plays a part when done well, but certainly has been over done.

I spent half the time screaming at Mads, upset she couldn’t see what was right in front of her, and then reminding myself she’s 17 and I’m now 25 and I probably had the same thought process she did at that age.

This book was perfect, and I need more from her asap.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
A First Time for Everything releases June 3, 2025

Pop a bag of popcorn because this book is <b>messy</b>! I haven’t read a YA romance that was this messy in a while, and it was honestly quite entertaining.

Madeline’s older brother, Austin, has just proposed to his girlfriend of five years, and now Madeline is reluctantly a bridesmaid.
Soon, the bridal party makes it their mission to treat Madeline as their Bachelorette, aiming to not only help her find a date to the wedding, but to set her up on her very first date with a guy.

I loved all of the Meredith and Wit crumbs, but I had a really hard time warming up to Madeline and Katie, and I’m still on the fence as to whether I was actually won over by Katie.

It was pretty obvious who should and shouldn’t have been endgame, so the amount of cat and mouse happening put me in a tailspin.
There was this recurring theme where women were intimidated or threatened by other women when the OW happened to be the male’s best friend, and I got frustrated that the narrative fed into that with every couple that was cycled through the story, which also further amplified the insecurity and jealousy that kept popping up.

Ultimately, I think Walther left Katie’s character arc and emotional vulnerability a little too late in the story to achieve the desired payoff, and while I liked the overall ending, putting an open door sex scene with a virgin at 98% felt more like an 11th hour checklist item, especially with the absence of an epilogue to bookend it.

Thanks to Netgalley & Sourcebooks for the E-ARC! Really enjoyed! Great characters & fun small-town setting. Excited for the next one!

3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this book, it wasn’t my favorite of K.L Walther but still really good, the FMC was a little pick me but hey we’ve all been there, I loved the writing style and all the side characters, I would definitely recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC