Reviews - A First Time for Everything

254 reviews for:

A First Time for Everything

K.L. Walther

3.85 AVERAGE

kaimilani's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

loserlew's review against another edition

4.0

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!

I loved A First Time For Everything by K. L. Walther! This author has a great way of writing YA in a way that feels like reminiscing on your youth.

A First Time For Everything follows Madeline (Mads), a 17 year old who’s incredibly close to her dads and older brother. When her brother proposes to his girlfriend (that the family isn’t entirely sold on), Mads reluctantly makes it her mission to bond with her after being asked to be a bridesmaid. Surrounded by Katie’s older friends, it comes out that Mads has never been kissed. The bridesmaids make a game out of trying to find her a wedding date. Suddenly Mads has a lot of things vying for her attention: field hockey, her long term best friend, the older family friend, and many blind dates.

I really liked so much about this book. Mads was a likable main character. I was rooting for her the whole book, and not just in the romance department. I loved how the whole cast of characters was well fleshed out. They were entire characters, not just a backdrop for Mads. The love interests were easy to root for, and I liked who she ended up with in the end. This was a lovely coming of age story that explored some of the more complicated facets of adding to your family.

4⭐️

bubblesparklereader's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Love that this book has callbacks to characters we've seen before! I love Summer of Broken Rules so getting to see Meredith and Wit again had me obsessed! The only book I don't think there was a crossover with was Happens After Midnight, but everything about this is amazing.

Content Warnings

bobco303's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

guardianofthebookshelf's review against another edition

4.0

medium-paced

booksnapsandcatnaps's review against another edition

3.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a cute read overall! Mads definitely had her moments of being a little insufferable, but honestly, she felt like a real teen trying to figure life out, between chasing her sports dreams, applying to colleges, and juggling the chaos of her brother’s wedding. That said, her immaturity made her feel younger than expected, so it leaned more YA drama than coming-of-age, which made it a bit harder for me to stay fully engaged.

I really enjoyed Mads’ journey and the friendships she made along the way, but the relationship with Katie didn’t quite land for me. Both girls frustrated me with how they handled things, and the whole five-years-of-silence plotline felt kind of strange. Everyone kept saying Katie was great, but we weren’t really shown that, so it was tough to root for Katie to marry Austin. Honestly, Mads was totally justified in her feelings toward Katie.

On a brighter note, I loved seeing Meredith and Wit again, and all the little Easter eggs from other KL Walther books were a fun touch. The bachelorette party and group chat scenes were definite highlights.

I usually click with YA characters pretty easily, but this time I struggled, especially with the romance. And that last scene? It didn’t need to happen for us to know Mads got her happy ending. I think this one might’ve worked better if Mads had been heading into college instead of finishing high school. Still, a sweet story for fans of the KLW universe!