Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Madeline (aka Mads) is shocked when her brother Austin, who she’s always been incredibly close to, gets engaged to Katie in Paris. She doesn’t particularly like Katie, making things even more difficult. When Mads reveals she’s never been kissed during a game of Truth or Dare with the bridesmaids, she embarks on her own Bachelorette-like journey to find love.
This was adorable!! I loved the characters and watching them grow throughout the year. I especially related to Katie and enjoyed watching Mads gradually start to understand her. Mads felt like a true 17-18 year old so I appreciated that the author wrote this the way she did. I feel like this is good for both YA and adult audiences.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the ARC!
This was adorable!! I loved the characters and watching them grow throughout the year. I especially related to Katie and enjoyed watching Mads gradually start to understand her. Mads felt like a true 17-18 year old so I appreciated that the author wrote this the way she did. I feel like this is good for both YA and adult audiences.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the ARC!
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC
This is the second book by KL Walther that I have read and I really enjoy her writing style. This was a really cute book about family, friends, and falling in love. I enjoyed a bit of the back and forth with the main character and the two main men in her life but also the evolving relationship with her brothers fiancé.
While the book takes place over the course of about a year, it felt very summery with talks about playing sports outside and going to the shore. My only quip with the book is the main character felt a little immature for her age. She was about to turn 18 and go to college but she felt more like a 14/15 year old than someone going to college with a sports scholarship but that could just be me outgrowing my own youth 😂. I think this is a great YA book and would make a great read while hanging out during the summer.
This is the second book by KL Walther that I have read and I really enjoy her writing style. This was a really cute book about family, friends, and falling in love. I enjoyed a bit of the back and forth with the main character and the two main men in her life but also the evolving relationship with her brothers fiancé.
While the book takes place over the course of about a year, it felt very summery with talks about playing sports outside and going to the shore. My only quip with the book is the main character felt a little immature for her age. She was about to turn 18 and go to college but she felt more like a 14/15 year old than someone going to college with a sports scholarship but that could just be me outgrowing my own youth 😂. I think this is a great YA book and would make a great read while hanging out during the summer.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
No
I received an ARC of this novel from a professor!
A First Time for Everything follows main character Madeline "Mads" Fisher-Michaels and her journey finding the perfect plus-one for her brother's wedding with a little help from the bridesmaids. We follow her through about year leading up to the wedding as she eventually bonds with her sister-in-law Katie and finds her man.
I wanted the main character to be sapphic in some way since I think that would make for such an interesting turn of events for her dating pool, but that turned out not to be the case. However, I still really enjoyed the reading experience. The family connection really sold it for me over the sort of love triangle between Mads, Connor, and Marco. Although the endgame relationship was incredibly sweet to me and honestly, I kind of saw it from the beginning. It's just a cherry on top that Mads sister-in-law was part of the reason it happened.
That phone confession though? Oh, I was giddy! It was such a moment of vulnerability and expression of true feelings, I adored it.
Team Marco for life!
I was sort of reminded of the dynamic between Kitty and Min Ho in XO, Kitty with Mads and Marco in the novel, but the latter is actually much more compelling to me for some reason. Maybe because Marco is more than just a pretty face from what we can see, but yeah.
I like when love interests are actually their own characters outside of who they're with and they are in this novel! I really appreciated that.
A First Time for Everything follows main character Madeline "Mads" Fisher-Michaels and her journey finding the perfect plus-one for her brother's wedding with a little help from the bridesmaids. We follow her through about year leading up to the wedding as she eventually bonds with her sister-in-law Katie and finds her man.
I wanted the main character to be sapphic in some way since I think that would make for such an interesting turn of events for her dating pool, but that turned out not to be the case. However, I still really enjoyed the reading experience. The family connection really sold it for me over the sort of love triangle between Mads, Connor, and Marco. Although the endgame relationship was incredibly sweet to me and honestly, I kind of saw it from the beginning. It's just a cherry on top that Mads sister-in-law was part of the reason it happened.
That phone confession though? Oh, I was giddy! It was such a moment of vulnerability and expression of true feelings, I adored it.
Team Marco for life!
I was sort of reminded of the dynamic between Kitty and Min Ho in XO, Kitty with Mads and Marco in the novel, but the latter is actually much more compelling to me for some reason. Maybe because Marco is more than just a pretty face from what we can see, but yeah.
I like when love interests are actually their own characters outside of who they're with and they are in this novel! I really appreciated that.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
I absolutely LOVED reading A First Time For Everything!! Mads was such a likable character and I found myself easily rooting for her with all of the things! I loved reading every single page and didn’t want to put it down. If you liked The Summer of Broken Rules, you’ll probably like this one too!
I was given an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.
To sum up my reading experience: I very strongly disliked the MC so it made it difficult to enjoy the story over all😅
I had previously read The Summer of Broken Rules by this author and loved it. The romance, setting, and characters were all excellent and created the best vibes for a summer book. By contrast the vibes of this book are sour and discontent.
This book follows Mads as she’s participate in being a bridemaid in the lead up to her brothers wedding. The bridesmaids also work to set up Mads on various dates to help her find a man for the wedding.
Mads does not want to be a bridesmaid. So instead of a fun wedding story like SOBR we are in the head of someone that 80% of the time would rather be doing anything else than participate in wedding activities and I just don’t find that a fun vibe to be in. Mads also does not like the bride and while she tries to get closer to her she also complains about her all the time. Personally I found Katie maybe a bit stiff at times but also far from as terrible as Mads paints her. There’s growth in this but not until the very very end of the book.
As far as the dating goes I wasn’t really that invested. She dated some random people but the focus was mainly on two guy friends she had. One of them didn’t really have a personality past best friend since childhood and the other was in and out of a situationship that made him look like a jerk at times. I didn’t feel a lot of fun chemistry but that could also be because I felt like mostly what Mads did was complain about dating or the wedding. She was just kind of self absorbed.
As far as the writing goes there were a few weird moments were it felt like the author anticipated readers judging something and tried to write an explanation in but it read awkwardly. But other than the story kept up a good pace and I liked the parts of the book being in season.
This book contained one of my new bookish pet peeves, where the male love interest does something sexist but the MC excuses it for them. Just write something else please. We don’t have to sprinkle in the sexism then give them a pass like it was actually a cute or funny thing they did.
It’s last offense came right at the end of the book when it perpetuated the idea that a women’s first time having sex would hurt and it would be normal for her to not enjoy it. I could go on and on about how this narrative is harmful to young girls but I trust that info can be googled.
Overall through it was a miss from me. Thanks to NetGalley and Source Books Fire for a copy of this book, I appreciated the chance to read it!
funny
reflective
tense
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
Thank you to K.L. Walther, Sourcebooks Fire, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review (unpaid).
First of alll, it took me FOREVER to make the Reese connection. I screamed when Charlie was mentioned. I also screamed every time Mer and Wit were on page. The Grace and Lily cameos got equal enthusiasm.
This book dug a hole into my stomach and lives there now - to be clear, that's a good thing. I love Mads, I love Katie, I need Austin to get his shit together, and even though I am still super confused because I'm shit at geography, I love all the Pennsylvania and New Jersey references in this book (seriously how long was Marco driving from the shore?)
LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD
The part I loved most about this book was Mads and Katie's relationship because I could tell very quickly that Katie desperately wanted to be Mads' friend - the Prosecco Pong scene hurt my soul (Mads and Katie are prosecco pong partners for life now, that's canon, don't argue with me). I love the ending so, so much and I just wish I got more time with them as friends (fingers crossed for a special epilogue with Katie as Mads' bridesmaid 🤞)
First of alll, it took me FOREVER to make the Reese connection. I screamed when Charlie was mentioned. I also screamed every time Mer and Wit were on page. The Grace and Lily cameos got equal enthusiasm.
This book dug a hole into my stomach and lives there now - to be clear, that's a good thing. I love Mads, I love Katie, I need Austin to get his shit together, and even though I am still super confused because I'm shit at geography, I love all the Pennsylvania and New Jersey references in this book (seriously how long was Marco driving from the shore?)
LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD
The part I loved most about this book was Mads and Katie's relationship because I could tell very quickly that Katie desperately wanted to be Mads' friend - the Prosecco Pong scene hurt my soul (Mads and Katie are prosecco pong partners for life now, that's canon, don't argue with me). I love the ending so, so much and I just wish I got more time with them as friends (fingers crossed for a special epilogue with Katie as Mads' bridesmaid 🤞)
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"You overwhelm me. You overwhelm me in the most amazing way, but I wasn't ready to embrace that. "
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for access to this eARC in exchange for my completely honest review.
This book was a very cute YA contemporary read. It follows Madeline who is really close to her family, but somehow had no idea her brother was proposing to his girlfriend (who she doesn't really vibe with). Madeline feels obligated to bond with her before the wedding, even if that means joining the bridal party. When a game of truth or dare reveals that Madeline has never been on a date, the girls in the bridal party are determined to set her up so she has a plus-one for the wedding. When Madeline finds her heart stuck between two people, her friend Connor and her former classmate, Marco, she is forced to make a decision.
"I feel like I'm in a dream." ...... "'But it's not," he pointed out, then smiled and murmured, "I've never been so happy to be awake.'"
I have loved other things by K.L. Walther but ever since "The Summer of Broken Rules", I think I have been searching for a book with all the raw emotions that that one has. However, all of this author's other work tends to be more lighthearted and fun. This was okay; I don't love a love triangle (especially when it becomes clear who the right choice is). Overall it was cute and lighthearted and would be great for a YA audience. It just wasn't for me.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I was thrilled to get an opportunity to read K.L. Walther’s latest book A First Time for Everything, which featured appearances by the protagonists of one of my favorite young adult books ever, The Summer of Broken Rules.
A First Time for Everything is Madeline’s story; Mads is super close to her family - especially her brother Austin, she’s a field hockey superstar, she’s never had a boyfriend, and she’s not so close to her brother’s long-time girlfriend and now new fiancé, Katie. Determined to change the status of her relationship to Katie, Mads throws herself all into being a good bridesmaid for the upcoming wedding.
When her fellow bridesmaids find out that Mads has never had a boyfriend nor has she ever even kissed a boy, they come up with a plan to get Mads her plus-one for the wedding. Their quest results in Mads going on several not so stellar dates while trying to figure out her feelings for her best friend boy-next-door, Connor and sort-of-crush former classmate, Marco.
A First Time for Everything was a delightful and sweet coming of age story in which we get to experience Madeline’s journey of emotional growth and self-discovery. I loved it and I look forward to reading more from K.L. Walther.
A First Time for Everything is Madeline’s story; Mads is super close to her family - especially her brother Austin, she’s a field hockey superstar, she’s never had a boyfriend, and she’s not so close to her brother’s long-time girlfriend and now new fiancé, Katie. Determined to change the status of her relationship to Katie, Mads throws herself all into being a good bridesmaid for the upcoming wedding.
When her fellow bridesmaids find out that Mads has never had a boyfriend nor has she ever even kissed a boy, they come up with a plan to get Mads her plus-one for the wedding. Their quest results in Mads going on several not so stellar dates while trying to figure out her feelings for her best friend boy-next-door, Connor and sort-of-crush former classmate, Marco.
A First Time for Everything was a delightful and sweet coming of age story in which we get to experience Madeline’s journey of emotional growth and self-discovery. I loved it and I look forward to reading more from K.L. Walther.
Queria ter gostado mais deste livro. O triângulo amoroso pareceu-me muito óbvio desde o início, nem sei se se pode chamar um triângulo amoroso. Gostei das pop culture references, se bem que algumas pareceram forçadas. Não achei que nenhuma das personagens fosse particularmente interessante e não houve grande development da personagem principal. Gostei das vibes e adorei ver a Meredith e o Wit de "The summer of broken rules". Em geral, sinto que a história não foi tão bem explorada como poderia ter sido, o que é uma pena, pois tinha muito potencial.