Reviews

I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander

svalletutti's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really wanted to like this book because I had heard great things, but I just could not get into it. The first bit of the book caught my attention, but it felt like it just went on and on. A lot of buildup for a disappointing end. 

The couple was cute, but I could not stand Noa most of the time. Yes they both had their flaws, but she really just rubbed me the wrong way. 

The storyline was fairly cute, but it felt like the author just used the same plot points for the whole book and just dragged it out for the whole book. Not the worst book I’ve ever read, but definitely not the best. 

lexrobinson_11's review

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lezreadalot's review against another edition

2.0

“You’re a butterfly, Final Girl, and everything’s gonna work out okay.”

2.5 stars. This really was not a bad book. But unfortunately it's kind of an energy vampire of a book. I found it to be SO EXHAUSTING, and most of the good feelings I had at the beginning had been leached away by the end. I'm honestly going to try to keep this short because I don't really want to think about it for very long. The parts of this that I enjoyed were pretty much all the movie and production aspects. We're following and up-and-coming actress and a makeup artist/special effects artist as they work together on a new B-list creature horror film. All of the details about makeup and practical effects, the preparation for certain types of scenes and gore, all of the little odds and ends that go into producing a movie (especially a low-budget, sorta cheesy/campy horror flick) and what it's like being on set: all of that was really interesting. I liked both main characters a lot at first. Lilah is closeted and bi, trying to find a way to come out and find community, juggling all the expectations of perfection that have been placed on her; Noa is out and proud, a big movie geek, a huge fan of Lilah's, and has problems with being judgemental. They're both Jewish, and while they're not necessarily devout, it's important culturally to them both.

My problem was that this book would not sit still and let the characters exist on equal footing for any length of time. From day one, they were misunderstanding each other about something or other, and as soon as one thing got cleared up, it felt like there would be another. Miscommunication/misunderstandings aren't always a bad trope, but here it was so constant, it was literally exhausting. I feel like we barely got to see them just exist and get to know each other as people and then as a couple; those moments were unfortunately really rare, imo. There's always some suspicion that one woman has about the other, or a secret that she's holding back, something that she won't say. There are, of course, reasons why they don't talk to each other about certain things, but it felt SO contrived. And then there were moments where you would THINK that something had been resolved, but then it would still be used later on as a point of tension/conflict? Like when Noa tells Lilah that Denise doesn't want any cast/crew fraternising, and Lilah is pretty frustrated about it. Noa explains that she doesn't want to come out about their relationship because there's a good chance that Denise might literally fire her (which is a big deal, because Noa has no job stability). Lilah says okay, but then a few chapters later she's back to accusing Noa of 'hiding from Denise'. What? She literally explained that she could lose her job? Idk, they both annoyed me so much on different occasions, and while I could see the potential for chemistry and spark, it didn't feel like enough of the page time was used for that. There was a bit of an intrigue with Lilah's stalker, but the fact that she never TOLD Noa or anyone about it made me want to tear me hair out. And that makes me sad, because this was honestly pretty well written, and the characters were so cute. But as a romance, it was barely enjoyable.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Natalie Naudus. Thank god. I mean, I genuinely think she has one of the best voices out there, with so much range, never any over-acting, a lot of emotion. But I literally can't imagine getting through this without the aid of the audiobook. I do think that with some better plotting and restructuring of the romantic arc, this could have been great. As is... even thinking about this book makes me tired. I'm glad to put it down.

andrea_author's review

5.0

Noa is makeup artist to actress Lilah, the final girl in a slasher pic. Though they try to remain professional, it’s difficult to fight the attraction between them. Complicating things is the feeling Lilah has that someone is stalking her. When life begins to imitate art, can their budding love survive?

This book was surprising in that Noa was the more self-confident of the two main characters. Lilah was sweet and cautious - not what I expected of a film starlet - while Noa was brash and headstrong. They made for a cute couple, making up for what the other lacked.

The suspense storyline was a nice complement to the romance without overpowering it. This is a fun book, and I enjoyed the narration as well.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the audio ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

mar_schul's review

funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking

crallen95's review against another edition

Frustrating characters, failure to communicate, not engaging enough to make up for it

whitwalke's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was a good story. The mystery threw me I just didn’t realize there was going to be so much of it. The relationship written in the book sometimes felt off. At times I thought it was a little lost. Other times it was just frustrating to even root for. The end helped but it could have been sorted out earlier.

orbs's review

funny hopeful

4.0

mantarays's review

such a cute idea with boring execution. i love the hunt for horror references sprinkled throughout but the romance was underwhelming and i’m clearly at a point in my reading experience where i’m just not interested in most contemporary romance. 

kat_crowley11's review

3.0

I loved the characters so so much but not the plot. Like it wasn’t slow, it wasn’t boring it just was mid. I still loved it but its not my favorite and not the worst. Honestly the only word I can use to describe it is mid because theres nothing negative outweighing positive and vice versa. I did truly love now and lilah. Its good and I would read it again.