Reviews

A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins

jazzyjbox's review

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

4.25 ⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

A super steamy friends-to-lovers Black Sapphic romance. 

Cyn and Juleesa are best friends who absolutely adore each other, but something shifts between them that leaves them wondering if more could be on the table. Between Cyn's insecurities and Juleesa's fears from her past, the two women gotta figure it out or lose everything they have together. 

This is a low plot, all character story that highlights the Houston music and club scene. Love the positive sex worker vibes and the found family. Higgins is so good at making you love her characters. I also loved that Jucee is a single mom making it work with her community behind her. 

triviareads's review

• 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

3.75

 This is a sexy, sapphic Black friends-lovers romance; Cyn is a Grammy-award winning music producer who's a stud and a bit of a player. She regularly collabs with Jucee, who's a dancer at a popular Houston strip club. Juleesa and Cyn have one of those friendships where eeeeveryone asks them if they're together and they're all "omg no why would you ever think that?" Which is obviously indicative of their chemistry, which is there right from the start (like come on, Jucee literally calls Cyn "Poppa" on the reg), and it's the kind that feels comfortable and worn-in but still pretty damn hot. 

As far as rep goes, there's so much about this book to appreciate: Chencia C. Higgins is a Texan and she wrote about the Houston music and club scene in a way that feels so loving and immersive in its details. She also wrote a story where Blackness and queerness is the norm and celebrated (including AAVE, something I rarely see used consistently in contemporaries, even ones with African-American MCs). And the fact that Jucee is a single mom co-parenting with her ex and his new wife? It's touched upon just the right amount, but otherwise it's no big deal. The book is also sex-positive but also portrays the reality of potential romantic partners judging Jucee for her career while still fetishizing her for it. 

In terms of the romance, I think this story does fall into that friends-to-lovers trap of the reader being unable to tell exactly what changed how they view one another, from friend to potential sexual/romantic partner. The catalyst is ostensibly a groupie who briefly hits on Cyn, but it feels too insignificant to really change their dynamic because both have acknowledged each other as sexy and attractive to other women without jealousy really getting in the way in the past. Ultimately, there's a period of hook-ups and lot of will-they-won't-they in terms of a real relationship (the messiest point being bi erasure on Cyn's part when it comes to Jucee which... yikes, BUT there is a grovel) until near the end. 

The sex:

Solid as far as contemporary romances go; I appreciate that sapphic romances have been bringing the heat of late and this book does not disappoint there, including a strip club lap dance that turns into a full strap-on moment. I also love how their bodies are written as sexy and desirable, curves, rolls and all, rather than simply being glossed over.

Overall:

This is my third review of a Harlequin Afterglow book and while the romance didn't hit the quite the same way the other two did, I appreciate the fact that it's a queer contemporary romance that brings the heat and the diversity in a way that feels reflective of our culture in a time when contemporary romances are feeling increasingly homogenous. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a light-hearted, queer friends-to-lovers romance. 

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

 Rating: 3.75/5
Heat Level: 3.5/5
Publication Date: May 28th  

bookobsessedmommy's review

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.5

Cyn and Juleesa are just friends, no matter what everyone else thinks. Yeah they touch and spend all their time together, but what's a little kissing between friends? This sapphic friends to lovers story would be a simple slam dunk if they could just get on the same page. The banter in this is top notch, and ther were multiple times that I actually laughed out loud. The references to the H and the relateable slange were a nice touch, and I loved all the queer rep and sex positivity. The pacing was a bit off, and I think this book needed to be longer or shorter. It's in a weird middle ground where there was some fluff and descriptions could have been left out, or the story expanded to do more showing instead of telling. That said, I had a good time reading this and I will keep picking up Chencia's work.

bookednboundless's review

funny 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? Yes

5.0

It was a a fun Black Queer Romance read! I loved it.

bibliojax's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.5

thelesbianlibrary's review

emotional funny 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? Yes

4.25

ebartsch85's review

slow-paced

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

3.0

There's excellent representation in this book and the spicy scenes were 🔥, but I just never felt connected to the characters and I was so frustrated with the way Cyn/Poppa was acting. I think this book just wasn't for me. I had high hopes because I absolutely LOVED D'Vaughn and Kris, but this just missed the mark for me.

triciah6226's review

4.0

The witty banter and hilarity make this book so very entertaining and worth reading. The only reason I couldn't bring myself to give it five stars was because there was little to no real plot and not a whole lot of character development.

Cyn is an up-and-coming music producer who is best friends with her Muse, Jucee. I love how supportive Cyn's family, in particular her dad, always is.

Jucee is a bisexual exotic dancer who's not at all ashamed of what she does she's quite proud of herself (which was quite refreshing to read) who loves art, her son and her friends.

One of the things I loved most about this book was actually the relationship between Jucee and her ex, their ability to maintain friendship and co-parent their son in a healthy and supportive way.


Overall if you are looking for a fun, hilarious, Sapphic Romance that traverses the world of friends to lovers you'll enjoy this book.

wizaurus_sarah's review

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

bethany6788's review against another edition

funny 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? Yes

4.0

So excited to be a part of the galley blitz for A Little Kissing Between Friends! I read this one in just a couple of hours. Y’all, I was so invested in this story between Jucee and Cyn and how they came to terms with looking at each other as more than friends. And it’s spicy!! 🔥😮‍💨👀😏 BUT it’s not just that. This book is about found family, friendship, confidence in yourself and your sexuality, and going after what you really, really want.