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First Kiss
Noah Lipinski has a fierce crush on Doug Hathaway, a hot jock on the high school football team whose locker is fifteen down from Noah's in the hall. When Melissa Bradshaw, only the most popular girl in school, suddenly shows an interest in Noah, he suspects he's being set up for a cruel joke. She asks him to Homecoming and he refuses to go.
After school, the doorbell rings and Noah's sure she's back to pester him about the dance. But when he opens the door, he finds Doug there instead, with an explanation and a much better offer than Melissa's.
After school, the doorbell rings and Noah's sure she's back to pester him about the dance. But when he opens the door, he finds Doug there instead, with an explanation and a much better offer than Melissa's.
11 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 29, 2011
18 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
J. Tomas
18 books36 followersJ. Tomas writes gay YA romance and currently lives in Richmond, VA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 1, 2012
Sweet and way too short. Not quite the usual twist of geek/jock.
January 10, 2013
Noah is in High school he knows his gay, no one else does. Why is one of the most popular girls in school asking him to the school dance???
This is a short book only took 5 mins to read, it's not a sexy story, it's more a ya gay story, but worth a read as free.
This is a short book only took 5 mins to read, it's not a sexy story, it's more a ya gay story, but worth a read as free.
June 9, 2012
The was an awesome free super-short short about two high school boys with a cute, daring, ending. I want more!
September 6, 2011
This is a short, sweet story, but I really would have liked more:)
January 15, 2012
This was way too short. Would have been great to read more.
May 29, 2018
Short and sweet.
January 20, 2020
Historia corta de Noah y Doug, estudiantes preparatorianos y su primer beso, Noah siempre estuvo atraído a Doug jugador de fútbol. Pero no sabía que Doug también estaba interesado en él.
April 10, 2020
Short but oh so sweet!
September 24, 2011
What a cute little free short. Poor Noah has been crushing on football star Doug when the popular cheerleader decides to get Noah to take her to homecoming. Sure it's all a big joke, he's shocked when Doug shows up at his house and explains everything. The anticipation at the end was delicious as it built up to Doug confessing his feelings. I really like this author's young adult stuff, you could feel Noah's nervousness coming off the page.
October 30, 2015
Very short short about a gay boy in high school and the boy he's crushing on. It's short, it's sweet and it's free. Problem is... it's a almost too short to get any real feel for the writer's style and storytelling. I'll probably try something else by this author.
September 2, 2011
Free, super short, and very cute.
February 16, 2013
A kiss...that's pretty much the story. It was sweet.
September 25, 2011
Free download. Only 8 pages. It's about what you would expect for the price and length, but it wasn't bad.
January 11, 2012
A sweet cute snipit. If theres ever a follow up turning this into a short story I'd read. Would love to see how things go for both boys as they grow older lol.
October 11, 2012
Short and sweet. Not long enough to really connect with any of the characters, but it was quite enjoyable.
October 10, 2012
This was a very sweet short story. It was really short but worth reading :)
October 4, 2013
way too short!!
August 3, 2011
Short but sweet! Really good short story about a boy's first kiss.
December 3, 2012
This was a really sweet short story about a boy getting his fist kiss.
October 30, 2020
I was cleaning out my want-to-read shelf and saw this book. I was going to remove it from the shelf but saw it was only 10 pages and free so decided why not? The writing style was just fine, I didn’t mind that, but the characters didn’t do it for me. Particularly I didn’t care for Doug who seemed just a little too forward for me and poor Noah seemed scared half the book. Fine enough for an extremely short and free read, but I won’t be writing home about it anytime soon.
September 15, 2017
Loved this short story. Hoping for a follow-up longer story about Noah and Doug.
January 23, 2019
4.5 out of 5. Did not get the full five because it was so short. I wanted more!
October 13, 2019
Short but a nice story
October 14, 2022
A very short but touching story of the pain and peer pressure in high school and that very first kiss.
March 2, 2025
A really enjoyable and interesting experience I found I couldn't put it down until I finished it 😀
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2011
Rating: B
This review first appeared on Brief Encounters Reviews
First Kiss is a sweet little story that certainly doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, but it’s a freebie so I’m not complaining! It covers two scenes from one afternoon of Noah Lipinski’s life, where he goes from being the lonely geek with a hopeless crush on the best looking jock in school, to having his dreams come true.
Where J. Tomas’ writing excels is in detailing the excruciating nerves and humiliation inherent in being a teenager with a big secret and overactive hormones, especially when being teased in front of his school peers. Noah’s physical sensations are given in detail, and there’s a real visceral rush to his blushes, sweats and heightened awareness of his body:
Doug’s fingers sear his skin and he wonders what would they feel like on his face, his chest, lower? Like a lit match, Noah thinks, and his flesh would go up in flames. What a lovely way to burn.
This is about as raunchy as the story gets, considering it’s a YA title, but I really appreciated the way the author captured Noah’s physical sensations without resorting to any more graphic language. We can feel his arousal in Doug’s presence without needing it spelled out.
The story is very simple, but even so there’s a cute twist at the end, and a delightful rise in tension as Doug tries to say his piece before Noah’s mother interrupts them. Also, it’s always nice to see the nerd get the jock – especially when the jock turns out to be a rather sensitive young man after all.
Since reading First Kiss I’ve discovered that J. Tomas is the YA pen name of J.M. Snyder, and I think if you like her adult fiction you’ll enjoy this one too. There’s the same attention to detail and snappy dialogue, but with a layer of innocence that makes it all the more appealing. I can recommend it to anyone in the mood for a short, sweet treat – and best of all, it won’t cost you a penny!
This review first appeared on Brief Encounters Reviews
First Kiss is a sweet little story that certainly doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, but it’s a freebie so I’m not complaining! It covers two scenes from one afternoon of Noah Lipinski’s life, where he goes from being the lonely geek with a hopeless crush on the best looking jock in school, to having his dreams come true.
Where J. Tomas’ writing excels is in detailing the excruciating nerves and humiliation inherent in being a teenager with a big secret and overactive hormones, especially when being teased in front of his school peers. Noah’s physical sensations are given in detail, and there’s a real visceral rush to his blushes, sweats and heightened awareness of his body:
Doug’s fingers sear his skin and he wonders what would they feel like on his face, his chest, lower? Like a lit match, Noah thinks, and his flesh would go up in flames. What a lovely way to burn.
This is about as raunchy as the story gets, considering it’s a YA title, but I really appreciated the way the author captured Noah’s physical sensations without resorting to any more graphic language. We can feel his arousal in Doug’s presence without needing it spelled out.
The story is very simple, but even so there’s a cute twist at the end, and a delightful rise in tension as Doug tries to say his piece before Noah’s mother interrupts them. Also, it’s always nice to see the nerd get the jock – especially when the jock turns out to be a rather sensitive young man after all.
Since reading First Kiss I’ve discovered that J. Tomas is the YA pen name of J.M. Snyder, and I think if you like her adult fiction you’ll enjoy this one too. There’s the same attention to detail and snappy dialogue, but with a layer of innocence that makes it all the more appealing. I can recommend it to anyone in the mood for a short, sweet treat – and best of all, it won’t cost you a penny!
September 24, 2011
CAUTION: Spoilers
First Kiss is about shy student Noah pinning for hot jock Doug. Reading the blurb, I got the impression that the short story (very short) was going to be about a gay boy having an unrequited, unattainable love for a straight. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the WAFF of the story.
The writing was very straightforward, the kind I would love to read in all of my books. The story is in first POV, specifically Noah. This very apt for the story because I could feel everything that Noah feels. The author shows great skill for forming the emotional map of her main character.
If I had to come up with a negative criticism about the story, it would be about jock Doug secretly confessing to cheerleader Melissa about his sexuality. It's not like they were close friends even though they ran in the same circle, i.e. the cool crowd. It's not very realistic to sneak out of the closet to a stranger who may potentially ruin your social life. Thankfully, Melissa wasn't a stereotypical uppity evil cheerleader.
Anyway, I love all the characters. I love Noah because even though he was shy, he wasn't a doormat and stood up to Melissa. I love Doug for taking a chance on love. I love Melissa, even her bitchy ways, for scheming to get Doug and Noah together.
I rate First Kiss 4 stars for really-liked-it.
First Kiss is about shy student Noah pinning for hot jock Doug. Reading the blurb, I got the impression that the short story (very short) was going to be about a gay boy having an unrequited, unattainable love for a straight. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by the WAFF of the story.
The writing was very straightforward, the kind I would love to read in all of my books. The story is in first POV, specifically Noah. This very apt for the story because I could feel everything that Noah feels. The author shows great skill for forming the emotional map of her main character.
If I had to come up with a negative criticism about the story, it would be about jock Doug secretly confessing to cheerleader Melissa about his sexuality. It's not like they were close friends even though they ran in the same circle, i.e. the cool crowd. It's not very realistic to sneak out of the closet to a stranger who may potentially ruin your social life. Thankfully, Melissa wasn't a stereotypical uppity evil cheerleader.
Anyway, I love all the characters. I love Noah because even though he was shy, he wasn't a doormat and stood up to Melissa. I love Doug for taking a chance on love. I love Melissa, even her bitchy ways, for scheming to get Doug and Noah together.
I rate First Kiss 4 stars for really-liked-it.
January 14, 2015
1.5 stars
I don't know what's wrong with me. Everyone seems to enjoy this but me. I may not in the right mood when I read it but this is not really as impressive as to my first J. Tomas read which is the My Online Secret Admirer. I came across this on Smashwords as a free read, downloaded it and finished it in just a few minutes because the story is short with only 10 pages. Rating a short story is hard but I think the reason why I'm giving this a low rating, is not because of its shortness. It is never will be an issue, I have read plenty of short stories online and also way back in high school for our both English and Filipino subject, and they're all good.
Looking back, the problem here is, I didn't see any link to connect me to the characters or even to the plot. And had this poker face throughout finishing the story. I didn't smile or whatever that emotion I am supposed to feel. And the storyline is quite shallow, just two good boys in the closet who both shared their first kiss. *sigh* I need a chocolate right now.
I don't know what's wrong with me. Everyone seems to enjoy this but me. I may not in the right mood when I read it but this is not really as impressive as to my first J. Tomas read which is the My Online Secret Admirer. I came across this on Smashwords as a free read, downloaded it and finished it in just a few minutes because the story is short with only 10 pages. Rating a short story is hard but I think the reason why I'm giving this a low rating, is not because of its shortness. It is never will be an issue, I have read plenty of short stories online and also way back in high school for our both English and Filipino subject, and they're all good.
Looking back, the problem here is, I didn't see any link to connect me to the characters or even to the plot. And had this poker face throughout finishing the story. I didn't smile or whatever that emotion I am supposed to feel. And the storyline is quite shallow, just two good boys in the closet who both shared their first kiss. *sigh* I need a chocolate right now.
November 25, 2018
At 11 pages there is a lot of pressure to make a fully rounded story and Tomas almost hits the mark. For a short story is covers the key intrigue points but there wasn’t enough time to get a feel for the writing, or get settled into the story. It is an enjoyable snippet, but I wasn’t totally caught up in the story, Noah was a good character, and I could see the approach Tomas was aiming for, but there just needed a bit more to cement the narrative. Tomas brushes past the characters, enough for the reader to get a glimpse at who they’re meant to be, but nothing sticks beyond one dimension.
I’m not 100% sure more pages would help, there can be power in a short story, there needs refinement in the writing though to make the characters count in the space they have and bring across depth in the story.
This review was published on my blog Lost in a Good Book
I’m not 100% sure more pages would help, there can be power in a short story, there needs refinement in the writing though to make the characters count in the space they have and bring across depth in the story.
This review was published on my blog Lost in a Good Book
June 23, 2020
Short and cute
First Kiss, by J. Tomas is a very short, very sweet read about two boys admitting their feelings for the other. It literally only took me 15 minutes to read and has the potential to be something bigger. However, the plot flows smoothly and the dialogue is well written. I kind of wish it was longer just so I could have gotten to know the characters a little better, but I do think Noah (the main character) was well thought out.
There was one sentence that felt out of place in the book. It read like the author was reminding herself of a fact instead of the reader, but it didn’t slow down the story any. I just paused to reread it because I wasn’t sure if I’d read it right the first time.
In total, First Kiss was a cute light-hearted, quick romance read. I enjoyed it.
First Kiss, by J. Tomas is a very short, very sweet read about two boys admitting their feelings for the other. It literally only took me 15 minutes to read and has the potential to be something bigger. However, the plot flows smoothly and the dialogue is well written. I kind of wish it was longer just so I could have gotten to know the characters a little better, but I do think Noah (the main character) was well thought out.
There was one sentence that felt out of place in the book. It read like the author was reminding herself of a fact instead of the reader, but it didn’t slow down the story any. I just paused to reread it because I wasn’t sure if I’d read it right the first time.
In total, First Kiss was a cute light-hearted, quick romance read. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews