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I Kissed a Girl
Can an up-and-coming horror actress
and the makeup artist for her newest “creature feature”
turn on-set chemistry into the romance of a lifetime?
Lilah Silver’s a young actress who dreams of climbing out of B-list stardom. She’s been cast as the lead in what could be her breakout performance…but if she wants to prove herself to everyone who ever doubted her, she’s going to need major help along the way.
Noa Birnbaum may be a brilliant makeup artist and special effects whiz-kid, but cracking into the union is more difficult than she imagined. Keeping everyone happy is a full-time job, and she’s already run ragged. And yet when the beautiful star she’s been secretly crushing on admits to fears of her own, Noa vows to do everything in her power to help Lilah shine like never before.
Long hours? Exhausting work? No problem. Together they can take the world by storm…but can the connection forged over long hours in the makeup chair ever hope to survive the glare of the spotlight?
and the makeup artist for her newest “creature feature”
turn on-set chemistry into the romance of a lifetime?
Lilah Silver’s a young actress who dreams of climbing out of B-list stardom. She’s been cast as the lead in what could be her breakout performance…but if she wants to prove herself to everyone who ever doubted her, she’s going to need major help along the way.
Noa Birnbaum may be a brilliant makeup artist and special effects whiz-kid, but cracking into the union is more difficult than she imagined. Keeping everyone happy is a full-time job, and she’s already run ragged. And yet when the beautiful star she’s been secretly crushing on admits to fears of her own, Noa vows to do everything in her power to help Lilah shine like never before.
Long hours? Exhausting work? No problem. Together they can take the world by storm…but can the connection forged over long hours in the makeup chair ever hope to survive the glare of the spotlight?
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 3, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 468 reviews
August 19, 2021
1.5 stars.
Buddy read with Trisha & Naomi!
Visual (& accurate) representation of me reading this book :
(BEWARE : this meme is going to be the running theme of this review)
⤷ Before I start ranting, I'll focus on the redeeming qualities of the book. The LGBTQ+ rep was great! Lilah is a struggling closeted bisexual who undergoes an inspiring arc throughout the book. She is kind & gentle but plagued with insecurities, as anyone would be as a young starlet growing up in the spotlight. It was great to read about her growth & coming out process to becoming more confident & outspoken, little by little. No thanks to Noa of course, who is constantly up Lilah's ass about Lilah being fake. The Jewish rep was also quite endearing & I can see Jewish readers finding those elements exceptionally relatable.
⤷ The stalker plotline was also the only thing that kept me engaged & my guess was right! So I wasn't exactly blindsided but it was still a gripping element. It was also quite chilling to read about being stalked & watched from Lilah's perspective.
Okay, that's it. Everything else made me feel like pulling my hair out. RANT INCOMING.
⤷ First, the insta-love. One Direction fanfictions(which are also Hollywood romances) from 2012 have done better insta-love arcs than this one. Noa is a huge fan of Lilah Silver so I understood her little celebrity crush but the first thing Noa did when they met, was to insult Lilah's intelligence by judging her taste in books.
Lilah, despite seeing Noa for the very first time is already losing sleep thinking about her.
& because they literally knew nothing about each other, their attraction was often reduced to physical attraction.
I'm just sitting here like :
I felt ZERO emotional connection between them. No chemistry, just lust that popped out of nowhere but if I were to take a smart guess, probably out of loneliness & desperation. This made it very hard to be invested in the relationship because there was no substance. I had no idea why they liked each other so much. Both the girls were also so easily offended so the dialogue was almost unbearable. Like, y'all don't have to clarify that you're joking or bantering every time y'all make a slightly informal comment. They were just walking on eggshells around each other because they're literally still strangers.
Here's an example:
Stop treating each other like delicate china & we might actually get somewhere.
⤷ I literally could not care less about Noa. She has no redeeming quality & I disliked her. She was spiteful & judgemental towards Lilah for no reason. It seemed like Noa desperately wanted Lilah to be snobbish & diva-like when none of their interactions have ever indicated that. Yet, every time they were in within 20 feet of each other, Noa is electrified & wants to touch her or kiss her. Noa was just a very contradictory, inconsistent & flat character, honestly, she even felt manipulative.
⤷ This book reads like teenfanfiction fiction. It's classified as New Adult & coming-of-age. I couldn't disagree more. The entire book read like something I would've enjoyed a bit more if I was 12 because then, I wouldn't be this aware of the inconsistencies in the book. There are A LOT.
Here's a list :
1. Lilah is apparently allergic to dog. At some point, she requests for the dog in the book to be brought to her & she hugs & cuddles with him like they're bestfriends. Sneezing? nada. Allergy? nope.
2. The author tells me Noa gets tongue-tied around Lilah. I've never seen that in action because Noa always talks her head off around Lilah, making jokes & giving backhanded compliments.
3. Denise, the head of the special effects team that Noa is part of, tells them to keep things professional. 2 kisses & 5 cuddles later, Denise is nowhere to be found. But, oH, dEniSe iS sUcH aN oBsTaCLe, oHHH tHis iS sO sAd, wE cAn'T bE tOgeTheR!!!
4. Lilah tells Noa that she understands that they should date AFTER they finish filming because dating now could cost Noa her job. When Noa pushes away from her in the presence of Denise, Lilah goes, "Who would want to stick around for more of that kind of rejection?"
5. A lot more of other subtle inconsistencies & loopholes that I simply can't be bothered to include.
⤷ One of my favourite things in characters is having goals or aspirations. The author tells us that both the characters have aspirations but I NEVER see it. Lilah wants to be taken seriously as an actress but hates her job & is constantly unhappy about having to act in horror despite it being a potentially breakout role. Noa is passionate about special effects but always wants to go home. I don't see any passion or any enjoyment from them regarding their supposed talents. Their jobs seem to just be a plot device that throws them together.
⤷ The humour was also horrible. All the jokes fell flat for me & was so awkward. Here's one example out of many :
The humour is just overall cringey & embarrassing, I'm sorry.
⤷ The writing. I'm not going to say much but I'm going to leave a compilation & you be the judge.
Overall, I'm tired & bored because of this book & I would not recommend.
〖 Follow me on Instagram (@shashaybooks)! 〗
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Buddy read with Trisha & Naomi!
Visual (& accurate) representation of me reading this book :
(BEWARE : this meme is going to be the running theme of this review)
⤷ Before I start ranting, I'll focus on the redeeming qualities of the book. The LGBTQ+ rep was great! Lilah is a struggling closeted bisexual who undergoes an inspiring arc throughout the book. She is kind & gentle but plagued with insecurities, as anyone would be as a young starlet growing up in the spotlight. It was great to read about her growth & coming out process to becoming more confident & outspoken, little by little. No thanks to Noa of course, who is constantly up Lilah's ass about Lilah being fake. The Jewish rep was also quite endearing & I can see Jewish readers finding those elements exceptionally relatable.
⤷ The stalker plotline was also the only thing that kept me engaged & my guess was right! So I wasn't exactly blindsided but it was still a gripping element. It was also quite chilling to read about being stalked & watched from Lilah's perspective.
Okay, that's it. Everything else made me feel like pulling my hair out. RANT INCOMING.
⤷ First, the insta-love. One Direction fanfictions(which are also Hollywood romances) from 2012 have done better insta-love arcs than this one. Noa is a huge fan of Lilah Silver so I understood her little celebrity crush but the first thing Noa did when they met, was to insult Lilah's intelligence by judging her taste in books.
Lilah, despite seeing Noa for the very first time is already losing sleep thinking about her.
& because they literally knew nothing about each other, their attraction was often reduced to physical attraction.
I'm just sitting here like :
I felt ZERO emotional connection between them. No chemistry, just lust that popped out of nowhere but if I were to take a smart guess, probably out of loneliness & desperation. This made it very hard to be invested in the relationship because there was no substance. I had no idea why they liked each other so much. Both the girls were also so easily offended so the dialogue was almost unbearable. Like, y'all don't have to clarify that you're joking or bantering every time y'all make a slightly informal comment. They were just walking on eggshells around each other because they're literally still strangers.
Here's an example:
"You're beautiful. Is that okay?"
Stop treating each other like delicate china & we might actually get somewhere.
⤷ I literally could not care less about Noa. She has no redeeming quality & I disliked her. She was spiteful & judgemental towards Lilah for no reason. It seemed like Noa desperately wanted Lilah to be snobbish & diva-like when none of their interactions have ever indicated that. Yet, every time they were in within 20 feet of each other, Noa is electrified & wants to touch her or kiss her. Noa was just a very contradictory, inconsistent & flat character, honestly, she even felt manipulative.
⤷ This book reads like teen
Here's a list :
1. Lilah is apparently allergic to dog. At some point, she requests for the dog in the book to be brought to her & she hugs & cuddles with him like they're bestfriends. Sneezing? nada. Allergy? nope.
2. The author tells me Noa gets tongue-tied around Lilah. I've never seen that in action because Noa always talks her head off around Lilah, making jokes & giving backhanded compliments.
3. Denise, the head of the special effects team that Noa is part of, tells them to keep things professional. 2 kisses & 5 cuddles later, Denise is nowhere to be found. But, oH, dEniSe iS sUcH aN oBsTaCLe, oHHH tHis iS sO sAd, wE cAn'T bE tOgeTheR!!!
4. Lilah tells Noa that she understands that they should date AFTER they finish filming because dating now could cost Noa her job. When Noa pushes away from her in the presence of Denise, Lilah goes, "Who would want to stick around for more of that kind of rejection?"
5. A lot more of other subtle inconsistencies & loopholes that I simply can't be bothered to include.
⤷ One of my favourite things in characters is having goals or aspirations. The author tells us that both the characters have aspirations but I NEVER see it. Lilah wants to be taken seriously as an actress but hates her job & is constantly unhappy about having to act in horror despite it being a potentially breakout role. Noa is passionate about special effects but always wants to go home. I don't see any passion or any enjoyment from them regarding their supposed talents. Their jobs seem to just be a plot device that throws them together.
⤷ The humour was also horrible. All the jokes fell flat for me & was so awkward. Here's one example out of many :
"Maybe her parents had forced her into entering. And maybe it's Maybelline."
The humour is just overall cringey & embarrassing, I'm sorry.
⤷ The writing. I'm not going to say much but I'm going to leave a compilation & you be the judge.
"...that little frowny thing she did..."
"...there was something heated and a little flirty..."
"...something so honest and soft..."
"...a flash of something in her expression..."
"...there was something intense behind her stare..."
"...you have this thing you do..."
"...something clicked over inside Lilah..."
"...something raw and empty inside of Lilah..."
"...brushing her lips in something like shock..."
"...searched Noa's expression for something..."
"...to give her something grounded..."
Overall, I'm tired & bored because of this book & I would not recommend.
〖 Follow me on Instagram (@shashaybooks)! 〗
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
May 1, 2022
On the whole, this book was very underwhelming to me. I Kissed a Girl follows a up and coming makeup artist, who gets a job applying stage makeup to a B list actress, Lilah Silvers. They clash, they have misunderstandings, but ultimately they're both very drawn to each other. This sounds like the perfect recipe for a rom-com, but this book unfortunately just didn't hit the mark.
Starting with the good, I absolutely loved Lilah Silvers. She's a bisexual actress struggling to get out of her type-cast mold of B horror movies. She's a former beauty queen from the parent circuit, but she's so much more than that, something it takes her makeup artist Noa a while to understand. I felt super connected to her, she had a compelling story, and I loved her personality.
Unfortunately this book just couldn't sell the romance between Lilah and Noa to me. Noa makes snap judgements about her based on her past, she insults her for reading women fiction, and it takes a pretty long time for her to stop viewing her in a very objectified manner. We watch their romance blossom as they grow closer, but the chemistry just... isn't there? There was never a scene where I felt "oh, this is why they make sense. This is why they belong together."
I did enjoy the stalking sub-plot involving Lilah. I think it added more depth and excitement to the story than even the romance, which is supposed to be the main plot. I do think the stalking sub-plot became a little campy at the end, which I wouldn't have an issue with if the rest of the novel was also camp, but this discontinuity was cringe to read.
The story also really dragged. I confidently think the author could've cut out about 100 pages of this book and ended up with the exact same story. We're taken on set almost everyday with painstaking detail. Did I need to know what Lilah and Noa's day to day lives were like when so many scenes had no relevance to the story? Nope.
Overall, Lilah was definitely the saving grace to this book. I didn't enjoy much of the story, romance, or writing style. I think the plot idea was great, but the execution was really lacking. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
Starting with the good, I absolutely loved Lilah Silvers. She's a bisexual actress struggling to get out of her type-cast mold of B horror movies. She's a former beauty queen from the parent circuit, but she's so much more than that, something it takes her makeup artist Noa a while to understand. I felt super connected to her, she had a compelling story, and I loved her personality.
Unfortunately this book just couldn't sell the romance between Lilah and Noa to me. Noa makes snap judgements about her based on her past, she insults her for reading women fiction, and it takes a pretty long time for her to stop viewing her in a very objectified manner. We watch their romance blossom as they grow closer, but the chemistry just... isn't there? There was never a scene where I felt "oh, this is why they make sense. This is why they belong together."
I did enjoy the stalking sub-plot involving Lilah. I think it added more depth and excitement to the story than even the romance, which is supposed to be the main plot. I do think the stalking sub-plot became a little campy at the end, which I wouldn't have an issue with if the rest of the novel was also camp, but this discontinuity was cringe to read.
The story also really dragged. I confidently think the author could've cut out about 100 pages of this book and ended up with the exact same story. We're taken on set almost everyday with painstaking detail. Did I need to know what Lilah and Noa's day to day lives were like when so many scenes had no relevance to the story? Nope.
Overall, Lilah was definitely the saving grace to this book. I didn't enjoy much of the story, romance, or writing style. I think the plot idea was great, but the execution was really lacking. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
March 25, 2022
This book has Everything!
Everything!
Horror Movies!
Institutional sexism!
Stalkers!
Snakes!
A minor celebrity actress!
Fake blood!
A puppy named Rasputin!
Bedsharing! And they were ROOMMATES!
Coming out!
And I thought you were straight all this time!
Dropping out of college to make it in Hollywood!
One girl has lips that taste like cotton candy!
Everyone is melting all the time because they are so in love! They look at each other and melt, all day everyday!
The "I just experienced major trauma, lets have sex"-trope!
The "I have pined for you from afar for years"-trope!
Did I say tropes? Yes, all of them! Did I mention the bedsharing?
No for real, the story is set on ... uhm set of a b-list horror movie, and just like with those movies, I just finished it to see how many ridiculous concepts the author could come up with.
Everything!
Horror Movies!
Institutional sexism!
Stalkers!
Snakes!
A minor celebrity actress!
Fake blood!
A puppy named Rasputin!
Bedsharing! And they were ROOMMATES!
Coming out!
And I thought you were straight all this time!
Dropping out of college to make it in Hollywood!
One girl has lips that taste like cotton candy!
Everyone is melting all the time because they are so in love! They look at each other and melt, all day everyday!
The "I just experienced major trauma, lets have sex"-trope!
The "I have pined for you from afar for years"-trope!
Did I say tropes? Yes, all of them! Did I mention the bedsharing?
No for real, the story is set on ... uhm set of a b-list horror movie, and just like with those movies, I just finished it to see how many ridiculous concepts the author could come up with.
July 7, 2021
On my blog.
Rep: Jewish lesbian mc, Jewish bi mc, gay side characters, Black side character, sapphic trans side character, Indian(?) American side character
CWs: stalking
Galley provided by publisher
I Kissed a Girl is probably one of the few adult f/f romances I haven’t found myself bored by (high praise, I know). It’s a romance between an actress and her makeup artist, and one I’ve been anticipating since it was announced. And I did like it! So I think we can consider that a great book and go home.
I’m kidding.
It was a book I enjoyed reading, for the most part, and that’s really all I ask of books I pick up, to be honest. I liked both Lilah and Noa, I liked reading their POVs, I liked them together. There was never a point where I didn’t understand their relationship, and I enjoyed the progression of it. It felt natural, in all.
However—and there are really two howevers here—the whole schtick of two sapphics being unsure of whether the other liked them and thus not actually acting on anything was. A little stereotypical, let’s say. I mean, I get that’s the (other) joke about lesbians (sapphics in general here), but it felt overdone. Add onto the fact that they didn’t really feel…sexually attracted to one another (for want of a better phrasing), and… I don’t know. I can’t really verbalise this, except for, if you read a lot of m/f or m/m, you’ll notice the characters viscerally — and clearly, on-page expressing desires — want sex with their love interest. In f/f books, though? (But I will make clear that they did eventually have sex in this! I’m not saying there wasn’t that.)
After that mess of a paragraph, my second “however” relates to the sheer length of the book. For me, romances shouldn’t be much longer than 320 pages or so, definitely not more than 350. This one… was over 400. So, as much as I did like the voices, and the characters, at times it just made me tired reading it. I think a lot of it could have been a bit more condensed, especially the dithering of “oh my God does she like me” and “oh my God I like her”. After a while, that gets tedious.
So, while I did enjoy this book in a broad sense, there were still parts of it that I found… less fun I suppose. But, if you’re looking to get f/f adult romance recs out of me (a short list at the best of times), this would be one of them.
Rep: Jewish lesbian mc, Jewish bi mc, gay side characters, Black side character, sapphic trans side character, Indian(?) American side character
CWs: stalking
Galley provided by publisher
I Kissed a Girl is probably one of the few adult f/f romances I haven’t found myself bored by (high praise, I know). It’s a romance between an actress and her makeup artist, and one I’ve been anticipating since it was announced. And I did like it! So I think we can consider that a great book and go home.
I’m kidding.
It was a book I enjoyed reading, for the most part, and that’s really all I ask of books I pick up, to be honest. I liked both Lilah and Noa, I liked reading their POVs, I liked them together. There was never a point where I didn’t understand their relationship, and I enjoyed the progression of it. It felt natural, in all.
However—and there are really two howevers here—the whole schtick of two sapphics being unsure of whether the other liked them and thus not actually acting on anything was. A little stereotypical, let’s say. I mean, I get that’s the (other) joke about lesbians (sapphics in general here), but it felt overdone. Add onto the fact that they didn’t really feel…sexually attracted to one another (for want of a better phrasing), and… I don’t know. I can’t really verbalise this, except for, if you read a lot of m/f or m/m, you’ll notice the characters viscerally — and clearly, on-page expressing desires — want sex with their love interest. In f/f books, though? (But I will make clear that they did eventually have sex in this! I’m not saying there wasn’t that.)
After that mess of a paragraph, my second “however” relates to the sheer length of the book. For me, romances shouldn’t be much longer than 320 pages or so, definitely not more than 350. This one… was over 400. So, as much as I did like the voices, and the characters, at times it just made me tired reading it. I think a lot of it could have been a bit more condensed, especially the dithering of “oh my God does she like me” and “oh my God I like her”. After a while, that gets tedious.
So, while I did enjoy this book in a broad sense, there were still parts of it that I found… less fun I suppose. But, if you’re looking to get f/f adult romance recs out of me (a short list at the best of times), this would be one of them.
August 1, 2021
This was a cute quick read but ultimately nothing amazing. I loved the fx makeup stuff and surprisingly the stalker subplot was interesting. The romance fell flat for me though. I never really felt the chemistry between Noa and Lilah and it was paced very slowly. I love the makeup artist/actress concept but wanted some more fireworks between them. Noa felt almost condescending at times to me but I loved Lilah and her arc. There just felt like there was something missing that keep me connected to the characters and the story. The representation in this though? 10/10. LGBTQIA+, Judaism, societal differences, you name it, this book had it. So I do totally commend it for how it handled a lot of things. I just wish the plot lived up to that.
January 20, 2022
3.5*
UN LIBRO LESBIANO CON DINOSAURIOS MAQUILLAJE Y PELICULAAAAAS! Nos cuenta la historia de Lilah, una actriz que esper llegar algún día a actuar en grandes películas, por ahora, la contratan para una película pequeña de terror con dinosaurios, si, eso es lo único que tiene de dinosaurios :(.
Por otro lado tenemos a Noa, una maquillista de efectos especiales, que va a arriesgar todo pata poder tener una carrera relacionada con el maquillaje. Así que cuando le llega la oportunidad de maquillar en una película de dinosaurios asesinos, la acepta. Y aquí es donde las dos se conocen, ambas necesitan ayuda de la otra sin saberlo. También, van a pasar muchas horas juntas para completar la producción y eso tal vez, o tal vez no, haga que salgan chispitas.
Primero solo puedo decir que yo creía que el libro trataba de dinosaurios, como un Parque Jurásico lesbiano, pero no. Igual estuvo entretenido, yo como maquillista (o ex maquillista) ame ver esa parte de la historia donde una tenia que maquillar a la otra porque sabía que eso significa ✨TENSIÓN.✨
Es un libro ideal para leer si te gustan los temas mencionados, el romance es bastante cute, aunque no fue de mis favoritos, siento que le faltaron bases, pero de ahí en fuera si me enocionaba. El libro fue super rápido de leer y el nivel de inglés es bastante sencillo, es un poco una comedia romántica mezclada con un poquitin de ficción. Es un libro palomero, para resumir la reseña jsjsjs, si les llama la atención, si se los recomiendo.
UN LIBRO LESBIANO CON DINOSAURIOS MAQUILLAJE Y PELICULAAAAAS! Nos cuenta la historia de Lilah, una actriz que esper llegar algún día a actuar en grandes películas, por ahora, la contratan para una película pequeña de terror con dinosaurios, si, eso es lo único que tiene de dinosaurios :(.
Por otro lado tenemos a Noa, una maquillista de efectos especiales, que va a arriesgar todo pata poder tener una carrera relacionada con el maquillaje. Así que cuando le llega la oportunidad de maquillar en una película de dinosaurios asesinos, la acepta. Y aquí es donde las dos se conocen, ambas necesitan ayuda de la otra sin saberlo. También, van a pasar muchas horas juntas para completar la producción y eso tal vez, o tal vez no, haga que salgan chispitas.
Primero solo puedo decir que yo creía que el libro trataba de dinosaurios, como un Parque Jurásico lesbiano, pero no. Igual estuvo entretenido, yo como maquillista (o ex maquillista) ame ver esa parte de la historia donde una tenia que maquillar a la otra porque sabía que eso significa ✨TENSIÓN.✨
Es un libro ideal para leer si te gustan los temas mencionados, el romance es bastante cute, aunque no fue de mis favoritos, siento que le faltaron bases, pero de ahí en fuera si me enocionaba. El libro fue super rápido de leer y el nivel de inglés es bastante sencillo, es un poco una comedia romántica mezclada con un poquitin de ficción. Es un libro palomero, para resumir la reseña jsjsjs, si les llama la atención, si se los recomiendo.
June 29, 2021
Blog Review: https://trishadoeseverythingbutstudy2...
I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really loved it!!!
I'm finally reviewing this after my pretty long hiatus from reviewing (I have 24 books I need to review, TWENTY FOUR) and this is going to be a review filled week if everything goes to plan. Review after review after review coming your way.
SO, after I finished the mindf*ck that was The Love Song Of Ivy K Harlowe, I needed a good, normal, predictable, angsty yet fluffy rom-com, and THIS F*CKING DELIVERED ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY WANTS.
I loved our MCs, most of the time, at least; I didn't like how judgemental Noa was of the romance genre in general, and she never really completely apologised, or even acknowledged out loud to Lila that maybe she was being too judgemental, but because I ended up really enjoying this, I decided to let it go. Also, both of them were Jewish, which is a rep I haven't actually read a lot of, so that was amazing to read about!
I really loved Chrissy's friendship with Noa, and Lilah's complete friend group; they were such good friends and such a great support, to both of them, and I just loved it! There was a whole lot of rep in this, bisexuality, trans, lesbian, polyamory, gay (that last scene was so cute!), and others I might not remember, and I loved this diversity!
I also loved the way this book got into the whole movie making industry, especially horror, which is not a genre a particularly enjoy or watch (mainly because my parents don't really watch it so then I just haven't) and I loved all the behind the scenes we got, both on the acting as well as the makeup artists, stunt artists, and other different people like the on site scientist (God, I feel sorry for that guy).
The one thing I didn't completely love was the way we were like building up to this something with the guy who was giving her the creeps, and then nothing happened on that front, and then we were having this nice rom-com when suddenly there were snakes and murderous creepy stalkers (I don't really know about murderous, but I think we can agree that that was attempted murder, or rather manslaughter). But I still didn't hate it a lot, so I didn't change my rating for any of it.
I just loved the fluff to angst ratio in this, it was perfectly balanced, but tooth rotting fluff interspersed between hardcore angst, denial, and feelings. I will definitely be checking out more books in the future from Jennet Alexander.
On the whole, an amazing rom-com, though with slightly out of this world ending that kinda reminds me of of the bollywood movies from the 80s and 90s (because those are the only ones I've really watched, and then also only some of them), like Angoor. I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys f/f rom-coms, loads of lgbtq rep, the whole celebrity romance thing, insight into the film industry and the art of makeup, and amazing fluff to angst ratio.
I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I really loved it!!!
I'm finally reviewing this after my pretty long hiatus from reviewing (I have 24 books I need to review, TWENTY FOUR) and this is going to be a review filled week if everything goes to plan. Review after review after review coming your way.
SO, after I finished the mindf*ck that was The Love Song Of Ivy K Harlowe, I needed a good, normal, predictable, angsty yet fluffy rom-com, and THIS F*CKING DELIVERED ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY WANTS.
I loved our MCs, most of the time, at least; I didn't like how judgemental Noa was of the romance genre in general, and she never really completely apologised, or even acknowledged out loud to Lila that maybe she was being too judgemental, but because I ended up really enjoying this, I decided to let it go. Also, both of them were Jewish, which is a rep I haven't actually read a lot of, so that was amazing to read about!
I really loved Chrissy's friendship with Noa, and Lilah's complete friend group; they were such good friends and such a great support, to both of them, and I just loved it! There was a whole lot of rep in this, bisexuality, trans, lesbian, polyamory, gay (that last scene was so cute!), and others I might not remember, and I loved this diversity!
I also loved the way this book got into the whole movie making industry, especially horror, which is not a genre a particularly enjoy or watch (mainly because my parents don't really watch it so then I just haven't) and I loved all the behind the scenes we got, both on the acting as well as the makeup artists, stunt artists, and other different people like the on site scientist (God, I feel sorry for that guy).
The one thing I didn't completely love was the way we were like building up to this something with the guy who was giving her the creeps, and then nothing happened on that front, and then we were having this nice rom-com when suddenly there were snakes and murderous creepy stalkers (I don't really know about murderous, but I think we can agree that that was attempted murder, or rather manslaughter). But I still didn't hate it a lot, so I didn't change my rating for any of it.
I just loved the fluff to angst ratio in this, it was perfectly balanced, but tooth rotting fluff interspersed between hardcore angst, denial, and feelings. I will definitely be checking out more books in the future from Jennet Alexander.
On the whole, an amazing rom-com, though with slightly out of this world ending that kinda reminds me of of the bollywood movies from the 80s and 90s (because those are the only ones I've really watched, and then also only some of them), like Angoor. I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys f/f rom-coms, loads of lgbtq rep, the whole celebrity romance thing, insight into the film industry and the art of makeup, and amazing fluff to angst ratio.
February 12, 2022
Review of I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander, narrated by Natalie Naudus
In order to review this audiobook, I feel I need to separate the written work from the voice performance. I have to say that my enjoyment of this story wouldn’t have been as much if I had read the book.
Lilah Silver is a young B-list actress who usually plays parts at horror movies. Noa Birnbaum is a talented makeup artist who is just starting her career and has a secret admiration for Lilah. As they work long hours together in Lilah’s latest movie role, they discover a budding mutual attraction. Would they be able to act on it despite their professional relationship and a criminal who’s lurking in the shadows?
This is a new adult rom-com with a mini intrigue on the side. There is a good amount of minority representation in the story with bisexual, trans, and polyamorous characters. Both leads are Jewish and they bond through their common traditions and cultural influences. I’m sure this will make many readers happy as Jewish characters are definitely underrepresented in lesbian fiction.
One of my issues with this story is that I found that the chemistry between the mains went up and down like a yo-yo. There are moments when the level of heat cranks up but other times when it feels like a proverbial bucket of cold water is thrown at the reader. It doesn’t help that the intimate scenes are fade to black but, despite that, the “will-they won’t-they” push-pull made me less invested in their happily ever after.
The mini intrigue subplot was entertaining and Ms. Naudus’s performance made it nail-biting in some parts. Even though it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is, the development of the mystery is thrilling, if not a little bizarre at the end. There are clues to the mystery that are easy to spot but the overall sub-plot is still enjoyable.
This book would have rated 3 stars for me if it wasn’t for Natalie Naudus’s narration. This is the typical case of a story elevated by the voice actor. I have to say, in the audiobook world, there are narrators and there are voice actors. I normally use these terms interchangeably but, in this case, I have to highlight the fabulous acting talent of Ms. Naudus. Listening to this audiobook was like watching a theatre performance, that’s how talented she is. The voice inflections, the changing of tone, the breathing spaces, all of that make you feel immersed in the story completely. Her performance made the shortcomings of the written words less relevant and the audiobook worth a listen. 4 stars.
Length: 10 hours, 21 minutes.
In order to review this audiobook, I feel I need to separate the written work from the voice performance. I have to say that my enjoyment of this story wouldn’t have been as much if I had read the book.
Lilah Silver is a young B-list actress who usually plays parts at horror movies. Noa Birnbaum is a talented makeup artist who is just starting her career and has a secret admiration for Lilah. As they work long hours together in Lilah’s latest movie role, they discover a budding mutual attraction. Would they be able to act on it despite their professional relationship and a criminal who’s lurking in the shadows?
This is a new adult rom-com with a mini intrigue on the side. There is a good amount of minority representation in the story with bisexual, trans, and polyamorous characters. Both leads are Jewish and they bond through their common traditions and cultural influences. I’m sure this will make many readers happy as Jewish characters are definitely underrepresented in lesbian fiction.
One of my issues with this story is that I found that the chemistry between the mains went up and down like a yo-yo. There are moments when the level of heat cranks up but other times when it feels like a proverbial bucket of cold water is thrown at the reader. It doesn’t help that the intimate scenes are fade to black but, despite that, the “will-they won’t-they” push-pull made me less invested in their happily ever after.
The mini intrigue subplot was entertaining and Ms. Naudus’s performance made it nail-biting in some parts. Even though it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is, the development of the mystery is thrilling, if not a little bizarre at the end. There are clues to the mystery that are easy to spot but the overall sub-plot is still enjoyable.
This book would have rated 3 stars for me if it wasn’t for Natalie Naudus’s narration. This is the typical case of a story elevated by the voice actor. I have to say, in the audiobook world, there are narrators and there are voice actors. I normally use these terms interchangeably but, in this case, I have to highlight the fabulous acting talent of Ms. Naudus. Listening to this audiobook was like watching a theatre performance, that’s how talented she is. The voice inflections, the changing of tone, the breathing spaces, all of that make you feel immersed in the story completely. Her performance made the shortcomings of the written words less relevant and the audiobook worth a listen. 4 stars.
Length: 10 hours, 21 minutes.
Read
July 31, 2021I loved the juxtaposition between the sweet romance and the cheesy, gory horror movie–and I wished that I had been played up a little more in the marketing (especially the cover). Far from a glitzy Hollywood romance, Lilah has to tread water in a tank that smells like sour milk and spends a lot of time rinsing various kinds of goo and fake blood from her hair.
I also appreciated that both of the main characters are Jewish, and they find connection with each other in that. There’s also a trans side character, and one of my favourite moments of the book was when Noa’s parents say Chrissy (the roommate) is welcome at Rosh Hashanah even if Noa doesn’t come, but to tell them how many girlfriends she’s bringing, because last time they had to run across the street to borrow chairs from the Glazers. It’s such a sweet, casual moment of acceptance (Chrissy is also queer and polyamorous).
I did have some issues with the pacing. There’s a stalker subplot that felt very drawn out and awkward, and the romance plot seemed to get paused for a while and then pick up where it left off. It feels like it could have been a more tightly-plotted novella, so that there wasn’t a chunk in the middle where we’re just waiting for Noah and Lilah to get together and the stalker to be revealed.
Despite the pacing issues, I did enjoy this one overall, and I especially recommend it for readers looking for F/F Jewish romance who have exhausted the Shira Glassman back catalogue!
Full review at the Lesbrary.
I also appreciated that both of the main characters are Jewish, and they find connection with each other in that. There’s also a trans side character, and one of my favourite moments of the book was when Noa’s parents say Chrissy (the roommate) is welcome at Rosh Hashanah even if Noa doesn’t come, but to tell them how many girlfriends she’s bringing, because last time they had to run across the street to borrow chairs from the Glazers. It’s such a sweet, casual moment of acceptance (Chrissy is also queer and polyamorous).
I did have some issues with the pacing. There’s a stalker subplot that felt very drawn out and awkward, and the romance plot seemed to get paused for a while and then pick up where it left off. It feels like it could have been a more tightly-plotted novella, so that there wasn’t a chunk in the middle where we’re just waiting for Noah and Lilah to get together and the stalker to be revealed.
Despite the pacing issues, I did enjoy this one overall, and I especially recommend it for readers looking for F/F Jewish romance who have exhausted the Shira Glassman back catalogue!
Full review at the Lesbrary.
December 12, 2021
A generous 5*s, as it did pull occasionally, a lot of navel gazing. But a good setting, well written mates and the angst of first job all built into a good story.
June 18, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
You can read a more detailed review over on my blog.
The story follows Lilah, a struggling actress, who is trying to make it in the film industry, and Noa, a makeup artist, who is trying to make it into the union. Long hours of working together might lead one thing to another...
The premise for this book sounded so good, but the execution was just underwhelming for me. I think that that might be the result of Liliah being already infatuated with Noa from page 1--if her attraction for the makeup artist would be done slower, then the story would not feel so dragged out, and I think I might have enjoyed it more. Another thing I did not particularly like was the underdevelopment of the attraction between the two women. The story just did not sell it to me, no matter how hard I tried to find the little details of why Lilah would fall for Noa (who constantly makes judgments towards Lilah). And there was also a stalker sub-plot that I actually enjoyed, but the mystery of which was obvious from the start.
Overall, it was a cute story with a nice Jewish rep, however, I could not find myself caring about the characters, and as someone who has a phobia of snakes, I did not enjoy the last quarter of the book.
~2.5 stars
You can read a more detailed review over on my blog.
The story follows Lilah, a struggling actress, who is trying to make it in the film industry, and Noa, a makeup artist, who is trying to make it into the union. Long hours of working together might lead one thing to another...
The premise for this book sounded so good, but the execution was just underwhelming for me. I think that that might be the result of Liliah being already infatuated with Noa from page 1--if her attraction for the makeup artist would be done slower, then the story would not feel so dragged out, and I think I might have enjoyed it more. Another thing I did not particularly like was the underdevelopment of the attraction between the two women. The story just did not sell it to me, no matter how hard I tried to find the little details of why Lilah would fall for Noa (who constantly makes judgments towards Lilah). And there was also a stalker sub-plot that I actually enjoyed, but the mystery of which was obvious from the start.
Overall, it was a cute story with a nice Jewish rep, however, I could not find myself caring about the characters, and as someone who has a phobia of snakes, I did not enjoy the last quarter of the book.
~2.5 stars
May 27, 2021
There are two things I absolutely love about this book: its dedication to horror movies, and the way it turns a romance moment of reconciliation into some kind of meta movie moment. Snakes slither amok, a set is trashed in a spectacular disaster, and there are mutual heroines-rescue-each-other scenes which are really adorable. Before this, a villain is outed (his villainy is very nicely foreshadowed) and our brave heroines must outsmart him. This was so fun and so creative, and I just loved it. I am a total wimp who hates to be scared so I am never going to watch a horror movie ever, but what I really love to read about is when one passion is folded into another passion. So the way that this romance is also structured a bit like a suspense thriller with its stalker sub-plot, and the way its final scene resembles a disaster movie, really worked for me. It was totally in keeping with the theme and tone of everything else in the character's worlds.
I know other reviewers have complained that the stalker sub-plot takes away from the romance. I don't think this is the case at all - as storytelling, it works well, at least it did for me. There is real dramatic tension in the fact every single guy on set (except the lead actor) is hinted to possibly be the stalker, with leering glances, "don't upset the others with the news you're being stalked" concealment, and nervous behaviour as if they're getting away with something. In a post MeToo era, this feels, well, basically like reality for an attractive female actor on a non-blockbuster movie set. There's also a huge amount of space for a romance novel devoted to making practical horror effects, and the somewhat monotonous business of setting up shots involving said effects. This does work against romance reader expectations, but I was completely intrigued. The book has such great energy when it's telling us snippets of conversation overheard in the props department, the ridiculous gripes of the science lead about the proper scale for Pterodactyls, or gleefully describing the buckets of fake blood that drench the watching crew.
What I think is actually the problem is that the romance beats are very muddled on on their own. They get drowned beneath the more memorable subplots and setting. The characters, while pitched as total opposites, one of them a pink-wearing former pageant girl, the other a black-clad horror movie enthusiast, a never quite find their distinct voices. When they're cracking a joke, they sound just about the same, and some of the reciprocal dialogue struggles with awkwardness that doesn't seem entirely self-aware. I know these are mutually awkward people, they are intended to be awkward. But, "Because both you and caramel can be so sweet, deliciously well rounded, but disappointing when oversalty" is a line that, if a human being uttered it, ought to be received with groans of pain. I love humor that doesn't land, and often its not-landing becomes funny, but this is not that. And there's just not much content to Noa and Lilah's romance. They go on literally half a date (a friend's outing that turns into a date) and kiss once, then apparently a bunch of stuff happens off-page on the movie set that the reader misses, and they're in love. There's several references to coupley thing they've done together that I honestly don't remember happening on-page at all. For example, apparently Noa helped Lilah memorize lines for a movie audition in Paris, but I don't recall that being a thing that was even mentioned.
I just didn't get a sense of two opposites slowly warming to each other thanks to forced proximity in a work environment. Initially, Noa is prejudiced against Lilah as a former pageant queen, thinking that she's fake with crap taste in books (she's caught reading an f/f romance novel by Noa, which Noa makes fun of). And Lilah IS sometimes fake, piling on the charm to please people by concocting a persona she thinks they'll like more than her actual self. This is a great idea for two character arcs. However, the relationship escalation notes don't entirely make sense as a coherent set of facts that would lead a person to behave in a certain way? For example, we're told that Lilah idolizes Noa and thinks she has it all together. But on the page, Noa's been snobby about Lilah's taste, to which she's reacted negatively, so she already knows Noa can be mean - that's not perfect. Lilah has much more experience in movies than Noa does, considering this is Noa's first gig and Lliah's reached the status of a leading lady, so in that regard, Liliah has it more together by any objective measure. Lilah is envious of Noa's assurance in her queerness and her belonging in the queer community, but that's one aspect of her life - there's no reason Lilah would believe she "has it all together" across the board, as she tells Noa.
Quite often, the subtext becomes the text, with the characters making speeches about the realizations they've had and how they better understand themselves now. Such realizations are important, and these give us some clarity about where the character arcs are going. But I wished that there were fewer outright reiterations of the fact that Noa is a snob and Lilah is fake, that Noa is too quick to judge and that Lilah struggles with being herself instead of a movie star everyone loves. This could be more subtly signaled through the content of their dialogues, so the reader can conclude this on their own without being guided like a horse on a lead. And the same applies to the romantic scenes. Most often, the scenes where they're together are a lot of "they wanted each other" without building much real emotional closeness to show how their intimacy is developed beyond feelings of lust.
Steam level: closed-door, one fade to black, a few on-page kisses.
CW: stalking, scenes of danger involving snakes.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I know other reviewers have complained that the stalker sub-plot takes away from the romance. I don't think this is the case at all - as storytelling, it works well, at least it did for me. There is real dramatic tension in the fact every single guy on set (except the lead actor) is hinted to possibly be the stalker, with leering glances, "don't upset the others with the news you're being stalked" concealment, and nervous behaviour as if they're getting away with something. In a post MeToo era, this feels, well, basically like reality for an attractive female actor on a non-blockbuster movie set. There's also a huge amount of space for a romance novel devoted to making practical horror effects, and the somewhat monotonous business of setting up shots involving said effects. This does work against romance reader expectations, but I was completely intrigued. The book has such great energy when it's telling us snippets of conversation overheard in the props department, the ridiculous gripes of the science lead about the proper scale for Pterodactyls, or gleefully describing the buckets of fake blood that drench the watching crew.
What I think is actually the problem is that the romance beats are very muddled on on their own. They get drowned beneath the more memorable subplots and setting. The characters, while pitched as total opposites, one of them a pink-wearing former pageant girl, the other a black-clad horror movie enthusiast, a never quite find their distinct voices. When they're cracking a joke, they sound just about the same, and some of the reciprocal dialogue struggles with awkwardness that doesn't seem entirely self-aware. I know these are mutually awkward people, they are intended to be awkward. But, "Because both you and caramel can be so sweet, deliciously well rounded, but disappointing when oversalty" is a line that, if a human being uttered it, ought to be received with groans of pain. I love humor that doesn't land, and often its not-landing becomes funny, but this is not that. And there's just not much content to Noa and Lilah's romance. They go on literally half a date (a friend's outing that turns into a date) and kiss once, then apparently a bunch of stuff happens off-page on the movie set that the reader misses, and they're in love. There's several references to coupley thing they've done together that I honestly don't remember happening on-page at all. For example, apparently Noa helped Lilah memorize lines for a movie audition in Paris, but I don't recall that being a thing that was even mentioned.
I just didn't get a sense of two opposites slowly warming to each other thanks to forced proximity in a work environment. Initially, Noa is prejudiced against Lilah as a former pageant queen, thinking that she's fake with crap taste in books (she's caught reading an f/f romance novel by Noa, which Noa makes fun of). And Lilah IS sometimes fake, piling on the charm to please people by concocting a persona she thinks they'll like more than her actual self. This is a great idea for two character arcs. However, the relationship escalation notes don't entirely make sense as a coherent set of facts that would lead a person to behave in a certain way? For example, we're told that Lilah idolizes Noa and thinks she has it all together. But on the page, Noa's been snobby about Lilah's taste, to which she's reacted negatively, so she already knows Noa can be mean - that's not perfect. Lilah has much more experience in movies than Noa does, considering this is Noa's first gig and Lliah's reached the status of a leading lady, so in that regard, Liliah has it more together by any objective measure. Lilah is envious of Noa's assurance in her queerness and her belonging in the queer community, but that's one aspect of her life - there's no reason Lilah would believe she "has it all together" across the board, as she tells Noa.
Quite often, the subtext becomes the text, with the characters making speeches about the realizations they've had and how they better understand themselves now. Such realizations are important, and these give us some clarity about where the character arcs are going. But I wished that there were fewer outright reiterations of the fact that Noa is a snob and Lilah is fake, that Noa is too quick to judge and that Lilah struggles with being herself instead of a movie star everyone loves. This could be more subtly signaled through the content of their dialogues, so the reader can conclude this on their own without being guided like a horse on a lead. And the same applies to the romantic scenes. Most often, the scenes where they're together are a lot of "they wanted each other" without building much real emotional closeness to show how their intimacy is developed beyond feelings of lust.
Steam level: closed-door, one fade to black, a few on-page kisses.
CW: stalking, scenes of danger involving snakes.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 29, 2021
Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I Kissed a Girl is about Noa, a makeup artist trying to start her career and Liah Silvers, an actress in a horror movie. Noa is more of a background makeup artist just helping around but gets her positioned moved up to be the main MUA for Lilah. Lot’s of stolen glances and yearning, and thinking the other doesn't like them this is a super cute romcom.
The writing style was a bit choppy. Sometimes I found myself going back to read passages a couple times and about halfway through I contemplated DNF’ing the book just because I had other things I would rather be reading but did end up finishing it. I think that the characters lacked some personality. But if you are looking for a quick sapphic romcom with Jewish rep and LOVE movies this book may be for you.
I Kissed a Girl is about Noa, a makeup artist trying to start her career and Liah Silvers, an actress in a horror movie. Noa is more of a background makeup artist just helping around but gets her positioned moved up to be the main MUA for Lilah. Lot’s of stolen glances and yearning, and thinking the other doesn't like them this is a super cute romcom.
The writing style was a bit choppy. Sometimes I found myself going back to read passages a couple times and about halfway through I contemplated DNF’ing the book just because I had other things I would rather be reading but did end up finishing it. I think that the characters lacked some personality. But if you are looking for a quick sapphic romcom with Jewish rep and LOVE movies this book may be for you.
November 13, 2021
Me and this book did not get along.
August 8, 2021
Noa Birnbaum dreams of being a Hollywood makeup artist, and when she gets the chance to work on a horror film, she jumps at the chance even though it means dropping out of college. It doesn't hurt that the actress she has been crushing on, Lilah Silver, is the female lead in the movie. Lilah hopes that this movie will be a breakthrough movie for her, pushing her past the B-list of celebs she is currently on. Lilah immediately likes Noa but is not out as a bisexual and is unsure how to become part of the LA LGBTQ+ scene.
The premise didn't live up to the actually story for me. Unfortunately, I didn't quite buy the romance in this story. Noa has had a crush on Lilah from afar, but when they get up close, she judges Lilah's taste in books, history of entering beauty pageants, etc. Lilah seemed mostly to like Noa because she's part of the LGBTQ+ community that Lilah wants to figure out how to enter. I also think the story dragged on. The story was OK but could have been so much better.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
The premise didn't live up to the actually story for me. Unfortunately, I didn't quite buy the romance in this story. Noa has had a crush on Lilah from afar, but when they get up close, she judges Lilah's taste in books, history of entering beauty pageants, etc. Lilah seemed mostly to like Noa because she's part of the LGBTQ+ community that Lilah wants to figure out how to enter. I also think the story dragged on. The story was OK but could have been so much better.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
July 27, 2021
This book had some fantastic rep and a lot of potential, but it was just all over the place in terms of execution.
One thing that I just didn't understand is that from the beginning, make up artist Noa is completely obsessed with actress Lilah, but Noa goes out of her way to make of every single thing that Lilah enjoys. Noa hates the fact that Lilah is an ex-beauty queen and is completely shut off from the whole idea because it's "girly". Noa also judges Lilah's intelligence because she reads smutty romance novels. Noa is just a grumpy ass main character who is just elitist, and I was sick of her BS about half way through the book.
Yeah, as I'm writing this, I am knocking down a star from 3 to 2 because this book is just not great, and I have no positive feelings about it.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
One thing that I just didn't understand is that from the beginning, make up artist Noa is completely obsessed with actress Lilah, but Noa goes out of her way to make of every single thing that Lilah enjoys. Noa hates the fact that Lilah is an ex-beauty queen and is completely shut off from the whole idea because it's "girly". Noa also judges Lilah's intelligence because she reads smutty romance novels. Noa is just a grumpy ass main character who is just elitist, and I was sick of her BS about half way through the book.
Yeah, as I'm writing this, I am knocking down a star from 3 to 2 because this book is just not great, and I have no positive feelings about it.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
July 23, 2021
This was…fine, I guess.
The book features a lesbian and a bisexual who are both Jewish, and those aspects I really enjoyed.
But a minor personal epiphany for me was the realization that the “celebrity with a stalker” trope just does nothing for me. Like, at all. In addition to that, it kind of contributed to a feeling that the book couldn’t really decide what it wanted to be — millennial coming of age in a harsh and insecure work environment, romance, thriller, something…else I’m not even sure what.
I also didn’t really buy into the mc’s as into each other. They both had better chemistry with a piece of cheesecake than each other. I’m also a little frustrated with the sapphic dynamics I’m seeing in a lot of contemporary romances where there’s this endless song and dance of “oh is she into girls? But oh is she into ME? But oh I don’t want to presume or take any action whatsoever that can be construed as moving this relationship forward” and I’m just tired of it. I also have a lot of trouble when the main characters of a romance are suspicious of each other over comparatively low stakes stuff and do stupid things because of it.
I can see this being really enjoyable for people who like theater themed romance, celebrity/non celebrity romance, and romantic suspense, but this really wasn’t the book for me.
The book features a lesbian and a bisexual who are both Jewish, and those aspects I really enjoyed.
But a minor personal epiphany for me was the realization that the “celebrity with a stalker” trope just does nothing for me. Like, at all. In addition to that, it kind of contributed to a feeling that the book couldn’t really decide what it wanted to be — millennial coming of age in a harsh and insecure work environment, romance, thriller, something…else I’m not even sure what.
I also didn’t really buy into the mc’s as into each other. They both had better chemistry with a piece of cheesecake than each other. I’m also a little frustrated with the sapphic dynamics I’m seeing in a lot of contemporary romances where there’s this endless song and dance of “oh is she into girls? But oh is she into ME? But oh I don’t want to presume or take any action whatsoever that can be construed as moving this relationship forward” and I’m just tired of it. I also have a lot of trouble when the main characters of a romance are suspicious of each other over comparatively low stakes stuff and do stupid things because of it.
I can see this being really enjoyable for people who like theater themed romance, celebrity/non celebrity romance, and romantic suspense, but this really wasn’t the book for me.
Read
May 3, 2021DNF. This is reading like someone's self-insert fan fiction. It's so repetitive and not really interesting.
January 6, 2022
It wasn't what I expected but it's a cute read nonetheless.
July 30, 2021
A fun movie set romance
Noa Birnbaum's dream is to work in the movies: in horror special effects and makeup. She finally gets a chance to work on a real movie (one step closer to joining the union), but it means dropping out of school, where she's earning her theater degree. Her parents won't be pleased. On the set, she's face to face with actress Lilah Silver, whom Noa has had a crush on for ages. Lilah has her own dreams, to move beyond B-list horror films and into true stardom. This starring role as the "final girl" could be her opportunity. When she meets openly out Noa, Lilah may finally have a chance to admit to her own bisexuality. But a relationship could have its own problems for both Lilah and Noa.
"Noa'd thrown away everything else in her life for this job. And now she was seriously considering throwing the job away for a chance at a girl? Stupid beyond words."
This is a cute story whose strength comes across in its representation--queer characters covering bi, trans, lesbian and more. There's also some excellent Jewish representation, as both Noa and Lilah bond over their religious beliefs. As a member of the LGBTQIA community, I love seeing stories that reflect myself and my friends. Watching Lilah grapple with her bisexuality and coming out and seeing Noa hang out with her friends, being openly out and accepted. These are still stories and characters we do not get to see and read about regularly. Even better, it seems like I read a lot of queer YA books, not a lot where the characters are adults (although they might not always act like it in this story, ha). It was fun and refreshing.
"Special effects artist had never been on the list of things Good Jewish Girls Did."
For me, this book was a little long. It could have been a bit shorter and would have felt more snappy. A lot of the focus in this story is on miscommunication, which is a pet peeve of mine. I just can't handle when so much of the plot could be avoided if the characters just spoke openly to one another. It's also not entirely clear why Noa crushes so much on Lilah, to the point that it seems that she can't rationalize clearly. A lot of this inability to communicate or think clearly leads to some back and forth storylines, so it seems like as if the plot zigs and zags. Up and down. Will Noa go for a relationship with Lilah or keep her job? Is Lilah willing to risk her career for her sexuality? Again, if things had been just a bit shorter, we probably could have skipped a bit of this.
Still, this is a fun story. While Lilah and Noa can be frustrating sometimes, they are engaging characters. The horror film set adds an interesting level to the book (there's another plot line involving Lilah and threats to her safety). It's a little long, but I appreciated all the queer and Jewish rep. 3+ stars.
I received a copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. It releases 8/3/2021.
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Noa Birnbaum's dream is to work in the movies: in horror special effects and makeup. She finally gets a chance to work on a real movie (one step closer to joining the union), but it means dropping out of school, where she's earning her theater degree. Her parents won't be pleased. On the set, she's face to face with actress Lilah Silver, whom Noa has had a crush on for ages. Lilah has her own dreams, to move beyond B-list horror films and into true stardom. This starring role as the "final girl" could be her opportunity. When she meets openly out Noa, Lilah may finally have a chance to admit to her own bisexuality. But a relationship could have its own problems for both Lilah and Noa.
"Noa'd thrown away everything else in her life for this job. And now she was seriously considering throwing the job away for a chance at a girl? Stupid beyond words."
This is a cute story whose strength comes across in its representation--queer characters covering bi, trans, lesbian and more. There's also some excellent Jewish representation, as both Noa and Lilah bond over their religious beliefs. As a member of the LGBTQIA community, I love seeing stories that reflect myself and my friends. Watching Lilah grapple with her bisexuality and coming out and seeing Noa hang out with her friends, being openly out and accepted. These are still stories and characters we do not get to see and read about regularly. Even better, it seems like I read a lot of queer YA books, not a lot where the characters are adults (although they might not always act like it in this story, ha). It was fun and refreshing.
"Special effects artist had never been on the list of things Good Jewish Girls Did."
For me, this book was a little long. It could have been a bit shorter and would have felt more snappy. A lot of the focus in this story is on miscommunication, which is a pet peeve of mine. I just can't handle when so much of the plot could be avoided if the characters just spoke openly to one another. It's also not entirely clear why Noa crushes so much on Lilah, to the point that it seems that she can't rationalize clearly. A lot of this inability to communicate or think clearly leads to some back and forth storylines, so it seems like as if the plot zigs and zags. Up and down. Will Noa go for a relationship with Lilah or keep her job? Is Lilah willing to risk her career for her sexuality? Again, if things had been just a bit shorter, we probably could have skipped a bit of this.
Still, this is a fun story. While Lilah and Noa can be frustrating sometimes, they are engaging characters. The horror film set adds an interesting level to the book (there's another plot line involving Lilah and threats to her safety). It's a little long, but I appreciated all the queer and Jewish rep. 3+ stars.
I received a copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. It releases 8/3/2021.
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June 20, 2021
I Kissed a Girl is everything I want in a sapphic romcom and more. I adored that Lilah and Noa were in different stages of their coming out process, showcasing that there is no "right" way to be queer. It was also incredibly refreshing to have a character still in the early stages of their coming out process while avoiding being an overdramatized coming out narrative. Lilah was able to come into herself and her bisexuality in a way that was real and relatable without being bogged down by fears of homophobia like most coming out narratives are. The Hollywood aspects of the story were interesting and delightful, reminded me a lot of my old theatre days! Overall, this story was hilarious, relatable, and sincere. Utter love for this one. Can't wait to put it in people's hands!
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 4, 2022DNF @ 36%
not bad or anything, but nothing really kept me reading. definitely expected more :')
not bad or anything, but nothing really kept me reading. definitely expected more :')
June 29, 2022
||I kissed her. She kissed me. And it was incredible.||
Romance sáfico entre una actriz de películas de terror B (Lilah) y una maquilladora novata (Noa), tratando temas como la bifobia o la sexualización de este tipo de actrices.
Hasta ahí todo bien. No os voy a engañar, tenía las expectativas bastante altas (eso, quizás, ha hecho que me termine defraudando).
Antes de nada, quiero destacar lo que más me ha gustado del libro:
-Buena representación LGBTQ+.
-Reflexiones de Lilah sobre sí misma muy interesantes. Personaje con más profundidad y que más evoluciona a lo largo del libro: por un lado, tiene que lidiar con la cosificación de su público y lucha por demostrar que no es solo una cara bonita; por otro lado, teme salir plenamente del armario como chica bi y a lo largo del libro va reforzando su confianza hacia su sexualidad.
-El cliché de compartir cama. Sé que solo pasa en un momento a lo largo del todo el libro, sé que no es de lo más trascendental, pero está y a mi me ha alegrado la lectura.
Aparte de esto, una trama bastante básica con un romance que, bueno…, no me ha terminado de gustar. De hecho, creo que mi problema principal con este libro es el romance, me da igual que la trama sea una mi*rda si hay buen romance, pero aquí no se salva.
Para empezar, iniciamos el libro y el romance con un insta-love. Soy una gran hater de este cliché, no me escondo, pero entiendo que es un libro ligero, el romance necesita iniciar rápido. No hay nada más sencillo que un insta-love.
Si todo el libro tuviera dinámica de insta-love (no se hubiera indagado más en problemas de pareja-porque entendemos que están enamoradas y felices desde la página 1- y todo el libro hubiese ido de dramas ajenos a esto), habría odiado el libro. PERO, por suerte, vemos que surge de alguna manera el cliché de “amor prohibido”. Si soy sincera, no es la gran cosa, pero causa tensión y novedad a la pareja y con eso ha hecho que me atraiga más la lectura.
Al final hay un par de malentendidos a mi parecer un poco wtf, que se intercalan con la trama del acosador (tampoco me ha llamado mucho esta línea en la historia, aparte de para ver la evolución de Lilah) y acaba con un final rápido que tampoco ha sido objeto de mi devoción.
En general, me esperaba más: Noa pretende ser un personaje tan profundo como Lilah, pero se queda en el intento; los personajes secundarios tienen un potencial súper desaprovechado; toda la parte del acoso podría haberse tratado más profundamente desde un inicio, no solo soltando algunas cosas sin mucha importancia hasta casi el final…
Entretenido pero sin más.
Romance sáfico entre una actriz de películas de terror B (Lilah) y una maquilladora novata (Noa), tratando temas como la bifobia o la sexualización de este tipo de actrices.
Hasta ahí todo bien. No os voy a engañar, tenía las expectativas bastante altas (eso, quizás, ha hecho que me termine defraudando).
Antes de nada, quiero destacar lo que más me ha gustado del libro:
-Buena representación LGBTQ+.
-Reflexiones de Lilah sobre sí misma muy interesantes. Personaje con más profundidad y que más evoluciona a lo largo del libro: por un lado, tiene que lidiar con la cosificación de su público y lucha por demostrar que no es solo una cara bonita; por otro lado, teme salir plenamente del armario como chica bi y a lo largo del libro va reforzando su confianza hacia su sexualidad.
-El cliché de compartir cama. Sé que solo pasa en un momento a lo largo del todo el libro, sé que no es de lo más trascendental, pero está y a mi me ha alegrado la lectura.
Aparte de esto, una trama bastante básica con un romance que, bueno…, no me ha terminado de gustar. De hecho, creo que mi problema principal con este libro es el romance, me da igual que la trama sea una mi*rda si hay buen romance, pero aquí no se salva.
Para empezar, iniciamos el libro y el romance con un insta-love. Soy una gran hater de este cliché, no me escondo, pero entiendo que es un libro ligero, el romance necesita iniciar rápido. No hay nada más sencillo que un insta-love.
Si todo el libro tuviera dinámica de insta-love (no se hubiera indagado más en problemas de pareja-porque entendemos que están enamoradas y felices desde la página 1- y todo el libro hubiese ido de dramas ajenos a esto), habría odiado el libro. PERO, por suerte, vemos que surge de alguna manera el cliché de “amor prohibido”. Si soy sincera, no es la gran cosa, pero causa tensión y novedad a la pareja y con eso ha hecho que me atraiga más la lectura.
Al final hay un par de malentendidos a mi parecer un poco wtf, que se intercalan con la trama del acosador (tampoco me ha llamado mucho esta línea en la historia, aparte de para ver la evolución de Lilah) y acaba con un final rápido que tampoco ha sido objeto de mi devoción.
En general, me esperaba más: Noa pretende ser un personaje tan profundo como Lilah, pero se queda en el intento; los personajes secundarios tienen un potencial súper desaprovechado; toda la parte del acoso podría haberse tratado más profundamente desde un inicio, no solo soltando algunas cosas sin mucha importancia hasta casi el final…
Entretenido pero sin más.
June 28, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warning: stalking
Pros: Overall, I Kissed a Girl is a light and fluffy read with a jewish bisexual main character and a jewish lesbian main character! I really enjoyed Lilah's character, her coming out, and struggling with her identity. Lilah was very relatable especially as she learns that bisexuality is valid.
Cons: The book was a little too long if it was 300 pages instead of 400 I think it would have held my interest more. The story was underwhelming in my opinion. I wish the romance portion would have picked up more...I did not feel the chemistry between our two main characters.
I would recommend I Kissed a Girl for light hearted fluffy rom-com.
Trigger warning: stalking
Pros: Overall, I Kissed a Girl is a light and fluffy read with a jewish bisexual main character and a jewish lesbian main character! I really enjoyed Lilah's character, her coming out, and struggling with her identity. Lilah was very relatable especially as she learns that bisexuality is valid.
Cons: The book was a little too long if it was 300 pages instead of 400 I think it would have held my interest more. The story was underwhelming in my opinion. I wish the romance portion would have picked up more...I did not feel the chemistry between our two main characters.
I would recommend I Kissed a Girl for light hearted fluffy rom-com.
August 26, 2021
3.5 ⭐️ bruh i have soooo many thoughts and feelings ab this one but i need a hot minute to process them ☝🏼
August 4, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for providing and eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This wlw romance follows Noa, a makeup artist trying to get more work, and Lilah, an actress who might just be getting her big break. Both MCs are Jewish, and this book has bi, lesbian, and poly rep. For movie buffs and thriller fans, this might be a really good romcom for you, but it wasn't my thing.
Firstly, the book is really long. It dragged so much, and I almost DNFed multiple times because I had to force myself through a lot of this. Alexander could have easily cut out a good portion of the book. I did enjoy the more 'thriller' element of the book with the stalking plotline, but it also felt really rushed through at the end. Basically the pacing was off, and some things, like the sub plot of Lilah moving overseas for work, just aren't even wrapped up.
While I did enjoy Lilah's character, I was not a fan of pretty much anyone else in the book, especially Noa, who is prejudiced and not very respectful. She also pretty much only complements Lilah on her looks, despite Lilah informing her that she doesn't like being reduced to a pretty actress.
In my opinion, the actual romance was really underdeveloped. The attraction between the two MCs was very surface level. Lilah loved Noa's style and was jealous that she was out and proud, and Noa thought Lilah was hot and had a celebrity crush. We never really get much of why they like each other, and I honestly didn't see much chemistry, though there were some cute moments.
This wlw romance follows Noa, a makeup artist trying to get more work, and Lilah, an actress who might just be getting her big break. Both MCs are Jewish, and this book has bi, lesbian, and poly rep. For movie buffs and thriller fans, this might be a really good romcom for you, but it wasn't my thing.
Firstly, the book is really long. It dragged so much, and I almost DNFed multiple times because I had to force myself through a lot of this. Alexander could have easily cut out a good portion of the book. I did enjoy the more 'thriller' element of the book with the stalking plotline, but it also felt really rushed through at the end. Basically the pacing was off, and some things, like the sub plot of Lilah moving overseas for work, just aren't even wrapped up.
While I did enjoy Lilah's character, I was not a fan of pretty much anyone else in the book, especially Noa, who is prejudiced and not very respectful. She also pretty much only complements Lilah on her looks, despite Lilah informing her that she doesn't like being reduced to a pretty actress.
In my opinion, the actual romance was really underdeveloped. The attraction between the two MCs was very surface level. Lilah loved Noa's style and was jealous that she was out and proud, and Noa thought Lilah was hot and had a celebrity crush. We never really get much of why they like each other, and I honestly didn't see much chemistry, though there were some cute moments.
June 17, 2021
Thank you NetGalley for providing an arc copy of this book.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but honestly I ended up super disappointed in it. Overall I found the romance pretty lack luster and tiresome to read. Also the characters themselves felt like they had little depth and every step of the way I was wondering when the book was going to be over.
The biggest part of the romance that fell flat for me was that it was instant, and instant romances to me always seem inauthentic. And since we didn’t really get a good look at the characters and there personalities, I felt that there was no chemistry between the two main characters. The end part of the romance also felt really rushed and that nothing was actually resolved.
Both characters seemed really flat. This caused me to no really care about what happened to them. While we knew what the sexuality of the characters were and their surface level interests were, there was nothing deeper. This defiantly contributed to the lack of chemistry between the characters as well, because not only did we not know anything about them, they didn’t know anything about each other. The author gave very little to root for.
The sub plot could have been used a little more as well, often times it felt like an after thought in the book. I thought the pacing was pretty good as well, while I didn��t care much for the characters, at least everything was moving along,
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but honestly I ended up super disappointed in it. Overall I found the romance pretty lack luster and tiresome to read. Also the characters themselves felt like they had little depth and every step of the way I was wondering when the book was going to be over.
The biggest part of the romance that fell flat for me was that it was instant, and instant romances to me always seem inauthentic. And since we didn’t really get a good look at the characters and there personalities, I felt that there was no chemistry between the two main characters. The end part of the romance also felt really rushed and that nothing was actually resolved.
Both characters seemed really flat. This caused me to no really care about what happened to them. While we knew what the sexuality of the characters were and their surface level interests were, there was nothing deeper. This defiantly contributed to the lack of chemistry between the characters as well, because not only did we not know anything about them, they didn’t know anything about each other. The author gave very little to root for.
The sub plot could have been used a little more as well, often times it felt like an after thought in the book. I thought the pacing was pretty good as well, while I didn��t care much for the characters, at least everything was moving along,
August 8, 2021
If I had a nickel for every F/F big-name/no-name film industry romance book I've read where a seemingly benign coworker is actually a creepy dude is going after one of the leads and the title of the book is also the name of a song, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right?
I Kissed a Girl is such a cute book, I can't even begin to describe it. It's about what you'd expect - a somewhat starstruck no-name, a closeted big-name, sparks flying behind the scenes of the set. Noa is delightfully awkward, Lilah is so endearing and eager to meet other queer people after growing up isolated from the community. Creepy stalker dude is creepy stalker dude, tabloids are being nosy. It was just a very cute romance, there's really not more to say. A light read, made me smile.
I Kissed a Girl is such a cute book, I can't even begin to describe it. It's about what you'd expect - a somewhat starstruck no-name, a closeted big-name, sparks flying behind the scenes of the set. Noa is delightfully awkward, Lilah is so endearing and eager to meet other queer people after growing up isolated from the community. Creepy stalker dude is creepy stalker dude, tabloids are being nosy. It was just a very cute romance, there's really not more to say. A light read, made me smile.
February 1, 2022
Ahhh thank you Netgalley!! Excited to read it :)
October 19, 2021
can't believe I listened to this whole book and the two equally horrible main characters didn't even bang
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