Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

Note: The following original review for this book is old and does not meet current review standards. A fully rewritten review is planned.

As someone who does not like romance or comedy novels, this one was already fighting an uphill battle that it somehow got over (specifically the first 50 or so pages). A feel-good and easy casual read, this is a collegiate-set coming of (young adult) age story written with the unapologetically earnest and rose-tinted glasses tone that made Heartstopper so appealing.

At times it tiptoes the line of being corny and cliche, but the witty banter and Wren’s hilariously relatable internal monologues helped to keep it in the perfect sweet spot comfort read for me. The inclusion of the senior and snappy divorcee/widowed character Alice Kelly who serves dual-roles as both a central plot mechanism and as a older social mentor for Wren was refreshing and different from what I’ve read in this genre. Timothy Janovsky also nails the internal battle introverted feeling folks go through when it comes to romance and the novel is filled to the brim with Millenial/Gen Z pop culture references and slang, some of which are incredibly recent or hyper-specific to the target demographics this book is meant to appeal to. There’s a scene where Wren starts watching a Disney World ride POV’s posted on Youtube, that’s something I never expected to read in a literary work of fiction and am slightly uncomfortable at how relatable and oddly-specific that is to me.

Despite thoroughly enjoying the read, admittingly this should be more of a 3-4 star rating if we’re looking at the writing and story objectively. The love interest Derick is a little too perfect (ofc with a few obligatory flaws, though maybe also getting the rose-tinted version of a character thanks to Wren’s obsession with him) and the plot is all too predictable and hopeful, but sooner or later you’ll either have to give in to this book’s sickening sweet barrage and tone or drop it as a DNF like a grinch (I consider myself a grinch but it won me over).

Side note, shoutout to “420 BlazinBoii” for being a scene-stealer in the simulated Instagram caption interludes that are placed occasionally between chapters.