Book Review: Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

 

Photo by Juseph Elas

Genre: MM Romance

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. 

Queue in The Very First Night by Taylor Swift as you devour this To All the Boys I've Loved Before meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Never Been Kissed by Timothy Jabovksy was a reel of romantic what-could-bes, what-should-have-beens, second chances, a nod to 70s, 80s, 90s flick references, and a whole lot of cute romantic comedy that should be on Netflix!

But allow me to point out a few observations. First, I felt the book was a criticism of the romanticization of everything firsts: first kiss, first relationship, first crush, first heartbreak. The subtle undertone tells us that we consume too much Hollywood (or romance novels) that we get fantasy mixed up with reality; we romanticize the idea of love too much that we get our standards so high that we can’t even satisfy ourselves when real love comes knocking at our doors because we’re already too blinded by this very fantasy in romanticizing romance.

Second, the author is obviously a cinephile himself with his vast references to films and the way the storytelling was delivered; film-like at best.

Third, there was a mention of Wren suffering from some sort of mental health problem. I was cautious about this considering it’s a sensitive subject. But I felt the author didn’t exploit this subject to clickbait readers. Safe to say, the matter wasn’t all too glaring for being too much.

Fourth, I couldn't help but comment on the unnecessary character building (at least in my opinion) in the book. Exhibit A: the game night which Mateo devised. I felt like that part simply dragged the book for far too long than it should have just taken us to the real meat of the story.

However, when I reached three chapters before the end, I felt the book did pick up the pace. Also, the thing I predicted (regarding Alice's place being acquired) came to be! I guess there's a little predictability in the story but only if you were paying close attention.

I honestly believe this book has the potential for a Netflix adaptation. The storytelling could almost pass as a right-of-passage for a screenplay.

Oh! And that ending? That was really something! This is a story that will put every hopeless romantic on the edge of wanting to have their own love story immortalized by fireworks, a kiss under a starry sky, and a date on a drive-in if only to have their share of that romcom flick-like romance.

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky comes out on 03 May 2022!