Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did)

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Oh, and before, I forget, because it bears mentioning. I also loved their friends, both grade A cinnamon rolls, so much. I love me a friend group. This one wasn't quite an ensemble but they left their mark nonetheless. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. ** Penny and Tate have known one another all of their lives. Their moms are best friends and they’ve grown up together whether they like it or not. They’re not really friends and they don’t hate each other either, but they definitely have some type of feelings for the each other. An incident forces them to have to live together and they agree to get along, at least in front of their mothers. This forces them to have to figure out how to coexist with each other and all the feelings they’ve spent years ignoring. In my pitch, I called it a book about not knowing what you want (while insisting you do), being there for the people you chose no matter what, and figuring out how to deal with the one person who keeps being witness to the worst moments of your life, but still sees the best in you.

But when an almost-kiss goes from almost to I am now wearing your lip gloss, Penny and Tate have no choice but to finally face the music … right? So Penny and Tate make a pact: They’ll play nice. Be the drama-free daughters their mothers need through this scary and hopeful time. There’s only one little hitch in their plan: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing. Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.) Penny, in particular, had my heart. Her storyline with her mom was a favorite for me. Because of the death of her father, her relationship with her mother has become fractured. I loved how Penny learns to stand up for herself and demand what she needs so that she can heal. As complicated as Penny and Tate’s relationship is, Penny’s with her mom, Lottie, is even more so. For me it was the most painful part of the novel to read, even while Sharpe is careful to not make Lottie a simple villain. I mean, she’s giving her best friend half of her liver! But particularly as a new parent, reading about a parent who emotionally and physically abandons her kid in her grief for her husband was agonizing. On the one hand, I can’t imagine losing my partner suddenly in a tragic accident, and of course I have no idea how I would cope. On the other hand, I can’t imagine not putting my kid’s well being first and not openly communicating with and going through the process of grief with them instead of shutting them out. Sharpe smartly doesn’t wrap up Penny and Lottie’s story arc; there’s no moment where Lottie does a grand apology or where Penny forgives her. The focus is on Penny as her own person; she makes her own steps forward in healing journey apart from her mom, which is so affirming to witness.But when Tate's mother needs a liver transplant, Penny's mom is all too ready to step in as a living donor. The second part of this plan, however, requires the two to move in together...which means Penny and Tate will now be living under one roof. Penny and Tate scramble to put together a pact based on their complicated history...and to try to prevent one more of 'those' moments...where they SOMEHOW almost kiss. Has fate shoved these two together, against their will and against all odds? Or will yet another tragedy drive these two apart...forever?

Content warnings: find them here on Tess’ blog. Ones that aren't mentioned: underage drinking, reference to cheating (past, happened to an MC but it wasn't too heavy - an ex cheats on her). It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.While this is only the second Tess Sharpe book I’ve read (I still have Far From You on my to be read list, I know, I know, I’ll get there eventually), I have to say that I am loving that her books are hard hitting contemporaries. I went into this book not knowing a whole lot, but being extremely excited for it. As a long-time fangirl – I appreciate the way the title is done. I added this book to my wish list the second I possibly could, and now that I have read it, I will be hyping this up as much as I can. Equally strong and necessarily more mature and responsible than other kids her age is Penny. Although Penny is more emotionally open than Tate, she’s also been through a lot of trauma. Her dad died on a father-daughter rafting trip accident when she was 15, leaving her with permanent mobility issues in her hands and an emotionally negligent mother who abandoned Penny in her grief. Her mom has never made herself accountable or repaired their relationship. Penny loves the outdoors, especially the local river, and she is a planner and organization aficionado who outlines her life in steps in her bullet journal. It is Penny’s mom that will be giving the liver and Tate’s mom who is receiving it. It will be a life-saving operation but things are a whole lot more complicated than that.