Told through the two girls’ present, and six moments from their past, this dynamic love story shows that sometimes the person you need the most has been there for you all along. I love a book that is character-driven and emotional and this was everything I could have wanted and more. Tate and Penny could not be more perfect together. As reluctant allies at first, then as friends, and then as something more. Their strengths and flaws complement each other brilliantly. 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). These girls were wonderfully messy, so great to read about and are very much now resting in a corner of my heart forevermore. 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.

They don’t, of course. The slow, slow burn of the story is Penny and Tate finally opening up to each other and being honest, mostly with themselves, about what it is that they actually want and what they actually mean to each other. It’s them finally seeing what everyone watching them from the outside sees, looking at these two and thinking, wow those are some soulmates right there. It’s so beautiful! After reading about the hardships each girl has gone through and how courageously they have fought for their own well-being, I can’t think of two other fictional queer girls who deserve a happy ending more. It’s difficult not to chant “kiss, kiss, kiss!” in your head while reading about all their almost kisses, even though Sharpe has already told you this isn’t the time their lips actually meet! And on more than one occasion, there is even only one bed that they have to share!! This romance is full of struggle and strong emotions, likely to find an appreciable YA audience."— School Library Journal But let me start with the good things. While this book is probably framed and marketed in a way that makes you think conventional romance or romcom, it’s a little heavier than that (as you might expect if you’ve read any Tess Sharpe books before). In this, you have it twofold: a mother-daughter relationship ruined by grief after the death of a husband/father, and a mother-daughter relationship dealing with a recurrence of cancer and a necessary operation. Personally, these aspects were when the book was at its best for me. They were written in such a way that you still felt for Penny’s mother, despite how she had failed her daughter. 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. 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.This book is hard, yo. There is a lot of grief and loss to wade through, especially as it manifests so differently for so many people; and these characters are no exception. And, hey. Do you also love fraught mother-daughter dynamics? Because this has that, too. I do not love that dynamic, I find it incredibly horrible to experience, but instead of ruining the book (which has definitely happened to me before) I can respect it because Sharpe did such a great job with.. well, everything.

The two girls we get to know are Tate and Penny. They have never been friends but with them sharing living quarters, they decide to make a pact. They will get along. They won’t fight. And they’ll keep each other’s secrets to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible. For the moms. Six moments lead us to two girls, one kiss, and three little words that were maybe always true in this gorgeous novel perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Jenny Han. We have two really strong female leads in Penny and Tate and I instantly warmed to the both of them. Whilst I adored Penny’s love of bullet journalling and the real journey of character development she goes on throughout the book, Tate was my personal favourite character. I found her character really endearing and found it so sweet that she would drop everything whenever Penny needed her. I do wish we’d had more exploration of her passion for swimming though as it became a bit of an insignificant detail in the story. It's just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.In case it is not extremely clear with my review, I highly recommend Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) to fans of contemporary young adult fiction. really enjoyed this!!!! i mostly listened to the audiobook and the narration was incredible!!!! i can't believe tess sharpe narrated it herself? multitalented queen! Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) (hereafter, Six Times, because I’m not typing that out all over again) is a fun enough read, I suppose. Framed in the style of a x+1 fanfic, it leans into that vibe, particularly with the writing style. As such, and perhaps expectedly, I found myself getting frustrated. With a title like Six Times We Almost Kissed (And The One Time We Did) you’d expect a cutesy, slow burn romcom. Harley is one of the most complex, fascinating, dangerous characters I've encountered in years." —Lisa Gardner