6 Times We Almost Kissed (and One Time We Did)

By: Tess Sharpe

Narrated by: Tess Sharpe

Nina LaCour meets Jenny Han in this beautiful and charming story of six moments that lead to two girls, one kiss, and eventually, three little words that were maybe always true.

After years of bickering, Penny and Tate have called a truce: they’ll play nice. They have to. Their mothers (life-long best friends) need them to be perfect, drama-free daughters when Penny’s mother becomes a living liver donor to Tate’s mom. Forced to live together as the Moms recover, the girls’ truce is essential in keeping everything—their jobs, the house, the finances, the Moms’ healing—running smoothly. They’ve got to let this thing between them go.

There’s one little hitch: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.

It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.

They’ve never talked about it. They’ve always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they’re living across the hall from each other.

And some things—like their kisses—can’t be almosts forever.

Told through 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.

©2023 Tess Sharpe (P)2023 Little, Brown Young Readers

Critic reviews

“In this character-driven, slow-burn romance, both Penny and Tate are engaging voices, enriching the narrative with their strong and very different personalities. It’s impossible to choose a favorite…Well characterized and wholly entertaining.”—Kirkus

great story

the story was amazing! my only issue was that for some reason the reader would start getting really quiet and it would be hard to hear then she'd start yelling making it too loud. other than that absolutely phenomenal story

Just...wow

beautiful wonderful story. I'm in awe. be prepared for lots of tears and yearning.

Blown. Away.

Every June, as a queer book influencer, I read as many queer (especially sapphic) books as possible. So I’ve read, A LOT, not to mention all the others I’ll read during the year. But wow. This book was amazing. If you love The Summer I Turned Pretty, or just like experiencing joy, read this.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest

The author also narrated and did a fantastic job rendering this story. Her portrayal of the emotions of these characters was palpable. I really enjoyed it and look forward to future works by Tess Sharp.

Unique storytelling with accurate portrayals

To me, this was a story about two girls being trauma bonded and learning how to love each other through and beyond that. I also thought this book did a great job depicting narcissistic parenting. Very thoughtful character development. The writing style was captivating. Not as many clichés used in this book as in many other novels that are fairly formulaic.

Enjoy the story

Great story but I wish it was a different narrator. She would get so quiet sometimes I missed what she was saying.

Worth the read

Definitely worth it! The only thing was the narration wasn’t the best. I will still recommend.

A Suprisingly Heart Twisting Book

I began this book thinking it was a simple sapphic romcom, and discovered it was so much more than that. This book goes into heart pulling subjects of death, medical anxiety, surgeries, therapy, dealing with the death of a loved one, and the fear of a first kiss.
Each storyline is both brought up and then completed in an amazing way, each time. It was so raw and real that it was sometimes hard to read, in the best way possible.
The narrator was also the author, so I think she was able to really dig into the emotions of each word, and having the notification sound for the texting was an amazing touch.
Please give this a read, it's so worthy of your time.

Simply beautiful

Just perfect.

Such a slow burn in the best possible way, wrapped gently around the most horrific trauma, all with a magnificently perfect end.

Wow

I have listened to many books this is my first time reviewing one. This book was wow… nothing I expected. If you are looking for something to tell you to read it I am telling you READ IT.