Six Times We Almost Kissed is the angsty, emotionally charged story of Penny and Tate, whose lives have clashed many a times because their mothers are best friends. When Penny’s mother becomes a living liver donor to Tate’s mother, Penny and Tate decide to call a truce: no more drama, no more bickering, no more fighting the other. Forced to live together as the mothers recover, the girls’ truce needs to remain stable so everything runs stable at home and that also means letting go of the past events that divided them time and again. There’s just one little hitch: the two of them keep ending up almost kissing. Retracing six defining moments in their relationship, we follow Penny and Tate through the years as they keep on almost kissing and then blatantly pretending it never happened—but when the aftermath of their almost-kisses can no longer be ignored, the girls have to make a choice: to confront each other one final time or end up losing out on the chance for a happily-ever-after.
Sapphic slow-burn romances are my kryptonite. The tension, the back-and-forth banter and barbs, the will-they-won’t-they vibes, the crushing, agonisingly slow development of what is sure to be an absolutely entrancing romance? Yeah, this book delivered all of that.
Don’t be fooled by the cute cover though—this story packs quite the emotional punch as well. Sharpe doesn’t shy away from dark themes in Six Times We Almost Kissed. From the impending liver donation that finds emotions heightened all around to complex, fraught relationships between mothers and daughters (and the exact opposite that is reminiscent of Rory and Lorelai Gilmore’s relationship), unimaginable grief after the loss of a parent and harrowing financial struggles because of medical bills, there is a whole rollercoaster of feelings that accompanies (and powerfully nuances) Penny and Tate’s story.
While the story does feel quite lengthy at times (we do have to get through six almost-kisses and one actual kiss plus a whole lot of backstory), the way Sharpe writes definitely draws out the tension in the most delicious way and heightens the anticipation for when Penny and Tate finally pull their heads out of their…well, you know where I’m going with this.
Really, Sharpe’s writing elevates this story every time you might get a bit frustrated with Penny and Tate’s stubbornness and instead draws focus to other important elements of their lives that binds them together—shared grief, fear of what their respective mothers might think about their relationship and how to overcome the chasm of hurt feelings both cling to for much of the story. Yet each new past moment that is revealed to the reader brings with it hope and promise for a future that might offer both girls a reprieve from the heavy weight they lug around on a daily basis. Ultimately, this is a story about the incredible inner strength it takes to survive loss, fear and illness and reminds us how important it is to have a good support system at your side when tragedy strikes.
Chronicling two girls’ rocky road to a more-than-deserved happily ever after, this captivating love story filled with tension, complex relationships and sharp(e) characters is perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Jennifer Dugan.
Six Times We Almost Kissed is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 24th 2023.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
Penny and Tate have always clashed. Unfortunately, their mothers are lifelong best friends, so the girls’ bickering has carried them through playdates, tragedy, and more than one rom-com marathon with the Moms. When Penny’s mother decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom, ending her wait for a liver transplant, things go from clashing to cataclysmic. Because in order to help their families recover physically, emotionally, and financially, the Moms combine their households the summer before senior year.
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.
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.
