Julian Winters’s Last First Kiss has some really excellent yearning. Jordan is trying to prove himself in his new role at the family event planning business and humor his mother by going on a blind date that might be the start to his forever love story. But his cousin’s best friend, Jamie, is making both of those things difficult. Jamie, in the guise of practicing, gave Jordan his first kiss. Jordan has never forgotten it, and maybe neither has Jamie. Jordan is trying to plan a high profile wedding on a short timeline, and Jaimie is the bride’s Best Man.
What I liked: Jordan is trying to figure himself out while also trying to be the best. Competitiveness is central to his character, but it masks a lot – insecurity, fear of abandonment, and loneliness. I really appreciated Jordan’s struggle to figure out who he is and what he wants. Winters delves beautifully into the struggle of identity when labels aren’t an easy descriptor. The part of Jordan and Jaimie’s relationship that I liked the best was the way they gave each other space to be, even though sometimes that space felt like rejection to Jordan.
The question in a friends to lovers romance is always, why now? Why didn’t this relationship turn romantic earlier? For Jordan and Jaimie, the attraction and care has always been there. Jordan needs to let go of the idea of being emotionally bulletproof before he can see all the ways he and Jaimie love each other.
What I have mixed feelings about: I am going back and forth on whether I wish we had gotten a few chapters from Jaimie’s POV. On the one hand, this is really Jordan’s book, and only knowing as much as Jordan knows adds a layer of tension to the story. On the other hand, Jaimie came across as blowing hot and cold, and it didn’t leave me feeling like he was as ready for a relationship as Jordan at the end of the book.
I’m enjoying sinking into Julian Winters’s adult romances. Sometimes I feel like I’m looking at a puzzle that Winters is slowly putting together. It’s very satisfying when the pieces click into place. It’s a feeling I associate more with mysteries, but he really makes it work in romance.
I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
