A friends-to-lovers, will they or won’t they, “haven’t they always been together?” sapphic romance
A Must Read Review: A Little Kissing Between Friends
Do you have an author you read once on a whim and then were immediately hooked? That’s how I feel about reading Chencia C. Higgins. I bought D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding on a whim and loved everything about it. Now, when I see a new release of hers, I know I’m in for a good time.
This was such a fun read! It was a little different from some of my other friends-to-lovers reads because the couple didn’t have a true on page separation that led to the aha moment so you get to see friends navigating life and falling in love page by page.
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What is this story about?
Imagine you (Juleesa AKA Jucee) move to a new town and start a whole life. You have a baby with your best friend before you and he realize you should have left it at friends. You’re amazing coparents though, so much so that his wife comes to your show and tells you how much it rev’d her engine.
And by your show I mean you are a highly sought after dancer at the best strip club in Houston. Your job was a bit of an accident, you’re a dancer (ballet) by trade but ended up flexing your curvy skills on the pole. You’ve found home at the club and don’t regret a moment of your life there.
Your job is also really convenient for your best friend (Cyn AKA Cyn Tha Starr) a music producer who regularly gives you her new tracks to break during your set.
Well, she’s been away for a few weeks, fresh off a Grammy win, and you all are looking forward to reconnecting but everything feels different. She’s always been attractive to you but somehow it now feels like more. Gentle touches between the two of you have always been your thing but they now feel more intimate. And then your normally platonic sleepovers turn absolutely not platonic.
And you’re topping a top like a big girl. Go you!
Except your best-friend-turned-bed-buddy is all thumbs when it comes to communicating outside of the bedroom. She takes flight like a bird heading south for winter when she isn’t entertaining groupies who can’t take a hint.
Your lives are so entwined that there’s no easy out once you’ve crossed the line so you either have to make it work, or risk losing it all.
What is the tone of this book?
ALKBF is a such a romcom. It’s fun and there were many moments that I laughed out loud. There are a few moments of other woman drama (but it’s absolutely not a love triangle) and most of the drama is centered around two friends who forget how to communicate in a language other than body language.
What are some of your favorite lines?
[Jucee, internal] Rediscovering Juleesa was a journey I thoroughly enjoyed. I hadn’t had sex in almost a year, and most of the time I didn’t even think about it.
[Cyn’s grandmother to Jucee] “Last I checked, wasn’t no mathematics degree needed to dance on stage with your jugs hanging out, so I don’t know why you thought you needed to do all that figuring.”
I felt that very same rush of rightness I’d felt the first time our kisses took on a new meaning.
Why do you recommend this book?
If you are a fan of friends-to-lovers, this is going to be your jam. I love that there is no one-sided pining and that they just need to catch up with what everyone else already knows. There are tons of great laughs and Jucee and Cyn are a couple you just want to love.
Have you read this? Are you moving it up on your TBR? Does it remind you of any other books you’ve loved? Let me know what you think.