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NetGalley Review of Last First Kiss

Posted on January 20, 2026August 6, 2025 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2025-07-31 at 6.11.10 PM

title: Last First Kiss

author: Julian Winters

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

publication date: January 27, 2026

pages: 352

peppers:  (on this scale)

warnings: drug and alcohol use, mean parents

summary: Jordan's mother sets him up on a lot of blind dates with women, none of whom cause him to feel sparks. Meanwhile, he has to prove himself as a wedding coordinator by doing a fabulous job on the newsworthy wedding of a fancy client, whose best man in none other than the only guy Jordan has ever felt sparks with, Jamie. Unfortunately, when Jordan tried to start something with Jamie last summer, he got nothing but rejection in return.  Now, to plan the wedding, Jordan and Jamie have to spend a lot of time together.

tropes:

  • friends-to-lovers
  • wedding planner
  • family business
  • evil rival
  • questioning sexuality
  • pushy parents

what I liked:

  • hot sparks between the two main characters
  • fun wedding-planning scenes
  • evil rival was a fun character

what I didn’t like:

  • the flashbacks didn't work for me
  • love interests should be able to talk with each other
  • story got a little soap-boxy about sexuality

overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)

As always, you can click on the photo above if you want to buy the book.

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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