I absolutely loved this one! It handled so many different themes, from being in your twenties and lost to figuring out who you are in a heteronormative world. The writing style was very enjoyable as well and this is the kind of book that makes you think about the world and yourself. Would definitely recommend!

Any book that brings tears to your eyes is a great book in my opinion.

What started off as a fun, quirky read very quickly became a rather heartfelt and loving story of self discovery. Bette and all the supporting cast of characters that carousel around her are thoughtfully constructed, each adding a layer of complexity to the story. The plot is ingenious, light but packing a punch.

I just loved it!

Brilliant book about love, friendship, falling out, splitting up and lots of sex haha!

This book had me gripped from the start, with vibes of Beth’s The Flat Share I knew I was going to love this book!

This book. Gosh. I really wanted to love it. But I didn't. Bette, our main character, has just come out and gets immediately into first relationship since. Soon in to the relationship, her girlfriend breaks up with her because she wants her to have fun and experiment before being in a committed relationship. Honestly if that isn't the biggest red flag I've ever read please send me to therapy. The book revolves around Bette doing exactly what her partner suggested. But this goal became her whole life and honestly it turned her into someone that wasn't her authentic self.

I think I was just so frustrated with Bette, the person this goal turned her into and her inability to see that her girl ain't the one. I loved all the side characters though. They were really well developed and are the kinda gals you want to be besties with. So supportive, honest, fun and caring and they put Bette in her place when she needed it. My favourite thing about this whole book is how funny all the characters were.

The second half got much better. Bette began to grow on me. We began to learn more about her and the plot felt like it moved a bit faster.

I think overall, this was just an ok read for me but I am definitely open to reading more by this author.

Give this one a go if you:
· don't mind annoying main characters
· have a thing for messy relationships
· love a good side character
· like reading 🌶️🌶️ books

A real easy to read, modern romcom. It takes us through Bette’s journey of navigating online dating with lots of hilarity and tears along the way. I really enjoyed getting to know the different characters and was invested every step of the way.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A perfect poolside holiday read!

Bette has recently come out as lesbian and has fallen in love with Mei. Everything is perfect, until Mei drops a bombshell, wanting Bette to venture forth to become more experienced.

Wanting nothing more than to be back with her beloved Mei, Bette sets off through the uncharted waters of the dating world.

My only criticism of this book is it was a bit too long winded. The ending was predictable but that wasn’t a bad thing because it was the ending I wanted.

A really good read.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book! A bit different from my typical reads, but I thoroughly enjoyed!

Brilliant!! Really fun & fresh queer novel, with a modern take on dating and romance. Had a little qualm with the unnecessarily mean best friend, but that didn't detract from how much I loved this and will be recommending it.

A queer romance where Bette is the main character. She has not been out for long and her girlfriend suggests a break . I liked the way Bette described her "getting to know about being a lesbian" period, sometimes funny, very explicit at times and her ongoing friendship with her flatmate and group of friends. I did think that Bette was too self obsessed for part of the book and her friend Ash had the patience of a saint! Saying that, Bette's angst is relatable in many ways. A lot about British life was well described and rang true and the romantic story was OK .
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this book, an unusual genre for me, being neither 30 nor gay.

This book is a great romcom about a woman who came out later in life and is encouraged by her girlfriend to try find some other experiences and meet other people

Lovely, relatable book about finding yourself.

I loved the characters, I wanted them all to get what they wanted and I loved how they were all brought in.

Good and easy to read romcom.

Oh wow. What a wild ride of emotions! This book was everything you want for a beautiful love story.
Bette is absolutely adorable, I loved every bit of her journey, the highs and lows. All od the characters were brilliant.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to 4th Estate and NetGalley for providing a free finished copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This started out so well and I was extremely excited to receive a copy from the publisher.

Hot girl lesbian summer vibes 🤝🏻 rom com with terrible dating scenes. The vibes were vibing.

I loved the plot of this even tho it was highly predictable after about 25%. The first 50% of this book is hot, funny and a good time. At times, laugh out loud funny. But after the 55-60% mark, it loses steam. The pacing is extremely slow and I found myself caring less and less about Bette. I think the last quarter of the book is far too long and dragged out and found my self glancing over pages quickly to get to ending I knew was coming.

Overall though, it’s an enjoyable summer read and would recommend to anyone who loves a hot sapphic romance/ lit fic.

Experienced is about Bette, who comes out at 30 and immediately falls in love with Mei. However, Mei thinks she should get some experience, live a little before she settles down. She reluctantly begins her ‘odyssey’, with varying results. It’s primarily about love, relationships and coming out late (as well as the lesbian experience of dating) - but it’s also about unexpected friendship and found family. It was gorgeous, funny and warmed my heart so much.

Experienced is a fun and exciting sapphic romantic comedy of a novel.

I enjoyed reading Experienced, it made a nice break from some of the more heavy fantasy books I’ve been reading recently.

Bette is our main character and I loved that her story was a later-in-life coming-out story, even if her 30s isn’t that late! Her character development in the book was exciting to follow. Ruth and Ash were probably my favourite characters, I would have Ash’s mum-friend attitude in that situation! There was sometimes a fast changeover of characters in scenes which was a little hard to follow at a couple of points, but the main cast of characters was strong and cohesive.

The writing isn’t overcomplicated – it is a romcom after all – and it’s a fairly easy read. I personally loved all the pop culture references, but I can easily see other people finding it annoying. The story develops nicely over the novel and I loved the notes on how many days were left till Bette could see Mei again. There were a few tropes used but I can forgive them in a romance novel.

I enjoyed just letting myself read a non-serious novel about self-discovery and romance. It was an enjoyable read and great fun with delightful characters. I would recommend it to any enjoyers of romance novels, especially ones with lots of queer characters!

Happy Reading! xx

My thanks to Netgalley and Fourth Estate for my digital review copy.

I LOVED this book! Went in unsure what to expect but it had me absolutely hooked. The fact it's set in Bristol where I'm from definitely helped! I loved the MC and her friends, old and new. Being on her journey to get "more experienced" was a wild ride, but I enjoyed every minute.

This was super cute and fun. I loved the chracters and felt like they were written with much authenticity so you could always understand where they were coming from. Highly recommend this to every lesbian romcom lover!

Really enjoyed this book! Loved Bette and found her to be very relatable with all of her internal conflicts and people pleasing. There was a wealth of interesting side characters. I appreciated Bette and Ash's relationship but I sometimes found Ash a bit mean (I know friends can be like that but it wasn't my vibe). I also found there were a few too many happy coincidences in Bette's life that made the plot a bit too easy and predictable at times and I sensed where it was going with Mei from the very beginning. Ruth was a fab character, very vivid and bold! Overall a super enjoyable spicy romcom.

A light hearted, lovely book, which is well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Not my usual genre but I found myself invested fully in the main characters and couldn’t wait to read how their story evolved. The writer perfectly captures and describes the ups and downs of relationships and leaves you feeling happy and positive that all can be well if you realise what it is you want and work towards that goal.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and to Kate Young for such a good debut story, I will now purchase Kate’s cookbooks and look forward to her next novel.

I found the story and scenes enjoyable, but I had difficulty connecting with the characters or the premise of compelling your partner to gain experience with others. There was something about it that did not resonate with me.