I felt like I should have enjoyed this more than I did. The story of a girl trying to work out what she wants from a relationship - should be good, right? But I struggled with Bette's character and the fact that she was chasing after other women because her girlfriend wanted her to do it, rather than because she wanted to. However the simmering romance with Ruth worked well and the friendship with Ash was also well-written.

Very hot exploration of finding oneself and finding that Someone. When the main character goes on a not so voluntary quest to explore what she enjoys, what kind of a woman she wants to be and what kind of a woman she wants to be with. This is a story about love and friendships alongside steamy hookups and amazingly lovable characters.

Experienced by Kate Young. Wow! What a debut. This gave me all the feels.

Bette is 30. All her life she dated men and never understood what that feeling of being in love was. Then, a year or so ago, she came out as a lesbian. And she finally feels like she can be herself. And she discovers Mei. Wonderful, perfect Mei, who she can easily see herself making a life with. And just as she is thinking about all this Mei tells her she wants to take a break. Not break up, but take a break. She is worried that because Bette missed all the younger years of exploration and experience with other women she will regret it in the future and so Mei insists that she go out and explore. Different people. Have one night stands. Experiment with what she may or may not like. Then come back to her in three months and they can build their future together.

But Bette doesn't want this. She has never been a one night stand sort of person. However she doesn't want to lose Mei - or disappoint her. So she is determined to try. But she is horrible at it. Yet she is determined to do what Mei has asked of her.

This book takes us along Bette's journey. We meet her long term roommate and best friend, who has a long term boyfriend. We meet their mutual friends. We join Bette as she goes out on dates and hook ups and forges new friendships.

There is heartbreak. And love. Funny bits and heart warming ones. Hard truths. Self discovery. Accepting people (including self acceptance) - good bits and 'flaws'.

The characters all seem so real. The dialogue flows. I can imagine the scenes playing out in real life. I love this author's voice and I will be looking forward to seeing more of their work in the future.

4.5/5 ⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher (4th Estate), and the author @kateyoungwrites for the opportunity to read and review Experienced in exchange for my impartial review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

I loved it - very funny, very sexy and a lot of good vibes! If you love a rom com, you will like this more modern twist on the classic genre. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book. It was a fairly enjoyable read, but I just didn’t connect with the characters. I will potentially try again in the future though. Perhaps it is a case of right book wrong then!

a really cute and easy read! a lovely little queer romance that is all about self discovery and identity, and feeling comfortable and confident as you are.

This was a simple, fun, easy and quick read. The perfect type of book for your holiday, beach, pool kind of read. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Oh I loved this - I read it in a day. The characters and the story are so good. Bette is such a compelling main character and Kate Young does such a great job at showing us all of Bette, including her less appealing qualities and make us love her.

This is a brilliant, layered and engaging sapphic romance that gave me everything I needed.

I am so jealous of Bette’s friend group and this made me want to go to Bristol immediately.

I think I have a new favourite queer romcom.
Everything these characters experienced felt so real and raw, from falling for your friend to discovering yourself to just genuinely trying to get through your late twenties.
It was so fun but also gave me so many feelings, and I never wanted to put it down!

This is, indeed, a heartwarming story, full of humour and love. The characters are well drawn and believable and the book is beautifully written. I have read so many stories where men or women are using dating apps to find a partner of the opposite sex, so this was refreshingly different. It is an easy read with well constructed dialogue. You quickly become involved with the plot and eager to read to the end. I didn’t like the way Bette was pushed into this voyage of self discovery by Mei, but I loved the way supportive friendships, as well as sexual relationships, developed. A good ending, though slightly predictable. This is very different from my normal reading, but still an interesting and enjoyable read.

I don’t tend to read much romance, but this book has thoroughly won me over. I love the Bristol setting, the late 20s/early 30s age group, and all the characters feel like people I know in real life. Yes the premise is a bit silly, but I don’t feel like it got in the way of my enjoyment of it. This book is well written and feels really cozy. I was really rooting for Bette to find her happiness, and I loved her best friend/housemate Ash.

My only slight issue is that Mei really doesn’t show up much despite being key to the framing of everything, I couldn’t really get a sense for how their relationship actually was beyond Bette’s initial infatuation. But then I’m kinda glad she was a bit more background so we could focus on the present moment so again it didn’t really impact my enjoyment.

Found a lot of similarities with The Pairing by Casey McQuiston actually so I’m happy to rec this for people who enjoyed that and vice versa. Recommend overall to anyone looking for a grown-up sapphic rom-com.

Endearing story of Bette, finding herself as a newly out lesbian, encouraged by her girlfriend to take a break from their relationship. Well written and authentic characters and for a refreshing change, the the story is centred around women.

Firstly, thank you so much for letting me have early access to experienced.
Life is never easy, neither is love. Just when bette was comfortable with mei, and thought life was going great in her first relationship after coming out. Mei throws a spanner and tells her to go date other people for 3 months to get more experience.
In doing so, we get to follow the ups and downs of bettes life for the next 3 months.
I absolutely adored it! Definitely recommend

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was an absolute joy to read - funny, sexy and charming as well as full of emotional depth. It's the lesbian rom-com we needed! You can see exactly where the plot is going but it's still immensely fun to watch it unfold. Bette and Ruth are great characters with a strong cast of supporting roles in there as well. I can't wait to see what Young writes next.

A beautiful look at the relationships of Bette, a 30 something who has recently come out to friends and family as gay and up till now has been in a relationship. When her girlfriend thinks she should get some more "experience" we follow her journey into swiping right, expanding her friendship group and learning what love is all about.

My favourite relationship in the book is actually a platonic one between Bette and her flatmate Ash. I love how the writer captures their closeness, and how she conveys the dynamics of friendship groups.

A well paced, fairly raunchy but very enjoyable story and I'll be on the look out for more from Kate Young in the future.

3.5 ⭐️
Lighthearted, enjoyable and hilariously relatable for those who came out in their late 20's/30's

There are few things that I love more in this world than sapphic romcoms and Kate Young did not disappoint with this one.

Right off the bat, I need everyone to know how much I adore Bette. That woman is a saint and if she's ever done anything wrong, no she hasn't. I will be riding for her until the end of time and I am so serious about that. Her whole journey of embracing her sexuality and the community that comes with it was everything I've ever needed and more. Dare I say, the perfect adult coming of age.

And then, of course, there was the friends to lovers. I eat it up every single time and this was no exception. Bette and Ruth gave exactly what they needed to give. There was the beloved bantering, the clueless pining, and all of the tension you could ever ask for.

This was just the perfect romcom for me. 10/10 would laugh, cry, and swoon to this one again.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me and it was a DNF 😢 I found the book slow to start and the main character wasn’t likeable to me. thanks for the opportunity to read.

I ate this book up 👏

So queer and wonderful.

Bette was honestly such a mess but you couldn’t help but be endeared to her, watching her clumsily struggle through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. 4/5 ⭐️

I’m guessing that I had not read the full info on this book as I was presently surprised that it was about LGBtQ relationships. Some of the scenes were very raunchy and had lots of intimate detail. At its essence it was about becoming experienced, learning about yourself and your likes and dislikes with a good old fashioned love story and friendships at its core.