Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Never Ever Love #1

Never Have I Ever Kissed My Brother's Best Friend

Rate this book
She’s crushed on him for the past six years. He’s always seen her as his best friend’s little sister. What happens when they’re forced together?

Gavin Mitchell is a star soccer player, the best looking senior at Cedar Oaks High, and a potential recruit for the college of his dreams. But if Gavin doesn’t raise his English grade, all his plans of playing soccer for his dream school will be crushed. Enter Kenzie Fair, his best friend’s smart little sister.

Mackenzie (Kenzie) Fair has the best friend in the world, an enviable collection of books, and the highest grades in the junior class. But there’s one thing she doesn’t have—Gavin Mitchell—the guy she’s crushed on for forever. The guy she acts like a total spaz around. The guy who also happens to be her brother’s best friend.

When the two are forced to spend time together studying Shakespeare, it’s only a matter of time before Gavin sees Kenzie as more than his best friend’s little sister.

The problem is, she still is. Is it worth risking his lifelong friendship for the chance to date Kenzie?

This is Book 1 in the Never Ever Love series. All books in the series are sweet and swoon-worthy novellas that can be read in any order.

114 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2019

1089 people are currently reading
834 people want to read

About the author

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
303 (24%)
4 stars
347 (28%)
3 stars
385 (31%)
2 stars
155 (12%)
1 star
39 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
Profile Image for *❆ Kαɾҽɳ ❆*.
414 reviews93 followers
July 27, 2019
Oh man, I think I found another favourite author who writes amazing YA sweet romance novels 😍😍

This book was incredibly wonderful to read, it was sweet, it was funny, the characters were a delight to read about !

In this book we meet Mackenzie, Kenzie to her friends, who is a 17 year old junior bookworm who prefers to read Shakespeare and Jane Austen books than go to a party.
And you know what she also likes ? The soccer striker, Gavin. The cute and athletic senior boy who she has been crashing on since 8th grade.
The problem? He is her older brother’s best friend.
She believes that Gavin has and will always see her as his best friend’s little sister. She knows nothing will happen between them so she needs to control herself when she is around him.
But then she is asked to be his tutor for English, Will this be her chance to tell him how she feels?

Gavin is a great soccer player, and he hopes to gain a scholarship to play at Penn State. But when at his next game a representative will be there to look for potential players, the coach tells him he needs to step up his grades in English before the game or he will be benched.
This is when he has to take tutoring lessons from his best friend’s sister.
And the more he spends time with her, the more he sees how much she has grown and her beauty, despite the nerdy look she wears
Will Gavin take the risk and tell her how he feels ? Or will angering his best friend stop him from telling her ?

I don’t know why but I just love stories where the guy falls in love with his best friend’s sister. I find it so cute and adorable. And this book was definitely cute and adorable !

Highly recommend it for all lovers of clean YA romances that will sweep you off your feet!
Profile Image for Kate McMurry.
Author 1 book124 followers
May 26, 2019

Fun, G-rated, YA, contemporary-romance novella

Mackenzie (Kenzie) Fair is a 17-year-old junior who is a typical, fictional "geek." She loves to read, has the highest grades in her class, and has never been kissed. Partly because she's too focused on her studies to date, and partly because her older brother is very protective and believes no guy is good enough for her, but mostly because no boy in her school can measure up to her long-time, secret crush, her older brother's best friend, Gavin Mitchel, a gorgeous, popular jock who also happens to be an all-round, nice guy.

Gavin is a star soccer player with an excellent chance of achieving his dream of an athletic scholarship to pay for his college education. The problem is, he's failing English, and without Kenzie's help to raise his grade, he'll be kicked off the team, which would mean that no college scouts could see him play.

The opportunity to tutor Gavin is a dream come true for Kenzie, a chance to change his perception of her as nothing but his best friend's little sister. Unfortunately, Kenzie constantly embarrasses herself around him by acting like a klutz.

The more time Gavin spends with Kenzie one-on-one, the more he is attracted to her as a potential girlfriend, but is it worth risking his longtime friendship with Kenzie and her brother to take a chance on a romance that might not work out?

This YA novella is a fun, G-rated romance that is geared toward a target audience of tweens and younger teenagers. It combines two popular tropes in YA novels, a geek and a jock falling for each other and platonic friends who develop romantic feelings. There are some sad elements included within this story, but not enough to turn it into a typical, angsty, teen drama. Finally, as is expected with a classic romance plot, there is a lovely, well motivated HEA (happily ever after).

All in all, this is a quick, entertaining read.

I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 4 stars
Hero: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 3 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Sibling Plot: 3 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 3.7 rounded to 4 stars



Profile Image for Elisa.
80 reviews15 followers
June 14, 2023
AHHHH I LOVED THIS SMMM 🥺🥺
Get me a guy like Gavin omg
Profile Image for Melody.
672 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2019
Short and sweet.

This was pretty much exactly what I was hoping it would be when I grabbed it. Romantic trope #53859 that I actually love is love between someone and their sibling’s best friend or their best friend’s sibling, especially if the story is told well.

I really liked Kenzie, and Gavin was pretty adorable too. I liked how they communicated with each other and with her brother Cory, instead of having a thousand misunderstandings.

5 stars.
Profile Image for Maya Monroe.
502 reviews4 followers
February 27, 2019
This is a cute romance story. Kenzie is the smart younger sister while Gavin is the cute soccer player. I enjoyed reading how Kenzie's crush started for Gavin and how it wasn't just his looks she fell for. From the beginning of the book you could read how Gavin felt about Kenzie by the little things he thought here and there. Their biggest obstacle, other than confessing their feelings, is Kenzie's brother, Gavin's best friend.
I enjoyed how Kenzie came out of her shell in this book and fought for her relationship with Gavin and how the story ended.
Hopefully the next books in the series will show more of Kenzie and Gavin and their relationship.
If you are looking for a quick read I would recommend this one.
Profile Image for Dana Michael.
1,405 reviews182 followers
March 18, 2019
Cute and Sweet

This is a good and short read that will put a smile on your face. It was sweet and clean. Perfect for a teen.
Profile Image for Anita.
442 reviews14 followers
October 24, 2019
Verdict: Meh

It was sweet but not much in the way of story. Pretty basic.
Profile Image for Jules.Bookverse.
448 reviews4 followers
May 18, 2020
I finished this cute little story in no time and I actually liked the idea of the story. I gave this story only 2 stars as I think it was okay and I liked it, but it really was too short. This whole story had amazing material and a nice structure of things and plot twists, but it seemed to be rushing through the moments - especially the "epic" swoon-worthy ones.

I know that sometimes it is hard not to drag out a scene for too long, but all of these scenes could use a little more footage to wrap the reader into the story and give them time to identify themselves with the characters. This kind of storytelling kind of reminded me of the old classy teen movies with James Dean and John Travolta where everything happened in a split second and the whole story- no lacking drama or romance - was over after a weekend. I'm kind of sad about the too abrupt ending too as it really just kind of left some sideline totally in the middle but also doesn't really give you a good reason to want to know what happened with these side-stories. This story actually seemed to be just the well-thought-out skeleton of a bigger story that needs to be still formed into the right shape with little bits of food. ;)
Profile Image for Kathleen Bradbury (Bulfon).
16.4k reviews217 followers
August 15, 2019
This was a great story and was very entertaining. Once I started I could not put it down. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is sizzling hot. I would recommend this to anyone that loves a great love story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
16.7k reviews155 followers
September 18, 2020
She has had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. He is her brother best friend and he never sees her other than that. Now he needs to get his English grades up and she is the best to help him. Will he ever see her as her? What would her brother think it they date? See if they get together

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Yoda.
576 reviews137 followers
December 31, 2020
Pretty basic, not something I will remember reading next year. It was cute and sweet but there was not much story plot wise. It wasn´t bad tho, just basic. Great for reading slump when you don´t want to get too involved in the story.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
85 reviews
April 7, 2019
Cute read

Predictable but still an enjoyable read for sure. Well written and kept my attention and wanting to read more. 👍
Profile Image for Amelia Payne.
29 reviews1 follower
December 17, 2023
this was like 5 minutes long and felt like a book i would write in year 8 about a crush
Profile Image for Pascale’s*ARC,Unwind,Read,Review.
2,363 reviews31 followers
April 8, 2019
Very cute story, ideal for teens. So sex, no swearing. Would’ve preferred a longer story for more development as it’s VERY short but it was good.
Profile Image for Fiction Vixen.
289 reviews7 followers
May 26, 2021
4🌟
A cute and short romance story. Liked the story and the charcters.
The love Gavin had for Kenzie wasn't clear enough and didn't feel his love for her. I understand it's a small book that's the reason it wasn't exclusively mentioned. Overall a light read.

Some parts were confusing cz it wasn't mentioned whose POV it was in.
Profile Image for Char ღ Denae.
986 reviews92 followers
April 17, 2019
Cute short story about a girl who has a crush on her older brother’s best friend. I loved the characters in this one and, though short, I felt as though there was plenty of information given to enjoy the story without leaving me with questions after the end. I’ll definitely be checking out this author’s other books.
Profile Image for Abigail Hope.
113 reviews22 followers
July 8, 2019
This book felt too fast for me. Everything was in fast-forward so there was no gratification when good things happened. I think because of the speed it also felt unrealistic which took away from what could’ve been a storyline I’d love.
Profile Image for Cat.
9 reviews
October 4, 2019
Quick and cute

Hard to follow the change in perspectives. A cute, fast moving story. Characters don't develop much as there are no real character flaws or problems to overcome.
Profile Image for ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ ѕℓιм ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ .
1,535 reviews102 followers
June 10, 2019
Good

https://ladiikeiii.wordpress.com/2019...

***Only. A few spoilers; not many*****


I had started this book a while back, but somehow I ended up bored.... then stop reading it.... but what I am glad for is that I actually went back and continue reading this book because it’s actually a good book. I was glad well more so her (Kenzie) best friend Veda actually told Gavin that Kenzie liked him.... but I was still glad that they got around to actually telling each other how they felt about one another. I believe that it’s good actually to admit to someone about your feelings. But also it’s a scary thing too; because for one, that person can tell you they don’t like you back..... it’s a good thing they both wanted each other...

That Claire girl was horrible; I thought she was JEALOUS of Kenzie was Kenzie got something she wanted which is Gavin.... but it’s interesting to know that Gavin kept being around Claire when he didn’t even want her he could’ve told his best friend Cory he didn’t want to be around Claire.... but I am also glad that Cory found out about Kenzie and Gavin... because it was long overdue plus it’s good that he also accepted them being together...
1,030 reviews18 followers
August 11, 2019
3.5 stars - Cute clean YA

This was a really cute quick read. I did get a little annoyed with some of the repitition with the characters. Also this is first person alternating point of view. I was thrown off a little in Chapter 2. It would be nice if each chapter listed the person for the chapter. Fun read.

Content: Clean
Language: Clean
Religious: No

This is fine for 12 and up. Happy reading!
Profile Image for Ashley Hall.
162 reviews1 follower
November 14, 2019
Gavin and McKenzie

My only complaint for this book is that it's a very short read. It's still a great read! Just a short one. I am kind of confused on one thing though. If she skipped ninth grade English, couldn't she technically graduate with her brother and Gavin? She'd only need to take a couple mandatory classes that could probably for in her schedule. Anyways, no big deal, Just curious.
Profile Image for Tenielle Honeycutt.
97 reviews3 followers
August 31, 2021
It was a great, quick, happy ending read. Everything you could want with a high school romance. And I loved that it was clean!!! Only reason I didn't give it a 5 is I felt scenes could have developed a little more. I didn't have time to feel sad or torn in a situation, because everything was okay again in the next page or two. In some ways that is good, but idk...I guess I could have used more detail to help me feel what the characters were feeling.
Profile Image for Erin Rogoff.
491 reviews1 follower
April 2, 2022
Pretty Good!

I was iffy on whether or not I liked this book, but this sweet, easy, clean novella had the happily ever after for the characters who deserve it, so I'm happy for them. I liked how fast the story progressed, then had the slow burn theme for a few pages, then flashed forward. Just enough to make my head spin but not enough to confuse me. This was pretty good, Juliet Bardsley! I was highly entertained by your novel.
Profile Image for Tara.
339 reviews
May 2, 2019
Short and sweet. A cute novella with one of my favorite tropes...the girl falling for her brother’s best friend. Even though it was a novella, I thought the author did a good job at giving the back story, but as with most novellas, it left me wanting more. :) At least there was an epilogue! Bonus points for that!

Content: clean
Profile Image for Rose.
382 reviews
October 10, 2019
While I enjoy clean, sweet romances, this is the first young adult that I've listened to/read. I did enjoy the story and felt like it was well written but it just felt a little too juvenile for me (I'm 51). I thought she did well with the family dynamics and can see teens/young adults really enjoying this book.
Profile Image for Misty Goan.
2,809 reviews13 followers
October 16, 2019
A sweet quick well written fun young romance read. This engaging storyline is fun, lighthearted, some threats, and a little drama in an amazing journey. The characters are interesting and have a mutual attraction. A great narrator that easily distinguishes between characters and really have you feeling the characters emotions. Wonderfully done. Can't wait for more from this fun series.
Profile Image for Karen.
735 reviews7 followers
October 24, 2019
Mackenzie developed feelings for Gavin shortly after her father died. Gavin has had feelings for Mackenzie as well but they have both hid those feelings for different reasons. Mackenzie felt like Gavin only sees her as his friends little sister. Gavin knows how protective his friend is about his sister. This is a cute story were they both explore their feelings.
Profile Image for Find Me Behind a Book.
452 reviews2 followers
July 14, 2020
This was such an adorable story. If you are looking for a quick heartwarming story this YA romance story is just what you need. Kenzie and Gavin are so cute together. This was my first book by Julie Bardsley and she captivated me from the beginning. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.