Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing Last First Kiss by Julian Winters, a contemporary MM romance set in the same world and family as the author’s previous book I Think They Love You. Did this book become a new favorite? Read on to find out!

Sparks fly in this second chance m/m rom com when an unlucky-in-love event manager realizes the man-of-honor at the high profile wedding he’s planning is the same man who broke his heart.

They say you never forget your first kiss. But Jordan Carter wishes he could forget the one he shared with Jamie Peters as teens. And the one they almost shared again last year before Jamie made it clear he wasn’t the “right” man for Jordan to be with while he’s figuring himself out.

Now, Jordan’s fully focused on his career at 24 Carter Gold, his family’s event planning company, and ready to move on – until his boss assigns him to plan a new client’s high-profile wedding. The bride’s man-of-honor? None other than Jamie.

As things ramp up the closer they get to the wedding, so does Jordan’s relationship with Jamie, with sarcastic asides turning into steamy hook-ups. But can Jordan afford to pursue Jamie if he’s still unsure who he is? Or is knowing who he loves enough? Venue shopping, cake-tastings, and dress fittings with the man he can’t forget just might change the man Jordan Carter is meant to become.

Last First Kiss by Julian Winters is a second chance romance about finding yourself–and the love of your life.

***Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley! My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

Last First Kiss was my first 5-star book of 2026! I had such a great time while reading this story. Winters’ ability to create characters with immense depth, as well as the genuineness and warmth of his prose, had me hooked from the very first chapter. He absolutely cemented himself as one of my favorite contemporary MM romance authors with this book. It is rare that I have no critical comments about a book, even ones that I love. However, this story managed to meet that mark. So, only read on if you’re ready to read some effusive praise. lol.

Jordan was such a wonderful protagonist in Last First Kiss. His personal growth was extensive and just as important to the story as the romance, maybe even more so. At first glance, he seemed to have his life together. He had a great job and a loving, if somewhat overbearing, family. Underneath that hard-working and confident exterior, Jordan was a bit of a mess. He worked himself to the bone to avoid his feelings of not being good enough and his fear of abandonment. Unsurprisingly, this really impacted his love life, which was practically nonexistent except for blind dates set up by his mother. All of this came together with the stress of a potential new promotion and huge project at work to create the perfect conditions for a breakdown. His crash out was EPIC but necessary.

All of Jordan’s above-mentioned issues were compounded by his struggle with his identity. His sexuality confused him, and he didn’t understand why he didn’t experience attraction the same as seemingly everyone else. I appreciated his journey of figuring out what it means to be demisexual and how the story normalized still being unsure about one’s identity in adulthood. Not everyone, and I’d argue almost no one, has everything figured out in their teens. So, it was nice to see a story that portrayed those realities.

As for the romance in Last First Kiss, I could not get enough of these adorable morons together. At the start, there was some exquisite pining. I loved the way Jamie made Jordan so flustered. They had great chemistry together, and I particularly enjoyed how the flashbacks, from high school to the present, were placed throughout the story to give context to their current relationship. The structure of it all just really worked for me. The romance was also helped by Jamie having a great deal of depth on his own and a significant story arc that included quite a bit of growth. He wasn’t a cardboard prop for Jordan’s story but instead felt like an integral part of it, with his own internal struggles and family drama to add to the mix.

Outside of the romance, Last First Kiss had a pretty entertaining plot and a ton of great side characters. I had a lot of fun following the wedding planning process and the couple Jordan was working with had an interesting story of their own that tied in with the main themes of the book. The introduction of Javi as a workplace rival was really amusing, and I hope we get a book centering him in the future. Finally, I liked where Kami’s story went in this novel. I enjoyed seeing her take the reins of the event planning company and do her best to implement her new vision for its future.

Overall, Last First Kiss was a phenomenal MM romance about two doofuses who’ve been in denial about being in love since high school. The characters had compelling emotional journeys, and the wedding planning plot was fun to follow. While not absolutely necessary, I do recommend reading I Think They Love You before this book because it sets the stage for the events of this story. I’ll close this review the same way I opened it, by rating this book 5 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on Last First Kiss by Julian Winters. I can’t recommend this book enough and am really looking forward to whatever Winters does next.