First Date

Written by Krista McGee

Narrated by Amanda Sanfilippo

The last thing Addy Davidson wants is to be on a reality TV show where the prize is a prom date with the President’s son.

She’s focused on her schoolwork so she can get a scholarship to an Ivy League college, uncomfortable in the spotlight, never been on a date, and didn’t even audition for it.

But she got selected anyway.

So she does her best to get eliminated on the very first show. Right before she realizes that the President’s son is possibly the most attractive guy she has ever seen in person, surprisingly nice, and seemingly unimpressed by the 99 other girls who are throwing themselves at him.

Addy’s totally out of her comfort zone but that may be right where God can show her all that she was meant to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Mar 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781401607142

Krista McGee

When Krista McGee isn't living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she lives in Tampa and spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher, and coffee snob. She is also the author of Anomaly , First Date , Starring Me , and Right Where I Belong . Twitter: @KristaMcGeeYAFacebook: krista.a.mcgee

Reviews for First Date

[wrightja2000 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3 1/2 stars. Followed the story of Esther from the Bible. Very fun. Something I would enjoy reading and discussing with my daughter AND son. Not quite 4 stars because of the implausibility of so much of the plot. I was worried how awkward the final scene of Esther, the King, and Haman (not their names in the book) would play out to be but found it lovely, touching yet not preachy. I read the 2nd book first and liked it enough to want to read this one.

[tanat-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First Date by Krista McGee

First Date is a YA Romance novel written by Krista McGee; Krista has done an amazing job at telling this story and keeping the readers emotionally involved. I feel a bit guilty for thinking in the beginning that I may not enjoy this book because it was Christian based novel. But don’t make that mistake this book is a good YA romance novel. It is full of romance, drama and Krista’s writing brings out true emotions in you, I laughed and at times was truly mad that there are so many shallow people in the world today. But like any good romance novel we are happy with the outcome of this story.

Addy has just been told that she is going to be on a reality TV show called “First Date” where the winner gets to attend the prom with the President’s son. Addy cannot for the life of her figure out why her principal and her uncle agree with each other that this would be great experience for her and the school if she won. The first time she meet Jonathon she blurts out she doesn’t want to be there, if anything this intrigues Jonathon more. Struggling with her faith, she experiences firsthand what it is like to be bullied by the other contestants and even the producer of the show. Knowing people are counting on her Addie prays that she pull this off. Meanwhile she feels an attraction to Jonathon and finds herself wanting to maybe stick around for a bit.

First Date is a fast light read and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA Romance novels. It is funny, romantic and I definitely will be reading Krista next book in this series Starring Me.

[brianners1979 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First Date by Krista Mcgee is about Addy, an orphaned daughter of missionaries, who gets selected to be on a realty tv show about winning a dream prom date with the hunky presidents' son. Addy did not want to be in the spot light but reluctantly went on the show. First Date is a clean christian contemporary YA read. That in my opinion, could have a little less "christian-ness" to it. I am not a a religious person but I dont mind reading YA books with light religious themes. First Date was a little heavy on it, so if thats your thing- go for it! I don't want to give spoilers but when Addy learns more about what happened to her missionary parents, it was really really sad and might be a sensitive subject to the really young YA readers.Although the chemistry between Addy and Jonathan (the presidents son) was good, I would have liked to have read more scenes with the two of them together.Oh, and it was nice seeing the name Jonathan, thats my husbands name :)Overall, I rate First Date 3 out of 5 stars, its was a nice easy read.I received an e-galley via Netgalley and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review

[bookswithbite · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

really loved this book! Being a christian is not easy. I am in no way perfect. In fact, it is daily choice to live right. And any other christian will tell you that there are days when you just want to give up. In this book, the reader meets Addy. A young lady of faith who is struggling with who she is.One thing I loved about this book is that the author didn't paint to main character Addy to being a "perfect little christian." Addy is messed up. She said things she shouldn't have said. She has attitude and most importantly she fought against God. I can totally relate to that. When my husband got chosen to be the worship leader in the new church, I was immediately was upset. I prayed and said,"God, just what do you think your are doing? I don't want to be a leader. I don't want responsibility. I don't want people looking at my family. I DON'T WANT THIS!" I fought God. I told him, " I didn't ask for it and I don't want it." But God works in mysterious ways and TADA! Were in a new church plant, with me standing by my husband as the new worship leader. I'm scared. YES! Me. Little Savannah scared out of my mind. Why? Because I'm not perfect, I'm broken. Messed up. Then my good friend told me something. She said," Savannah, that is the exact reason why God chose you. People don't want to see perfection. They want to see someone who has been through trouble times and made it out. Just like Moses, who didn't want to lead people out of Egypt, he fought God, like you. Moses was great not because of what he did, but because of who he was in God." And deep breathe... The book showed Addy's struggle with who she was and her past. I like that she wasn't perfect and carried her past with her. Through Ms. McGee's writing, the reader felt emotions of Addy's struggle with God, her life and her future. She prayed constantly, asking for help. I also adored that there wasn't super supreme being moments, like reigning shine of glory moments. Addy moments with God were small, precious, and life changing. The things he did in her life brought Addy closer to God. And through his grace, Addy was able to fine her way out.My favorite line in this book was," If your not talking to God about it, how do you expect to get through it?" It's so TRUE! That line, makes my heart ache. Cause like so many people out there, I like to do things on my own. And then, when I am drowning and can't find my way out is when I finally pray. *Sigh* You think I learn by now, but my walk with God is getting better and better every day. If you want a real christian book with real life struggles read this book! I can't tell you the amount of times I had some sort of revelation as to what do about certain things in my life. I like that it wasn't fake but a real relationship with the Lord. The struggles of life, a hurtful painful past and learning to love when you have nothing left. It all happen with the grace of God.

[juhina_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First date reminded me so much of Meg Cabot's All American girl. Hot president's son. Check. Stubborn girl, check. I really wanted to like it as much as I like All American girl but unfortunately I was disappointed.The story had so much potential, the plot and settings could have resulted in many awkward and butterfly fluttering moments but I felt like the author focused too much on religion. Yea, that's the theme that overtook in this novel. I actually do not mind reading about books with religion infused in them, but this book was super saturated with religious talk. It was too much for me especially since Christianity is not my religion. I thought I was getting into a cute read, and while it was in the end, I ended up skipping many pages of religion talk.However I really liked how the president's son and our protagonist's friendship and romance bloomed. I however wished the author put more scenes with them. Overall this book was cute, but a little heavy on the religion. So I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind religious themes in their books.

[ilikethesebooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book just was not for me, sadly. What seemed to be a cute idea was clouded by the less than likable characters and constant call for sympathy (which I remained unanswered).Addy was chosen, but she wants absolutely nothing to do with The Book of Love, the new reality show to win a date with the president's son. After some convincing from her friends and family, she decides that maybe God has a plan for her, even if she is clueless to what it might be. She goes on the show, rather reluctantly, and surprises herself with the unexpected experiences and trials. Testing her patience and her faith.Yes, this is a religious book. It is a clean read and very Christian. If that is your thing, maybe you will like this more than I did. I knew going into it that it would be religious, that is not what turned me off. What turned me off was how whiny Addy was. She was constantly complaining, not seeing any good in the situation for the longest time. She was afraid to admit to her faith, which turned out not to be a big deal to anyone around her. I got that she was struggling with the truth of her late parents, trying to live up to what everyone thought she could be. I wished I liked her better, but she was too into self-pity. I didn't feel bad for her. Because of that, I didn't really care what happened to her. I wish I could say I loved this book, but I just didn't. If you liked it more than I did, share your thoughts below, I'd love to see what you found in it.

[sugarpeach_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Firstly, I need to say this before commenting further about First Date. First Date is the first book I'm reading in the Christian contemporary Teens genre that has romance in it but no kissing scene. It was squeaky clean throughout. Not that kissing scenes are always dirty, but I constantly expected Addy and Jonathon to kiss, but they didn't. I'm still trying to decide if I should be disappointed with that or not.Addy wasn't a very likeable character at first, but she grew on me. Her dependence on God's guidance is amazing. She didn't always made the right decisions at first, but the longer she stayed on the show, the more she grew to depend on what God wants her to say or do. Since this book is in the Christian genre, it had obvious Christian overtones in it, especially since Addy is a committed Christian. I didn't mind that at all as I agreed with most of her convictions.There were out-of-the-blue interview scenes of characters to introduce them. The first time it came out in the 4th chapter, I thought that it was a result of a printing error and that maybe it was a misplaced chapter. But as another out-of-the-blue interview of a not previously mentioned before character came out, I had to assume that the interview scenes were to introduce the characters to readers. This is the first time I'm reading a book with this tactic, and I found it confusing. It didn't work well with the flow of the story. Addy's interview scene came late in the book, and I couldn't wait to read her interview.First Date is mainly about Addy in a reality TV show. I know reality TV shows aren't always spontaneous and are sometimes scripted thanks to reading about the Kardashians' not so reality shows and I wasn't really surprised at the shenanigans that goes on in the back scenes when the cameras are not shooting. Still, it was interesting and I think the concept of a reality TV show for a President's son to choose a prom date is fascinating.I wasn't excited or happy about the final results of The Book of Love. The next sentences are going to be a little spoiler-ish, so skip them if you haven't read First Date. The character I wanted to win the show did not win it. I thought it was a little unfair since some hanky-panky was probably going on between the winner's parents and Hank, the producer of the show. Nevertheless, the people we want to win shows don't always win them and it wouldn't be realistic if First Date had given us the person we are rooting for as a winner. Despite all that, there was enough suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering who would be the winner.

[rivkabelle_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review originally published at my blog: AWordsWorth.blogspot.comBook provided by publisher for review.Addy never wanted the spotlight. When her principal told her she'd be representing their small, Christian school on "The Book of Love" (the reality show's name), she developed an instant bad attitude. A 'tude that continued through her first weeks on the show - winning her surprising publicity and support, but also earning a few enemies. As the days and weeks pass, Addy continues to "win" - she stays on the show, despite all attempts to make her look foolish, bratty, unpolished, and just plain unworthy. Her attitude also begins to change, as God works on her heart and shows her that she is there for a reason. Beginning to relax and make a few friends, including one of the assistant producers-slash-undercover Secret Service Agents, Addy finds herself drawn more and more to Jonathon - the President's son, and object of all the girls' desire. But is it real, or just another trick of so-called reality tv?First Date was a lot of fun to read. Addy is a character I could relate to easily, even with the 10ish year difference in our ages, and Jonathon was quite the charming hero-figure-slash-potential love interest. The 'supporting cast' is colorful and adds a lot of texture to the story. Another thing that I really enjoyed is the shadowing of Queen Esther's story - while it's not an exact retelling, elements of Addy's in First Date are strongly reminiscent of the Biblical queen. Esther is one of my favorites, so it was really neat to see the story in a modern light.