What an incredible story! It kept me guessing about what was happening with this couple. There's plenty of drama, but also a good dose of laughter. The author really knows how to craft a compelling tale. You won't be disappointed. Give it a read and enjoy!

A former pop star returns to her first passion when she’s offered a leading role on Broadway. The only thing holding her back is having to work with the man who destroyed her career.

Once More with Feeling is a second-chance, contemporary romance.

There’s something very nostalgic about Once More with Feeling. If you grew up in the late 90’s to early 00’s, I’m sure there are a few different starlets and pop stars that you could picture in place of the FMC. That sentimentality really had me wanting the best for Kathleen. I like the overall layout of the storyline. It bounces between past and present and it lets the MCs history unfold in a more organic way.

I just did a reread (audio) and highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator, Jaime Lamchick does an excellent job.

I look forward to reading more of the author’s work in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Dell and Netgalley!

I love the mix of music and second chance romance. I will definitely be reading everything that Sussman writes because they're all so good!

I was obsessed with this book! From the banter to the butterflies! I can’t wait for this author’s next release!!

Once More With Feeling is one that I definitely recommend to my Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC girlies. It gives you all of the nostalgia of those days when Disney Channel and MTV were everything and you just lived for your favorite pop stars dating each other.

I loved Kathleen and Cal so much and seeing how their relationship grew then broke then reconnected was so good! I also loved the broadway aspect of the story and how these two ended up back in each other’s lives.

I can’t say enough about how much I loved this and I will definitely look forward to more from this author.

Thank you so much to Random House, Ballentine, Dell, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman
2/5 stars
Pub Date: May 30, 2023

This book is a friends to lovers to enemies to lovers story. Kate Rose is a pop star and Cal Kirby is a choreographer. They both knew each other when they went to a summer camp together and fell in love at camp. They lost contact and later on in the future when their paths cross again, they become enemies. Cal is directing a new broadway show and Katee ends up being the main character because the role was basically written for her. We go through the rest of the story as we watch these characters get to know each other again while we also learn about their past.

I was honestly so excited for this book because I loved Sussman’s book Funny You Should Ask, but this one did not live up to that hype. I felt like this story was very bland and I just didn’t care for the characters all that much. It went to back and forth between the past and the future for me to really understand the story as well as I feel like the story didn’t really have a good “beginning” and just went straight into the story. I just didn’t love it which was really sad cause I was very excited to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell, and Elissa Sussman for allowing me to read this in advance for an honest book review.

Second chance romance is one of my favorite romance tropes, and Elissa Sussman does it very well, so I loved this book. I can be a hard sell on reading about famous characters in roamance novels, but I found that "former pop star" worked better for me. I will definitely be reading Sussman's next romance as soon as it is released, whatever that may be!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Like not a love. It was cute & was a quick read. The flashbacks didn’t give me as much as I was looking for. Sweet story. About 75% in I felt like it finally got good.

I will read Elissa Sussman's grocery lists at this point. I adored this just as much as I adored Funny You Should Ask! I especially loved that this took place on Broadway, it was a fresh unique take on celebrity romance

After a hit success with Funny You Should Ask, I had higher expectations from this novel. Unfortunately, the plot was not something I felt connected to, nor the characters in this book as well. There were some tropes included in this book that I disliked and for that reason, I had a hard time seeing myself give a positive review. I don't want to discern other readers from this novel but this was not a favorite.

There was a lot about this book that I liked - the set-up, the Broadway setting, the Britney-Justin history. I preferred FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK - this didn't feel as fleshed out or as lived-in of a world, and it felt like Romance Reasons made things happen rather than the characters driving the plot.

I enjoyed this book but also found it a bit predictable. I found Katee to be a bad friends and pretty unlikable character. The plot was interesting (I mean who doesn't love a boy band and former pop star twist) but the characters ruined it for me. I found it hard to root for them.

I enjoyed the plot of the book, but Katee and her stubbornness were a lot to overcome. I really wanted to love this book based on previous books by this author.

Elissa Sussman is just a fun author. Her books are unique and just easy to eat up. While I did enjoy her debut novel more, there’s no sophomore slump here! This kept me enthralled and was just a good time!

Kathleen was once a pop superstar, better known by her stage name Katee Rose. She toured with her boyfriend Ryan’s boy band CrushZone, along with childhood summer camp friend Cal. But drama led to the downfall of her pop star career. Now, her best friend Harriett is trying to get the musical she wrote to Broadway, and this might be Kathleen’s chance to see her lifelong dream of Broadway come true. But the only problem is, Cal is directing the show…and they haven’t seen each other since everything fell apart years ago.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the second chance for all of the characters, not just Kathleen, as they all tried to see their goals and dreams come true. The story alternated timelines between childhood at summer camp, touring days, and current day trying to put the show together. It really showed the history of the characters and how they got to where they are now, and the alternating timelines stayed easy to follow.

I have a past history with musical theater, so I could see my own experiences through the eyes of the characters. I think if some people don’t have that background, they might feel more like Ryan in the story, not understanding the appeal or some of the song and show references. But it wasn’t an overwhelming part of the story that might be lost if you didn’t “get it”.

Overall I really enjoyed how the timelines came together toward the end of the story. I liked the chemistry between the characters, and even their own stressors that got in their way of being there for each other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book, it wasn't a love or a hate.

Katee Rose (or Kathleen as we now know her) had it all. Fame, stardom, money, popularity, and the hottest boy band boyfriend. That is, until she cheats on him with his bandmate Cal and loses it all. Fast forward, and Kathleen is approached by her bestie to do a musical. Only catch? Cal is the director. If they want to be successful, Kathleen must navigate the anger and hurt she feels from being left in the dust by Cal all those years back. Can't be too hard, right?

The storyline was super interesting and creative and I love a good second chance romance! I just felt the characters and chemistry fell a BIT flat. However, I still found myself rooting for Kathleen and Cal and also found myself feeling really bad for Kathleen and wanting her to get her chance at redemption. Overall, I'd recommend this book. It was a cute and quick read.

3.75-4 ⭐️

I did not like this one as much as funny you should ask but it still had its moments. it was harder for me to get through and therefore i did not enjoy it as much.

Friends/Enemies to lovers with music is one of my favorite kinds of books. Kathleen, Cal, and Harriet met when they were teenagers at Curtain Call Summer Camp. After the camp, Kathleen and Cal got their big break as teen pop idols. Kathleen was Katee Rose pop princess and Cal was in a boy band with Katee's boyfriend, Ryan, called CrushZone. They toured together and all was great until Katee cheated on Ryan with Cal. Hurt feelings of both boys and negative publicity ended Katee's career and her friendship with Cal and Ryan. Forward 10 years and, Harriet, Kathleen's BFF and songwriter, has written a musical with a part written for Kathleen. Kathleen's excitement turns to horror as she meets the Director, Cal. Can Kathleen work with the man she betrayed years ago? Will he forgive Kathleen? The ups and downs of their relationship made this a fun read. However, at times it was too much. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the friends/enemies to lovers trope.

I had heard such good things about this book so I was really excited to dive in, but sadly, this turned out to be a disappointment. I'm very particular about infidelity in stories and this book featured a big plit point around it, which really put me off, but even other than that, I didn't really enjoy this story as much as I thought would given the premise seemed so interesting.

DNF at 35%. It pains me since Funny You Should Ask was one of my favorite reads from 2022, but the dialogue is really pulling me out of the story. The author only uses “he said” “she said” “I said”, when the characters are talking and reading one of those variations 13 times on one page is driving me mad.