I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Again, but Better" tells the story of Shane, a girl who has yet to have a boyfriend or a first kiss, even though she is in college. Shane makes it a goal to change her life when she signs up for a study aboard program. Only problem is, Shane told her parents it's a premed program when it's actually a creative writing program. Uh oh! Can you smell trouble? Everything is going great with Shane in London. She meets a great guy, loves her internship, has friends. But then everything falls apart. The perfect guy, Pilot, actually has a girlfriend. I can't believe he didn't say anything! Ugh! Then her parents found out that she lied. Double ugh! Fast forward to the future and Shane decides that she needs a change in her life. With the help of some magic and a cute boy Shane does the same thing again, but better (hence the title).

"Again, but Better" was a really fun read. I related to Shane so much! College was about school to me, not parties or boys. Can I get a redo? This novel is fun and cute to read!

I was very lucky to be sent the eARC of Again, but Better by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press; this was a release I have been highly anticipating.

That being said, let me start out with: I really, really, really wanted to like this book. Christine is one of my favorite Booktubers; her book talks are some of my favorite videos, and my friends and I all discuss her videos and eagerly await each one. Her passion and enthusiasm are evident in all her videos, and this book is no different.

The story follows Shane Primaveri, a girl who studies abroad in London in search of adventure. She feels as if she’s been missing out on the true college experience, and wants to push herself to make new friends and explore new cities. Soon, she runs into a potential romance, which she must quickly learn to deal with. She’s just starting to learn how to juggle her family, her career aspirations, newfound friendships, romantic aspirations, and trying so hard to stay on top of it all.

I loved the premise; it seemed like something I would immediately fall in love with. Sadly, Again, but Better, didn’t live up to my expectations. Initially, the writing was hard for me to get past. One of the things I can’t stand about books is when they are written in the present tense, and this story was entirely in the present tense. For whatever reason, present tense takes me out of the story, and it takes so much more concentration for me to dive into a fictional world. That was my first hurdle.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize some of aspects I dislike about the way certain books are written. I don’t like when there are large portions of the text dedicated to the character getting dressed, or detailed descriptions of outfits characters are wearing. It always takes me out of the story, and actually, makes it harder for me to visualize the character, what they look like, and what they are about to do. For some reason, I hate it. I also dislike when there are too many references to pop culture, especially when they are not well-incorporated, like consistently putting in song lyrics as if they are part of normal dialogue. This book had a lot of that, and it was hard for me to overlook my pet peeves and dive into the story.

Another issue I had was with the characterization. I love Christine, and Shane seemed like a fictional portrayal of herself. However, in book form, I didn’t find it endearing, as I do in real life. In fact, it seemed borderline unrealistic at times: a twenty-year old doesn’t act or think like the character is written. Perhaps, if Shane had been a bit younger, I could’ve found it to be more believable, but at the beginning of the story, it was a bit annoying.

It was also hard for me to get over the names. Shane, I could deal with. Her flatmates, Pilot and Babe, were names that continually took me out of the story every time I came across them. However, I do read Sarah J. Maas, so I guess names shouldn’t be that big of an issue for me.

I also had some problems with the portrayal of the romantic relationship in the book. The potential love interest is Pilot, but you find out very early on that he has a girlfriend. Though it’s clear that Shane is not happy about any prospect of Pilot cheating, their banter and flirtations still continue. Personally, I strongly dislike the cheating trope, particularly how it portrays another person as an obstacle to get to “true love.” It’s overdone, and I’m tired. Also, at least twice in this book, two drunk guys kiss Shane without her consent. This is a little nitpicky, but I would’ve loved a little more discussion on that; I don’t want to see sexual harassment or assault normalized.

To put it frankly, this book was a complete rollercoaster for me. I truly don’t want this review to be all criticism; there were some parts I enjoyed. Though Shane annoyed me at first, as the story progressed, I began to root for her more and more. I began to like her right before the twist (which I won’t spoil), and I particularly liked the emphasis on her finding herself. Whenever I got annoyed at something that Shane did, a couple chapters later, she would realize that herself, and grow from her mistakes.

I think the book also did a really good job of capturing the study abroad experience. In my personal life, studying abroad felt like a do-over of freshmen year of college: you’re thrown into a new city, and become friends with everyone you meet, mainly out of necessity. It did a good job of capturing both that confusion and camaraderie, even though, at times, I found Shane’s inner monologue to be grating and over the top.

The book also emphasized friendship, though not to a huge degree, but I still appreciated it. The relationship between Shane and her flatmates is important to her, and it comes across how they they have each others’ backs, no matter how close they seem, particularly when Shane has trouble with her parents. I liked that there was a strained relationship with her family; it gave her character a bit more depth. I also found Shane’s struggles to follow your passion very relatable. However, at times, the family dynamic seemed to be too over the top, particularly when her cousins make fun of her on her Facebook wall. For me, it’s a little hard to believe your cousins are willing to blast you on the internet like that, especially on such a public forum.

I liked how Shane and Pilot needed to be friends first, even if that was necessary because of Pilot’s aforementioned girlfriend. Though, the banter between the two came across as if you were talking to Christine in real life. Of course, I don’t know her personally, but as one of her viewers and now a reader of this book, there didn’t seem to be a big distinction between fictional Shane and Christine in her videos. At times, I liked I didn’t mind the similarities - it was cute, and established a precedent for Pilot and Shane’s friendship. At other times (going back to my pet peeves), there were too many contemporary references that threw me out of the story altogether.

The twist in this book is what (partially) redeemed it for me. At first, I was unsure if I could finish it. Around halfway through, I was glad I decided to finish it, because it did get slightly better. However, the problems I had with the book and the writing didn’t go away, but…I no longer hated the book. By the ending, the story was less focused on Shane’s love life and more about her personal growth, and that, I could get behind. I still don’t love the book, but I’m glad I read it.

This digital ARC was sent to me by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3/5

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: May 7, 2019

This was a cute love story. I did enjoy reading it but it wasn't anything new for me. I have read this story and seen these characters before. I am always looking for something a little bit different to draw me in and unfortunately this didn't do it for me.

This was amazing! I did not know Christine beforehand and I did not know what the book was about, but I really enjoyed reading Shane's adventures in an upside-down world.

Shane and Pilot are the lead pair in this YA novel about discovering one-self, second chances and love. I did not really like Pilot at first, and the first half seemed kind of slacking, but it all came together really well in the end. The characters are very well-developed, especially the lead character. The romance seemed superficial at first too, but it developed pretty well by the time the characters get together. I loved the travelling and blog-post parts. All-in-all, this has made me want to check out Christine Riccio's booktube and I'm sure it would be great!

Recommended to all YA fans, writers, and readers; this is simply too beautiful ❤

Hello Wednesday Books,

I regret to inform you that I will not be finishing this novel. I was so excited for this book because of the plot, stunning cover, and the author. However, I have decided not to finish this book based on the writing. I just cannot connect with the immaturity of the main character and direction of plot. A lot of the wording in this story is awkward at times and makes me feel a bit uncomfortable when certain things are mentioned. I think that this book would have benefited more through a couple more rounds of editing and feedback. I just cannot continue this novel despite how much I wanted to love and support it. I do wish this work all the best though, and I hope others will enjoy it.

Kind regards,

Brittney

I have mixed feelings on this book. I really struggled with Shane at the beginning of the book. She came across as very immature. Her behavior and emotions were more in line with a 12 year old, rather than a college student. I realize that her characterization was probably intentional in order to show the growth later in the novel and to account for her lack of experience with boys, but it made for difficult reading. It just seemed implausible that a girl who made great grades and was pre-med could act like a boy-crazed 12 year old all the time.

However, after the time jump to 2017, I found Shane more tolerable. She had gained some maturity. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first. I wish, however, that more time was spent on her familial relationships rather than her relationship with Pilot. In my opinion, the storyline with her parents and cousins was far more interesting and meaningful than her romantic relationships.

Overall, I think this is a cute read that will appeal to fans of YA romance (with some magic realism thrown in).

I really like Christine Riccio. I think she's an excellent Booktuber--she makes entertaining videos that showcase reading as accessible and enjoyable and I think what she contributes to the Booktube community is so, so valuable.

But I'm not reviewing Christine Riccio. I'm reviewing her debut novel. Again, but Better is frankly disappointing. It's poorly written, with a voice far too juvenile for a character in her college years. I'm the same age as Shane when she decides to study abroad, and the disconnect between us was severe. Shane describes her heart like a puppy running around when there's a visitor at the door. Shane, you're 20, not 12.

There are so many parallels between Shane and Christine that it feels like self-insertion, which is fine for creative writing if it's not meant to be published. Shane shares all the same interests as Christine, from her favorite books to her favorite music. I predicted Shane's favorite song being "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift before she even said it, because I know that's Christine's favorite. As an author, you need to be able to separate yourself from your main character. I don't think this book did that.

There are also an exhausting number of pop culture references. I understand that the book takes place in both 2011 and 2017 and you want to make sure those eras feel different, but there are ways to do that without referencing which book in a series just came out or what new iPhone app there is.

This book also involves cheating. Although it's not completely glossed over, it's still ultimately excused, which I find to be pretty unhealthy.

There are moments where this book shines. There are some lines that are beautiful (leaving a trail of sunshine on the sidewalk) and some moments where the emotional resonance really sings. However, those moments are very few and far in between. I have faith that Christine can write a better book than this. I guess we'll see what she does with her next novel. Maybe she'll do this again, but better.

I was lucky to receive an early edition of this book from NetGalley. I liked that the chapters were short and the topic of studying abroad is fun for someone that works in higher education. However, I didn't think that the story was very original or exciting. I like that Riccio provided a realistic picture of how parents can react to children who want to pursue a creative field, and she didn't try to sugarcoat their reactions to Shane's decision.

However, I sadly found both Shane very cringeworthy. She seemed naive, immature and really annoying at times. Every time she called her love interest Pilot by the nickname "Pies," I cringed. I think that Christine Riccio might have made the main character TOO much like herself (for those of you that watch her YouTube Book Channel, she is very bubbly and silly_. On YouTube/film her personality is funny and light, but it doesn't really come across the same way when you read the story. The main character Shane's personality just comes across as weird and little girl-ish.

I think this book is *fine* but it's nothing that made my heart swoon or a book that I will be thinking about for days. It's a fun, beach read but it didn't live up to what my expectations were.

Absolutely loved this book and everything about. The characters are very relatable and feel more like friends than just characters in a story. The Harry Potter references were an excellent touch and brought the world of literature into the book in a way that was simply beautiful.

I fully plan on buying this book when it comes out so that I can have a physical copy!

I received an eARC from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this because the premise seemed interesting and who doesn't like a story with second chances. I had no idea who Christine was/is which might have helped me enjoy the story, as I had no idea what her background was other than she is a booktuber.

The story begins with Shane receiving a chance to study abroad in the UK. This part of the book is entertaining and I loved living through the characters and their travels. Then comes the time jump, this is where she lost me a bit. There isn't enough character growth to jump ahead that many years. A couple would have been enough but 6/7?! I didn't quite buy it.

The pop culture references are a plenty, sometimes to overpowering, 5 or so in a page or even a chapter wasn't needed. But, to play my own devils advocate, most were entertaining and I did find myself laughing out loud and thinking about on that time period because of them.

All in all it was a cute story and a quick read about second chances and how we could redo things if possible.

I was a bit hesitant going into this one. I am a big fan of Christine, but was not sure how her storytelling would translate into words. I will say it took me a couple chapters to get used to the writing style and in the first half, the pacing is a little weird. But, I LOVED the second half. Seeing the characters grow, change, and be bold was so heartwarming. The banter between the main couple was SPOT on and so much fun to read. I loved seeing them develop as a couple. The friend and family dynamics are interesting and at times heartbreaking to read, but feel so real. There are so many nerdy and bookish references which was so much fun. This was just a cute and fun contemporary and I know I will be rereading this when my copy comes.

I honestly cannot say much more because most of my thoughts are spoilery. I will say I LOVED the second half so much. I teared up a few times and was smiling at my kindle so much.

I would have given this 5 stars, but because of the beginning and because parts of this seemed a little inconsistent/wrapped up too easily I had to take a star off.

From the first page i knew this book was going to be one of my favorites. Shane is a character i can 100% relate too, each regret she had i could feel in the back of my mind as well. i loved the premise of the story, that you can give your self a second chance at rewriting a part of your life for the better. i enjoyed reading this, i loved the little 'twist' in the middle half of the book and can say that i am very excited to read more of what Ms. Riccio has to write!

I've had a hard time coming up with the words for this book because I'm of the mindset "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I was drawn to this book by the cover as well as reviews of the author herself. The book itself is about a young girl trying to find her way and make radical changes to herself. Things I could totally identify with - and wished I were able to do when I was younger. The beginning of the book completely sucked me in and I loved it. The plot then fast forwards further down her life and that's when it lost me. I'm all for second chances and "what if's" but I didn't identify with the way the book twisted or ended.

After finishing this book, I had the slight feeling that Shane, the main character was based (and not loosely) on the author herself.
Just FYI, Christine Riccio is possibly one of the biggest -and I dare to say BIGGEST- #booktubers on the planet. With a 400 K + follower count on YouTube Christine is the actual book reviewer all of us should strive to be, IMO.
Of course I have other faves (like my peeps from Under the Covers -- go check them out!], but Christine started this YouTube gig like 8 or 9 years ago, when everybody was turning into the Blogger/ WordPress bandwagon. She saw potential on YouTube and nowadays, she’s a phenomenon. To me, she’s a pioneer and will always be that trailblazing mentor that many of us small reviewers should look up to.
It was only logical and smart to dive in and write her own book, hence, Again, But Better.
I don’t want to spoil this, but this was a fun, easy and quick read that IMO, is something every author should strive to achieve, I applaud Christine for the lightness of her phrases. Tagged as a romance book, it does contain elements to categorize it as such, but I do believe this was also focused on Shane and her journey turning into her own individual. College abroad can be a scary thing, even for a young adult who thinks they are ready to take over the word, and Shane is cautious, but also adventurous. I say that her relationship with Pilot is important, but more important is her personal achievements and growth.
Christine, you did FANTASTIC. Hopefully this is one of MANY more dreams that will become true in your life.

Oh boy. Where to begin.

I don't mind Christine Riccio. I've watched her Booktube videos and I think she can be very funny sometimes. I wanted to read this because I was curious to see how someone who is forced to be critical about the books she reviews would write a book of her own. She can be insightful sometimes, so I hoped that Riccio would learn from other author's mistakes and publish a good debut.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Let's start with the things I liked: "Again, But Better" has a great setting. Stories in Europe are great, and I love being able to live vicariously through the characters since I've never been able to experience any of these great locations. Riccio infuses lots of fun, nerdy things and makes references to shows, movies, books: Lost, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Vampire Academy, etc. Some of the dialogue was also very clever and sharp, and I appreciated some of the banter between characters, particularly Shane and Pilot.

Which brings me to things I didn't like. You see I mentioned a character named "Pilot" above? That's his actual, given name. One of Shane's roommates is named Babe. Again, not a nickname. And there wasn't even a cool story as to why they had these strange, unique names? Oh, and then there was the guy that Babe had a crush on, "Chad", who's your stereotypical jerk who says "yo" a lot.

While I did enjoy some of the dialogue and banter, there were other parts that felt clunky and awkward. Some of Riccio's phrasing was weird to me and didn't make for a flowing, easy read. I had to reread a few paragraphs to understand what exactly was being said.

I'm not even going to get into the odd subplot with the spirit guide? This didn't add to the story and frankly, made this book so much more cringe-y.

I feel I would have liked this book more had the characters acted their age. These were supposed to be college students studying abroad in Europe, but they read like 14 year old brats. I hoped this would feel less like YA given the age of the characters, yet there was really no change in the way they spoke or acted.

I do hope that Riccio takes some of the criticism of her debut novel and uses that to improve, because I'd love to see her succeed. "Again, But Better" just wasn't imaginative or polished enough.

An e-copy of this book was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This was such a great debut novel! I love Christine's writing and easy flow narrative - this read quickly and smoothly. The main character was beyond relatable and I think so many girls and young women will be able to see themselves in her. I will say however that the romance wasn't my favorite, as it did somewhat normalize cheating. It's real life and happens often, so I see why the author may have included it, but personally i can't support a romance that begun like that.
Overall, it was super fun and enjoyable, and would totally recommend it to friends and family of the young adult age range - especially anyone going into university or going abroad for study!

Ok! So the cover incredible, the author, hilarious, the synopsis misleading. The little blurb on the back of the book that provides some insight on what the book is about made it sound incredible but I thought the book fell a little short of that.
I feel like because the book was written by a girl obsessed with books like the rest of us that she included too many references to other books such as Harry Potter and shadowhunters, the story was kind of all over the place and somethings were left out and I felt it was kind of messy.
I did enjoy parts of it, however the parts I didn’t enjoy outweigh the ones I did I like

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC.

The premise of Again, But Better is great. It’s not completely original but it’s fun and could have been an enjoyable light read. The execution, however, missed the mark. The unlikeable characters, the pacing, and the odd style of writing made this a difficult read. I rarely give books two stars but alas, here we are. The good news is that at about 15% then 20% then 30% in, I was certain I would abandon it, but I did manage to finish, albeit, it took me a REALLY long while to do so. It rarely takes me more than a week to read a book, but I just kept losing interest.

The pacing and story structure made it such a slog to read. While studying abroad *is* interesting and exciting, every chapter fell into a monotonous routine. It took more than half the book for the major plot twist to appear, and then I had to relive the whole first half of the book all over again with characters I just didn’t care enough about.

Another area that was frustrating as a reader was the hyper focus on the time period. There’s something about a sense of timelessness that I appreciate as a reader. This book couldn’t go a page without the constant reminder in some kind of pop culture reference that the year was 2011. It pulled me away from the story and distracted me. It felt like a very novice move.

My biggest issue always boils down to whether I like the main characters or not, and I not only couldn’t connect with Shane, but I really just didn’t like her. This may seem minor, but lord have mercy, Shane has more run-ins with falling, toppling, clashing, flipping, clanging chairs than anyone on the planet, so much so that it becomes a running theme and she actually says in one scene, “Evil chairs are out to get me, falling every five seconds.” And in another scene, “I can’t win with these stupid-ass chairs. Even when I get up carefully, it’s like it doesn’t matter, they still flip over just to piss me off.” In my lifetime, I’ve never met a person to have such difficulty sitting and standing up, especially one who eventually becomes a doctor on one timeline.

Overall, this book attempts to be a YA rom-com but is riddled with so much cutesy, cliched, time-stamped monotony, I just couldn’t fall into the story.

Listen, I don't know much about Christine Riccio but let me just say...this book needed a LOT of work. There was so many parts where I stopped reading because the sentence was just so bad and/or it was cliche. I didn't enjoy this book as I expected. I liked the concept of the book but it wasn't the best written.

DNF at 27%

I tried. I really tried. And I’m sorry but this book was a mess.

When I requested the eARC of this book it was because I thought it sounded interesting. But it’s painfully obvious this is coming from an inexperienced author.

The way I can explain the writing is with these four words: choppy, clumsy, sloppy and clunky. There’s really no other way to explain it. It’s rough and poorly edited.

The main character, Shane, is meant to be 20 years old, but she reads like she’s 15 <i>at most</i>.

I do know that some people have really enjoyed this, so if you feel like you might want to pick it up, then I recommend you read a sample of it beforehand. I only made it to chapter 3 when I started feeling like this was a chore to read.