With more and more popular YouTubers becoming authors, I always try to separate their online personality from their body of work. Though I primarily follow BookTubers across various social media outlets, I do not follow Christine Riccio's channel (I prefer smaller BookTube channels). However, throughout the years, I have watched her videos and watch her grow as a BookTubers and an aspiring author. Her online personality is infectious and her video content is fun and engaging. From a single video alone, you can see why she's such a hit with YA readers of all ages. Her backstory is pretty well-known throughout the online community. With that being said, I was genuinely excited to read Riccio's debut novel, AGAIN BUT BETTER, because she had been working on this for years and documented her progress on her channel. I highly enjoyed those particular videos, highlighting her victories and struggles as an aspiring writer.

But as previously stated, I always try to separate a YouTuber's online personality from their body of work. Needless to say, when I started to read the ARC, I immediately clocked how amateurish and juvenile the writing was. I definitely would've been more lenient if not for the fact that the MC is in college and this story is told over six years (speaking of which, why is this book categorized as YA if the characters are in their twenties?). Writing-wise the second half of the book does improve, but not by much. The main character, Shane, sprang off the page for me, but I think it's because she's a self-insert for Christine. Her mannerisms, her quirky personality, her thought process, how she talks, her likes and tastes. Everything was just so Christine that all I could envision when reading this was the author.

While Shane shined, all the other characters fell flat. I know some reviewers took issue with the romance arc. However, I didn't mind it and I applaud the author was taking that route. Sometimes, your crush is taken. I liked how she went about the situation. However, though I liked the handling of it, the romance itself didn't intrigue me because the MC and LI lacked chemistry. They had quirky moments, but it wasn't enough to make up for the lack of chemistry.

Though some pop culture references did take me back to my college days and make me smile, there were way too many. The pacing was alright and Shane's journey was interesting, but with college-age characters exploring the world, this story could've been so much more.

I'm very disappointed.

First, I really really really wanted to love this book. I was super excited to be granted an advanced reader copy. Second, if the first half of the book had been as good as the second half, think I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more. The first part of the book is soooooo slow and boring. However, the second half definitely picked up and made me want to finish it. The ending was okay, but I feel like it was rushed and should have been developed a bit more. Overall, I think a younger audience would enjoy this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

UHGHHHHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHhhhh

Alright. I have a lot to say about this book. First of all, I really wanted to like it. I was so ready to love this book! When I was granted an eARC I was ecstatic. My actual first thought was “who, me? Did someone do this by mistake??” I had high hopes, I’m not going to lie. Unfortunately it just did not live up to my expectations.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a terrible book. It has some great qualities, but for me it just didn’t come together in the end. The writing wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be, the plot was questionable and the characters were frustrating me hard. The thing is, I can see how this could be good. The right foundation is there, but some things would really need to be changed in order for me to fall in love with it.

The first thing that made me excited about this book was the setting. Our main character, Shane, is in college. Yes! In college and studying abroad. Double yes! Finally, a character who’s a little older and a little wiser. Possibly making some hard decisions and learning along the way. While reading the first half of this book, I realized the writing was far more juvenile than I was expecting. And, there’s nothing wrong with that, this is technically YA, right?

The problem is the writing did not match the supposed age of the mc. It’s not even about it being light-hearted and bubbly! I’m all about an easy romantic contemporary. Half of my tbr is full of mind-numbing ya contemporary that is full of uncomplicated writing (and I mean that in the best way possible!) The writing here just felt lacking. There are some parts when the mc has some anxiety/social anxiety and I really think that could have been fleshed out more. It seemed almost as though the anxiety only came on when it was beneficial to the plot? Not an actual problem the mc was experiencing. I understand everyone experiences anxiety differently, but it didn’t feel accurate to me (but it could definitely be a genuine experience for her.) I could tell in the second half of the book she was filling out her voice a little bit, but imo the first half really needed some additional work.

Okay, the plot. Dude what even happened?? The first half was boring, slow, and the main character made some terrible choices. I understand for the structure of the book that was kind of necessary, but I think it could be improved so that it didn’t feel as though it was dragging. I wanted more believable decisions or more extreme? Something was just missing here.

*spoilers* I’m so confused by the random magic time travel and spirit guide situation here. I wanted either more explanation or maybe a reason why this complete stranger of a woman was doing this? She came out of nowhere and there was no reason she was there (other than to continue the plot)

So Shane decides to just drop by Pilot’s work in 2017. She’s just now realizing she’s basically hated her entire life for the past 6 years. She has no interest in her boyfriend, she hates gastroenterology (and only did it because her boyfriend was so passionate about it??) and never talks to her family. Pilot has been dating Amy for the past 6 years, and just because they go back in time decides that those 6 years mean nothing and it was all a mistake! Like??? I understand people have regrets, but if you’re so willing to give everything up in A DAY that you’ve been living with FOR YEARS like. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. There’s just something missing here that would make these decision believable.

And at the end of the book, they just decide to stay in the past and RELIVE the next 6 years of their lives? Like. Again I think this goes back to how this book seems juvenile to me. Maybe that wouldn’t seem like such an insane choice to make when you’re younger, but just thinking about it now I’m like wtf! This really might just be me, but it seemed very unreasonable.

And finally, the characters. I felt nothing for almost all of them. It seems pretty obvious that the main character Shane is based off of Christine herself. There are so many allusions to her online presence, her book, tv, and movie interests, and her personality in general. I really don’t have a huge problem with this as a whole. Like if you want to put yourself in your mc, sure. The thing is, she is such a personality already on her YouTube channel. If you know anything about Christine, this character will immediately become her once you begin reading. There is no separating the two. It just got to be kind of annoying after awhile, but also not my biggest gripe with this book.

The romance was kind of cute, but ultimately meh. The supporting characters were pretty flat. I really can’t remember much about their personalities.

Her parents! Wow. They were something else. I can’t believe the casual verbal abuse was never brought up, and her parents are just absolved of all the shitty stuff at the end?? Like, she was successful so they decided what she wanted to do was worthy of their praise and love??? Smh.

I feel like there is a lot more I could say, but in general I did not enjoy this read. The second half definitely was more exciting, and made me want to figure out what happened, but the first half was dull and the ending was unsatisfying. I really feel like this could be something special with some revision?? I don’t know. Maybe I would have liked this book when I was younger.

And if you are a younger reader, this may be the perfect book for you! I would definitely give it a read and decide how you feel about it for yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC

I have never seen myself so well represented in a YA novel before. I related to so many of the struggles and fears that the main character had it was unreal. I definitely recommend this book to other YA readers.

I really enjoyed this magical "Do-Over" story. The writing was good. The characters were likeable, and who wouldn't want to have another chance to fix the major mistakes of our past?! (I was downright envious!)

There are two parts to this novel: Shane Primaveri is a pre-med student who tricks her parents into permitting her to enroll in a study abroad program in London, England. She meets fellow student Pie (Pilot) Penn, an aspiring musician - and it is clear from the beginning that there is "something special" happening between them. But (spoiler alert!) Pie has a girlfriend back home in the U.S.. Tricky, right?

Because this is a Do-Over trope, it is obvious that In Part 1 of the novel, things will not end well for the star-crossed protagonists of this very intriguing story. But never fear, there is a magical red- haired "fairy godmother" who gives the skittish couple a way to undo the current unsatisfactory mess that their past fears and hesitation made of their current lives.

I was pleasantly surprised with Do-Over portion of the book.
In Part 2 - Shane - who in the past lived to please her parents and "do the right thing" - struggles mightily with her desire to fall in with everyone's expectations, while at the same time seeking fulfillment of her dreams to become a writer. Pie is downright terrified and wants nothing to do with the "Do-Over" - at first!
Both Shane and Pie must decide between the certain, but emotionally sterile, material success of their "Part 1" lives versus a chancier, but happier version of their "Part 2" lives.

The path to self-realization is not an easy one, and I hope you enjoy this young couple's journey as much as I did. If for nothing else, read this book for the descriptions of London and Paris, and the romantic dance scene in Versailles. Adorable! A 4.5 out of 5 for this imaginative novel. My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest opinion.

I received an ARC of this book from Wednesday via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review & I’d like to thank them for that.
This was one of my most anticipated of the year and my feelings about it are meh.
This book gets like a 3.5/3.75. Though I love Christine and her videos, I can’t give this book higher than a 4. You can definitely tell that this is her debut. There is a lot about it I like, but there were a few things that kept pulling me out of the story.
There is essentially no description in this. I was very much told, when I should have been shown. She didn’t really do much in talking about the great European cities that were visited. It was like “I went to Prague. It was cool...next!” That really made me mad. There’s such cultural history that effected the people & the architecture in all these places and those are just ignored.
I also think, based off her writing videos I was expecting the plot to go one way, but it definitely didn’t. The twist almost 40-50% in threw me and idk if I could every recover.
What I did like was the voice. Christine really understood Shane (who I’m assuming is her self insert cause she is very similar to xtine and has a YouTube/blog that’s just a variations of xtine’s). The characters could have used a little more depth & I wish I got to know more about Pilot so I could fall for him too, but sadly I couldn’t. It was pretty one note the whole time.
I would read more from her, but overall this is prob a 3.5

I was approved for an arc this morning. You best believe I spent the entire day reading it.

THIS STORY WAS INCREDIBLE, MARVELOUS, FANTASTICAL, BEAUTIFUL, it also hurt a lil but in a good way?

ok so im strangely good at being able to work out how a story will end but OUR GIRL CHRISTINE WAS LIKE 'LOL YOU THOUGHT' i mean SHE DID TIME TRAVEL AND IT SHOOK ME sis really didn't have to snap like that but ok

Each of the characters were able to shine in their own way.
Babe - BARBRA?!?!?!?!?!???
Sahra - the confident queen we all aspire to be

Shane reminded me of that meme where it goes "I'd like to report this post bc i'm in it" bc I swear Christine saw into my brain and how I talk to people irl and was like 'BOOM book character'

I want a Pilot. Where can I obtain one? In my head I thought of the character Cameron from the Freeform show 'Stitchers'. Ugh how I love him so.

Ok so you know how when you watch too much Grey's Anatomy and you start diagnosing everyone you meet? I fell privy to this during this book. I thought it was sketchy as hell we kept seeing this creepy lady everywhere and I immediately thought she was Shane's Denny. Obviously she wasn't but SHE WAS SOMEONE WHO SENT PEOPLE BACK IN TIME smh the one time I go for a logical idea, albeit far-fetched, it backfired on me.

I also thought Shane was going to be exposed Lara-Jean style where her post cards would get mailed to her parents but alas, I was incorrect again.

Shane's parents were complete and utter dick-heads who only came around after she was successful.


I wasn't expecting to like Leo bc he seemed like a douche but Christine was like "In this house, we have multilayered characters" and i'm here for it.

The amount of times I found myself smiling whilst reading was ridiculous. I highly recommend this book and I am eagerly awaiting Christine's next story.

I think this one was just not for me. Parts of it just didn't ring true to the age range of the characters and that made them very annoying. I loved the geekish references but I didn't find the narrative very compelling. Think I'm just outside the target audience on this one.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.


Again, But Better was a unique story that I struggled to write a review for. I liked the plot but it fell kind of short for me.

The first half of the book, I wasn’t really sure I liked the book and I nearly DNF’d a few times. However, I’m stubborn so I stuck with it and I actually really quite liked the second half, but I’m not sure if that made up for the beginning.

The main characters in this story are supposed to be in college doing a semester abroad. Unfortunately the heroine often came across sounding more like someone who was 13 or 14 years old. Maybe this is common in the young adult genre, I don’t tend to read YA novels as much so I’m not sure. However, I found it really annoying so I struggled reading it. I also just didn’t care for the Hero (if you can call him that) I found him to be kind of rude and I just didn’t see the appeal.

Regardless, I liked the second half solely because the author did something you don’t see a lot in romance novels, and that’s having the heroine focus on herself and her future and not someone else’s. I LOVED that. I think it’s something that really sets a good example for younger readers. Too often, the women in romance novels cater their lives around the hero of the story and tend to lose themselves. Again, but Better, however, took the time to focus on the heroine building her future and making the choices that were best for her and not her relationship and I found that refreshing.

Despite the first half, I would give this 3.5 stars because the second half really saved the story for me.

Fast-paced novel, can be read in one sitting, albeit unoriginal as far as the plot is concerned; even though I didn't really like the romance in this book, it was interesting in regards to Riccio's life - because "Again, but Better", let's face it, reads like an autobiography.

I truly did not know what to expect when I started this book. I knew from the premise that it would be about a girl doing study abroad but this book turned out to be so much more than that. And while there were some parts that I feel could've been better or were questionable to me, overall I had a great time reading this debut novel!

Shane is a character that is very relatable because she's someone who wants to do these amazing things but is too scared to actually live her life. It's like when you tell yourself "I'm going to finally do that thing that scares me" but then when the time comes you push it off and say "Um...tomorrow I'll do it!". Which is essentially what Shane's life has always been. She's let her parents dictate who and what she'll be. She hides behind books and music to get lost in so she doesn't have to live her own life but at the start of this book, she is really trying to change things in her life. That's what this book is really about: Shane's journey into finding herself and learning to love and fight for herself and who she is.

I really liked the cast of characters and I appreciated how diverse the secondary characters were. I know a lot of people didn't like this but I liked the references to 2011 because it felt nostalgic to me and yes, maybe it went a little overboard with the references but I liked them nonetheless. I also liked Pilot, the love interest event though I found the romance kind of frustrating and angsty in a way I did not sign up for. But by the end, I was rooting for them (however, I'll admit not as much as I would've hoped).

So why not 5 stars?

Well, first and foremost I really do feel like this book felt like an autobiography about the author and it was disconcerting at times. I don't know much about the author but the things that I do know were spread all over this book. Shane really does feel like the author reincarnated and this felt like it was her (the author's) story being told in a slightly fictions way and it was off putting. I kept trying to imagine them as separate people but I kept finding myself comparing Shane to Christine, which I really did not want to do. But with all the many similarities, it was hard not to do. I think if you've never seen her videos you will perhaps have an easier time reading this but if you know this author through her youtube channel, it will take a little bit to disconnect the author from the protagonist.

I also felt like the writing could've been tightened up a bit at times. Besides the sometimes overuse of media references, sometimes I felt like I was being told things rather than shown it. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, while I did like the romance I didn't feel as connected to it as I'd hoped. It was angstier than I anticipated but I did find myself invested, at least in the beginning. But then it went to a place that was just confusing for me and I found myself often questioning Pilot's actual feelings for Shane and by the end, I questioned if they should even be together because Shane had worked so hard to try to convince the readers that her life would be better without him that I actually kind of believed her.

Overall, while this isn't a perfect book it wasn't a bad one either. I think it really does read as a debut and I could see this author potentially writing some really amazing books in the future. I look forward to seeing what she publishes next!

I really, really love all the geekish fangirling involved in the novel. It's so clearly written by someone who knows what it's like to eagerly devour a book or to stay up all night hiding under the covers with a flashlight.

I was very excited to find a character who is a fellow fangirl. The hilariousness of Shane, the main character, kept me cracking up throughout the book.

It took me a little bit to warm up to the characters of the book, but by chapter 4, I had fallen in love with all of them. The warm friendships and relationships throughout this book made it a wonderful novel to curl up and read for hours.

Usually, present tense makes me cringe a bit but Christine handled it masterfully. Reading about Shane's life felt like going through all of her adventures alongside her as if I were able to live vicariously through her.

There are 2 reasons I rated this book 4 stars and not 5. First, sometimes the dialogue felt repetitive, almost filler. The writing truly shined when we were seeing how Shane saw the world, but I felt as if the dialogue was holding back. Secondly, while I love the whimsical element of the novel, the fantasy part wasn't really explained. I would have loved to have an explanation as to why one character kept popping up.

All in all, Again But Better is a beautifully written novel for YA fans everywhere. It contains such comedy and romance that leaves readers feeling warm and fuzzy. I for one hope to see many more works by Christine Riccio!

This review will be posted on March 12th, 2019 on my blog.

E-Arc kindly provided by NetGalley.

2.5 out of 5 stars. I would say that I half liked this book.

I have some extremely mixed feelings. The book wasn’t difficult to get through (I read it in large chunks in a couple sittings), and I always wanted to know what happened next. But there were some unbelievably cringy scenes, and I personally didn’t mesh with the narration well at all.

There’s also a bunch of references to things in here, from the Beatles, to Harry Potter, to The Mortal Instruments, to Vampire Academy. Shane is even reading Shadow Kiss, one of the Vampire Academy books, on a flight. These are all things that Christine has talked about on her channel. I think a lot of the references could be cut down. They seem to be there to remind the reader that it’s 2011, but there does not need to be that many.

There were some things that I wish were unpacked more. The way Shane’s family treated her was the biggest, with both her parents and her extended family. (Which seemed to be somewhat emotionally manipulative.) I really wanted Shane to sort through her feelings some more on that subject.

Some of the side characters really fade into the background for the second half of the book, mostly Sahra and Atticus. Also, throughout the novel, we never get to know any of the other people on the study abroad program that don’t live within the couple of apartments that the main characters/main side characters are in. It seems like there should be more, especially within in the classes the characters take during the day.


I did really enjoy a lot of the storyline, though. It brought me back to when I studied abroad, also when I was 20/21. The characters were heartfelt, and, most of the time, the way they interacted with each other was realistic and pretty well done. This is why the rating was so high for me. I feel like so many parts of this (outside of the cringefest) captured a lot of the nostalgia surrounding study abroad, and were so heartfelt.

You can see some real growth in Shane's narration, but it’s an abrupt switch rather than slow change. The book switches from 2011 to 2017, and the narration is more mature and has less references, is less random, and moves like less of a whirlwind in 2017. I think it really showed that Shane had grown up somewhat. There’s two problems with that for me: 1. We don’t see this change happening, and 2: if you’re like me and don’t mesh with the narration at the beginning at all, you will cringe your way through a lot of the book. (Shane is the embodiment of “I’m so awkward and clumsy lol”.)

Also, crushing on someone with a girlfriend and doing nothing to stop yourself, and also said boy doing nothing to stop himself from flirting with you, is so ugh to me. I hate that trope. Also, said boy's name is Pilot Penn. (Like everyone and their mother doesn’t use a Pilot G2 or V5 or V7 pen. That’s all I can picture when his full name appears.) I hate romanticized cheating.



On a separate note: An author is not their book, but it was exceedingly difficult to separate Shane the character from Christine the youtuber.

If you watch Christine on youtube, or used to watch her, the writing is how she talks/acts in videos. To a T. The characters slip into accents, and the syntax is Christine’s. Shane seems so much Christine (at least how she comes off in her youtube videos), I would call it self-insert. Shane sounds like Christine, Shane kind of looks like Christine. They talk the same, they dress the same. Christine’s name on youtube is Polandbananasbooks, and her other channel is Polandbananas20, which is because she loved Poland Spring brand water and bananas. Shane’s blog name is Frenchwatermelon19, because she loves French toast and watermelon.

It’s so hard to separate Shane from Christine because they sound like each other, they like the same things, they have the same energy. Which, I confess, isn’t my favorite thing to read/watch. It’s cute and fun sometimes, and other times is so cringe that I have to stop. It’s also kind of uncomfortable, because you then wonder how much of this is made up and how much is based off of Christine’s real life.

All in all, I will probably read another book that Christine writes. I didn’t hate this one, but it wasn’t my favorite thing either.

Christine Riccio's energy, and positivety is portrayed perfectly within her character Shane Primaveri. You can't help but imagine her voice every step of the way. With quirky pop culture references, and relatable social skills. There are countless similarities, and references to her passion for writting, film, music, books, and YouTube.

Unfortunately there were quite a few anomalies within the juvenile writing style, and limited dialogue that drew away from the characters, and potential connections created. Relying extremely heavily on song lyrics, and the simultaneous love of popular series little is known of the characters beyond their studies. Certain scenes, and timelines were left underdeveloped, and others felt as if they weren't quite as necessary if the reader had the opportunity to see the previous criteria further explored. Though as the novel grew to a close the written development shown since the first chapter demonstrates her true potential.

It was difficult to imagine the characters acting as they had done or accepting situations over an extended period of time within a realistic setting. The portrayal of the main love interests relationship was villianized, and unjustly so. If the roles were reversed the heartache, and betrayal she would have felt is never truly addressed or consequential actions taken. The main character is unapologetic, and holds the love interest accountable without ever questioning the morality behind the situation. Mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders were selective, and sugar coated in a fashion that created melodramatic scenes. Leaving those who severely suffer in reality with the assumption of being overdramatizing for attention. As younger generations begin to learn of mental illness it is extremely important that it is properly represented, and isn't a simple case of being nervous to the point of flight.

A great introductory recommendation for those seeking to venture into contemporary, and romantic-comedy young adult fiction. With a heart warming underlying message it is sure to leave her viewers, and readers searching for the next chapter.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my YA contemporary dream book!

I of course know who Christine is because duh, booktube, but I haven't watched too many of her videos so didn't actually click this was hers until about an hour before I started reading it. Damn Christine, you did it girl.

I just finished this in one sitting because it was so sweet, quirky and deliciously dreamy that I couldn't put it down. I loved Shane as a main character and being thrown back into those early college days where you're carving out a new landscape and trying to make new friends - it gave me all sorts of nostalgia vibes .The pacing of the book is nice, the writing stellar and the little twist I didn't see coming had me all kinds of excited for what could be. I was grinning from ear-to-ear during some hilariously awkward moments and loved the friendships between Shane, Pilot, Atticus and Babe. Side note, can I just get a whole book about Babe? Please and thank you.

All in all, if you love the best parts of what makes a YA contemporary great then you won't want to miss this when it hits shelves.

Shane is on her way to study abroad, and she's got goals. Like, be different than she was in college. Make friends. Don't sit at home. Kiss a guy she likes. Basically, her time in London is going to be a do-over. So imagine her delight when she makes friends, finds a guy she likes, and spends time jaunting off to other countries!

Only, there's a catch (or two). The guy she likes actually has a girlfriend. And, oh, yeah, she's lying to her parents. They think she's studying premed, working at a clinic, when actually she's taking classes on creative writing and working at a travel agency.

What could go wrong?

It took a little bit to get into, but I liked this book, the plot and most of the characters. I didn't like how many pop culture references were peppered through it, but it was easy enough to overlook. Mostly, I think this appealed to my travel-hungry self. I am jealous of Shane's gallivanting!

I adored Again, but Better. I loved the main character Shane and felt like I could have been in her place. She grows so much throughout the book and the twist with magic made the book so much more fun and enjoyable. I thought the story was cute and the characters were great! I'm already wanting to read it again!

Such a cute and heartwarming story. Reading it at first i didn’t know where she was going with the story so soon but I kept reading and it made so much sense and it worked really well. The characters are all fun to love and read about and the main character is such a fun character to stick with and look at through her perspective. You can see the author’s personality come through the pages and being someone who has followed her youtube channel for many years it has being an awesome ride reading this book. Highly recommend and really enjoyed it.

Special shoutout to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book to review, all thoughts expressed in the following discussion are my own.

If I were a person that used half stars, I find that this is a book that would a perfect time to utilize them. As it stands, I don’t, and while from a purely objective standpoint this is a solid three star book, I don’t rate books objectively. I rate them from a purely subjective standpoint based solely on my enjoyment, and so I had to settle on a solid two stars.

Before I descend into a ramble I want to acknowledge that I don’t think it’s inherently wrong for an author to draw on their own personal lives for a character, in my opinion while this is a novel it does teter on the edge of semi autobiographical. I don’t even think that it’s wrong for a book to serve as wish fulfillment for an author or for a protagonist to be any kind of analog for an author. It gets into a weird territory when you can start to draw those connections perhaps, but to judge the whole of the book in that way I do believe to be a mistake. My relationship to the author, as tangential as it is as I haven’t watched her YouTube content regularly in a few years, is not universal and there are plenty of readers that won’t come to this story with the same baggage that I did. If there was anything about the self-insert, semi autobiographical nature of the book it was the use of references. For a bulk of the novel the references seemed to be used entirely to make the reader that the book was taking place in 2011, it felt more like a crutch and one that Riccio refused to abandon as the book went on. Judging by how lackluster the bulk of the descriptions we did get I can understand why the references were used as a crutch. I’m not sure that at this point the “world building” could have been strong enough without that reliance. If the second half of the novel is anything to go by, even when presented a second chance to fix some of the lackluster descriptions the opportunity wasn’t seized.

Part of the reason I felt like I needed to keep this in two star territory and not simply round up to a three were the characters. Not so much individual arcs, but I found that our supporting players were never quite utilized an any kind of meaningful way? They existed seemingly as afterthoughts, which is kind of insulting as they do serve as some of the books only “diversity”. First we have Shane’s roommates during her semester abroad in London; Sahra and Babe. Babe is described as “dark skinned and curvy”, I’ve seen at least one person label Babe as a Black woman, and if further description of Babe is provided in the book I can’t recall anything other than a mention of her hair being thick and curly. I feel like descriptions like this don’t do any service in terms of representation as “dark skinned” can refer to a multitude of ethnicities and racial identities. Sahra is described as tan, and that’s about it. Her name coupled with the fact that her family went on a trip to Lebanon at some point in the past I assume that she’s Middle Eastern, but it’s never confirmed and furthermore neither of these characters are all that instrumental in Shane’s life. There’s a throw away line about Babe becoming her best friend, but all of those sort of references are made off the page and we rarely get to see those moments. They do get to share pleasant moments of general getting along, but nothing that would make me believe they were anything ever than simply pleasant with one another. What bothered me most about these two characters specifically if they were meant to be WOC, is that both of them have moments where they are seemingly antagonistic toward Shane for seemingly no reason, both times for pure shock value.

The novel also includes Atticus, a gay Asian [ nothing more specific is ever given to my recollection. So whether he is Japanese or Mongolian or Vietnamese is a complete mystery to me ] and he is only ever included in minor moments of even far less significance than the ladies. Presumably because the novel isn’t from Pilot’s, Atticus’ roommate and the love interest of the story, perspective. There is a second gay character, but he is by far and away the least important character in the story and his coming out is shoehorned in at the very end of the book in a way that feels more like a deleted scene that forgot to be removed. There is a black woman at Shane’s internship, but her not getting an arc wasn’t an important to me given that she wasn’t really an important character to the story in the same way that Babe and Sahra could have been.

Now I want to discuss the plot twist of the book that happens just before 50 percent of the way through the book, without getting too spoilery. Simply put I don’t think that it was at all necessary. If anything I think that the later half, particularly the parts written between 65 - 80ish percent of the way through the book were by far and away the weakest of the novel. Not only because we were retreading ground that we had already traveled, but really at no point did it feel as though any of our characters had grown.

In the interest of fairness some of the character have an excuse for the staticness of their arcs, this was a novel that was really never interested in making those characters three dimensional and was really only interested in one of the two leads. That said even they didn’t seem to have grown in a way that I think would have made sense given the circumstances. When you take into consideration Shane’s goals the fact that she remains so static becomes even more painfully obvious.

Shane as a character herself was also really painful to read at times during this novel. Part of me feels that if you don’t fine Shane interesting and compelling by the time you get to the plot twist the second half of the book doesn’t really offer you anything you can’t assume will happen, there’s very little reward for sticking through it once you’ve reached that point. That aside, Shane for so much of the novel seemed to be pushing the blame for certain actions off of herself and onto the shoulders of various other characters. Particularly in the first half of the novel. There’s an instance where she meticulously planned and coordinated a lie and then when confronted tried to play it off like it was an accident or she hadn’t meant to do it. I don’t think that the story really ever dealt with that situation, or even what would have been the fallout following the plot twist?

Another thing I think the book failed to do was describe anything well. It never crossed into white room syndrome, I did typically have a general understanding of the layout and some of the key furniture or flooring, but there was general lack of depth. The book is set in London, but there are moments that take place in Rome, Paris, Edinburgh, and New York City. All of these cities have distinct flavor and vibe to them, that Riccio utterly failed to capture. I’m not even sure that it was a goal of the writing, and I do feel like it hurt. The setting all sort of blurred together. In terms of settings I think Riccio relied on landmarks to really do the heavy lifting without thinking through how these setting could play into the story she wanted to tell in a way that was important to the narrative.

At times I found the dialogue to be clunky. Mostly that a lot of it seemed to be 1) a reference to something or 2) something that could have been in any straight to DVD teen rom com situation. Some of the clunkier moments were when Riccio was trying to subvert a popular YA cliche. The first being a riff on the “I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding,” line that was honestly just whatever, nothing to offense. What really made me decide that it was clunky was a line later that’s an extended scene and conversation about that big romcom moment in entertainment where two love interests have a conversation that builds to a sort of iconic tattoo worthy word like “always” or the “okay, okay” moment from tfios that ends in the most ridiculous way. To be fair, it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever read, in the grand scheme of things for some people that moment will work. It didn’t click for me, and it’s one of the easier moments to point to and not the countless conversations that obviously occur over the course of a novel that didn’t click. Y’know?

Riccio also made the decision to include postcards written to Shane’s parents and her journal entries, and while I do think that at times they help to make Shane a more well rounded character, at least more in comparison to the characters. But I found that these journal entries were another crutch to breeze through aspects of the story that honestly should have been far more fleshed out. I feel like this approach was taken to better facilitate this plot twist that I don’t think was entirely necessary. A book can only be so long, and the way that this narrative was chosen to be told, you have to make concessions and unfortunately I’m firmly in the camp that this same story could have been told without it and that the story could have even been better without it.

How many times can I sneak that sentiment into this discussion?

It’s hard to talk about the cheating that takes place in this book without going into spoilers, but I’ll do my best to. The cheating aspect was one of the many things that halted me from becoming fully invested in this romance. I was also partially not into it because for at least the first half of the novel I think that it was really easy for a reader to see as very one sided. I don’t know if that’s me being a dumb bitch, or me being stuck in Shane’s head where her running commentary and anxieties. After the first 25% I was really convinced that this mutual attraction thing wasn’t all that mutual. Even when I was back on board I thought that it was very strange that Shane would continue to pursue a relationship with someone that was already in another relationship, and at one point in the novel she laments about how upset she was that the dude didn’t cheat on his girlfriend with her? It’s something that’s completely and totally irrational. I think that the narrative casually ignores the fact that after the plot twist Shane is technically not in a position to be pursuing a relationship. Ignoring isn’t the right word, it’s acknowledged, but still tossed aside in favor of resting on the fact that because of the plot twist it changes things. It’s a very nuanced situation, and one that I don’t think that this book was honestly not prepared or wanting to handle. It’s serious ethical conversation that most YA contemporary novels aren’t trying to tackle. It’s okay. Just don’t introduce them. Pilot’s girlfriend is also firmly in stock character, total plot device status. We literally get to know nothing about her. Also just not a fan of this idea that after three months you should be completely in love with someone or the relationship is a failure, like, I feel like that’s not the message. I also feel like the book send a weird message about pursuing people already in a relationship, that if you have a crush on someone that is with someone it can work out for you and you can get a happily ever after with them. It’s very complicated like I said, and honestly not the type of conversation this book is capable of handling.

I had a lot of issues with this book, if you are interested in my live reactions and thoughts about things I did livetweet it, so you can check that out here [ https://twitter.com/itsmonteprice/status/1103396499918999552 ]. I tried to keep this review centered on the larger issues that I had with the narrative. I’m almost positive thought that few of the pettier critiques I had slipped in, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was more than a little repetitive.

All of that said though, I objectively don’t see this book as terrible. If nothing else I was compelled to finish the book, it was really easy to read and so it never felt like a chore to continue despite the fact that Shane was constantly annoying me and the narrative was constantly failing to utilize it’s whole cast of characters. As I’ve stated there’s nothing inherently bad about this story. Despite the fact that I’ve given it such a low rating, I do think that there are people that won’t have the same issues that I did. I don’t think that this book is for everyone, that said I think that it’s also really easy to tell if it’s not for you and even if it’s not if you do manage to get to the end I don’t think that it feels like a waste of time. As aggravated as I became that the narrative wasn’t living up to the full potential, I can’t deny that some small part of me was at least pleasantly entertained by the mess that I was watching unfold. It’s a book that while can’t support the conversations that it sparks, it does spark discussion and I think that’s certainly better than a book that exists simply as matter in the universe.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing the eARC. You guys are the best.

Well that was certainly fun. It wasn't good, but it was fun.

The first half of the book...happened. One might think it's impossible to make a period piece from 2011, but Christine Riccio proved it is very much possible, and actually turned 2011 into a year entirely alien yet familiar to me. The cringey games, music, books, all came flooding back to me. The protagonist, an obvious self-insert, was embarrassing in so many ways. She's stereotypically clumsy, and has that kind of Evan Hansen-esque social anxiety that, as someone with social anxiety myself, always comes off as a gruesome parody.

Then that time jump. I'm wondering what the heck is going on...then there's that Twilight Zone Tower of Terror elevator shit. Suddenly I understand. I went into this book fairly blind, I didn't read any reviews and had only seen the blurbs, so I was struck, but I was interested. Shane had made some dumb choices, and she got to redo them, and that made me happy. I did not however feel very invested in her redoing things with Pilot. In fact, I would've preferred if she hadn't gotten together with Pilot in the end, and had just used the redo to get that writing career started and realized Pilot was boring as hell, and very annoying.

This was an anticipated read for me, as I was very into Christine's videos back in middle school. I did not have high expectations and they were just about met.