I was VERY excited when I found out that Christine’s book was going to be published. I’ve been watching her writing vlogs from the very start and have enjoyed seeing her progress and all that. Unfortunately, I DFN’d after a few chapters. The main reason was that I’m not currently as into contemporary novels as I was a few months ago. Other reasons were the writing, the main character, and the setup. 

The character, Shane, starts explaining how she left college in America to start fresh in the UK. She has social anxiety, so she didn’t have any friends back home and was planning on changing that abroad. I’m all for self-improvement and getting out of one’s comfort zone, but the moment she gets to the dorms she starts talking to her roommates and decides to go check out a boy. I was expecting her to take more time to adjust. It made her statement about social anxiety a bit less believable. Shane’s voice also wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. I know she is twenty, but her thoughts felt younger. 

In a few months I’ll pick it up again and give it a try. I think people who are seeking a college-based story will love this and I definitely recommend it to contemporary lovers!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book. The first half was a bit rough. The writing style came off a bit juvenile (but is better in the second half), There were parts that I got taken out of the story like with the similarities between Shane and Christine which felt like a self insert but I don’t take this as a negative too much as I felt christines energy works well for the tone this story is going for. Another nitpick I had was the amount of telling rather than showing that was in the traveling portions of the story which kind of made me feel more distant from the characters. But overall It’s a strong debut in my opinion and keep in mind that this is only Christine’s first book so there is room for improvement on her future projects

This was a really fun and entertaining little contemporary and you can really tell that it was such a personal, almost autobiographical, work of for the author. All of this aside I did find the story to drag a bit and I personally didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. Hence my 3 star rating. That aside this is a fast and fun story that will scratch any college set contemporary itch that you have.

One of my favorite books of the year, and in my top five contemporaries of all time. 

I started reading Again, but Better on March 26th and finished it on March 29th at 2am in the morning. 

And that was after I had been in a real reading slump, barely being able to pick up a book, much less binge reading more than 200 pages into the early hours of the morning. 

I’m writing this review so late because I was afraid of not being able to convey how much I loved this book. But I’m going to try anyway, because the release is tomorrow and I’m going to Christine Riccio’s book signing on Wednesday. 

I read a fair amount of contemporaries and have connected with many of them, but never like this one (besides for Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, review below). The character of Shane feels so close to me, I feel enveloped in her thoughts and choices. This book feels so close and personal because it’s my worst fears and hopes and dreams and possibilities all wrapped into one story. 

I never saw “Part 2” coming. I didn’t even guess where the story was going until I got to that page and screamed in my bed, at approximately 10pm. I didn’t stop reading after that. I had to know. This was also the first time in a long time when I read a book and did not guess the twist or the ending. I enjoy guessing what happens next and being right. But also, sometimes I get annoyed that some books or movies feel so predictable to me, I wish they would surprise me more. This book did surprise me. In the best way possible. 

As I said I’m going to the signing on Wednesday, I pre-ordered the Barnes and Noble exclusive signed edition. But it won’t get here until this weekend, which means I’ll buy a second copy at the signing on Wednesday. Which I should be more annoyed about… but also I’ll be re-reading the finished copy and I’ll want to mark up my own copy. I’m so excited. 

This book is my perfect cup of lavender earl gray tea. It’s the contemporary I’ve been waiting for. Thank you Christine for writing it. I’ve been watching Christine’s booktube videos on her channel: polandbananasBOOKS https://www.youtube.com/user/polandbananasBOOKS for years now. And I’ve watched every one of her “Writing Vlog” videos. They’ve inspired me that one day I can also get my stories out there, her persistence has inspired me on many levels. I’m so grateful that’s she’s also very open about her struggle with anxiety. Did I mention how excited I am for the signing on Wednesday?

https://soleildezwart.com/book-reviews/again-but-better-by-christine-riccio

*I WAS GIVEN THIS E-ARC FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*
DISCLAIMER= I’m not trashing anyone and these are my opinion on the books, just that.
To make this review easier and more coherent I’m going to bullet point through it:

•	Main Character= Shane is literally Christine and that made the book seem a little like a fan fiction. At the beginning that was really throwing me off and it wouldn’t let me create a voice for Shane myself, just kind of spoon fed me Christine, which I wouldn’t have mind if it wouldn’t have been so obvious. I did like the progression of Shanes development into being herself.
•	Love Interest and their relationship= Pilot, was a confusing character but with a purpose. I think there was a slacking effect of character development but there was nothing outstanding. There was chemistry with each other and I loved the cute and even funny moments. There was a problem in the first half of the book where I just couldn’t get behind the relationship and it was bothering me that even with the situation they were still flirting. I just hate books that include that, but that’s just personal.
•	Side Characters= The friends were likable but could blend into the background. The characters that I was the most interested in were barely there and would barely talk, they were almost used as a plot device.
•	Girl Hate= I read other people talking about girl hate in this book and yes there is an aspect of girl hate and it was extremely frustrating. So many characters were made to be described by one stereotypical feature and to drive the point through it was made sure to absolutely not like them.
•	Time Frame= The time frame was very confusing, at least to me. I didn’t realize the year until almost halfway through the book. I didn’t see a clear set time in the beginning which had me working on context clues. 
•	Romance/Chemistry= I think the main romance itself was very instalove but the chemistry between the characters made it better, once again there are very sweet moments and a best friend attitude that I love when relationships had.
•	Anxiety Rep= The anxiety was described as pretty severe and though the thoughts that were running through Shanes head was conformation I was disappointed that once she got into travel abroad she didn’t really talk about how she coped and it made it seem like it was just something that could’ve been a positive rep with showing bad anxiety that I don’t want to leave my room but look I do this and it helps me actually be out there.
•	Overall: I struggled through the first half but I enjoyed the second half of this book too much to give it a 3 star. It’s a debut after all and I am excited to see what comes next. The family dynamic with college I think was really well done and Shane herself a had a great development

Again but Better follows a young woman named Shane who is a pre-med student at college.  Though Shane's grades are phenomenal, she's not happy. She's made no friends at college, comes home every weekend, pretty much lets her parents dictate the direction of her life and her love life is pretty much non-existent.  Yearning for a clean slate, she then decides to mix things up and to force herself out of her comfort zone, so she signs up for a semester abroad in London program and is all set for a new adventure and a new life.  For a while, she does pretty well.  She makes new friends, becomes more extroverted, spends the weekends traveling and even meets a boy whom she becomes quite fond of.  But reality comes crashing in and soon, her the ideal life she's created for herself overseas begins to unravel — and it all comes crashing down on top her.

One of the reasons that I picked up this book was because of the semester abroad plot line as I did a year abroad in France when I was in college.  This aspect of the book brought so many memories flooding back thanks to the author doing an excellent job at portraying this - I found it incredibly realistic and relatable.  While I was in France, my life was kind of like Shane's so in that regard, the story was a lot of fun for me.  

I also thought it was relatable because my experience has shown that a lot of young people sign up for semester abroad programs for the same reasons the Shane did:  to find oneself, to try to gain a different perspective on your life or even to temporarily run away from your problems.  Thus on a personal level, this book was incredibly relatable for me.  I also found Shane to be an all-around likable character and felt that the author managed to capture many of the insecurities and turmoils that many of us go through at that age.

Though I do have to say that the first part of the book didn't thrill me all that much; though to be fair, I'm not really a fan of romancey contemporaries.  I felt that not a whole lot happened and I thought it dragged quite a bit.  But then a certain fantastical element comes into play at the halfway mark which happens to be one of my favorite tropes by the way, and this is when the novel really took off for me. The story became much more enjoyable and entertaining once the magical event took place.  The book then ended up being quite a page-turner for me.   

Now I did have a couple of niggles with the story.  For one, I found the overuse of pop culture references a bit over the top: Prisoner of Azkaban, The Mortal Instruments series, Taylor Swift, Angry Birds, Lost, Twilight, The Beatles, Vampire Academy, to name only a few.

I also felt that the couple-month crush the Shane had on Pilot wouldn't be quite so all-consuming six years later as it was in the book. I did find that aspect a little unrealistic.  I also just couldn't buy into the romance.  I didn't feel the chemistry between the two of them, and this might be because Pilot's characters fell flat for me; he came across as being a bit bland. But not only that, there's also the gray area of Pilot cheating on his girlfriend, and then villainizing said girlfriend, a trope I really, really hate so, unfortunately, this aspect rubbed me the wrong way.  Shane wasn't much better in this regard as she continued to flirt even after learning that Pilot had a girlfriend.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book because I did. I loved the second half of the book with Shane accepting who is really is and finding the courage to stand up for what she wants to do with her life even though there are severe repercussions in her relationship with her parents.  

I also liked the conclusion and thought that everything was nicely wrapped up at the end; though I would have liked to have had more explanation about the magical aspect of the book; what was behind the whole thing and why.

All in all, Again but Better is a fun, light-hearted romance that mixes contemporary with a touch of magic and once we get past the midway point, the novel becomes quite fast-paced and enjoyable.  I had such a good time reading this, and the story ended up sucking me right in.  I also chuckled out loud several times during the amusing bits in the story.  

It's a quirky page-turner that serves up laughs to accompany a thoughtful reflection on who we are and what we truly want from life.  I enjoyed the wry descriptions and witty dialog.  This is the author's debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what she'll come out with in the future. 

This was an Advanced Reader Copy that I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3.5/5

The book was certainly a self-insert, but I didn’t mind. Shane was a little over the top and that could be grating from time to time, but her awkwardness was relatable. I was impressed by how her voice differed in the two timelines, when she was 26, she sounded much older and it worked. 

The references were heavy handed to the point where I started skimming whenever I saw the words “Angry Birds,” but that is a personal pet peeve. 

Fans of the author’s YouTube channel will enjoy.

I gave this book 4 stars. Going into this book I had high expectations. I’ve been a longtime fan of Christine’s Youtube channel and knowing her, I figured she would have some high standards when it came to her own book. While I did enjoy the book and I think it was a good start, I do think she can do better. Since it is her first book I’m banking on the fact that her books are going to get progressively better., so I think 4 stars is a good place to start 

It’s so weird going into this review because I know the proper way to refer to an author is by last name unless they are someone you personally know. The thing is Christine is known by her first name on Youtube so I’m a bit conflicted here. I feel like I should refer to her as Riccio because I don’t actually know her personally, but that feels strange. So warning I’m probably going to commit some faux pas in this review, but in the spirit of this book taking place in 2011, I will just say YOLO. Anyway, onto the actual book.

The book itself was really fun, I loved watching the character growth that Shane went through. The story itself I really loved and I actually wasn’t expecting. The first part of this book was kind of slow for me. I felt as though I was sort of strolling slowly through the first half. I thought the entire story was going to be like that, but halfway through, a wrench is thrown into that plan and the title makes complete sense. It’s funny, I thought at the beginning of the story that I knew what the title was referencing, but once we hit the halfway point I realized that that was not what it was about at all. 

Shane is a character who I found incredibly relatable. Her personality is a lot more bubbly than mine, but I felt like I could relate to a lot of her experiences myself. As someone who is currently in University, majoring in English, I relate to a lot of the personal conflict Shane experienced. I often find myself kind of embarrassed and as though I need to explain myself whenever someone asks me what my major is because I feel like it’s this “fact” that English majors don’t give you opportunities and that you should choose something more lucrative like medicine or law. Like Shane, I like what I’m doing. Shane feels like she is being pushed in one direction by everyone around her while she’s hopelessly pushing against the grain. 

I liked the message the story had about creativity and not letting society kill your creativity. A lot of people end up forced into jobs they hate because otherwise they won’t be seen as “successful”. I think that’s bullshit. I liked how the book went about showing us that. 

I preordered a copy of this book because I just wanted to have it on my shelf. It got shipped early so I actually currently have a finished copy and I just have to say that they did such a good job with the cover.  If I saw that on a shelf in a store I would probably buy it. I also really love that on the cover under the dust jacket it has a little watermelon engraving. It’s really cute. 

Overall, I think it’s a fun twist on a YA contemporary romance novel.  It was cute and awkward with a little something out of the ordinary for those of you who aren’t sure about just straight up contemporary novels. It’s got a twist, it’s a fun twist. I would recommend giving this one a read.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel. Regardless of the way I acquired the novel, the thoughts, opinions, and views stated in this review are completely unbiased and one hundred percent my own. 

First of all, let's start off with a clean slate. I've followed this author since she was an OG booktuber, and I knew I'd be picking up her novel regardless of reviewer feedback. That does not, however, indicated how my own review will unfold. My feelings towards an author does not sway my opinion of their work. It is my belief that their work should stand alone, and that is how I intend to proceed. 

Now that that's out of the way: I went into this novel basically ignorant of the plot. This technique is honestly becoming one of my favorite ways to jump into a new book. It forces me to let go of any expectations, and allows for the plot to deliver more surprises. 

The first half of this novel followed what I would call a typical contemporary outline. We watch a group of students who have never met before, as they explore together on a study abroad trip to London. As someone who has not had the opportunity to travel, I ate up these sections of the book. The travel and first-time-explorer experiences of this novel really added to the appeal for me. 

We rather quickly realize how naive or MC is, which I don't think was a bad choice but an honest one. The Shane we meet in the beginning of the novel was very relatable to the person I was when I started college. Her naivete is the most abundant in her blunders in all the relationships around her: the new boy, new friends, and most notably her parents. 

The second half of the novel is where we deal with suspended disbelief. These sections had a tendency to take me out of the story. I felt like I wanted to look around and ask the person next to me, "Hey, where did this come from?" For a debut novel, this was an admirable attempt at suspended disbelieve, but I'm not sure it quite hit it's intended mark. It's part of the novel I try not to dwell on, because if I skim over it I'm able to get back into the story and focus more on the characters. The characters, dialogue, and descriptive text throughout the novel were very well done. If I hadn't known of the author, I'm not sure I could have guessed that this was her first novel based off of these writing choices alone. 

Tiny spoiler ahead in three...two... I've got to comment on how clever this title is and how well it's played with in the novel. I thought Again, but Better was referencing the study abroad trip, and how Shane is trying to make new choices and a new life for herself. But boy oh boy, is the title again (HA) applied when we travel back in time to the study abroad trip, and it's this time that really counts.

Final thoughts: even though I thought the suspended disbelief wasn't executed in the best possible way, it didn't stop me from eating this story up. I wanted to watch Shane grow. I wanted to watch her make mistakes and learn from them. I wanted to watch her become who she was always meant to be. This was such a fun story, set in exactly the right time. College and the years after are so formative. I think as a society we expect everyone to have figured it out by the time they graduate. For some that's the case, but for others more self-exploration is needed, and this novel reminds readers that that's okay. This was such a great first novel for Christine. I can see where and why this novel receives criticism from other reviewers, but I just went with it and made it work (as best as I could) for me. I hope Christine keeps writing; I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

🌟 I am going to start first by thanking the publisher who provided me with an E-ARC through Netgalley.
Another Disclosure: I know who Christine is, I like that she started booktube. I am not a subscriber to her channel so what follows is a subjective review regardless of who Christine is!

🌟 The writing in the first page was the first thing that captured my attention. I may not mean this in the best possible way. I mean a plane was described as a pen with wings and I thought that this is going to be a torture. Fortunately, it wasn’t! The writing after that was good. I am not saying it is perfect but it is good for a debut.

🌟 I like that the characters were new adults rather than in high school which is kind of a new experience I enjoyed. Shane was obviously based upon Christine and I do know that although I am not an expert when it comes to the author. This actually didn’t bother me. It made the character more realistic as I know there is someone out there like her. Also, how do we know that other authors don’t do that all the time? Simply, we don’t!

🌟 The setting was also good, I was kind of confused at the second part because no one frigging told me that there is magic in this book and I thought it was supposed to be a normal contemporary. But at the point where I finished the book, I wasn’t confused which is a good thing!

🌟 Plot wise, I liked the idea of the story and then the title made much more sense when I realized what was happening. I am actually not the biggest fan of the romance in this one and it was actually faster than expected.

But plot wise, I liked how it dealt with parents expectations and dreams. I liked the medicine school part and was touched by it. I kind of was in the same place as I didn’t want to study medicine at first.

🌟 Summary: I have seen mixed reviews about this book and decided to read it and review it without any biases. It felt like a debut at many times but it also had some really good moments. I think some things could be written Again, but better (pun intended). I do recommend this to high school graduate who are still lost and can’t take a decision!

It seems everyone is talking about not only this book but the author behind it. Apparently I have been living in the dark age as I have never heard of this author. What drew me to this book is the story inside of it. At the heart of this YA novel you will find a woman who is trying to find out who she is and what she really wants out of life. I appreciated that element. The writing is done very well and often times told in different timeline perspectives but the author was able to weave the two seamlessly. Not my favorite book but for a first time novel very well done.

In the book Again, but Better, the main character, Shane, has been doing college all wrong. Her love interest Pilot has a girlfriend when they meet, but despite this, a relationship begins to develop. When things start to fall apart, Shane is offered a little magical chance at a do-over.  Shane, as the main character, as a pretty solid voice and quirky character. The story goes back and forth between 2011 & 2017. and while there are a ton of pop-cultural references to let you know that it is, indeed, 2011, I was fine with all of the references and found myself really enjoying the story, despite the minor cheating storyline (kiss). Reviews on Goodreads to date are pretty split. Readers either loved it or hated it, and the ones that really hated it have some strong opinions on the author herself.  It probably helps that I did not know who the author was to this book. I was able to go into the story without any preconceived bias. Christine Riccio has a huge following as a popular BookTuber, but I had no idea who she was or what BookTubing was when I came across this book on NetGalley. I liked the premise of the book and so requested to read it, not knowing about the author's background. That said, I read it, and I liked it. All in all, 
 I found that this was a pretty great freshman attempt and would give a second book by this author a fair read as well.

If you have every followed Christine Riccio’s booktube channel then you will instantly recognize the main character Shane is Christine.  There is no other way around it; she wrote what she knew which is fine.  However she kind of took it over the top in my mind, Shane has a blog FrenchWatermelon19 because they are two things she likes sounds familiar because Christine’s channel is Polandbananasbooks19 .  The characters awkwardness which is supposed to be endearing and could be except in the beginning was played off as an anxiety problem?  You have to follow one or the other and if you are going to do something as important as anxiety/depression/etc actually do it justice.  Shane was almost stalker like at some points.  In the second half of the book while she sort of got it together for a couple chapters she was still acting pretty off her rocker.

Pilot Penn, if you are going to give him such a great name please give him some great character.  At some points during this book I thoroughly enjoyed this character.  However at most points I actually kind of hated him for most of his actions.  For some odd reason this young man doesn’t find it odd that he was stalked.  He was just the mediocre normal teenage boy whom everyone falls in love with but really isn’t that great in the beginning and screws up close to the end….

I needed more, I wanted more, I expected more.  It’s her debut book so maybe, just maybe I’ll try her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in lieu of a honest review.

I loved this book! It was a great read and the characters had me hooked from the beginning. I've already recommended this to many of my friends!

Again, but Better should have been rewritten again, but better. This was so bad, Unreadable bad. I was screaming from how bad it was bad. The writing, the characters, the plot, everything was far from being good. It makes me wonder whether or not this book would've been published if Christine wasn't "one of the most followed booktubers today".

Shane needs change. Her life as a pre-med student with good grades but no friends and far from being in any relationship isn't doing it for her anymore. And what better way to change her life than to pack her bags and move to London for a semester? The problem is that she isn't there to pursue her medical career, but instead do what she really loves - writing, even that goes against her parents' wishes. Everything seems to be going well for Shane after she arrives in London, but between all the friends she's made and the adventures she's had, there's a lot of self doubt and fear going on in her head. Her parents won't support her passion for writing, the boy she likes confuses her to no end. But even after all that happened, if she had the chance to relive those moment, would she go back? Uh, I don't even know where to start with Shane's characters. The first words that come to mind are: delusional, desperate, naive, and annoying. I feel a tad bit bad for disliking Shane's character so strongly, since I feel like I'm actually saying Christine is an awful person (you'll get why in a second), but let's forget that for this review. The only thing Shane cares about is one of the guys she meets as soon as she gets to London, Pilot. Hangs out somewhere with him? Omg, we're on a date! He reads her stuff? Omg he read my stuff, that has got to mean something right? No, Shane, it does not. She was so desperate to have something with Pilot, that the whole time I just wanted to knock some sense into her and scream YOU'VE KNOWN HIM FOR A DAY! 

She spent the whole time wondering "has Pilot broken up with girlfriend? Did he do it? Is he doing it now?". Just shut up. For one second. Her whole life revolved around this guy she hardly knows. When she found out that he had a girlfriend? Iconic. I've never see anyone be so sister shook over the relationship of someone she has known for only a few days. She knew nothing about him at this point, and I'm sorry if you already had your guys' wedding planned, but that's life for you.

If Shane was annoying, then Pilot can choke. He was such a meh character. Literally, his only personality trait is that he loves cheating on his girlfriend, Amy. Oh, and he's the only person in the world that knows about the Beatles. Yes, thank you Pilot. Because clearly when they were around, and you weren't even born yet, you were the one holding their careers. But it gets worse, because Pilot here, who has been kind of flirting with Shane this whole time, has been hiding the fact that he has a girlfriend, because of course he is. And suddenly I was taken back a few years and was rereading Anna and the French Kiss again for the first time. Shane got on my nerves, don't get me wrong, but Pilot is the one with a girlfriend, and he was just out there disrespecting her the whole time. If he had feelings for Shane, then he just needed to break up with his girlfriend, not because he was bored, but because he had feelings for someone else. And no one cares about this! Everyone just completely ignored how hurtful and disrespectful the two of them were being towards Amy, Pilot's girlfriend.

Unfortunately, not only didn't I like the main characters, the rest of the book was just as bad. I was hoping this would be a very cute and fluffy romance, but it was the exact opposite. It only took me about 10% of this book to understand that I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much as everyone else, but I still decided to push myself through it because 1) part of me still wanted to know what happened and 2) so many people were giving this 5-stars, I needed to know if it was going to get better. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

In my lifetime, I've probably watched two or three videos from Christine, and that's probably an exaggeration. Yet I still couldn't help but notice the similarities between Shane, the main character of this book, and Christine, the author of said book. From the way she talks and expresses herself to the username she uses on her blog, Frenchwatermelons19. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Maybe because Christine’s username is Polandbananas20? It's impossible to ignore these similarities, and not only does it take you away from the actual story, it also feels like a total invasion of Christine's privacy. Also, is this some type of self-(fan)fic for Christine? Is that even a thing?

The writing was so bland. Add the excessive use of exclamation marks to the fact that it sounded like Christine was inside my head narrating the story of her life, it just wasn’t a good experience. Although it made for a very fast read, it was annoying how the whole story was told in a “I did this! And then this! I can’t believe this bitch did that!” kind of format. And I know this is such a shallow thing to point out, but when you are constantly seeing these characters' names, it starts getting on your nerves. Babe, Atticus, and, how do I even say this without cringing, Pilot Pen? My only question is: why? Honestly just name all of your characters John Smith, because these other names ain't it, sis. And the constant references. We get it that you like Harry Potter, Cassandra Clare and whatever else the characters kept mentioning, we really do. Maybe now you can, just like, not do that? On every page? From beginning to end? 

The romance starts from the moment Shane and, it always pains me to say his name, Pilot meet. As in, you flip the page and Shane is already saying how much she likes Pilot. Pilot this. Pilot that. The smallest things would happen, and she would just go insane. I'm-already-planning-our-wedding kind of insane. As you can probably tell from what I've said, Pilot started cheating on Amy the moment his small brain decided that he had feelings for Shane. Although they never acted upon their attraction, emotional cheating is a thing! If you have feelings for someone else while you are in a relationship, you are cheating on your partner!

Really enjoyed this! Cute and fluffy, with a lot of heart. Loved the magical realism element to it as well, and of course, all the awesome pop culture references.

Got an E-ARC provided by Wednesday Books through Netgalley for an honest review.

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

You guys I was so excited for this book. Really excited, I been following Riccio for a few years so when I learned she wrote a book and that I could get my hands on an E-ARC I jumped to the opportunity.

The synopsis of the story is pretty good, I mean a book set in Europe and at some point our leading lady goes back in time. I mean, sign me up.

Unfortunately this book did not deliver what I was expecting.

I was a little on the fence about how many stars to give Again, but Better. On the one hand I really enjoyed what the story is about, I liked Shane's story, it's hard to explain the rating because I really liked the book, but I was very conflicted by how the story was told.

There was something missing, a lot of the story felt like it was missing something and then it was oversharing at some points. I know I'm not making a lot of sense, but you might get it if you decide to read the book.

First what I really did like about the story is what the overall meaning of it is, it's about putting yourself first, learning to trust who you are and what you want to do with your life. It's about loving yourself and never putting your own feelings and dreams on hold for anything or anyone.

The story begins with Shane making a list of things she plans to do now that she is studying abroad and able to basically start college over, even if it's just for a semester.

She makes this list while on the plane and this weird lady sees the list and questions her about it. It's kind of a weird interaction and it ends kind of abruptly.

I thought there was going to be more of a fun back and forth with the weird lady from the airplane, but nothing happened. It was just weird.

Also Shane  is supposed to be this kind of awkward and shy individual, I mean there is a reason why she was not able to make friends at all in her previous years of college, but then she gets to the abroad school and is like a switch, she and her roommates become friends almost instantly. I mean as instantly as you can create a friendship with a stranger, even if she had promised herself to try harder, things wouldn't have worked out as good and as fast as they did in the book.

Then she meets Pilot, and basically they start flirty from moment one, which isn't bad on it's on, but again from what we know about Shane and the way Pilot acts around her, their relationship it's very unrealistic and just awkward.

Also there are a lot of pop culture references, which aren't bad per se, but there are a few too many. It makes it feel like Riccio was trying really hard to connect with the reader and make sure we knew we were supposed to be in 2011 (for a little more than half of the book), that it ended up just feeling forced. It doesn't really work.

All the elements to make it a great novel are there, they are just not executed in a way that totally works.Still there are great moments in the story and in my opinion the second half of the book is the best.Pilot stopped being an ass and it was finally about them and Shane realizing what she had been doing wrong and why she got a second chance.

All in all like I said before it's a good book, it's a story about self discovery and learning to trust and love yourself before others.I would still recommend this lovely book, it's a great debut and it has really nice parts that make up for some awkward chapters.

Hello Readers, I received an Advanced Reader Copy of Again, But Better by Christine Riccio (PolandBananaBooks), From Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so. much Netgalley for this opportunity.

Image result for again, but betterTitle: Again, But Better

Author: Christine Riccio

Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by Wednesday Books

E-book 384 pages

ISBN: 125029925X (ISBN13: 9781250299253)

Edition Language: English

SYNOPSIS

Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal — but Shane’s made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time’s a ticking, and she needs a change — there’s nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She’s going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic – the possibilities are endless.

My Thoughts

Immediately I felt a connection with Shane the main character, for starters she and I are the same age. She is a socially awkward college student who spends her time in class, in the dorm and going home on the weekends. Although I do spend a lot of time in my apartment, I am not as bad as Shane.
Our main character decides to participate in a study abroad program, not because it has anything to do with her major, but to step out of her comfort zone and to experience the life events she has previously stopped herself from doing. Her parents believe that she is in a medical program when in reality she is participating in a journalism internship. We follow Shane as she steps out of her comfort zone by going to places she has never been, making friends and following her passions with writing.

The Writing

I have been watching Christine’s videos since 2016. Her high energy, goofiness, and humor is very much present in her writing. However, I can’t say this is the book lived up to my expectations. The writing was a little over descriptive. Christine will write things like “I am going to my laptop. I open my laptop and I start to type. Now I am going towards my bed”. I feel like it would flow more if she combined these actions like “Grabbing my laptop, I climb into bed and begin typing.” This was a common writing situation within Again, But Better.

I also struggled with separating Christine and Shane. Shane is basically Christine with a different name and a few minor differences. They both have a blog with the same theme of name, “Polandbananasbooks” and “FrenchWatermelon”. They are both obsessed with Lost and are really weird/awkward. I liked that the author really put herself into the novel but it was almost too much.

The sad part is that Christine has been working on this book for a few years. she has constantly given updates on her drafts and process. I was expecting more. This does feel like a fanfiction of her own life.

With that being said, I do want to read the entire book when it. is released. I want to read the final draft so that my opinion can be as accurate as it can be. This is because things are still changing from the ARCs to Final draft. When I do read the finished copy I will come back and give a more detailed, and update, review for Again, But Better.

Ive been Following Christine for years, so i HAD to read her book.
And luckyly, i really liked it. 

Shane wants a  do over. She is not having a great time in college, so She goes to another country for a semestre to do things right. 

There She meets a group of students that are doing The same. And She meets Pilot. Who She likes right away.

Shane and her group of friends + Pilot travel around Europe and i love how She describes it. I was able to go to that places and i went back to them along with Shane. She captures The magic of Europe and that was great. 

In this trips and in her college house, She starts getting really close to Pilot, but soon She discovers The Truth about him and Shane's plans starts to crumble.

The Book inserts magical elements, that i didnt know about. At First i was hesitant, but soon i started to really like them and to apreciated them. 

The Book is highly autobiographic. You can see Christine inside The pages, and you can hear her voice. That why sometimes i felt a little weird about it. Like, i wanted Shane to be Shane, not Christine. 

Pilot, The hero was really, really Boring. I didnt like him. At all. I like Their relationship, but not really him. Weird, right?

For her debut Christine gave us a funny, emotional and pretty Story about changing your life, even when all seems lost.

I might have been one of the only reviewers that went into this book without knowing anything about the author (apparently a famous booktuber). Clearly I’m not into the whole booktubing enigma.

Even though I had no expectations I was expecting the book to be at least noteworthy.

Unfortunately Again, but Better ended up feeling more like the musings of a teenager than a truly memorable story. It ended up sounding shallow, two-dimensional, and nothing special. Actually the book was missing a heart and soul, a purpose if I may say so. Because the more I got into the novel the harder it was to see the goal of the story.

But maybe a different generation, mostly teenagers I imagine, might enjoy this story.

It started with the pop culture references that riddled the book. Every page had at least one references to music, literature, or movies/TV. From Lost to Harry Potter, on to the Beatles, it went on and on. If all of the references would have been retracted, the book would have been a fifth thinner.

And I’m not sure if that’s something a younger generation does as well, but the heroine named her laptop and notebooks. Something that would have been a Mac or a computer in any other novel, was suddenly called Sawyer (from Lost) and a notebook – wait for it – was now a Horcrux (HP). And don’t let me get started on the main male character, his name was Pilot Penn (like a Pilot pen) – and she gave him the nickname Pies.

It didn’t help either that the heroine, Shane, came across as annoyingly uninteresting. Neither her speech, or thought process was captivating. Actually none of the characters were standing out in any way, positive nor negative. Without anyone having a unique personality this novel ended up neither character nor plot driven – so what’s left?

All of this gave me the feeling that a sixteen year old wrote this book. And at this point I would also suggest that a teenager would be a good audience for this book.

In all honesty, the writing wasn’t bad, it just needed some help. It felt and sounded at times juvenile, and was a book that screamed debut novel more than others, but I’ve read books that sounded way choppier. The author went to great length to change up dialogue tags. And often forgo them entirely which I loved. Sometimes not all action words made sense, but all in all the book wasn’t badly written. Just the story needed some help.