Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book. As someone who has been following Christine online for years and being excited about her writing journey, I'm very appreciative of this!

But sadly I couldn't finish this book. I didn't enjoy this at all.
I don't even know where to begin. Maybe it's the self-insert that feels really uncomfortable because there's so many facts in here that make this feel almost autobiographical and I just couldn't stop wondering which of these thoughts and feelings were her own too. It felt really awkward and intrusive.
I also think this is a hugely missed opportunity when it comes to the age group and the experience Christine is writing about. This is about a 20 year old studying abroad and a good chunk of this books is even from her perspective in her late 20s. But then it reads like really juvenile YA Fiction? And I'm just really sad about it. Because I honestly related to Shane and her experiences (or lack thereof) because I was in a similar situation when I was 20 and I was also a very similar type of person. And I think it's valid to be this awkward, squealy, slightly lost in life 20 year old. But when it READS like a 12 year old? Oof, that just makes it exhausting. And I hate that I'm sure this could be so relatable for many people in their early 20s but then you just kinda find this character really annoying because of the way she's written.
Which brings me to the writing in general. I'm usually not one to notice writing at all. As long as it flows nicely, I'm fine. But oh man.. this was sadly so bad, that even I noticed. From Shane "squealing" and "squeeking" her sentences at least twice on every page to completely unnecessary tangents (that totally could've been cut because this book is long enough as it is), it just felt very clonky and not fun to read at all.
And I don't even wanna get into Part 2 and where the story is going because I haven't read it all. But skipping forward to that and seeing what happens and WHY it happens and how this all ends.. I just makes me feel very uncomfortable about this whole story. And I think it should be made clear that this is not just a Contemporary. The time travel element in this is not something small and insignificant. It is an important part of the story - but a magical part. It should be mentioned that this is something that's contained in this novel because I think it's gonna put off a lot of readers.

I wish Christine all the best with her future reading and I'll be sure to check it out. But this really was not a good experience for me and I'd rather pass for the sake of both of us.

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.

Again, but Better was a "meh" read for me.

I mean, I LOVE Christine Riccio's booktube videos. She's always so fun, hilarious, and engaging on her channel... what's not to love?

Her writing apparently.

Because although while this novel definitely wasn't the worst piece of fiction I've ever read, it certainly didn't knock my socks off.

It's difficult for me to name anything specific about it that I disliked... It just felt like a bland piece of fanfiction, to be honest... Cause here's the thing: While reading this book, I felt an odd sense of familiarity about it, as if I'd read it before. And then it hit me! It's so incredibly easy to make connections between this book and the beloved Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. A quirky, kind-of-awkward girl enters a foreign country to study abroad and falls in love with a cute dude who has a weird name and a charming sense of humour. See the similarities???

Don't get me wrong, there is some uniqueness to Christine's book FOR SURE, but you can definitely compare it to well-known YA books that have similar plots and characters, which isn't all that great.

I found myself very bored whilst reading this book, especially in the beginning, but at least the second half picked up the pace a bit!

Overall, while this wasn't the book for me, I'm wishing Christine Riccio luck in the publishing of her first novel! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC!

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'm not really big on Booktube...look I am lazy and get distracted by videos...I know that sounds weird, but it's just not my thing; however, I knew of Christine's name because she is a pretty big booktuber. So if you have ever dabbled in that part of the book community, this author is probably familiar to you. This is a debut, so I tend to be a little more lenient in my reviews, but for me this book was just okay. There a certain tropes I hate in books, so it makes me rate books lower had they not been included. Let me explain.

I absolutely LOATHE the trope in romance books where the love interest already has a partner. I HATE IT! (Looking at you Anna & The French Kiss). So when we meet Pilot and find out he has a girlfriend, it really annoyed me about this book. I really don't like cheating, so this really rubbed me the wrong way, even though in part one no cheating happens (unless you count emotional cheating, which I would argue that you can.) Look, I know that love is messy and I'm not saying that I have never had a crush on someone who had a SO already, but I just don't want that extra drama in the romance books I read. For me, that was a big issue I had with this book. It bothered me so much!

There are things about the character of Shane that felt a little too familiar to me. Her blog name, and her personality seems to match the author a little too much. There's isn't a big deal breaker, but it felt like I was reading a fantasy of the author and not a story about a newly developed character. I also could have ever done without all the constant Harry Potter references.

There were some things I did like about this novel, and one of the things was the magical realism element to it. It's kind of hard to talk about this in a review since it gives away a lot, but something happens half way in the point that makes things really interesting. I thought this was really cool and got me more interested in the book...although not much about it is really explained. I would have like some explanations on it.

Shane's struggles with her parents paying for her school and wanting her to be a Doctor felt really relatable. It made me realize that I was seriously lucky that my parents helped for my school and let me get an English Degree. (Don't worry! you CAN get a job with that degree!). I liked this part too, but I do feel like the conflict isn't really resolved, like it's just glossed over in the epilogue. It would have been nice to have seen her and her parents really get through it with each other.

I liked this book enough, but there were just some minor things that just made me not like it as much as I had hoped I would.

*I received an review egalley via netgalley from the publisher in exchange for my review.

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 hooked from the get go! The main character, Shane, is studying abroad and meets the most wonderful people. I fell in love with all of them and fangirled during various descriptions and mentions of amazing media references, like Harry Potter and TFIOS. Halfway through there’s a twist that took me a moment to wrap my head around, but which I fully embrace. Riccio’s book is unique and exciting and makes me nostalgic for college!

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.

Review by Emily

3.5 Stars! I have a lot of thoughts so get comfortable.

Again, but Better was a book that I was highly anticipating. Shane Primaveri has decided that she was doing college all wrong. So she decided to back her bags and study abroad in London to try and do college again, but better. I have been watching Christine Riccio's videos for years and I always genuinely enjoyed her content. So of course I was going to support her debut novel. That being said my opinion is not biased at all. I have the ability to separate artist from art. But overall I generally enjoyed this book. Contemporary is my least favorite genre so this book was already at a disadvantage but there are certain one's that I enjoy! I feel like Again, but Better would have received a higher rating if it wasn't for the writing/ language used and the overall plot. Before I get into that I want to remark that the second half of this book is what saved it for me, it was much more enjoyable and actually had a plot. The first half...eh not so much. Also this book has a "magical" element to it and I really did not expect that so I found that really fun and fresh!

Okay onto the critique's...

Did I think this book read as a fan-fiction of Christine's actual life? Yeah I really did. Just knowing so much about Christine from her videos I realized that her and the main character Shane are literally the same person. Unfortunately Christine was not able to separate herself from her character very well and that really took me out of the reading experience. They have all the same interests, quirks, personality traits, appearance, awkwardness, etc... I just really did not enjoy that. Eventually I got used to it but I really should not have to do that. This book was also full of references to her favorite things: Lost, Harry Potter, Taylor Swift, Dan Brown, etc...It became too much eventually and I groaned every time a reference was made.

The writing was not good. I'm sorry Christine, I understand it is your first novel so there is room to grow but it was just really unprofessional. I really hated that she used "like" in sentences. Her prose read very "immature teenage girl." Fun? No it was annoying. Again I got used to it but I shouldn't have to. We were also constantly told about things that happened but almost never shown. This book is in serious need of editing. I think Christine should write is again, but better. *buh dum tss* Get it? Not funny? Okay moving on.

Social Anxiety rep! Not great! I have social anxiety so seeing Shane claim she has it...really did not sit well with me. To me it really felt like she was trying to make social anxiety a cute and quirky thing. It's not. It is an absolutely crippling form of fear that actually ruins people's lives. Some people can never get over it. Social anxiety can manifest in different ways for everyone who has it but the way it was portrayed in this novel was not correct. Shane does not have social anxiety, she is just socially awkward. If she did have social anxiety she would be constantly thinking and obsessing over all the dumb stuff she said and did and running through a million different scenarios of how it could have gone. Social anxiety isn't just "I'm awkward and say weird things LOL peace sign!!!" It is a crippling mental illness that actually prevents people from functioning "normally." A lot of people like to claim they have social anxiety when most really don't. Just a lesson for the future, don't claim you have social anxiety unless you have been diagnosed by a professional. I am very passionate about social anxiety representation because, like I mentioned, I have it and it has been a struggle and a battle every day. I care so much about how it is presented to the general public because it is a mental illness that was slowly killing me for years before I decided I needed to seek out help. I don't like when people turn social anxiety into a "cute" thing because it's not cute...it is a spiraling rabbit hole that is extremely hard to climb out of. So just to wrap it up, I am not happy with the "social anxiety" scenes in this book.

The plot was pretty much nonexistent. Nothing really happened throughout the book except for stupid teenage melodrama (even though Shane is 20...I think?). A plot and a purpose arrived in the second half of the novel but that is all spoilery so I can't talk about it but it was very entertaining. The first half was not good though. It took me weeks to get through the first half of the book I never wanted to pick it up.

I hate the character names. Pilot? Babe? Shane? Atticus? Sahra? The fact that all the character's names were so weird really distracted me. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE FACT THAT SHANE'S LAST NAME IS PRIMAVERI. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU CHANGED ONE LETTER FROM PRIMAVERA. While I pretty much liked all the characters...well I didn't dislike them, I wish there was more of Atticus and Sahra.

Last critique is the portrayal of Italian families. Okay listen the portrayal of Shane's Italian family really isn't inaccurate, lots of Italian families are like that...mine included. But no one has to see that you know? It made me kind of uncomfortable to see my own family drama reflected in a book. This is a personal preference but still I could have done without the psycho Italian and overbearing family members.

Fans of Stephanie Perkins, specifically Anna & The French Kiss, will really enjoy this book. I think lots of contemporary fans will find it enjoyable. I generally enjoyed it but yeah I found it cringy as hell at times so it is not going to rank very highly for me. But everyone has different tastes and I genuinely know that a lot of people will enjoy this more than I did. I am also a very critical reader so many of the issues I had with this book probably would not bother other people. This is only Christine's first novel, she has so much room to grow as a writer and I am eager to see that growth.