I got this week an e-arc via Netgalley, which is a site where you can request arcs and get them if you’re a reviewer. So thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books.
I started this book without knowing what it really is about and as you can guess I was shook. I’ve been watching Christine’s YouTube Chanel for years so I kinda of knew it’ll be a modern coming of age story. Christine’s writing style was so modern and funny, you could’ve guessed this is Christine’s book just by her magnificent writing style. I really enjoyed reading Shane’s story in modern funny words. The thing I missed was the description. There were no descriptions at all. I don’t know if this is the last draft but the characters and the places weren’t described and I was kinda disappointed by that. There are two characters I don’t know how they look like. The pace of this book was too fast. In one chapter you can get twenty scenes and that was so unique yet so strange and weird.
I definitely related to Shane, o my god, she really was cool and funny. I think she was based on Christine herself, that’s why I felt throughout the whole book like it was a biography. I was literally waiting for it to be revealed but it wasn’t. I don’t know if I’m able to share the characters names due to it to be not out yet but the B character was a QUEEN, I liked her so much, she was so freaking funny. The P character was every girl’s crush, he was too perfect and I shipped him with ‘someone’ (I’m trying to not spoil but it’s hard...). The main love interest was a kind of an insta love and although I shipped them so hard, they were so fast in love with each other.
The last conversations of Shane and ‘spoilers’ were so WELL WRITTEN AND I LOVED THAT. That problem Shane had was so so relatable. The L character was so hateful but in the end I WAS NOT OKAY. I really adored the way this book ended and I feel Christine did an excellent job with this book. Sometimes it didn’t feel like a book but more like a script I was reading. Those acknowledgments were so emotional and beautiful to read.
I would recommend this book to every YA reader. I hope you’re gonna like it when it’s out! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mediocre and at times awful writing. Uninspired story. Annoyingly meta and bland characters. Don't waste your time.

First of all, I want to congratulate Christine for an amazing debut. I have followed her channel since 2013, and I feel incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to read a story from such an amazing person.

Personally, I don't read a lot of contemporary novels but I wanted to support Christine's debut, so I decided to read it. This book was such an easy read, the chapters were short, but flowed so nicely into each other. Whenever I was reading it, I could picture everything in my head, even the little adventures that the flat 3 family had. The big twist in this book was the perfect mashup of 13 Going on 30 and 17 Again, and I was overwhelmed with nostalgia.

I immediately fell in love with Shane and Pilot's friendship 4 chapters into the book, because it was just so easy to love and relatable. I saw a bit of myself in Shane, and I think any book lover and TV show junkie would too. I definitely felt for her story and the relationships she had. I just wish there was more insight to her relationship with Leo and how much of a role he played in her life, other than the cousin that loved to annoy her. Speaking of relationships, the relationship Shane had with the rest of her flat 3 mates was definitely lacking, in terms of content. I feel like Atticus could have played a slightly bigger role in her life, other than the person who would occasionally check up on her. He definitely deserved a little more presence in the book, even if it was just to show that he made an effort to hang out with them, despite his busy schedule.

Everything after the Paris trip was such an emotional rollercoaster. When I was reading the dinner with her parents, I was physically reacting to the whole scene; I had clammy hands, my heart was racing, and I was reading at top speed. I just felt like I was witnessing this part of the book in real time; I felt like I was right there with Shane. The buildup of Shane's white lies to her parents was so well done, and you could definitely feel the impact of it in this very scene. And then there was the Rome and Paris trip take two. It just felt so cheesy (in a good way) and I felt giddy with all the love (also in a good way). It was just so adorable to watch them in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. I was smiling and giggling the whole time I was reading it.

And of course, my favourite part of this book is all the little lessons that we can take away. Although we got what we wanted, and that was to see Shane and Pilot finally getting together, Christine reminded us that life will not stop for anything, not even love. In a way, she reminded us that you can't put life on hold just because you're enjoying something, we need to find a way to live while not letting it consume you. But on the other hand, she taught me that if you want something, you cannot be afraid to disappoint people you love. Shane tucked all of her dreams away and pursued medicine to make her parents proud, but she wasn't happy at all. She then decided to take the writing route, which strained her relationship with her parents severely. But in the end, they came around to supporting her after they understood that it's what made Shane happy.

I really did enjoy this sappy contemporary, and reading it was such a breeze. I look forward to reading more of Christine's work in the future. Here's to Christine's "Great American Novel" and Schwednesdays!!

*HAS SPOILERS*

Honestly, I don’t follow and/or watch Christine on any social media but have heard a bit about her just by reading other reviews. Apparently one of the main characters (Shane) is basically Christine with just a different name.

So with just about any book, I’m not a fan of insta-love, and it happened hardcore with Shane and Pilot, even though at the time he had a girlfriend. The three biggest problems I had with this book was the insta-love, the cheating was never called wrong in any way (not even by the side characters), and even though this book is set in a college kind of setting, it didn’t feel like a YA book to me, it was still too juvenile in my opinion. I don’t always have a problem reading books set for a younger audience but this definitely was supposed to be geared toward us late teens/early 20s.

I normally love when magical realism is in a story, but in this instance I got really confused. It literally came out of nowhere and I felt like it didn’t fit in with the story so I’m hoping that gets tweaked a little before the book is published. Also, hopefully it’s just because I’m reading a arc, but the segue between 2011 to 2017, then back to 2017 was a little confusing and I hope that changes as well. There was also some typos that I’m sure will be fixed but who misspells Paris? Like, come on.

Overall, I didn’t hate this book, but I definitely did not love it either. Putting aside the fact the whole technical cheating bit, (that we could have gone without) this book was kinda cute and semi enjoyable, just hoping it becomes a bit more put together in the final copy.

I've scheduled this review and I'll be posting it to my blog May 30, 2019, a week prior to it's release, I've put the main link to my blog in the "add link" section.

Book Review: Again, but Better

Title: Again, but Better
Author: Christine Roccio
Pub. Date: May 7, 2019
Rating: 5/5

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.

I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will also be a spoiler free review!

I was shocked when I got approved for Christine’s debut on NetGalley, I kind of freaked out. I’ve been following Christine’s progress of her writing this book for what feels like forever now and couldn’t wait to read it. I was excited and a little wary going into it, not sure what to expect. Excited because based on the description it sounded great, wary because I don’t always hit it off with contemporaries. I don’t usually go for contemporaries unless they are highly recommended by someone I trust, or they’re by a favorite author.

I freaking loved this book.

So much in fact, it’s earned a spot on my Top Fave Contemporary List – I should do a blog post about those books specifically.
I expected – once I started the book – that I would end up enjoying it, but I didn’t expect it to be a favorite. It’s only been eight hours since I finished the book, and I wish I could wipe it from my mind and re-read it again for the first time. I keep thinking about it, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. I already know that I’m going to push it on so many people. I might even reread it when I go on vacation this summer.

Where do I even begin? I could just go on and on about how much I love it without saying anything but that – which is what I want to do and am trying to avoid, because not helpful.
So I’ll start with this:

I don’t think there is a single person out there who doesn’t wish they could go back in time and make a different choice, do something different, redo a moment…do it again, but better. We’ve all be there; all have some kind of regrets. We all think about if we were able to go back in time and do it all over, how we’d do it, and hopefully do it better. I know I have, which is why I think this book will resonate with so many people. Well, that and it’s just a great, enjoyable read.

I thought the pacing of this book was perfect and the writing had this witty and fresh feeling. At first, I thought it the writing, which felt a little unpolished, would hinder the story. It doesn’t. As the story unfolds, the writing style makes so much sense, and it works with the characters, the story, the atmosphere. The characters were unique and relatable. And oh, how I now wish that I had done a study abroad program. I went through a range of emotions while reading this book, though, most of the time I was a giddy, grinning, melted mess. There were moments when I wanted to shove the two MCs together and be like, “kiss already dammit”, I teared up and cried a bit at another point, and in still other moments, I felt the second hand embarrassment for real.
I need Netflix to pick this book up and make a romcom. That’s what this book is – a romcom about second chances.

Did I mention I loved this book?

Let’s talk about the characters – Shane, Pilot, Babe, Sahra, Attticus, Chad, Amy, Shane’s family…the fantastical element.

I really liked Shane and really connected with her. She’s spent her whole life following the rules, doing what she knew her parents wanted her to do. This trip was a way to start fresh, have a new experience, to break the rules. Now, my life isn’t…or wasn’t exactly like Shane’s during college. I wasn’t pre-med, but I did just go to school. I didn’t live on campus (I lived too close to justify the expense), but for the most part, I went to my classes, spent time in between classes doing work, or reading, or writing. That whole “college experience” I didn’t have it, and there was a moment, a month out from graduating, where I wished I could go back and do it slightly differently.
I understood where Shane was coming from. It wasn’t my parents desires for me to do my work, but maybe my own fear? Regardless, I know I missed out on some things. Did I still have a good time? Yes. If given the chance, would I do it differently. Some parts, yes.
I also felt connected to Shane through her love of reading and writing and blogging – three things I do on a daily basis – or at least I try to do on a daily basis.
Her growth in this novel is wonderful, and her character was just quirky and fun, and there to have a good time. She was so realistically human, and there were times that I felt for her.

Pilot, Pilot, Pilot. Why are all the good guys fictional? I loved him, even for his flaws. No one is perfect and definitely not at 20 years old. Mistakes are made. He’s here for adventure and to have a good time and to work on his music. I can’t say I related much to Pilot, but if I were in London, and needed a sightseeing buddy, I’d choose him. Easily. In a heartbeat.

The two of them together was easy. It was natural, it was right. But like any romcom, shit hits the fan before the happily ever after happens.

Babe and Sahra, Shane’s roommates and eventual friends. I loved them. They were so different and unique and existed outside of Shane. They weren’t just there to add to Shane’s story. They had their own stories, and experiences, that helped to add to Shane’s experience abroad. They had their own lives, their own troubles. I wouldn’t mind having friends like them.

Atticus, Pilot’s roommate, and all around, good guy. He doesn’t hesitate to offer a shoulder to lean on, or an ear if someone wants to talk. He’s always down to have fun. He’s pretty busy, so most of his time is spent away from the group, but he’s there when things get hard for Shane.

Chad. Chad. I have no words, because, he wasn’t a main character, but he kind of had a role. He was just Chad, and Babe deserves better.

Amy, again not a huge role, but her appearance has impact. Can’t really talk much about Amy without spoilers.

Shane’s family…she’s always felt like an outsider, always on guard against teasing and being the butt of all the jokes. It’s one of the big reasons she chooses to do the summer abroad. Just like her family doesn’t seem to truly know who she is, she doesn’t know everything that goes on with others. Like with any family, there is hardship and drama, and things don’t always go over as smoothly as we’d hope.

And finally, the fantastical element, the spirit guide, or fate if you will. She pops into Shane’s life very early on, and it drives Shane crazy. This is another one of those things, that I can’t go into too much detail on, due to spoilers.

This book was everything I wanted and didn’t know I needed in a contemporary. I loved it from beginning to end – and stayed up all night reading it because I just couldn’t put it down. I loved following Shane’s journey of self-discovery and growth. I loved watching her interact with her friends and Pilot and watching her fall in love. It was evident the time Christine spent writing and editing this book to make it be what it is. Based on her YouTube series on writing this book, she spent so much time writing and rewriting until it was perfect – for lack of a better word.

There were so many scenes in this book that I loved and having been to most of the places they went to during their travels, I could picture in my mind very clearly. Some of the scenes had me doing that thing when your super excited and anxious and you just have to shake your arms and legs and squeal – do you know what I mean? Like when you see (or in this case read) something so cute, so cheesy you just burst? There was also a moment when I threw myself out of bed and had to do that standing up – that excited happy dance…it was like 3 AM, and I’m sure the dogs didn’t appreciate my interrupting their sleep.

I love this I book and cannot wait to have a physical copy for my shelves. I can’t wait for everyone to meet these characters and hopefully fall in love with them like I did. This book will leave you feeling so warm and good inside. If you’re looking for a new contemporary romcom, with traveling abroad, making new friends, having new experiences and falling in love, then you’ll want this book!

Check out Again, but Better by Christine Roccio when it comes out May 7, 2019 – you aren’t going to want to miss it!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. Why? well, as I was reading this, I continued to think “this is good, but the story seems to be going by really quickly…and I don’t seem to get where it’s going." However, once the plot hit it’s turning point, I became fully immersed and I was ready to recommend this book to anyone who loves YA. This is a great coming of age novel for anyone who is at a turning point in college and questioning their decisions.. It's also a great novel for anyone who is a fan of the sliding door, what if genres.

I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS.

I was really nervous going into this book. I had heard time and again that Shane is essentially a fictionalized version of Christine. I have only seen a few videos of hers and honestly, you can’t miss the similarities. I tried my best to keep my bias about this at bay (which is why I have maintained a 4* rating), but it did sway me on the character originality. I luckily don’t know her channel that well which helped me to overall enjoy this book.

This is what I consider a book version of a TV Hallmark movie. We have the girl trying to find herself, a cute boy, some traveling and a hint of magic. I thought this worked well for this debut rom-com. I loved the wanderlust aspect and about packed my bags while reading because it gave me the travel bug (and we’ve established, I hate flying).

Shane is definitely…quirky. She struggles with social anxiety (my life). I was able to connect with most of her inner dialogue about deciding what to do in a given situation. Putting yourself out there is hard. I liked that this was in a college-aged setting because a lot of self-discovery happens in this part of our lives.

Now, while I understood her inner dialogue most of the time, it got annoying at other times. It was extremely repetitive and a little sporadic. It was too much inside her mind. I like when a book generally cuts some of that rambling down so we get what we need for being in their thoughts. This felt as if every single thought was put to the page.

I adored Pilot (hate his name though *shrugs*). He was cute and sensitive. I loved most of the banter between he and Shane. They were simple and sweet and reminded me of Anna and the French Kiss. The one real iffy thing I didn’t appreciate was this gray area cheating. He’s definitely in a relationship when things fire up with Shane (that even lead to a kiss at one point).

This book had its struggles. It’s a booktuber turned debut author. Again, but Better reads that way. At times it was naive and I think over time her future books will have a more mature sound. There were absolutely way too many pop culture references. I got so tired of reading about HP, Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball, Angry Birds, etc. We don’t need all of that to understand the change in time periods.

I wasn’t expecting the magic element. It was peculiar, but once I’ve considered the entire novel, makes sense. The novel needed this change of pace, and I enjoyed seeing the characters in a new light. I thought they had grown a bit and were more understanding of the situation. I can’t imagine we all, at one time or another, haven’t considered starting something over.

Is it funny that I liked that the parents were alive and present? I feel in a lot of YA they aren’t often represented (or they are already killed off). While this can add some character complexity, I think there was plenty present by having Shane’s parents alive and in her life. I really found this a quick and easy read. I flipped the pages continually and realized I liked the story at its core. I really appreciated watching Shane find what her passion is and seeking out how to have that continually in her life.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fiction with romance
Language: some, not heavily present
Romance: some kisses and make-outs, an almost love scene, a skipped over night spent together
Violence: a slap
Trigger warnings: gray area cheating (which does lead to a kiss), assault (forced and unwanted kiss)

*Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Started skimming at 25%

First off, I wanted to like this book. I’ve followed Christine for a few years now and was intrigued to hear about her writing process. But it turns out that talking about your process doesn’t mean it’ll result in a good book.

The Story~This girl wants to redo college and make it better. And then there’s the lame twist. After the “twist” the whole plot got even more boring. I didn’t care where these people ended up so I put my reading speed on turbo and skipped chapters, pretty much all the description and more of the introspective bits. I don’t think I missed anything important. I would’ve liked more travel-related things and less relationship drama.
The Characters~Christi- I mean Shane, was rough to read about. She lets everyone dictate her life and panics when things get out of hand. Well, what did she expect? I know she has some sort of anxiety and some people are supposed to relate to her, but hot biscuits am I glad I don’t. And should someone with anxiety really be studying to become a doctor? Dealing with stressed people and stressful situations involving people’s lives doesn’t sound like a smart call for someone like Shane.
Pretty much every decision she makes for the first three quarters of the book is foolish and sometimes damaging. i.e. Her laptop breaks and instead of buying a new one she goes to several European cities. I guess sightseeing is more important than her future job. There is some hope for her by the end, but most of the growth happened off-page, so it doesn’t have an effect.
If you follow Christine you will not be able to help seeing the glaring similarities between her and Shane. It’s kinda scary how many times I recognized Shane’s actions/everything as characteristics of Christine. Isn’t inserting yourself into the protagonist frowned upon? Did no one say anything to her about it? And what is up Shane being practically unable to get up from a chair without knocking it over? How? Why? And the amount of times she power walks is cringey.
Another thing that bothered me was how everything was so exaggerated. Pasta in a bag? Holy smokes! I’ve got to tell my parents! Street signs on the sides of buildings? Wow! Someone else knowing who The Beatles were? I thought I was the only one!!!!! Pilot watching Lost. Let’s make out!! Does she not know how to take things with some form of calmness? She was so hyper it made me tired and annoyed. And she’s way too stupid for Revolutionary War era. But all anyone did was praise her. No one could give criticism, constructive or otherwise. Unless it was her parents, family and sometimes Pilot.
Pilot was a coward, a cheater and indecisive. I don’t even know why he was at that particular school. (Maybe I missed that part.) And his personality consisted of those aforementioned things and joking about pop culture and Shane’s habits. Basically, he was boring.
Babe and Sahra, aside from having dumb names, were entirely forgettable. I was expecting Sahra to have a fleshed-out backstory but it never happened. Babe didn’t add anything, wait, was she black? I don’t know nor do I care.
Atticus was there for the gay/Asian quota and nothing more.
When we met her parents I immediately hated them.
Don’t get me started on the lameness of her cousin and his problems. I mean, puh-leese.
There were other people but I didn’t like any of them or the main cast. Although it bothered me how only those in some sort of relationship crisis were the ones in a bad mood. So many people were constantly happy and smiling.
The Description and Dialogue~The description, for lack of a better word, was bad. Bland, confusing, basic, I’m glad I skipped most of it.
The dialogue couldn’t have been more pop culture-y if it tried. Awkward, painful, weak, everyone had the same chipper attitude and winking delivery. Or they were depressed and throwing furniture around. There was no middle ground.
When Pilot and Shane you-know-what, they’re still idiots in how they express themselves and deal with situations.
And Mylanta is some sort of digestive drug. Someone please explain that.

Overall it was a poorly written, over-the-top, awkward story about a girl so afraid of her parents, she ran from home to make a bunch of juvenile errors and blunder her way through years of her life only to finally realize that she was unhappy and could she please try again. Or a girl with parents so lazy they can’t do research on the college they’re paying for. Let this be a lesson folks: if you’re unhappy, someone else will magically appear to drag your ass out of the muck. And pasta comes in bags.

I, like quite a few others, struggled with the voice of this book. I’ve watched Christine a few times and enjoyed her videos, had no idea she studied abroad, but I KNEW as soon as I picked up the book that it was her on the page.
That can be a superpower for an author, but in this case I really didn’t love it. The energy was just a little too high key for me and the observations a bit too specific.

Overall, the story is there, she knows how to write, but the voice made it 3 stars for me.

Again but Better by Christine Riccio is a story of turning one's life around Shane is doing a study abroad in London looking to change her life for the better. With trials and tribulations, Shane finds that with growth there is consequences for living outside of her comfort bubble. Wow! this book was so unexpectedly more than I originally thought, this was so good. It was well planned and I could see that she put in a lot of hard work and truth into this story and very relatable for anyone trying to challenge and better themselves. I'm so excited about what Christine has in store for the book-world community.

I received a copy of AGAIN, BUT BETTER on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity.

FOUR STARS! And here’s why:

This book held my interest and the twist made my head spin! The writing Is quirky, like a lot of YA books, and that made it a bit harder for me to fall in love with it, but the plot kept me turning the pages for more and I’m so glad I did because the second half of the book is definitely worth it!

If you like stories with a hot guy, a smart girl trying to figure out her place in this world, and a hint of magic, then this book is for you. I recommend this book and would read more by this author.

I really wanted to enjoy this book - the description made me think of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl so I was excited. Unfortunately this book did not stand up to my expectations of it. Which is likely unfair but it did take away from my enjoyment. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC.

I received this novel for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion of the book.

Self-insert. If you wrote stories as a child or even certain kinds of fanfiction (I admit I totally wrote a few self-insert fanfiction as a young teen), you probably wrote a few self-insert plots and there's nothing wrong with that! You were having a grand old time just writing. But when a grown adult does it for a story they are actually getting published.... I don't know, it's cringy. I'm sorry, it's also a very... 'newbie' writer move or maybe lazy in the creativity department because you don't want to create a new character and get to the know them before writing... I don't really know how to put this the nicest way and for that I'm sorry but I just don't like self-insert in stories like this.

Now, I have seen the author's channel on Youtube, I used to love watching Booktube years ago. So, when little things started to pop up, like HP references in the first few pages and the we got to Lost, The Beatles.... Anything written by Cassandra Clare. Shane loved to write and read. Shane is Christine. They even look alike. Not to mention the whole blog name stuff. I cringed so damn hard when reading this and then rolled my eyes.

This book has brought up a whole topic in my mind about getting a book deal just because you're famous and will pull in the cash but we won't get into here. Now, I do want to say that I've got nothing against the author, I don't even know her so...

The writing was different.... kinda of blocky (?) but at least it was unique I guess...? It didn't flow as well as it could've with some extra editing. It will make you laugh and it does have a lot of heart. That is one good thing about self-insert books, you can feel that the author poured herself into this book (pun intended) and that it means a lot to her. Shane isn't a bad character she's just the author and if you like the author then you're going to love Shane. If you like the idea of an actual YA novel set during college instead of an NA then you're going to love this book. If you like the same things that the author likes then again, you'll love this book.

It's just not my cup of tea, I really don't like self-insert books.

Will go live on my blog 4/24/2019

Christine Riccio is a well known booktuber. If you happen to follow her on Youtube you got to witness the process of this book being made. I couldn't wait to read it because I felt like I was involved in the entire process. This book follows Shane who is making her second attempt at college. The first go around didn't work so well so she decide to do a semester in London. We not only get to see Shane struggles of getting out of her comfort zone, but new we see new friendships and romances emerge. This book is so cute and I am so proud of Christine!

This book read like the journal of so many exchange students I have met, and it just made me cringe.

Let me preface this review by saying I might be a bit biased. I'm French. I've had far too many experiences with study-abroad students thinking that moving to a new country for a semester will magically fix everything wrong with their lives. So many who just want to find a French boy and settle down on his castle/vineyard (no, really, three separate people have told me this exact reason for coming to my uni).

So when I read the description for this book, I was actually excited: I was hoping this was going to be a book about a naive college girl who comes to Europe to turn her life around, only to discover that isn't how life works. Reading the first few chapters, I felt like this is what we were going for: I mean, no main character could be this obnoxious without room for growth. Right?

Wrong. Shane Primaveri is exactly that kind of girl, and the world works exactly like that for her. If that's the kind of sweet story you're looking for, you're in the right place! If you've dreamed of moving to Europe to explore and want a guide to how to really make the most of your study abroad time, then go for it. But this book was just too sunshine and rainbows for me.

The love story was flat and unrealistic. Pilot Penn (yup, that's his real name) is still dating a girl in the US, and yet instantly flirts with Shane. Apparently he wanted to ask for a break with his GF before leaving, but she said no. Which is a terrible sign for any budding relationship, especially if he leads Shane on - and that he does. I felt bad for Shane, falling so hard for such a jerkface.

We're in 2011, and the author wants you to know this. And FEEEEEEL the nostalgia for eight years ago. I mean, have you heard of this new game, Angry Birds? And Lost is the BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION. And Taylor Swift. Listing names of popular books. In the first instance, I thought it was rather cute, getting me to remember what it was like when everyone was excited about Lost. But then... it just got obnoxious. The reminders we were in 2011 were just so forced.

There wasn't much of a plot beside a girl using a study abroad program to study writing and trying to figure herself out. Trying to break from her family, who insist she does pre-med. But her family was... cruel. Like, not funny picking on Shane, but borderline abusive. They tease her so incessantly, that when she posts a single photo posing with a guy, her grandmother shares to her FB wall, and a cousin calls her a bitch. WHAT. THE. HECK.

It was just so juvenile and obnoxious. It read like someone's fanfiction version of their own life. But when you frame it like that, written by an author who wishes her own life played out like that, and could turn back time to change it... the magical realism makes sense. And it just feels sad, because this isn't how life works.

I studied abroad in London when I was 20, and this book gave me so much nostalgia. I loved it. I loved the writing style and getting to know Shane, Pilot, and the rest of the flat mates. When I thought that this story was just about unrequited love, everything was turned upside.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

Full review to come.

Again, but Better is a clear example of the story of a different generation. The YouTube generation. I'm, unfortunately, not a fan of this book. There are too many pop culture references, numerous grammatical issues and an overall sense of underdevelopment. The style is different in my opinion, and I chalk it up to social media, and a lack of pen to paper learning. It's no offense to the author. This story has an intended audience of which I am not a member. It's sure to be enjoyed by the appropriate readers. Not for me, though. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was such a surprisingly joyful read for me! I would have never expected to like it as much as I did!

This book is about 20-year-old Shane Primaveri, who decides to study abroad for a semester in London, since her first two years at University as a pre-med student have not been what she had expected. Due to her lack of social interaction and failure to be as out-going as possible, she never made deep connections with her fellow students, and her missing passion for her major only contributes to her misery. She makes a bucket list of all of the things she wants to do better in England, now that she gets a second take at uni life. This list includes bullet points like "kiss a boy you like" or "start your great American novel" - needless to say that Shane has high hopes for her semester abroad, and she starts working on her dream of becoming a successful writer as soon as she boards the plane to London.
On her first night there she meets her flatmates, including quirky, Disney-obsessed Babe and artistic and musical Pilot - who Shane immediately finds herself falling for.
Will Shane succeed in her second take at University, will she make the connections she longs for and will she start her career as a writer? Even though she does her best to make the most of her experience, things soon start to crumble, as more things go wrong than Shane can mend.

WHAT I LIKED:
During the first half of the book, I was actually convinced that this would be a 3-star-read for me. I liked Shane's plan to go to college again and re-experience uni-life, as I complete understood, why she said that she failed the first time round. While I thought that part 1 was just fine, my thoughts drastically changed after the first half of the novel. I didn't expect the events that awaited me in part 2 and it completely blew my mind! I'm not going too much into detail, but BOY THAT TWIST WAS SO GREAT!
I really liked the main love interest, Pilot, as a character, and even though I found many YA-tropes in him (as well as in the novel in general), it didn't bother me as much, since it was still such an original take on the YA-contemporary-genre (at least for me).
I also enjoyed Shane as a main character, and since I've been following the author's YouTube channel for a couple of years (not excessively - but I do watch a video of hers every once in a while), I liked how she put a huge chunk of her own mind and personality into Shane. While I fully understand why some readers don't like it when the main character resembles the author too much, I personally find it beautiful - especially since writing can be as much as a means for catharsis as reading can be.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Sometimes the characters were a bit "too much YA-ish" if you get what I mean - which is a thing that especially John Green often overdoes in his novel. Especially the name "Pilot" was a bit too much. Noone's name is Pilot... come on.
Further, I'm not a huge fan of excessive pop-culture references. While I enjoy one or the other Harry Potter-anectode (I mean - to name your precious notebooks Horcruxes is just brilliant!), I do not need the constant reminders that the book is set in 2011. I mean, we get it... Avril Lavigne was suddenly a big deal again, Wrecking Ball wasn't released yet and Cassandra Clare was about to publish further novels in the Shadowhunter-universe.

CONCLUSION:
I loved this book, I couldn't put it down, and it is sooo much more than the description leads on. Especially for a debut novel it was great and would definitely recommend it!

It is hard to wrap my head around this book and my thoughts. I fell in love with the main character, Shane, and all of her quirks. Add in Pilot and I loved them together. At first I did not understand where this book was headed, but by the end I was so glad to have been a part of the ride. A must read for all of us who wonder...what if?

If Again, But Better hadn’t been my first ARC that I was stoked about, I’m sorry to say I would have DNF’ed pretty close to the beginning. I really wanted to love this book and was hopeful from the start, because I mean who doesn’t love the BookTube queen herself! But unfortunately this ended up falling flat for me in the end.

Here’s what I liked.

The main character Shane is so me! The blond, shy and awkward girl who loves Harry Potter, Lost and Nutella. I’ve never met Christine, but the humor and personality of Shane made me feel like I’ve known her for ages! I was easily able to relate to Shane’s frustrations and struggles.

I always love when authors include some other type of medium in their writing. In this book it was a series of postcards and journal entries. The humor written in these were my favorite part!

Halfway through the book I was pleasantly surprised - I couldn’t put it down! I had no clue there was a time traveling element to the story and that piqued my interest immediately. Unfortunately after that halfway mark, it was beyond boring and was quite the let down! I kept wanting to skip to the end just to see where Shane ended up.
Now onto the not so great aspects.

The movie, book, show and music references were supposed to be funny, but it was done so often that it got annoying very quickly, especially when you don’t know the references at all. It was almost overwhelming at times. I felt like the references were thrown in at random just to confirm that this book was set in 2011. I would have like to see this portrayed in a more creative way.

The grammar wasn’t spectacular, which gave away the fact that this is a debut novel. Most authors grow with time and practice and I’m hopeful that Christine will do the same!

The overall relationship between Shane and Pilot was extremely forced. It took me forever to get invested and I’m still not convinced that I am. This could be because the humor was not my cup of tea, so it didn’t seem like a serious relationship. They’re supposed to be 20 year old college students, but they acted much like 14 year olds.

Overall, I probably would not recommend this book to anyone I know. It was filled with too much fluff and cliches for my taste!