I did not enjoy this book at all. It was all over the place and the author tried to hard to be unique. It failed in my opinion. I really wanted to enjoy this, but I had to put in down and wasn't able to finish it.

I got a copy of this book from #Netgalley. The book was very fun and easy to get through. The main character Shane got the chance to remake herself into the person she’d always wished she was and a chance to redo her mistakes. She got the chance to travel and explore. She also learned who she was and what she wanted out of life. This book is for anyone who is looking for a light, easy, whimsical read.

AGAIN, BUT BETTER was super, super cute.

I'm a sucker for travel novels, I'm a time travel aficionado, and guess what? This book had BOTH!

The romance was adorable, I shipped it from the very beginning; the friendships were fantastic; the plot was brilliant; it truly was a great novel!

I especially loved all the fandom references throughout - as a lifelong SHADOWHUNTER CHRONICLES and The Beatles fan, seeing the little references scattered throughout filled me with so much joy! They were little easter eggs that didn't detract from the novel itself at all, so thank you, Ms Riccio, for including them!

This truly was a light, fun read - I read it as part of a Teen Book Club I co-ran this summer, and it was a perfect book club, summer-y read! A definite recommendation to anyone looking for a fun contemporary romp.

***ARC provided by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review***

3.75*

I'll start by saying this... when you get to chapter 19 and goodreads tells you you don't even have 40% of the book read, you're definitely in for a the long ride and, man, was it a very long one. I started reading late after getting it and I put it down for a while and picked it back up in middle August.

This book is hard to rate for me because although it contains really fun things, I also felt confused in parts and I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the references made through for 2011, like The Mortal Instruments series, Deathly hallows, Spotify and music. I don,t believe this was required at all for the story.

I had heard of Christine before and had seen a few videos from her but I'm not a subscriber because I cannot connect with her but it's alright. When I saw this book, I requested it without second guessing myself on it because it's nice to support Youtubers, I find and I definitely thought the synopsis was really fun.

Right away, I could relate with Shane as she's an introvert who didn't have many friends back in high school, found it really difficult to make any and she didn't date much or at all and was overall unsatisifed with her social life and college. This is where I drew the line however as I'm not as organized as she is, I don't have a blog and I don't obsess over boys and have internal monologue about them like she does this boy Pilot.

I did really enjoy the idea of travellking abroad for studying, it would definitely have been interesting and fun to have had that opportunity and to be able to visit surrounded places as well during weekends and all. Only thing is, how much money do they all have to be going out for whole weekends like that?

The writing was nice, the way someone would actually speak so i don't quite mind it but there were places where the author used things like "I chuckled" or "I snorted" and you wonder why that is. She tends to use those while adding a reference to a book she read or a movie she watched but it makes no sense so that left me wondering about the sanity of the character in many places throughout the book.

Part two of the book is kinda of feeling like a rewrite, in a way, of part one. Only, it happens 5 years later.

Then again, by this point, I was getting tired of this story and I wanted to move on so I probably didn't quite catch this part as much and as best as I could of and I probably would give it another chance another time. It does have things that i really enjoy like travels and romance and little bits of magic and overall friendship between people.

It is a pretty fun read and interesting as well. I just hadn,t expected it to be this long, especially for a first novel. Most characters are fun and I would have liked to have met them.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy.

It was not for me, sadly. I don't like any novel that has any elements of cheating, physical or emotional.

This was ok. I really didn't like the cheating aspect in this book, and it really read like a debut novel.

Unfortunately this just wasn't for me. I'm just really not a big fan of books that contain so many pop culture references and because of that I was just irritated with the writing instead of being engaged by it.

I love that I was able to borrow a copy of this! Unfortunately, I missed my ARC download deadline because I was out of the country for a month and life caught up to me for a while, but I'm so thankful that I can still give feedback in the ways that I can.

Again, but Better covers the story of the relationship between Shane and Pilot, how they meet and the things that go wrong. They have the opportunity for a redo and I guess change the courses of their lives to ones that were more fulfilling.

The proportions of the book that were past/future seemed like they didn't quite match, as the "redo" portion focused almost entirely on their relationship and I feel like the book lost a bit of itself in that. Naturally, repeating the same conversations and trips for every detail would be more boring than anything, but the way that it was executed kind of drew away from the charm.

While I also love the premise of a second chance for someone that you match with, I hate that both MCs conveniently still pined after each other after six years and being in basically one relationship each. I feel so bad for Amy because she literally didn't do anything wrong except exist, and of course Shane has to be Shane and I guess Amy just spiraled from there.

The magic component may exist, but some of the behaviors or coincidences are just a little too overdone as well; anything for ~true love~?

My gratitude to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC !

Very sadly, not for me! I struggled with the writing as I didn't feel it was the high standard I expect of YA novels like this, and I found it impossible to warm to any of the characters. I had high expectations, but they unfortunately were not met.

I would, however, be interested to read what the author writes next, as hopefully the issues I had were linked only to this title, and not her overall writing ability.

My favorite thing about this book is how it truly is a love letter about how you have to live your life for yourself. I know that Shane learns this the hard way, but I think that this is a concept that more kids need to not only hear but to let the message absorb into their hearts. I know that I learned it way later in life, and I wish so desperately that I could go back and learn that my life is only ever mine and that I deserve happiness so much sooner. And I really hope that because Christine has such a huge audience, that so many teens and young adults will be back to learn this earlier and truly live and lead the lives that they want for themselves.

I do not pick up books written by Youtubers because they do not interest me. I did pick up Again, but Better because I am a fan of Christine Riccio's booktube channel. I love her energy, enthusiasm, and candidness in expressing her joy and frustration with books and life.

Shane Primaveri is a shy, introverted, and socially awkward college student who feels she has done college wrong. When a chance to study abroad catches her eye, she immediately signs up and vows to become more confident, outgoing, and possibly get a chance at love. The roommate-assigning fates gift Shane with instant friends, she meets a flirtatious boy named Pilot, and she excels in her classes. Every thing is going swimmingly well until Shane admits she’s lying to her parents about continuing her pre-med track when she’s really studying writing. At a surprise visit and a horrendous dinner, Shane's scary, controlling parents discover her deception, and Shane returns to America dejected. Fast forward six years later, Shane has walked the path of her parents yet she still feels hollow and regretful. She looks up Pilot and they accidentally stumble back in time at the exact moment they both study abroad for a second chance.

Again, but Better is a charming story that made me smile, laugh, and cringe at the awkward moments. Shane is utterly relatable. She keeps to herself, is haunted by self doubt, awkward, and distant until she warms up. I love that she lectures herself in interior monologues to be more confident and to take chances. Her personality is very much like Christine's Youtube persona. Pilot is an endearing love interest though I did find him to be frustrating at times from withholding information and towing the lines of flirtation and disinterest. Though the characters are in their twenties, teens can easily see themselves in the characters. I liked watching Shane's character arc go from socially awkward "new adult" to a confident woman who knows exactly want she wants. I also enjoyed the scenic views of London, Rome, and Scotland that are in the book and appreciated the diversity nod in the secondary characters.

I did have a few quibbles about the book. I found the extensive use of "um" and "likes" to be annoying and distracting in the dialogues. I also wanted to know a bit more of future Shane before we are bumped back in time and more about the secondary characters, especially about their future selves.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The buzz around this book is huge and I really wanted to like it, but it fell short for me. Flat characters, poorly written scenes, unbelievable plot devices.

1 out of 5 stars. Do not recommend.

I got an ARC of this from NetGalley back in march started it then and wasn't in the right mindset to read and was starting everything at once so i had to put it down and recently gotten back to it unfortunately late, but better late than not at all right? Now the beginning is slow and it riddle with pop culture for the time the book takes place, but with that said the more i read the more i saw the author in the main character Shane. as i read the more the story gripped me and i found myself smiling at the end. it cute and had a hint of what if that we all have in our lives. overall I enjoyed it in the end

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book as i’d heard mixed reviews. I was pleasantly surprised and found I really enjoyed reading. I loved the magical elements that were brought in halfway through the book when everything seemed hopeless for the main character. I also enjoyed the various pieces of nostalgia that were implemented throughout. All in all i think this was a great debut from Christine and I’d happily read more of her books in the future.

I absolutely adored this book! I have been waiting to read it for what felt like years. The main character, Shane, was relatable and I could totally see myself doing the exact same things she did. The romance in this book was fun and awkward, but that's how first loves should be. Shane deliberately chose to put herself out there and tried to become the person shes always wanted to be. I definitely recommend Again, but Better to anyone who loves contemporary romances, especially those that happen to take place in international locations.

DNF@50~pages - 2/5 Stars.

Taken from my mini-review blog post that can be found HERE: https://trufflereads.com/2019/08/24/the-dnf-game-should-you-or-shouldnt-you-my-recent-dnf-mini-reviews/.

I think most readers who are in touch with the online book community would’ve heard about this book. It is pretty cool and a massive congratulations to the popular booktuber Christine (polandbananasbooks) for publishing her debut novel. As someone who knows other authors, I feel proud even though I don’t personally know her. The hype for her book was therefore pretty big as her booktuber friends and such promoted its launch.

I, on the other hand, was a little sceptical but also just plain poor and decided to borrow it from my local library to give it a go. Heads up for Australians, this baby is a big hardback for a contemporary YA novel, it was the same size as my Throne of Glass hardbacks! I started the book enthusiastic because who doesn’t love a cute, college romance contemporary to start off your day.

From the first few pages though, it became apparent how much the protagonist was basically Christine recreating an amazing overseas experience but with a British college and a boy love interest. I stopped reading this, not because it was bad, but because it felt like it was trying too hard and going for too much. Set in 2011, the difference in what was the character’s supposed knowledge of technologies was strange, the dialogue felt very odd and there were just way too many exclamation marks. The tone of the dialogue felt like forced excitement and a lot of it felt like it was telling me what was going on instead of showing me. The worst thing about it was how much potential this novel had to be less cringeworthy and way more lovable. Again, congrats to Christine though and I’m glad so many people are loving this one.

Okay, woah. This book was a JOURNEY. My lord.

To be quite honest, I didn't expect much from this book simply because it was written by a booktuber (shame on me!!!). But, I have to say, Christine really did a great job with her debut novel!

The main character, Shane, is pretty much Christine herself, but she is also a very unique and relatable character. This whole book/story is very unique as well, and I have to commend Christine for that. I will say that there were times that I didn't enjoy where the story went and that I felt the relationship between Shane and Pilot (who tf names their kid Pilot??) was problematic at times, but overall it's a solid book with a few really interesting plot twists that I definitely didn't expect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this 2.5 stars. I had high hopes for this book but ended up disappointed. I loved watching Christine's book writing videos, but when I got to read the actual book itself, I felt like I was reading a story on Wattpad rather than an actual published book. I enjoyed it enough to keep reading and want to find out what happens, but other than that, I wasn't a fan. I didn't enjoy the writing style, and I didn't enjoy Shane's voice as a narrator. I didn't like the endless pop culture references, and I had trouble separating Christine from Shane. I can absolutely see how Again, But Better would be well-loved by some, but it just was not for me.

I wanted to love this book, but sadly I did not. It did feel like I was reading fanfiction and not an edited, published book. I think I was one of the few that didn't know Christine Riccio as a booktuber, so I went into it pretty unbiased. But, all in all, I thought the plot was lacking and the characters seemed quite juvenile.

Christine has such a unique voice for telling a story. I've been following her for years on youtube and was very expectant of this book. She did not disappoint at all, the book reads easily and it has so much heart. I really enjoyed it.