After reading the first few chapters of this book, I can honestly say my immediate reaction was shock. The writing was so juvenile and awkward, I'm still trying to reconcile what I read with this being a famous book from a famous author. I'm not here to pre-judge books by booktubers (I feel like anyone who gets a book deal deserves a "well done"...it's not easy to write or be accepted by a publisher). But I don't understand how this got through edits.

The wording is tacky at best, outright ridiculous at most. Sentences like -- "Thanks!" she spurted. -- are common, as well as dialogue tags running rife. (I interjected, I giggled, he quipped etc.) Whole paragraphs are dedicated to talking about how the British put their pasta in packets vs the Americans put theirs in boxes. Half a page is just a group of characters banter back and forth "we're going on the RERR!"...just, repeating it. To each other. I need like a shocked-face emoji here because I can't quite fathom how this book is about 20year-olds when I've read middle-grade books with 12 year olds who have more intelligence than this. Shane and her friends didn't have two brain cells to rub together. I was cringing with second hand embarrassment the whole time; it was genuinely painful.

Not only that it felt like an Anna and the French Kiss rewrite?! Down to Pilot (the love interest) being a skeevy cheater; one minute flirting with Shane, the next off to Paris for the weekend with his real girlfriend. Every time Shane got her heartbroken by him, I couldn't help thinking, "thank god please get away". How can you fall in love with someone who is cheating and delude yourself into thinking they wouldn't turn around and do that to you too?

The only plot is Shane having a very low IQ (how did she get into premed) and doing cutesy things with her friends until she's busted by her borderline abusive parents for not doing premed but instead pursuing writing. (The parents are framed in a just "aw grumpy overprotective" way but I was shocked at the vitriol and harassment from her entire family and how that wasn't addressed AT ALL). Nothing else happened. Just cringey scenes. Then a weird timetravel backwards so she has a second chance with Pilot who does not, in fact, improve at all and is a two-timing piece of shit.

I also am so awkwardly aware that the book is rather heavily autobiographical for the author. I'm honestly worried about her family's treatment of her (I hope to god that part of the book wasn't true), and that she isn't in a subtly abusive relationship like this. Cheating isn't romantic. Running across countries to chase a boy who is too scared to properly break up with his girlfriend so just *tells you he did*, is not romantic.

Overall it was badly written, with the style and tone of a book about 12yos, and I'm just still in shock that it's really famous.

I will not be posting this review publicly.

This book was so cute. It reminded me of when I did study abroad. The characters were really relatable and loved the scenes that highlighted friendship and self growth, can never have too much of that.

This was so cute! I loved this story. As some one who is very shy I liked how this mc was as shy as me. Totally recommend!

2-2.5 stars

I imagine I'm not the only one who wanted to read this book because of the author Christine Riccio, who is a popular booktuber and has been doing the book reviewing thing a lot longer than me. She was one of the people that inspired me to read and review on a regular basis even. I'm not sure if this statement is an attempt to disclaim that my opinion of her doesn't affect my review, because that would be a lie.

I have to admit that this book fell short to what I was anticipating, and I consciously made an effort not to hold her to a bigger standard just because I’ve been watching her content for a while. At about 85% I saw a glimmer of something that I thought would be the most impactful and pleasant part for me to read, but those last chapters left me with a bitter taste in the end.

My opinion and expectations of this book has also been influenced by Christine's videos discussing her book leading up to its publication. One thing she said that stuck with me was: "This is the book I wish I had read when I was younger". But what I got from Again, but Better was that this is the book that reflects her life when she was in the protagonist's age (except for the paranormal element). The way I see it, this is her catharsis, her way to put her life on paper. It didn't feel like the book she wished she had read, but rather the book she wanted to write FOR herself BY herself. Had I liked the book more, I would have appreciated the autobiographical elements on a different level.

First half of the book:
When reviewing a book, the two main points I (perhaps you as well) pay close attention to are plot and characters. It is an often occurrence that one book has a strong plot element and unimaginative generic characters and vice versa. In this case, however, I thought that neither was sufficiently polished for a final version just yet. We know next to nothing about all the side characters, and considering how much Shane values friendship, that lack of a well-developed cast of characters was showing even further. Moreover, all the 2011 references that display any and every way Shane considers herself a geek, a klutz and a generally socially awkward person got a bit tiring; instead of being helpful and placing me into the timeline, they ended up annoying me a bit. As a result, the thing that comes to mind when I think about this book is solely the abundance of references. I also think I don't love it when people mention their passion for books/reading/writing me and time again in the actual book I'm reading. That is mostly a pet peeve of mine, might have to do with the fact that I keep coming across it in a lot of books I've read recently, but I just feel like "ok, I get it, please give it a rest now".

SPOILERS/Second part of the book:
I found it beyond off-putting that Shane hadn't even kissed anyone at 20, yet went on to meet the love interest the first day she arrives in London. I didn’t know that all you have to do to overcome such long-term social anxiety was to move into a different country and crush on literally the first guy you meet. Insta-love was off the charts here!

I honestly don't know how I missed that major plot twist, but I did; it’s in the freaking title, for crying out loud!

I thought she was horrible towards her 2017 boyfriend Melvin. Not in actions, but in lack thereof and in her thoughts, which is how I’m experiencing this story. I get that she didn’t like him that much and just got comfortable in that relationship. But she was so unfair to him, acting like it was HIS fault that she didn’t like him?! It’s not implausible, but it’s just creating an easy way out for her to pursue the other guy.

The most promising part of the novel for me was the realization that she was losing herself because of being with said desired (ahem lackluster) boyfriend; however it came about a bit too fast and came to an end even faster. I saw no real depth, no actual progress.

In addition, the fact that there are no actual ramifications to the time travelling aspect is beyond bizarre. She messed with space-time continuum, but in the end everything is tied up nicely with a ribbon on top? No. The whole narration was using plot devices to pin a reader to a certain path with no explanation whatsoever as to why they were changing track so abruptly.

Brief overview:
Pros: twist I didn't see coming, strong familial element, concerning the way one's family steers their decisions in life, travel abroad element
Cons: Neither the plot nor the characters grabbed my attention, too many 2011 references ended up taking me out of the story instead of drawing me further in it, wrapped up way too quickly and way too easily.

okdokie, my name is dissapointment.

I really, really wanted to like this book. most of the time, even when i was rolling my eyes, I was hoping to eventually actually like Again but Better. Did that happen? no, not at all.

Christine Riccio is a Booktuber and this is her debut novel. And while i really enjoy her youtube channel, this debut just isn't for me. Maybe future books will be more mature or better stories, but Again, but Better is a solid two stars for me.

Again but Better feature Shane, an awkward college student who has a weird blog, overbearing parents, and a big wish to start life all over again. Shane schemes her way into a study abroad program in London, where she wants to kiss a boy, get a dream job, and just really experience college.

Shane is sorry-not-sorry, one of the worst characters I've read about this year. Her voice reads so middle school like and she feels just really immature? She's constantly knocking things over, like chairs, sauce cans and more chairs.
And how many times can she drop her head in her hands???????? this constant hands on her face was so much worse than the overused letting go of a breath they didn't know they were holding. Okay??? it was overused and annoyed me to no end.
how does one even keep putting one's head in their hands all the damn time in every damn awjward moment???

Besides annoying Shane, the other characters were just, very meh. THE NAMES, my god, the Names. Pilot. Babe. Atticus.
Are these real names or just fanfic??? like, why such weird names?

And then the plot, major ooooffff. The plot revolves around Shane lying to her parents, scheming for them to pay 50k for a fake study abroad program, and then spending most of that program trying to get a guy to break up with his girlfriend.

Okay, Shane's parents are god-awful, emotionally abusive jerks who needed major consequences for being incredibly shitty. did that happen? nope. nope. nope.

I mean, blatant verbal abuse on the page, and Shane is like, i'll just not move home! ummm, no, there needs to be bigger consequences for treating your child like a robot.

The girl on girl hate??? Rolling my eyes annoying. The spending money to travel while lying to your parents to get more money???? made me want to barf.

Just, most of this story, was damn annoying. Like major unrealistic, juvenile, and the constant 2011 culture references made me want to gouge out my eyes. how much can we talk about Lost and Cassandra Clare???????????????????????????

The main character Shane is studying abroad and she thinks that this is her second chance at college which she thinks she's doing wrong. She's on the pre-med track when really she wants to be a writer. I thought Shane was kind of annoying at times throughout the course of the book. Sometimes I was rooting for her and other times I thought she was being a little whiney. I do think that she had a lot of development though and I liked her more during the second half of the book.


Pilot, the love interest, was my favorite character. He was so sweet and cute. We all need a Pilot in our life.

My biggest gripe is with the writing of this book. I didn't enjoy the writing at all. It was really easy to tell this was somebody's first book. The dialogue was stilted at times which is a big pet peeve of mine. I think that dialogue should be smooth and actually follow the rhythm of a real conversation. Another thing that really irked me was the overuse of pop culture references. There were so many and it felt forced to make the book and characters relatable to the audience. It actually made me cringe at times with how many references there were.

I had some issues with the plot as I felt that magical element in the middle of the book came out of nowhere. There wasn't really any lead up to the magical aspect of the book and I thought it was weird. When it happened I was confused and didn't really know what was going on with the book. I do think that I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the latter half.

This book could have been great if there was more anticipation before the big twist. Another thing that the book could do without is the overuse of pop culture references. However, I did like the ending. I thought it was cute and satisfying. I don't think I will ever reread this book but I don't regret reading it.

I’m sure like most people that are active in the YA book community, they too were anticipating Christine Riccio’s debut Again, but Better. As someone who enjoys Christine’s channel & personality, yet is not necessarily a huge fan of young adult contemporary – I had zero expectations. Yet even so, I found myself largely not enjoying this book which I hate to say, because Christine is just gawjuss. But alas I did not enjoy this book, and here’s why…

Again, but Better is a story I’m quite confident in saying is largely told using an incessant amount of pop culture references. Pop culture references are never something I appreciate in books. I think a few healthy ones spread throughout the story are acceptable, as they usually go under the radar. However Christine is so heavy handed with references here to make sure you remember that it’s 2011. Honestly, some of them were mind-numbly annoying and cringeworthy:

“You didn’t make me come with you. I volunteered.”
I snort, thinking of The Hunger games.

and...

“How old were you when you came out to your parents?”
“Thirteen.”
“Wow, brave thirteen-year-old.”
He nods proudly. “Gryffindor.”

As I said, I’m never a big fan of the addition of pop culture references, here they feel especially disruptive. But honestly, most of Shane’s narrative feels ridiculous. Here’s a passage where Shane is excited about walking to the grocery store with a cute boy she’s just meet abroad:

“My heart is having a dance party. It’s also wondering, is this like, a date? No, it’s not a date, but it’s like … a something.”

Yeaaah, no. Get it together girl.

Whether it was the authors intention or not, the references also serve to inform the reader that Shane is basically Christine. Aside from endless Lost, Harry Potter, Taylor Swift and other book references, the most obvious testament to this is that Shane has a blog called French Watermelons 19… And quite frankly, all the parallels made me uncomfortable. They were uncanny and made this reading experience feel too intimate. This was just taking inspiration to a whole other level, like it just seemed completely derivative of Christine’s own life. Personally I didn’t enjoy the parallels as it took me out of the story so frequently.

Another uncomfortable element of this story was Shane’s awful parents. For majority of this story, Shane’s parents are illustrated as being really awful and perhaps abusive. Only wanting to be in Shane’s life if she follows what they want for her and make themselves scarce when she decides to follow her own passions.

“You throw this education away, and you’re going to be living in a fucking box on the street! And don’t think for a second you’re going to be able to call me for help!” His words thunder around the dining room.
“Dad, why won’t you believe in me? Why would you say that?”

The fact that her parents are awful isn’t what necessarily frustrated me. It’s the fact that their behaviour towards their own child is never really addressed as it should have been. The reader is briefly told that Shane’s Dad is adamant she be a doctor because he had an absentee father that followed his creative dreams. When the book cuts to the epilogue, Shane’s parents are suddenly portrayed as being all smiles as they support Shane following some success she’s had. There is no bridge that gaps the time from when they are depicted as being awful, to the epilogue when they suddenly appear supportive.

Although Shane did manipulate her parents into paying for a study abroad trip, I personally couldn’t blame her after witnessing her parents continued behaviour throughout the story. I kind of championed her for manipulating them instead.

Finally, the lack of elegancy when using multiple timelines to tell this story, was biggest cause of my dissatisfaction with it. The concept of Again, but Better is what originally drew my attention to it. I loved the idea of a character taking back control of her life and making her own decisions to find happiness. However the choice to tell this story across multiple timelines did a disservice to this message. For the most part, it brought a lacklustre romance to the centre of attention, whilst the intention of this book was overshadowed.

Without spoiling too much, the different timelines incorporated into this story felt overwhelming. Ultimately doing a disservice to the story because the focus was split on so many things. I think a linear storyline would have honed in the focus better without the message getting lost amongst changing timelines and plot points. A linear storyline might have also given this books main message and other plot points some much needed attention to satisfyingly wrap everything up.

Despite my low rating of Again, but Better, I can see the elements of a solid romantic comedy in this story. You most definitely will get Anna and The French Kiss vibes when reading this book. And I would be remiss to say that Christine Riccio isn’t a good writer, because I think she can be, it’s just this book doesn’t really prove that to me. Christine has a voice and I’d love to see that come through more, rather than just reading a book that is made up of pop culture references.

I am a fan of Christine Riccio booktube channel Polandbananasbooks, so finding out she was writing a book was so exciting. Unfortunately I an only describe this book as okay. It wasn't a favorite,. It is basically reading about a fictionalized version of her life in a way. Which could be great and I am all for writing about what you know, and of course you are an authority of yourself. I just think this could have been done in a better way. However, this is her first book and she has to discover what works for her. The idea for this book does put me in the mind of Anna and the French kiss, even though I love that book, it feels a little unoriginal,. The magical realism twist is a little inventive but not as much for me to want to read this book over and over. But I am looking forward to seeing what she has next. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This one just wasn't for me. I don't know Christine Riccio and I feel as though a lot of reviewers do, however this felt like a cliche and borderline boring YA fluffy read. Might be 5 stars for some but not doing much for me,.

I wanted to like this book (and I love the cover!) but I just couldn't get into it. Shane was immature and I did not enjoy the many, many pop culture references. Too much.

DNF at 32%

I was really interested by the premise. I love things like Landline and A week of Mondays: just a little touch of magic to give you a second chance. However, I didn't get as far as the magic bit sadly. I hate DNFing books I need to review but getting to 30% was a struggle. I wanted to throw my phone across the room.

Shane is going to London for a program that has nothing to do with her parent mandated pre-med major. They don't get her writing ambitions and her many cousins are driving her crazy about any romantic prospects she may have. So she arrives in a new country, determined to make new friends, travel and for once make the most of her life.

Sounds good, right? Right there you'd think there'd be plenty of plot possibilities and excitement. But I'm sad to say that it reads more like a travel blog. If I wanted to read a travel blog, I'd read one! Not Shane's endless descriptions of unnecessary details about Paris and Rome that do nothing to further the story. I do expect by 30% for something to happen, some sort of conflict but all we have is that the LI has a girlfriend back home. But she's known Pilot for three days by that point? She seems horribly obsessed with guy she's known for so little time. And his relationship being only three months isn't very high stakes. It's trying to make tension and fails! Even worse it's made out like he deliberately hid that he had a girlfriend from Shame. In that case he's trash and I cannot get behind a love interest like that.

So while that was mostly why I stopped reading, I have a few other minor complaints and one big one. For the minor ones I couldn't bear Shane. I think I'd hit her if I encountered her in real life. Also I found the names to be trying too hard! Babe? Pilot? It really took me out of the story because I had to stop to laugh at them each time.

Fangirl is one of my favourite books of all time. I love fandom. Love reading stories about it. I hate pointless references jammed in every two seconds. And yeah, we get it, it's 2011! This book already feels dated and it's going to get even worse in the future. It just reeks of cringe.

My final complaint is that the writing was very hard to engage with and seemed amateurish. I knew it was time to stop reading when I was skipping over the pages and pages Shane was writing in her blog - and it was basically recounting events we'd already experienced! That's padding and slowed down an already stagnant book. Going on about pasta in a supermarket felt like padding. Pilot and Shane chatting endlessly felt like padding. Oh my God, I thought no one had heard the Beatles! Seriously? Padding and ridiculous. YOU ARE A DAMN HIPSTER, PILOT, EVERYONE KNOWS THE BEATLES.

I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I'm sure there will be fans of her's and maybe a younger crowd who will enjoy this but definitely not me. 1 star and that's pushing it.

Again, but Better is a coming-of-age story, about Shane who travels to London and meets a boy, and the saga begins. I could not get into this story. I was annoyed with Shane the entire time because of her immaturity and rash decisions and hated Pilot, the boy who Shane crushed on. The writing was choppy and repetitive. I can see readers (upper high school, college-aged, or older) liking this story, but while I finished it, I was annoyed throughout the entire time. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I'm gonna be honest. I could not bring myself to be interested in this book. I kept picking it up and reading a few chapters but it kept feeling too underdeveloped for me. I know the reviews on this were mixed and I like Christine but this felt kind of manic and unrealistic to me.

Christine was the first BookTuber I had ever watched so I was really excited when she announced that she would be publishing a book this year. In a way, her energy and joy in her booktube videos made me feel passionate about reading again during high school when recreational reading wasn’t a priority. However, although I like and respect Christine as a BookTuber, I couldn’t bring myself to love her book. Again, But Better fell flat in its execution where several grey areas made me uncomfortable and left me disappointed with the final results.

Again, But Better follows the life of Shane Primaveri, a college student whose life had been planned out by her parents. Despite not being interested in the medical field, her parents have set her on a path to study medicine and become a doctor. She’s never had the opportunity to branch out in college, and after feeling regret for not living the true ~college experience~, she decides to spend a semester abroad in London where she can explore her passion of writing and find who she is without the pressure of her family’s expectations.

It’s no surprise the Shane Primaveri is supposed to be based on Christine’s own personality, but the things is…her character was *TOO* similar to Christine to a point where it felt uncomfortable and intrusive. Shane Primaveri is obsessed with reading, the TV show Lost, Harry Potter references, and oh did I mention that she has an online book blog called French Watermelon? (Christine’s username is Poland Bananas BTW). If you’ve ever watched Christine’s second channel or are even vaguely familiar with her life, you’d be able to associate every piece of the story with their existing counterpart.

Reading this book felt like reading Christine’s autobiography, and it honestly made me view Christine in a more different light. Shane came off as selfish and emotionally manipulative. While the story is supposed to be centered on her growth as an individual, it often felt like she completely disregarded others’ feelings in the process, especially when it came down to making important decisions that involved multiple people **spoiler** for example, the whole story starts with her lying to her parents about studying abroad. Also, she aggressively pushes Pilot to stay in the past when he has a life for himself in the present.

A huge reason why this book was a no-no for me was because of the cheating. Christine Shane has a crush on a boy named Pilot in her study abroad program who has a girlfriend. This is something that is mentioned from the start so for the rest of the book I just couldn’t support the romance. It’s not solely Shane’s fault because Pilot also crosses emotional boundaries by flirting and leading her on. However, even after he decides to stay with his girlfriend, she aggressively pressures him to break up with her and continually insists that they (Shane and Pilot) are meant to be.

The magical elements of this book just didn’t work for me, and it made the entire story feel even more cringy. I think it made sense based on the direction of the story, but I personally just didn’t buy it. Also, since this book read like an autobiography, it felt like Christine wanted to use the magic to go back in time and create her dream life so I couldn’t fully immerse myself in the story. This entire wish-fulfillment fantasy made the book read like a personal diary x self-fanfiction.

I could write an essay about how much I dislike Shane’s parents and how they’re extremely emotionally abusive. Shane’s dad literally yells at her and cusses her out in a restaurant in front of her friends. Her family shames her for lying to them and constantly puts her down for trying to follow her own passions. While this is a realistic depiction of family relationships for many people, I wish the emotional abuse had been addressed on page as actual abuse. Instead, the ending spins their actions into beneficial for her personal growth and eventual success.

This book gave me a lot of Anna and the French Kiss vibes, primarily because of the studying abroad and cheating. I really really wanted to like this book and be able to recommend it to everyone, but unfortunately, it left me feeling down. It had potential from its self-discovery and self-acceptance storyline, but I couldn’t love this book wholeheartedly. I know that this book will be successful, and I’m sure some people will have differing opinions and even enjoy this book. I’d still consider reading her next book because I would love to see her improve. However, for me, Again, But Better just wasn’t a good fit.

It's the perfect coming of age, college novel. You can connect well with Shane(MC) and all the new things shes opening herself up too. Reading about Shane has given me the chance to take a few risks myself. Its alway nice to stop out of your bubble every now and then. This book shows you that and more.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I really liked the plot and the main character but the overall story just didn't seem to connect with me.

This was definitely a book that will only appeal to a certain reader. Unfortunately that is not me. I didn't enjoy it much at all

What if you had the chance to reinvent yourself by taking a semester in London, pursuing your passion rather than continuing to follow the career path your parents chose for you, forcing yourself to socialize, and even trying to get your first kiss? What if the boy you’re falling for turns out to have a girlfriend at home and things between you become painfully awkward? What if you spent the first twenty years of your life living to please others and it still blew up in your face? If you’re regretting your decisions and are given another chance, would you take the do-over in the hopes of getting it right the second time?

These are the questions that timid, insecure Shane Primaveri is faced with in this frustrating, but ultimately redeeming story. The first half of the book drags because Riccio uses running commentary, via first-person narrative and Shane’s blog, journal, emails and postcards, to chronicle her thoughts and recount everything the characters said and did on a daily basis. Shane was so full of self-doubt that it made much of it uncomfortable to read. However, when the story fast-forwarded six years and Riccio added a magical element, the pace picked up and much of the detail in the first half made sense.

The well-described supporting characters are varied (including different races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations), and fill critical roles without their own subplots being superfluous. Beware: descriptions of their travels also inspire wanderlust!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Wednesday Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

*3.5 Stars
This was by far one of my most anticipated titles of the year. I've been watching Christine's videos for a couple of years now, including her writing videos, and I was very excited to see what she had been working on all this time.
Although I was frustrated with a lot of the decisions Shane was making, I liked the contemporary fiction part of the story. However, once it hit that magical element in the second part, I was a little thrown, though I knew something like it was coming. I'm a little grey on the details and even the ethics if that's the right word for what I feel.
Regardless, if you like Christine, you'll like at least the voice of this book because it's just <i>so</i> her. I enjoyed this overall, and I have high hopes for her upcoming work.

I usually don’t like books by YouTubers, but Again, But Better really exceeded my expectations. It’s fun, it’s cute, and it’s a fast but emotional read. I loved the characters and the drama between everyone- especially Shane and Pilot and Shane and her parents- and Shane’s development throughout the book was really great.

Christine Riccio made studying abroad and all the places the people in the book visited sound vibrant and exciting with great descriptions.

The writing was not spectacular, but decent for a debut. It had an overload of references to 2011 (when the first half of the book was set) and Shane, the main character, seems very similar to the author, Christine Riccio. However, the book had a lot of funny moments and nostalgic vibes. The pacing was done very well, with a good balance between school, work, and hanging out with friends.

The plot twist was definitely unexpected, though I would have liked to know more of the background behind it, and have the ending fleshed out a bit more.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.