I do not typically enjoy present-tense stories, and this was no exception. I feel like this story was OK, but the characters were not very deep nor likable. The main character is clearly the author herself, who got a book deal because of her Youtube following. I cannot get behind a female character whose "flaw" is being clumsy. Saw it in Twilight and did not appreciate it then. There is something of a good plot here with an interesting idea to get a do-over in time. However, the poorly drawn characters made it difficult to immerse myself in the story.

There are better time-travel stories and way better YA choices. I do not recommend this book for my YA students nor my YA-loving adult friends.

Actual rating = 2.5. To be fair, it takes a lot for YA contemporary to really impress me. I thought there were a lot of holes keeping the characters/story from feeling full and real. The writing was repetitive (I was SO tired of the repeated descriptions of eyes and laughing by the end) and would have benefitted from some much stronger editing. I appreciated the humor, even though the constant cute-ness didn't always land for me and sometimes had me rolling my eyes. LOTS of telling rather than showing—very little nuance. The conflicts could have been so much more complicated, fleshed-out, and interesting than they were. Relationships felt like shallow devices instead of real parts of characters' lives. The book had a strong voice, which worked for it, and I think that's something I would have especially adored when I was a younger reader. I think there's a lot of room to grow for this author and I hope she keeps writing!

Again, but Better is about taking risks and second chances. When we meet Shane in 2011 she is conflicted about her path but making an effort to break out of her shell and her parents control. We are swept along with her in a tale of first love, international travel and chasing a dream,
Overall, I enjoyed Shane’s voice and liked that she was mildly goofy, easily humiliated and imperfect. I did struggle with the first part of the book as her enthusiasm and use of EXCLAMATION !!!! Points somewhat exhausting. I found myself wanting more grit and edge to her story. She is like an adorable puppy falling all over herself sometimes and it’s hard to believe she’s an adult woman in 2011.
Pilot is sort of a mysterious love interest and it was hard to figure out what was going on in his head. We could only watch him through Shane’s eyes as she analyzes his facial expressions and actions.
Her friends in the flat, cousins and co-workers at the travel magazine were all fleshed out and didn’t follow any tropes or tired cliches. Her parents were tougher and harsher than you usually see in this coming of age/chick lit type story which I appreciated.
Overall, this is a fun engaging story with a paranormal twist.

"Now, I'm thousands of miles over the Atlantic in a giant hollowed-out pen with wings, on my way to a study abroad program that's irrelevant to my major."

Let us commence with this review by promulgating on the writing for this novel. I felt that the writing was disjointed and incongruous to the rest of the sentences in some domains and well-polished in others. For example, there was a scene in the novel that initiated with a character's long-time crush trying to break her heart by flirting and outright assaulting our protagonist- Shane. In this scene, we would be able to notice that [said character] was upset with both Shane and the crush but a few pages later, they reconciled their bonds again without any resolution and this brings us to a topic which I will be commenting on soon - the pacing. In addition, the author applied a plethora of references from Twilight to Lost (TV Show) in her writing which could conceivably make the readers jump out from the character's world and parachute into the mundane world.

"If you could go back and do London all over again, knowing everything you know now, would you do it?"

The pacing of this novel was self-contradictory. The first 20+ pages were extremely relatable as the main character had a hard time making friends in the college she attended before and thus, she elected to study abroad to restart her college journey. In addition, she had a hard time voicing her opinions or just merely talking which were highly relatable until they were not. After those 20+ pages were glided over, she was, abruptly, able to make friends (with splutters in her speeches) and was also able to plan a vacation with them even though they just met. I had a sensation that these scenes were hastened in a serpentine demeanour to plunge into the romance section which we will be reflecting on later in the review. The scenes in the novel that were impassive were the ones that bridged the ravine between the starting and the climax (vice versa).

"This is our second walk in three days. Is this a second date? I think this boy likes me. I think he's feeling what I'm feeling, and I can barely contain the urge to skip down the road."

The romance was much more substantial in the second fragment of the story than the first. The first fragment of the story for the romance department was a little bovine because it was an insta-love that bloomed faster than an egg could ever boil. The inner monologues that the protagonist had were tolerably cringe-worthy and if you are looking for an example, take a look at the quote above of this paragraph. However, the second fragment of the story took a different route for the characters as their decisions do not confuse the readers and they were able to be more conscious of their surroundings and resolutions to tasks at hand. Thus, the second fragment was ten times better than the first act.

"Because of me. Because I let fear make decisions for me. Because I've chosen to let the world push me around instead of pushing my way through the world. Why am I even with [said character] if I don't feel this weird magic around him? Because he asked me out? Because he was cute? Because he was convenient? Because he was there?"

I was surprised to learn that there were a plethora of plot twists in this novel which I was not expecting at all. The shock factors made me appreciate that the novel was not straight-forward without any shock values and it drove me to continue on with the novel and my curiosity for the plot emulsified as each of the plot twists revealed itself. However, there is a plot twist involving magic that had me thinking: 'Wouldn't this mess up the timeline? How does this magic even work?' and the question is not answered in the novel so we will just place that in the plot holes category.

"Great, I'm Bella Swan-ing circa New Moon."

Before we move into the next paragraph, I would like to elucidate on the names of the characters that were invented by the author. The main love interest for this novel is cleped, Pilot Penn. Literally. One of Shane's friends' name is Babe (which is not her real name but everyone calls her that somehow). I was not used to them in the first 100 pages but after those 100 pages, I found it quirky and funny. Not going to lie, those names are sizeable unique.

"My heart jumps two feet outside of my chest. Shit. Get back inside of me."

If I have to speak on one segment of the novel which I particularly enjoyed, it would have to be the conclusion of the novel. I thought that the epilogue for this novel was well-rounded and the life of Shane came to a close with an epic 'boom' when the book concealed. Of course, I am not going to spoil the ending of the novel for you to 'inadvertently' pillage your fun from the novel. So, do pick this book up if you are interested in reading it.

In conclusion, I am furnishing this novel with a rating of C (65%). This was a novel that had its ups-and-downs but in the end, it gave a satisfying conclusion and thus, the rating.

WHAT DID I THINK OF AGAIN, BUT BETTER?
I really genuinely came into Again, But Better by Christine Riccio without any preconceived notions. It is a book that I really, really wanted to like. Alas, I am just incompatible with this book. Possibly it is an age and life experience thing, but after listening to this, I just really did not care for it. That’s not to diminish people who loved Again, But Better. Props to those people. Twelve year old me probably would have loved it. But I am not at all the target audience and I don’t think this was one of those books that transcends all that.

Again, But Better is about this girl named Shane Primaveri (I kept calling her Primavera as in pasta primavera in my head) who goes on study abroad in London for a writing program instead of pre-med and meets a boy. The boy is Pilot Penn, only, he has a girlfriend. So, you’d think Anna And The French Kiss vibes. Not quite. Anyways, there’s a little bit of a twist. But yeah, the book is set in 2011, but then goes to 2017, and then back to 2011. For a college student, Shane is really immature. Like, there’s quirky and then there’s socially awkward. Not that there’s anything wrong with not being socially graceful. Just, personally, I am a little old for that. Anyways, she’s going to a college that is $50k per year which I remember clearly from the audiobook and her parents get mad at her for lying and wasting their money.

How do you know you are OLD? Relating to the parents who are kind of the bad guys in a YA book. Oh my god, if I was spending $50k per year on my kid’s education, yes, I would want them to be in a field of study that has gainful employment prospects so that they are not living in my house forever. I would be pissed if I thought my hard earned money was going toward a medical career when actually my child is screwing around in Europe taking a writing class. And ok, I can empathize and say yes, it sucks to be in a major you hate. If that’s the case, go to a cheaper state school, major in what you want, and pay for your education yourself, not on mom and dad’s dime. Again, maybe this all just hits me because of that level of selfishness and privilege.

Beyond that, I just found all the outfit descriptions laughable. I thought it was funny how this girl had to wait until Pilot went to bed to take her make up off and then get up super early to put it on before he got up. And then when she loses her purse, instead of leaving immediately to go to the restaurant where she thinks she lost it, SHE STOPS TO DO HER MAKEUP. Like, talk about no common sense and weird priorities. And yes, there’s like a million and one pop culture references and it is just TOO much. It just felt like it was trying way, way too hard. I think there was potential with this book, but honestly, if it was tightened up and all that junk edited out, it probably would have been at least 3.5 or 4 stars, but as it stands, it just felt so amateur.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
One redeeming light with my experience reading Again, But Better was the audiobook. It was VERY well narrated. Brittany Pressley is the narrator and she’s superb with her voicing of Shane, Pilot and side character Babe. Everyone has a weird name in this book. The audiobook somewhat goes by quick when you listen at 2x speed. It’s 12 hours without being sped up. And the acknowledgements are read by Riccio. On the whole, if you are insistent about reading this, get the audiobook, Pressley’s narration makes it seem less grating.

Let’s start with the things I did enjoy about this book. Pilot and Shane’s playful banter in Part 2 was cute-I admit it! I found myself laughing and smiling or rolling my eyes at Shane’s slow reactions. When I removed 2011 Pilot and Shane from memory it became too easy to get into the story and their love. Christine also did a great job adding in diversity without making me think it was supposed to be a selling point. I have to say Shane (despite how much she annoyed me sometimes) reminded me how I was fresh out of High School. That’s one thing I like about this book-I wish teen me could have read it. I think she would have definitely loved to read this. Also, can we talk about that cover?! It is so cutely aesthetic-I will probably buy it just to hoard the cute cover. Another thing I liked was the family aspect of this story. I loved seeing Shane’s restart and how she remolded her relationship with her favorite cousin. Even though I wished it would have been delved into more.

To read more of my review head over to my blog: https://thebookishwallfleur.home.blog/2019/06/11/again-but-better-by-christine-riccio/

Really wanted to like this--I love the author's YouTube channel--but could not finish. Not for me. The main character was overly excited/energetic for everything and the dialogue was somewhat juvenile.

Shane is doing everything perfect, a stellar student with no friends. Then Shane decides to change it all; will it be for the better?

Thank you for giving me a copy of this book.

This was a really interesting sounding book that did not really translate on the page. I had trouble believing that Shane was a shy as she said that she was, as she seemed to connect to her new classmates really easily.

It just seemed really unrealistic and that caused me to DNF this book. I wish that I had liked it enough to continue with it.

I was quite excited about this book when I received it from Netgally, because of the description.
Unfortunately, I found it pretty boring and didn’t enjoy the writing style. I also felt no connection to any of the characters.
I really wanted to love it, but unfortunately I didn’t even finish reading it.

As a thank, you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy I shall give an honest review of Again, but better by Christine Riccio. The novel follows Shane, a self-proclaimed nerd who can’t seem to fit in. She is observed to be friendly but not engaging and can be see going home every weekend to her parents. She lives for a life outside of her routine of school, family and a lack of romance. To move past this does she sign up for a semester abroad in London. There does she find herself and gain a voice in what she wants out of life. Christine’s writing style was comfortable but overall seemed forced. For example the excessive use of popular culture in place of stating something outwardly. I appreciate the fandoms mentioned in the novel but there is more to a person than their fandom of choice. Shane’s interests in fandom culture could have been an aspect to her character than something her character used to be identified solely by others. I understand Shane is/was quirky but there were so many other areas to have elaborated that. I liked Shane’s passion for writing and the struggle that occurred between pleasing her parents versus pleasing herself. The notion of fate and seeing the impact life’s choices was interesting to read especially as each character saw the impact of their choices or result as a lack of them. I did not appreciate the abrupt fantasy element ex. time travel. As I read the second portion of the novel did I think we were going to stay in 2017 and not go back in time to where we just left off. There was no explanation for this other than referencing another movie and using its time travel logic. Overall I enjoyed the novel but it was something I do not see myself reading again. I can see this novel being read by a younger audience and appreciating it. Overall I gave this book three out of five stars on goodreads.

From all of the hype that Again, but Better was getting, I was expecting it to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I figured that as a booktuber wrote it, she would have a good idea of what does well in a YA novel. Now, I'm not pretending as if I could write a better story or that I have more knowledge of how it should've gone, but I just thought that some of the choices made were peculiar. All that said, there were parts that I did enjoy, but they were unfortunately overshadowed by the bad.

The best, but still annoying, thing about this book would have to be how relatable it is. There are just little things, mainly about the MC, that I found myself making my friends read. Shane is a Potterhead, a fan of lost, and super clumsy. It didn't make me fall in love with Shane because of how relatable she was, but it was nice to have the small moments that reminded me of my friends. But, Riccio tried too hard to make it relatable and quirky, which was a big "no" from me. Yes, some parts were nice, but others were just too much! Shane names her computer and exclusively refers to it, even to others, by the given name. I am perfectly fine with giving cars, laptops, whatever names, but it went a bit too far for me.

The story also seemed to be SO promising. A college-aged girl takes a semester abroad in London to work on her writing and make new friends, as her college experience so far has been lackluster. But besides those sweet moments that reminded me of my friends, it fell flat for me. The pacing was weird, the whole magic element completely threw me off, the late 2000's setting led to some cringy moments, and there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end.

The first thing that I want to address is the pacing of the book. It was extremely slow to me, and it never picked up. There were some attempts at variety, but they weren't written well and I never got into the moment. The book lagged on; I persisted though because I had heard such great things. Right before the magic part, which I'll touch on next, I quite honestly thought I was nearing the end of the book. I remember thinking to myself that it was finally wrapping up. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I realized that it was only the first half of the book. Even after the magic, the story dragged on. There weren't any super pressing stakes; I didn't suddenly become more engaged. Besides the noticeable changes (due to the magic), everything was the same. It was boring; I felt myself trying to finish it as soon as possible.

Magic-wise, I wasn't expecting what happened to happen; and it wasn't a happy surprise either. Let me clarify, I knew that something was going to happen. As Gibbs from NCIS says, "there is no such thing as coincidence." What happened was too coincidental, and wasn't even subtly integrated. It was very apparent that something was up; it didn't sneak up on me. But, I certainly didn't expect the type of magic that occurred to occur. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what happened. I should have seen it coming from the title. But, the description said, "a touch of magic," and it wasn't a "touch." It was a lot more than that! Furthermore, it didn't add to the book. It took from it, and I wish that magic didn't exist in this book.

This book takes place in the late 2000s (2009-ish), and it led to some really cringe-worthy moments. The moments didn't impact the story too much, but it made it less enjoyable to read. The most prominent example of this that I can think of is the new favorite app, Angry Birds. There is a whole section of dialogue and two scenes about the app. It felt unreal, unauthentic, and extremely forced. I don't mind when the book is set in a different year, but moments like these that are so forced make me annoyed.

Finally, the ending and the epilogue had two main problems: there were too many unanswered questions and the epilogue seemed as if Riccio was projecting her desires for this book onto the MC's story. The unanswered questions mainly came from the magic aspect of the book. I didn't understand where it came from, as there wasn't any other magic in the world. Additionally, there was a character associated with the magic, and their part and skills were never fully explained. I was left wondering how they were able to do what they could do and if there were other cases or people who had that talent. The epilogue was written from an outside perspective (a book blog), and it was too similar to what I would imagine Riccio wants. In the epilogue, Shane is famous for her work and content, both professionally and socially. Maybe it is just me, but it seems too hopeful not to have Riccio's own desires mixed in.

Overall, this book fell notably flat for me. From the way people were talking about it, I was expecting a masterpiece. It was unfortunately far from that. I had too many problems with it from trying too hard to be relatable to unanswered questions at the end. There were some good parts in it, but they were entirely overshadowed by the bad. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I know that a lot of people adored it, but it, and the magic, weren't for me.

First of, if you watch BookTube then you definitely know who Christine Riccio is and you have probably picked this book because first you want to support her and second it sounds pretty damn amazing. And yes, I also fall on those categories too. So I picked the book up and I read it, my opinion? I totally enjoyed this book. Yeah, it took a turn that I was not expecting but I still enjoyed a lot, really, really enjoyed. So, now let's talk about this book that enjoyed so much lol.

Shane has been the perfect daughter to her parents, they want her to go to med school and be the perfect student and she has been that perfect student and she is pre med because that's what they want and that's what she will do for them. But, she is not happy, they may think she is but she is not. She has no friends and romance? That is so far off her radar that's no even funny, she hasn't even kissed a boy yet.

So, when the opportunity comes for her to sign up for a semester abroad in London, she just does it. Her goal is to make friends, find a boy or two and find adventure. But, things don't go always according to plan, specially when that plan started with some flaws at the beginning. However with some courage and determination and faith Shane finds herself been able to do anything. Even if things come by in a weird form.

Be prepared for some major twist, I wasn't expecting, but if you have an open mind and let's be honest this is fiction and anything is possible, right? Well, then be prepared for a crazy ride. I loved the romance, loved the friendships that were created, loved the traveling to other different countries, family drama (who doesn't love that?). Can't give too much away without spoilers but really cute contemporary with a total different twist. Totally recommend.

Again, But Better
Written by Christine Riccio

I loved the title and premise for this book. I know that I have certainly experienced wishing that I could go back in time and made a totally different decision in how I have handled certain life altering moments. I have had many instances of split second communicating that I wish I could have a do over. I guess that is part of life, learning lessons the hard way. I have also learned there is nothing gained in ruminating over bad choices or beating myself up about learning on my journey. I thought that was what this book was about. It is more about following your own dreams and passions and not doing what other's expect you to do.

There is two parts to this book;s formatting. It takes place in 2011 in part one and 2017 in part two. Shane is twenty years old and feels like her college experience has been all wrong. She hasn't made any friends and has never been kissed by a boy. More importantly, she is unhappy with her major as a pre-med student. Shane is only majoring to become a doctor to please her parents. I would describe Shane as severely codependent and her mother having some narcissistic traits on the spectrum.

Shane in part one lies to her parents who are paying for her university education. She tells them that she is spending a semester abroad doing an internship having to do with the medical field. In fact, Shane is going to do an internship for creative writing which is truly where her heart wishes she had already pursued. She meets her roommates and becomes friendly with them. She also falls obsessively in love at first sight with a young man named Pilot. They flirt and the only problem is Pilot has a girlfriend named Amy that he has no intention of leaving for Shane in part one in 2011.

Part two has some magical realism and time travel to 2017 where Shane is now 26 years old. I really enjoyed this rather unexpected aspect. I could be absolutely wrong, but when I requested this I thought it was for adults. To me this is more of the young adult demographic. I think teenagers and those attending college will also really like this. The Author has a YouTube channel where she talks about books. For roughly there are many parallels between herself and Shane, which isn't a bad thing at all. I think all of us have at least one book in us we could write drawing on our own lives.

I left out part two with the jump ahead to 2017, where Shane is twenty-six because I really don't want to spoil it for those who have not read this but intend too at some point. Some reviewers have labeled this book as rom-com.
I went into this completely blind except for my preconceptions of what I described I assumed from the title and the cover which I absolutely love. I never usually look at other reviews before I type my own, but I did with this one. I was really surprized by the mixed reviews. I highly recommend this book because it has something for everyone. I loved the snappy dialogue and Shane's growth. This is an easy read. I was thoroughly entertained and loved it. The publication was in May so treat yourself to a feel good beach read. This was an excellent debut novel.

A heartwarming thank you to Net Galley, Christine Riccio and St Martin's Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own and not subject or biased by receiving my ARC.

Tweeted on Twitter: #Net Galley, Again But Better. Posted on Facebook for public

This was a very cute book and I enjoyed the setting of a study abroad trip. I ended up only getting to 25% because personally I realized I don’t enjoy YA. I think this would be a wonderful book for someone in high school or college.

Again But Better was an interesting read.

It had an elemental surprise, which I really liked.

Travelling and studying abroad, which I really enjoyed.

I accept that Christine was a self-insert to her book, and I was literally picturing Christine in the story as I was reading.

There's a lot of references to fandoms like Harry Potter and The Shadow Hunter books by Cassandra Clare.

Overall, it's not a BAD book. It was an OK book with room for improvement. Like I say it's Christine's first book, and this is how we learn to improve. I'm still going to read Christine's other books.

In the end, I am glad that I have read it and gave it a chance. I will continue to support Christine.

I think that this book is perfect for girls 16-19. and sadly I'm outside that age range, but enjoyed it nevertheless. The idea of a young girl traveling to a place unknown (London) to get a second chance (at college!) to do what she wants, make new friends and find herself is a story as old as time, and one that I love. This was predictable, but a fun read!

I did not get a chance to read this book, But I still plan on it. I enjoy her youtube videos, and I've seen her speak at a book festival, so I'm sure this book is enjoyable.

This book was not my favorite. The writing style felt like it was written for middle schoolers, yet the content was for a much older audience.

I could not stand the naive, immature, and self-absorbed main character. Reading the reviews and hearing it was basically autobiographical makes me feel bad for thinking this... but not sure how to review this book accurately without this opinion. Perhaps the character just didn’t translate to the page well. I also did not enjoy pages on the differences between grocery stores and the faux outrage over ONLY TWO TYPES OF PASTA SAUCE. Make your own. And no one cares they bag pasta over there instead of boxing it. As far as foreign countries go, the differences between the US and Britain are pretty benign. This book makes US citizens seem completely vapid.

Also I HOPE the quotes from her parents when they found out she lied were completely made up. How do you get over being called a piece of shit by your dad?

One star for surprising me mid-book (does changing the genre mid-book count as a surprise? I’ll give it to her I guess... but how did this turn into a fantasy novel?)

One star for making me remember all of my young college adventures studying abroad.

Thanks to netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of potential, esp. with the time travel bit, but unfortunately it just fell a little flat for me. The characters seem a little immature for their age and the story a little rough.