Heartfelt, upbeat, a cute crew of characters you want to root for, and lots of positivity fuel this story. The scavenger hunts were fun and realistic - they made me wish I could join in on the fun! Andie's relationships with Shay and Milo came off as genuine and I adored Andie discovering herself more and more throughout the story.

Emma Lord's writing never fails to be super engaging, witty and fun. I have been a super fan since Tweet Cute and while I still think that one is my favorite, this is a close second. I loved all of the fun the characters had from their scavenger hunts to just hanging out. I also really adored the self discovery of it all. Obviously I really enjoyed And and Milo pleasantly surprised me as well. I would definitely say that all YA fans must give this one a go.

Heartwarming read. A nice refresh after reading so many thrillers! A rom com in a book, about coming of age. Very cute and charming!

This book easily takes the title of my favorite Emma Lord book. She manages to capture the angst, insecurity, nervousness, and excitement of college life, planning your future, and mourning the ideas you thought you'd cherish forever perfectly.

The relationships here, both romantic and friend, feel real and organic. Nothing felt forced or awkward or unbelievable. Seeing the characters grow over the course of the book and learn how to navigate life's challenges and blessings felt real and raw. Seeing them deal with sadness, emotions, the feeling of trying to be what you think everyone wants you to be even if it's not what you want felt honest and showed depth and understanding from Emma.

“‘Getting a new start doesn’t mean you have to wipe the slate clean. Just pick up the pieces. Begin again.’”

Eighteen-year-old Andie Rose has already started the second semester of her freshman year in an unprecedented way: she’s the only mid-year transfer to Blue Ridge State, the prestigious school where her parents met. So it only makes sense when the rest of her plans start to go off the rails too. Instead of surprising her longtime boyfriend at his school, she finds out that he just transferred out of Blue Ridge to the community college she just left, making their rocky relationship even rockier. Her statistics class is a nightmare, her roommate Shay can’t figure out her major, and her sleep-deprived R.A. Milo is somehow changing all of her ideas about love and relationships despite barely being able to keep his eyes open. The only thing that is even sort of making sense for Andie is working with the underground radio show her mom started there thirty years ago. Andie has always been The Fixer, but even she’s struggling to figure out how to put all the pieces of her life back together. With the help of Shay, Milo, and her new group of friends, Andie learns that sometimes life is a little unprecedented and that maybe she needs to strike out on her own path to begin again.

I am a HUGE Emma Lord fan (read: I somehow manage to snag ARCs of every one of her books), so when I got approved for her latest masterpiece, I may have squealed a little too loudly. Because BEGIN AGAIN really is that: a masterpiece. It’s funny, sweet, heart-wrenching, and dramatic all at the same time. And yes, I did stay up until 1:30am to finish it and yes, I did shed a few tears. But I fully needed this book to get me out of a semi-reading slump, and it came through tenfold! I absolutely loved Andie, and her relationship with Milo was adorable. Why can’t I find such a wholesome guy like him? There are so many ways that readers will be able to relate to the story and the themes, especially those in or around their college years. Lord’s depiction of grief was also spot-on as usual, and even though she covered some heavier topics at times, I still 100% laughed out loud throughout the book. Anyway, to make a long story short, pick up a copy of BEGIN AGAIN at your nearest bookstore and get ready to read a masterpiece!

Content Warnings: Death of a parent, strong language, underage drinking, mentioned cancer, infidelity, abandonment, mentioned car accident

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Even the most carefully made plans can completely blow up in your face. Andie Rose has a plan to work hard and transfer to Blue Ridge State so she can major in Psychology and become a self help guru….as an added bonus, her boyfriend also goes to school there.

When she arrives at Blue Ridge, she finds out that one thing she didn’t plan for was that her boyfriend transferred back home to her community college.

Andie realizes that relationships and courses at Blue Ridge aren’t exactly how she had pictured them. Shay, her roommate, needs a major. Milo, her RA, is causing her to have doubts and confusion about her relationship with her boyfriend and somehow she ends up on a pirated radio station as Squire giving advice and trying to help everyone with their problems. While helping everyone else, Andie is able to forget about her own problems until those problems start affecting her dream of Blue Ridge State.

Andie goes out on a limb and changes schools, makes friends that became a family, questions her relationship with her family and boyfriend and finally realizes that even the best laid plans can turn into chaos.

This was a fun, lighthearted read. The characters were great…Milo was probably my favorite. While this was not my favorite by Emma Lord, I always enjoy her books.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5⭐️

I loved this book so much. Every character was absolutely lovable. I thought this was very funny, especially with Milo's dry sense of humor. Found family stories are my favorite. Adored.

This book was a DELIGHT. It is so witty and well-written. I fell for every single character (except Connor…iykyk) and I truly found a love for YA lit again because of this one!

Milo is one of my favorite characters I’ve encountered in a while. The attention to detail with his character, in particular, was so good. His snarky remarks just rolled off his tongue, and he was just so endearing.

This is a story of a girl starting over at the college of her dreams. She’s in a long distance relationship with her high school boyfriend and she is determined to get the most out of her college experience. She finds the most charming group of found family.

I’m not doing this justice, but it’s really good, promise!

This book is hilarious and also a little heartbreaking. It's a story of someone starting over while also at a ripe age where everything feels so big.

This is more of a new adult as it's set at college.

It's so funny and enjoyable.

WHAT A LOVELY TIME THIS BOOK WAS!

I adore this author's books and have now read them all.

Milo is so swoony. This book is so funny.

I really enjoy everything I've ever read by Emma Lord. This was no exception! I don't want to spoil anything, so please please please read this one to see for yourself!!

› Andie Rose believes in destiny. She uses corny cuss words, has everything planned and if you have a problem Andie will brainstorm a solution. After a lot of hard work, she's finally attending her dream school, Blue Ridge State. And she even gets to surprise her boyfriend Connor because she managed to keep it all a secret. The only thing is, he surprised her by transferring to their local college. They decide to stay put for this semester and continue their long-distance relationship. Andie was raised by her grandmothers after her mom died and her dad was absent. Andie's RA is a tall guy named Milo Flynn. Milo is addicted to coffee, super serious, and broken-hearted after his girlfriend left him for his brother. Andie's new roommate is Shay Gibbins, a bibliophile who runs an Instagram with no idea what to claim as her major.

› Andie also wants to be a therapist. She plans to get a Psychology degree, then a Master's in clinical psych. She also wants to get into one of the secret societies at Blue Ridge. She feels that it's part of her destiny. Freshmen attend a ribbon event where they complete a task to earn a yellow, red, or blue ribbon. Each ribbon represents a different secret society. They can join the society at the end of the semester if they have enough ribbons. "The Knight's Watch" is a radio show hosted by an anonymous student that shares updates about the school and ribbon events. Andie has been listening since she was a little girl. Andie's mom was the original Knight - she's the one who started it all.

› Andie is determined to join the same society that her mom was in, but she doesn't know which one to choose because it was a secret, so she has to collect enough ribbons from all three societies. She's dealing with grief, a determination to follow in her mother's footsteps, intense emotions about her father wanting to reconnect, a long-distance relationship with Connor, struggling with college courses, and trying to help her friends with their problems. It's too much for one person. However, it's when things fall apart that we can begin again.

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 10
The main characters are well-developed with goals, motivation, strengths, flaws, external and internal conflict, backstory and characteristics making them unique. The side characters are interesting and diverse.

› Atmosphere: 10
I can picture every setting and felt appropriate emotions.

› Writing Style: 10
I love Lord's writing style. It's original and readable with authentic dialogue. It's not repetitive.

› Plot: 10
I enjoyed the beginning, middle and end. This was a page-turner for me. I loved the pacing.

› Intrigue: 10
I didn't want to put it down.

› Logic: 9
Who in their right mind transfers schools without telling their boyfriend? It's out of character for Andie who's had her life planned out for years.

› Enjoyment:
Overall experience is a 10!

Average 9.9

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• Begin Again is a heartfelt and charming story about grief, navigating relationships, resilience, and self-love that made me try a cheese bagel with strawberry cream cheese (it's delicious BTW). If you liked A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston or Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali then I think you'll love Begin Again. Highly recommend it to fans of contemporary RomComs!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

Likeable yet still flawed (and therefore actually human) characters is always the best way to hook me. Andie is so relateable that I just had to keep cheering for her.

Always a fan of Emma Lord, I was excited to read her newest Begin Again. I have to say, it may even be my favorite of hers yet.

Andie is following her path, the one she has had planned for as long as she can remember. But the only thing is, now that she is at Blue Ridge State University it looks nothing like she planned or thought it would. Struggling with the loss of her mom so young, the estranged relationship with her dad, and a long distance relationship with her boyfriend, she finds herself unsure and struggling to find her own voice.

“- getting a new start doesn’t mean you have to wipe the slate clean. Just pick up the pieces. Begin again.”

This book is about stepping out on your own. It is about searching for your people, the friends who become family. It is about finding independence in the midst of fear. It’s about taking the risk and trusting your gut, even if it looks so different from what you thought it would be.

Although technically a YA, I always feel Emma is able to relate pieces of her characters story to whoever may be reading and whatever they may be going through. This one did that for me.

Thank you Wednesday Books for an eARC to read and review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. I love this author so I was very excited for this book.

The main characters Ansie and Milo are very cute and have many small moments leading up to their relationship on college. I liked that this book used characters in college as I feel this age group is very underrepresented in literature. Parts of this seemed slow but over all cute romance.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

This was lovely. While technically a romance (and a good one!), the focus here is more on Andie's personal growth and journey. Some serious Enneagram 2 vibes on this one - lots to recognize in Andie's story. While there are some great humorous moments - like I have come to expect from the author - this is a quieter, more introspective story. It's so good, and so satisfying. There's a fantastic twist that I had to go back and read twice. Fans of the author and fans of college self-discovery stories should definitely pick this one up. (Language)

A cute and charming read that had me flying through the pages from the second I started it. I was so invested in the characters and their lives. I laughed, I cried and I truly loved it!

I've read all of Emma Lord's books and I've enjoyed each and every one. Begin Again was no exception. I will say guessed the twist/ conflict in the story early on, but I still found the ending so satisfying. I adored these characters!

When say Andie was relatable... sheesh. The helper, the planner, the organizer. Totally me. I Aside from her, Milo was my favorite in the book. Emma writes great heroes. As this takes place in college it was more NA than YA and it worked for me! This one was great and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Tender, funny, and perfectly relatable--three things I expect from every Emma Lord release, and three things we get with Begin Again! Reading this book felt like wrapping yourself up in a cozy, well-loved quilt. It was warm and fun and the perfect book for anyone needing their next read to be a cozy pick-me-up. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the found family. Begin Again carries the charm and tenderness I've come to associate with Emma Lord, and is perfect for fans of Emory Lord, Jenn Bennett, and Lynn Painter.

Begin Again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: YA Romance
Format: Kindle eBook and Audiobook
Date Published: 1/24/23
Author: Emma Lord
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio
GR: 4.02

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This story rang college experience 101. Andie switches to one school to be with her boyfriend, while he secretly switches to another school. Through Andie’s college experience, you can feel her triumphs, her fallen grace, and the connections she makes along the way. I have not read a Emma Lord book before, but I will be reading more of her stories.

The story is narrated by Andie, in her perspective. This takes place in a college setting. There are not your typical social cliches, which I absolutely appreciated. The characters are flawed, and make mistakes, you can see the human side of the equation, and it just makes them likable. Andie is outgoing, independent, and fierce, and she really grew throughout the story. Milo is the RA that is quiet, hooked on coffee, and just lovable. The characters were well developed, had witty banter, connective, and creatively woven. The author’s writing style was crisp, straightforward, funny, swoony, and kept me engaged.

This was a cute, fun story about finding who you are, navigating young life, and the relationships along the way. I had the pleasure of receiving both the ebook and audiobook and preferred the audiobook on this one. This story is definitely a journey, one that I think a lot of readers will be able to connect to. I recommend picking it up!