Before this book, I'd already decided that I will read anything Emma Lord writes. I've loved her since her debut, Tweet Cute, and she is definitely my comfort YA author of choice. Her books are full of charm and tend to balance lightheartedness with deeper themes of friendship, family, and coming-of-age. This one was a little different from her previous books, simply because it took place at college, but it still had all the fun and sweetness of EL's past work.

Andie, our protagonist, is a high-achieving "fixer" who comes to college as a first-year transfer just wanting to live out all her pre-set plans for her life: transfer to Blue Ridge State (where her parents met and graduated from), major in psychology, become a self-help icon, and marry her childhood sweetheart, Connor. Also, her late mother was a big deal at this school, so she's trying to honor her legacy while dealing with a lot of unprocessed grief, and she likes to try to fix other people's problems because it makes her feel useful. So, yeah — Andie is definitely flawed and you have moments where you're frustrated with her, but I found her to be a very relatable teenage girl, and I was really rooting for her on her journey.

Throughout the book, we get to see Andie grow in her self-confidence, rebuild a relationship with her father, and find her own voice and place — apart from her mother's legacy, apart from Connor, and apart from any expectations that were placed on her externally and internally. Add in dorm shenanigans, college town fun, found family, learning to live with loss, and an RA-turned-friend-and-love-interest named Milo (PSA: grump x sunshine trope!), AND the Taylor Swift references. Yeah, I was ALL in from the beginning.

Also, Milo is such a wonderful friend and love interest. I was worried that the ex-boyfriend storyline would be drawn out for too long or that there would be some emotional cheating on Andie's end, but it was all wrapped up nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions!

Listen up, YA fans — Emma Lord has done it again!!!

🎙 REVIEW: BEGIN AGAIN 🎙

By Emma Lord

📖 SUMMARY: Andie Rose’s life plan is back on track — she just transferred to her parents’ alma mater, Blue Ridge State, where she’ll be with her boyfriend, get to participate in on-campus activities, and start her path to a stellar career. Her mom, who passed away a few years ago, started the legendary campus radio personality as a student, and Andie can’t wait to follow in her footsteps. But the plan goes awry when she discovers that her boyfriend actually transferred OUT of Blue Ridge State to be with her, and she seriously underestimated the workload of her new classes. Things start to look up when she takes on the role of the anonymous Squire on the campus radio station, and with the help of Milo, her cute RA, she starts to find her place in her new home.

💭 THOUGHTS: Emma Lord does not fail! I absolutely adore her main characters/narrators, and Andie is no exception. Who can’t relate to arriving at college with grand plans, only to have life not work out that way… I know I can! The anonymous radio personality aspect of the story is so fun. Something that Emma does really well is writing side characters with legitimate storylines of their own, which I loved following along with almost as much as the Andie and Milo storyline.

✨ MADE ME FEEL: nostalgic, giggly, ready to pick up a mic and be a radio host

👍 YOU’LL ENJOY IF: you like college campus stories but want one that’s more lighthearted than normal

Usually I love Emma's books but this one and I were not friends. I had a really hard time with the main character and found her overbearing in her need to help everyone. I get that that was part of the point of her journey but it just felt icky to me and put a damper on the entire story. Love the secret society aspect but the rest was just meh for me.

Thank you Wednesday Books and MacMillan Audio for the #gifted eARC/audiobook of BEGIN AGAIN!

Emma Lord is back again with another fantastic YA coming-of-age book. BEGIN AGAIN follows freshman Andie has she transfers to Blue Ridge State aka her dream college. She’s so thrilled to be joining her longtime boyfriend at school and to become a part of the university that her late mother loved so much. After a bumpy start, Andie slowly finds her place and her people.

BEGIN AGAIN made me nostalgic for my freshman year of college. I loved that rush of being independent for the first time and figuring out my interests, meeting new friends who quickly become like family, and falling in love.

I think both teens and adults will really enjoy this one. Her characters are relatable and charming. You can’t help but root for everything to work out for them.

I tandem read/listened to BEGIN AGAIN and really enjoyed both formats. My main complaint for the audio was the voices that the narrator used for Valeria and Shay. It was like a really weird accent for each of them and I had a hard time reconciling that with how I heard those characters talk in my head when I was reading.

BEGIN AGAIN comes out on 1/24/23!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5252749472
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnj1jcZrXZU/

The 'Emma Lord writes a book' to 'I love that book and fall in love with the characters' pipeline is terrifying and direct. This was a highly anticipated book for me, and I was not disappointed. Friends to lovers is not always my trope, but it works really well here and I love seeing Andie grow in confidence in college.

Begin Again by Emma Lord

Published: January 24, 2023
Wednesday Books
Pages: 343
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, lots of love, and a copious amount of grilled cheese.

“But people who only like to do stuff they’re already great at? They end up limiting themselves. And they end up regretting it.”

Andie is transferring to her dream school late in the year. She didn’t get in initially, but she was accepted as a transfer. Now, she has to do everything to prove she belongs. She meets people, participates in events, and tries to balance school and life. She holds close to her past to motivate her future until she realizes that her future is happening all around her.

This was such a sweet story. I loved Andie. She was easy to identify with. I loved Shay, Val, Milo, and the grandmas as well. The characters in this book were fantastic.

I loved the journey Andie took in this book. Such a beautiful coming-of-age moment. It’s a moment we all have, to varying degrees, and it was lovely.

I loved the scenes between Andie and her dad and the clarity he was able to bring to her life. The themes in this novel were so superb. The writing style, the delivery, and the pacing were perfect.

This was such an easy book to read. I didn’t want to put it down- and I only did it to sleep. I loved the way this story came together. And I loved the concept of taking the past and wearing it into your present.

The dynamic between the characters was beautiful, and I enjoyed watching them all connect. This was a charming story, and I highly recommend this book.

I adored this sweet book and smiled constantly while reading it. Andie is a freshman in college and has just transferred to the school her parents went to, which also happens to be where her long-distance boyfriend is going to school.

Everything about Andie is endearing and it's impossible not to root for her and want the best possible outcomes for her. While she clearly makes some mistakes, it's obvious her intentions are all so pure -- and she shows so much growth as a character.

Along with Andie, the supporting characters are incredible. Her roommate Shay, her tutor Valeria, her RA-turned-friend Milo, as well as her two Grandmothers that raised her and her toughest teacher. Each of them provide a unique and enriching voice to the plot, and the entire book is so heartwarming.

Not only is this book charming and fun, but there are also really great moments of growth and introspection from the characters.

This is the third book I have read by Emma Lord. In her first book, Tweet Cute, there are a lot of amazing food descriptions, and in this book, three of the characters work at a bagel shop and there is lots of fun bagel talk.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Emma Lord is a go to author for me that never disappoints and while BEGIN AGAIN isn’t my favorite book of hers, I still thoroughly enjoyed it 🤓

My thoughts:
-Gammy Nell and Grandma Maeve were hilarious & so cute
-i want to go to Bagelopolis 🤤 this book will have you majorly craving bagels
-MC Andie got on my nerves a little bit with wanting to solve everyone else’s problems
-Milo and his caffeine addiction 🫶🏻
-loved the inclusion of the MC having a bookstagrammer roommate

It was fun to have this be a college campus setting as opposed to her usual HS setting, but at times I felt like Andie was more immature than her HS characters she typically writes. Even so, I will continue to read whatever Emma Lord writes 👏🏻

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Wednesday Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Begin Again by Emma Lord

I’ve read 3 books by this author and I have to say she definitely has a style and formula. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me. Her books are enjoyable but always leave me wanting a bit more.

This story follows a freshman in college as she transfers to a new university for second semester. It is a coming of age story, about finding yourself amongst a tidal wave of pressure, expectations and new friendships.

I liked the characters well enough, I think my problem was that nothing really happened. It was a slow, introspective character driven novel. This is YA so it may just be that I’m not the target audience and did not relate to the story.

Overall I do think this author is very popular and I can see the appeal. I’m not sure why it took me 3 books to wonder why I keep trying to love these books, they just aren’t connecting.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @wednesdaybooks and @stmartinspress for an early copy of Begin Again by Emma Lord. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Begin Again is a young-adult contemporary romance about Andie Rose who is never without a solid life plan. She just transferred from a community college to Blue Ridge State to major in psychology and reach her goal of becoming a self-help figure. Her plans get derailed when she discovers that her boyfriend Connor transferred to her community college to be with her, her roommate Shay is still undecided with her major, and despite her track record of being The Fixer, Andie’s stumped on how to help her. Additionally, her caffeine-addicted RA Milo is contradicting all her ideas about love and relationships.
Despite her plans being derailed, she figures out that she’s more than her mother (her idol who founded the pirate radio show at Blue Ridge State) as she takes on the role of the Squire at said radio show, and not all her plans are the best ones.

Firstly, I wouldn’t say this is a straight-out romance novel, it’s more of a coming of age where Andie discovers her true self and what she wants. There’s teenage drama all around with each character dealing with their own troubles, and Andie tries to fix them at her expense, and as Milo mentions, to avoid dealing with her own problems. The novel dives deep into healing and personal growth, and how Shay, Valeria, Milo, and Andie all help each other out.

While overall the entire story was heartwarming, I found this particular trait that Andie does throughout the story – she swears with her favorite desserts. Might be trying to be cute but it was quite annoying, like, why even? And it’s different desserts every time!

Rating Begin Again ⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases January 24th, 2023.

Begin Again by Emma Lord was such a delight. This is my second novel by this author and I’m so happy I enjoyed this one. I couldn’t put this one down! Each chapter kept me wanting more. Andie was such a relatable character and great narrator. Emma Lord has won me over again!

Emma Lord does it again! I love how atmospheric her YA novels are.

Andie is a fixer in every way (relatable), and thinks she has everything worked out when she transfers midyear to be with her boyfriend. Unfortunately (or fortunately..) he transfers home, and Andie is left to become her own person at the college her mom and dad attended. She meets the best friends and has a multitude of adventures and misadventures.

I loved watching Andie discover herself, repair some relationships, and build new ones!

The romance is a lovely part of the story, but not the entire story. This book is the perfect cure for the January gloom! It feels bright and sunny!

As a 30 something I sometimes feel too old to read YA, but also, I don’t care, hahaha. This novel, set on a college campus and due to chapter ending cliff hangers it was so hard to put down, as I continuously said to myself, I’ll just finish this one chapter, which easily turned into just one more... It made me yearn for the new setting, defining yourself era of college. I loved the main character, Andie and her desire to connect with her deceased mother at her Alma mater through a secret society, she was just so easy to like. I also loved to watch her relationship develop with her dad, it made me miss my own.

Say hello to this upcoming release from the author of Tweet Cute and When You Get the Chance!

This college-centered coming-of-age story is sweet, humorous, and brimming with Taylor Swift references. Definitely a must-read for Emma Lord fans!

I have been an Emma Lord fan since I first read Tweet Cute back in 2020, so I was incredibly excited when I received an advanced reader copy of Begin Again. Thankfully, it did not disappoint! Begin Again has everything I would expect from an Emma Lord book: exceptional character development, a cute romance, a gut-wrenching family storyline, and, of course, lots of food.

The first year of college is a difficult time for everyone, but Andie is having a tougher time than most. She transferred to Blue Ridge State, her dream school, in the middle of the year. Andie’s mom passed away when she was young, but before her mom was a local radio star, she was legendary on campus as “the Knight”, the host of an underground radio show. Moreover, she was a part of one of Blue Ridge’s legendary secret societies, and Andie will only know which one if she can manage to get into one of them. So on top of her schoolwork and her new job, she is also soon juggling surprise activities to get into a secret society.

I love seeing more YA books set in college. The first year especially is a tumultuous time, and I think lots of young college students will find comfort and assurance in Begin Again. I found Andie’s experience to be extremely relatable, and I loved reading about her journey. That being said, I do have two main issues with how college is portrayed just in terms of fiction vs reality. Within the book, the secret societies are fun clubs and the activities to get into them are fun things like “dance party” and “snowman building competition.” However, in real life secret societies (and other similar things like Greek Life), have a long history of hazing and generally not being safe places. Within the universe of the book it is fine, but I worry about young readers being left with inaccurate impressions. Secondly, please for the love of God do not date your RA. I cannot even begin to tell you what a bad idea it is, not only because it is probably against your school’s rules. Do not do it.

Despite these few quibbles, I really did enjoy the book. The side characters were memorable and well developed, from Shay and Milo to Andie’s Grandmas. I thought Lord did a great job with the dynamics of Andie’s friend group, and I loved reading about their shenanigans.

My favorite part of the book was the progression of Andie’s relationship with her dad. After her mom died, her dad withdrew and Andie was mostly raised by her grandmothers. She has felt very abandoned by him, but at the same time while he has started making an effort to repair their relationship, Andie finds herself avoiding his calls. They both have a lot of work to do, and I liked watching their bonding and the gradual repair of their relationship.

The fun moments in the book are fun and cute, but what really made an impact on me were the more serious moments where Andie has to make some choices and step up to the plate. Watching Andie grow was really the highlight of the book for me. I would recommend Begin Again to Emma Lord fans and anyone interested in a YA college novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel. I ended up reading this in about a day and found it pretty enjoyable. It is not a perfect novel but it was definitely a good one. Seeing Andie try to find herself in the new environment she has always wanted to be at and her evolution was intriguing. The supporting characters were really good and Milo was adorable in how he wants to help. A very good example of a well crafted coming of age story and I am interested to read other books from this author.

Sometimes all you need is a sweet and swoony story that tugs on your heartstrings and has you sighing all over the place, and that is exactly what you get with Emma Lord’s “Begin Again.”

The book follows Andie, a college freshman who transfers to her dream school to follow in her parents’ footsteps and surprise Connor, her high school boyfriend – but discovers that Connor has transferred to the community college in their hometown. Though she’s gobsmacked by this, Andie wants to stay at the new school, where she meets Milo, her grump of an RA who drinks too much coffee and is passionate about expanding the work-study program.

Both Andie and Milo have complicated relationships with love and family, and I love how Lord navigated these emotional beats in a way that felt realistic but hopeful. I can’t resist a grumpy MMC, so I adored Milo, and really loved the friend group Andie cultivates at school.

There’s so much great character growth in this book as Andie and Milo both work through betrayal and grief in parallel, and though it’s a slow burn with no open-door scenes (I’d categorize this as YA in a college setting), the emotional pay-off still hits in the best way.😌

Begin Again follows Andie Rose, a second-semester transfer student at her dream college. Blue Ridge State is highly competitive but holds a special place in her heart. Her parents met there, and since her mother passed away when she was a tween, she wants to reconnect with her mother's past.

Andie has other ambitions, too. Her goal is to major in psychology and eventually become a self-help figure. It's within reach, and nothing can stop her.

But when she arrives on campus, her plans come to a screeching halt. Her boyfriend, Connor, transferred out of Blue Ridge and back to their local community college. She's also struggling in her statistics class. Plus, she's at a loss with how to help her roommate Shay pick a major or her R.A. Milo kick his caffeine habit.

Throughout the book, Andie experiences the kind of growth someone can only hope to have once they're out on their own. I love a contemporary with a good friend group, and Emma Lord has done an excellent job with this.

My only problem with this book was the conflict near the end of the story. I saw some of it coming from a mile away, but some miscommunication could have been resolved much faster.

Begin Again is heartwarming, cute, and one of the best YA contemporaries I've read in a long time. I recommend it to anyone looking for something on the light academia side of fiction. (Also, the Taylor Swift references!!!)

Thank you to Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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 I guessed the twist/conflict in the story early on, but I still found the ending so satisfying. I adored these characters!

Andie Rose is transferring to her dream school in the middle of her freshman year and she couldn't be more excited. She wants to be there for so many reasons, but one is to join her boyfriend Connor. Who she finds out transferred to their community college to be with her. Oye ve. Now she's on her own ready to make a go at the college experience she always wanted.

Andie finds a new friend group, including her roommate Shay, RA Milo, and tutor Val. She also starts helping out with the top secret broadcast her mom founded. Things are hectic but good, until things come crashing down around her.

When I 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.

If you are looking for a medium-paced, romance for young adults this book is absolutely for you. Was this book perfect? No. But did it leave you with a smile on your face hoping to learn just as much about yourself, as Andie did? Yeah, it did. If you ever wanted to know what going to college will be like, how there will be amazing moments, and sad moments…then read this book. Lord does an amazing job setting realistic viewpoints of the college experience and truly doesn’t gloss over much of anything.

I loved the journey Andie took to find herself away from home, even if it was unintentionally done. The lessons these characters face really sit with you during and after the book. It had my heart hurting and laughing throughout. And isn’t that exactly what you want in a book?

The supporting characters were some of my favorites, but the grannies won by a landslide! Because while sassy and straightforward, you always got the sense they would drop everything and be there for Andie. They were a warm hug when things were getting too heavy and I loved that feeling.

My dislikes are more nitpicky and personal, more than a ‘dig’ at the book. I am not fond of miscommunication or a lack of communication. I know the characters are freshmen/ sophomores in college, I just struggle with the fact that people in a relationship wouldn’t pick up the phone and talk to each other, or even text, more so than was alluded to through the book.

Lastly the pacing seemed off in places to me. There were parts that read a bit slow-paced, instead of the medium-pace the rest of the book sets, and I couldn’t tell if that was intentionally done due to the scenes, or if it was unintentional. Either way, for me, it just didn’t read smoothly.