Reader’s Notes:

– this is told from Andie’s point of view

– a girl is interested in another girl (close side characters)

– there are about 62 curse words

Review:

I removed a star due to the number of curse words (I’m not a fan of them).

I loved this romance so much! I loved Andie and her optimism/determination to get things done, even when the odds were not in her favor. I loved her friends and how they spoke sense to her when she needed it. They were also great at supporting her and being there for her (and she for them). They all had so many great times of hanging out together that I loved and times where they pushed one another in the areas they needed pushing to be able to move forward with their goals. I loved Milo’s obsession with coffee and how blunt he’d be about his thoughts on decaf coffee. Some of my favorite scenes in this story included: the coffee mix-up, trivia nights, the snowstorm, a snowball fight, the first common room game night, the radio recordings, and working at Bagelopolis.

Summary:

Andie has always planned to go to Blue Ridge State for college and major in psychology. She wants to learn more about her mother’s time there and hopefully have as great a romance as her parents did. But those plans don’t start off the way she hopes.

With not doing well in one of her classes, Andie needs to devote time she doesn’t have to studying more. Her boyfriend who was attending school at Blue Ridge transferred back to their home college when she transferred here. And their relationship hasn’t been doing well long distance anyway, which is another added worry for Andie. Plus, Andie has been participating in any and every ribbon event in order to collect ribbons so she will likely be accepted to a secret group just like her mother was, but also gathering ribbons for her boyfriend in hopes that he’ll be able to join her soon.

When everything begins falling apart, Andie needs to take a step back and assess what she really considers to be important to her future. With great friends by her side, she’ll be supported in whatever direction she chooses, Andie just needs to make some tough choices…

A cute, charming read that had me feeling just a bit nostalgic for my early college years. Just a bit though because my college experience was nothing like this book.

I took notes on what I thought would happen in the book as I read & sure enough, every single guess was bang on. But weirdly I didn’t hate how predictable the book was? Though let’s be honest, read the synopsis and you can probably guess how it all goes down too

Andie has a cloying habit of saying the names of her favorite snacks instead of *gasp* a swear word, which gets really old, really fast. But the side characters are more real and less diabetes-inducing sweet so they help even out the personalities depicted.

Connor’s trash.

And I'm glad Andie worked through her issues with her dad.

Side note - the synopsis describes Milo’s eyes as seafoam green but the book calls them celery green. Sooo which is it?

Rating: 3 stars, but if half ratings were a thing I'd give it a 3.5

Ok picture this: grumpy night owl guy obessed with coffee meets sunshine morning person girl who loves tea. Basically a match made in heaven. They were absolutely everything to me. The banter between the two of them, the way they had their own little cute moments where they connected with each other, man I love Milo and Andie. On top of their little romance there was this whole other plot involving a secret society which was amazingly done.

Overall this was one of the cutest little romances I've ever read that takes place in college, I seriously will read whatever Emma Lord writes bc all her books are amazing!! Highly recommend!!

(thank you to the publishing company for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review <3)

Content warnings: death of a parent, grief, cheating

Emma Lord doesn’t disappoint…again! I’m so happy, and I just realized this book actually takes place in college, which is so nice! I don’t see many in YA but I hope we have more. This book made me feel a whole bunch of things and I think any good book will do that to you. Contemporary YA seems to be a hit or miss for me, but Lord's work always seems to hit the mark.

I absolutely loved following Andie through her second semester of college. She transferred to Blue Ridge State, a very competitive college, to attend with her boyfriend, Connor, who happened to transfer to their community college back home. They try to work through their kinks, but tbh, I'm glad things imploded for them because I didn't really care much for Connor. Andie sacrificed much of herself in order to better him and...I wasn't feeling that. I'm glad that Andie was able to find a close knit group of friends because she didn't seem to have that back home, after being raised by her two grandmothers and an absent father (I have mixed feelings about her dad).

The whole backstory regarding the Knights and how the school as a whole is a dream that Andie wanted to achieve because of her mom was really neat. But I'm glad Andie was able to find herself even though she was longing to follow in her mom's footsteps in a sense. Her growing friendship with Milo (and really her other friends too) seemed to develop so naturally and I really liked that. Each of Andie's friends also had to work through their own issues. There were equal parts frustration and happiness for everyone, especially after you realize how stubborn everyone also seems to be.

I also applaud Andie for working things out with her dad (and respectively, Milo working things out with his brother) because to be honest, I'm not quite sure I would have done the same thing. I definitely think that Andie's dad should have gone to therapy because he had a very difficult time dealing with his wife's death and that inadvertently affected his relationship with his daughter. I'm glad Andie was brave enough to tell him how much that, among other things, hurt her and they they were able to be very honest and candid with one another.

Overall, another very enjoyable book from Emma Lord. I've said it from the beginning but I'll say it again, I can't wait to see what Lord writes next. She writes meaningful work and really makes her characters not only about their actions but how to work on themselves as a individuals. (I also feel like there's less drama when YA novels take place during college but maybe that's just me?)

Andie transfers to a state school, following her boyfriend, who has just returned to the community college she just left.
I liked how Andie comes into her own. She confronts her mother’s legacy, embarks on her own connections, and finally deals with her shell of a relationship with Connor.
My favorite aspect was the Bookstagrammer angle and how Shay carried lots of books with her.
I couldn’t get behind the white ribbon thing, but just worked around it.
Young adults will gain a lot from reading it.

🔊Song Pairing: Lost Stars - Adam Levine (from the fantastic movie Begin Again)

🗯Thoughts:

I heard a lot of people I respect DNF’d this and the others didn’t love it sooo I didn’t go in with hope, but I’d say I was surprised

Emma lord is so gifted in the craft of writing about food. Always making my mouth water in any of her novels. However, the MC instead of swearing says random trans fat/complex carbohydrates snacks in all of her books. But other characters swear and it’s well frankly, annoying.

Andie is just a bit too much for my liking. I know we have an age gap but I think even at her age I would have told her to take a step back from me. A bit too in your face and meddlesome ✌🏻

I don’t get the damn ribbons. It’s annoying how central this is to the plot.

Begin Again by Emma Lord is about Andie Rose, a college freshman that transferred mid-year to her boyfriend’s school only to find out he transferred to hers. This is only the first of her plans that doesn’t go as expected. She has to navigate new people and a new school without the support she thought she’d have.

Emma Lord’s books always make me happy. I was hoping for more exploration of the romance. But when I adjust my expectations, Begin Again is a charming story with great character development and exploration of obligations, expectations, and how to separate them from what you really want. Andie is a determined character that works hard to achieve her goals without being completely unrealistic. I loved read about her story and learning about her family and friends.

*Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books, and Emma Lord for this ARC!

Uh oh. I don’t think I am the right audience for this book. I feel like I’m too old for this. Whenever I read this book, I get confused, lost and unable to focus. I tried, but I can’t.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the eARC.

Emma Lord is excellent at writing cute YA contemporaries and her 4th novel is no exception. This cozy college set read is fun and entertaining. It's a fairly quick read with just enough drama. It does have a good amount of predictability and there was some lapse in logic and believability around one of the major "twists", but it was still enjoyable.

Lord's characters are cute and have a decent dollop of diversity without feeling forced. Excellent roommate/best friend set up and a good surrounding friend group. Milo is the most adorable thing on the planet and I definitely would read more about him. Andie is a decent protagonist with some past trauma that she works out in an age-appropriate manner. She is a little quirky and occasionally overly cutesy, but I liked her all the same.

However, everything surrounding her relationship with Connor fell flat for me. For all the commentary on how he was such a great boyfriend and their relationship and friendship were so good, there was ZERO to demonstrate that for me as a reader. He felt like a chump from page one and their relationship did not feel like anything of the sort. I've had a better relationship with my toaster.

Still...despite it's flaws, I enjoyed the storyline and I will revisit the fact that Milo is magnificent. We could all do with a Milo.

This is my first Emma Lord book and honestly, it was a tad disappointing. I really liked the writing and the side characters but the main character Andie didn’t really interest me a lot, I found her to be kind of unrealistic at times. The plot was good I just felt like it wasn’t completely fleshed out.
I really liked the setting; the vibe of the campus and dorms were really cute!

My favourite parts were all of the scenes with Milo!

I think this is a good book for those in college or school who are figuring out their passions and themselves.

The quick cut: A teen girl transfers to her boyfriend's college second semester of her freshman year - right when her boyfriend transfers to her old one. Chaos ensues as she tries to balance her college life with her romantic one.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

College is hard, especially considering it's a time when you're trying to define who you're going to be. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and interests to the point of overload. For Andie - that's exactly what happens when she transfers to Blue Ridge State her second semester as a freshman.

Andie has a plan and she's executing it as expected: get amazing grades at community college and transfer to get preferred school second semester: Blue Ridge State. Going there will also have the added benefit of being at the same college as her boyfriend, Conner. However, when she goes to surprise him and finds out he transferred to her community college, plans get complicated. Will distance make the heart grow fonder? Or add to much weight to Andie's schedule?

This is a very cute contemporary story and I love that it tackles the complications college can bring someone. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and take on more than you can manage. For someone as high achieving as Andie, it's also easy to think you can balance it all like you did in high school. The truth is that college is harder and you need to do what matters and not it all like high school often does.

Andie is smart, motivated, and knows what she wants for her future. In the beginning, it's easy to think she's got it all. As the pages go by though, you start to see that she has plenty of problems, she's just not good at facing them. We all do that at some level, in our own way. It makes her flawed and relatable. It makes her human.

I am annoyed about where things end romantically at the end. Without giving too much away, it's so storybook and expected. For a story that starts realistic feeling, it quickly turns to stereotypical story feeling.

A feel good story with real feeling problems.

My rating: 4.25 out of 5

Begin Again introduces Andie Rose, who hopes to study psychology at Blue Ridge State, where her deceased mother pioneered the college's pirate radio station. When she is rejected, she enrolls at Little Fells Community College, while Connor, her boyfriend, goes to Blue Ridge. In a comedy of errors, she gets the opportunity to transfer, only to learn that Connor transferred to Little Fells so they could be together. As they struggle to maintain a long-distance relationship, Andie finds herself blossoming when she gets the chance to headline the radio's anonymous advice program. As she navigates her problems, including a difficult statistics class and a demoralizing emotional mishap, she finds herself seeking out her surly RA, Milo Flynn, who always seems to appear when she needs help. Although the romantic triangle is a familiar trope, the humor and sympathetic heroine make this a satisfying read.

Emma Lord, you cutesy romance genius! I had so much fun reading this one and just loved Andie and Milo. This is a slow, slooooow burn that was honestly worth it in the end. I usually get a little impatient, but I am so glad that we got to see Andie and Milo trust each other, their little friend group form, and to see both of their backstories and baggage unfold in the midst of it all without distracting from their storyline together. Did Andie's boyfriend from the beginning stick around entirely too long? Yes, but it was nice (and relatable, honestly) to see her second guess and learn and grow from the relationship and breakup. It's cheesy in a Disney Channel Original Movie / early Taylor Swift kind of way, which is to say: cozy, comfortable cheese that you seek out when you need a warm, slightly nostalgic hug.
3.5 rounded up to 4!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

BEGIN AGAIN - EMMA LORD
3.75⭐

PLOT - Andie Rose transfers to Blue Ridge State mid sem to major in psychology and ultimately become a self help icon. But as she arrives her plans go off the rails...her relationship with her BF instead of improving becomes even complicated, her roomate Shay needs her help and she being a fixed does just that.
She anonymously with the help of her RA Milo uses her self help abilities to help her listener's at her unis local radio station her mom founded before she passed away.
But Andie is soon gonna find out that her plans may not be the right ones.

MU THOUGHTS-
I enjoyed this book in bits and parts..
The college life the radio show part was fun to read.
Andies roomate Shay is a bookstagrammer and how Andie helps Shay to figure what she really wants yet fulfilling her passion.was fun to read.
The friendship between Andie and Milo was cute.
I didn't enjoy Andie using desserts as swear words initial ones were nice then felt very odd.
The talk about bagel was at times overdone.
Pacing of the book at a lot of places felt off and abrupt.
In all a cute one time read.

- 3.75 Stars -
This book was cute! It was definitely a YA book and I really enjoyed reading something so quick and lighthearted. It was what I needed for this busy season of my life! I had seen a lot of mixed reviews for this specific book and honestly, I don’t think it was as bad as everyone had been saying that it was.

While the book was cute, that doesn’t mean that it was without its faults. Our main character Andie just seemed to be a little bit too immature for my liking, but the way she acts was on trend with Emma Lords' other main characters, so I wasn’t too concerned about it. Andie definitely had some redeeming maturity levels throughout the book, so that was nice to see. Although, the replacement swears Andie uses throughout the book just made me want to shrivel up and die inside. Like, just say “crap” instead of “cinnamon toast crunch” you know?

I think something that irked me throughout the book was the pacing. I found that it made the friendships seem a little weird because while the book was set over three months, the pacing of the storyline didn’t feel that way. It had me a little confused at certain points until I got my bearings.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this book! It was cute, discussed some tougher but still YA appropriate topics, and made me smile throughout! If you go into this book with the mindset that it's a YA novel, I think you’ll enjoy it! If you go into it with the expectations of an adult book, it will not reach that expectation and you’ll be disappointed.

⚠️TW: death of parent, toxic relationship, grief, infidelity, cursing, gaslighting, cancer, abandonment

Thank you @macmillan.audio , @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review! All of the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 - This book was very fun, however, the entire time I was reading it, it felt like it was missing something. I love Emma Lord so I really wish I enjoyed this book more. Despite, my low rating of this book I will keep reading her books, one book isn't able to turn me off from this author that I love so much. I hope all the Emma Lord fans love this book because it is very fun however, I don't think it was for me.

Summary: Andie is a girl who lives to solve problems. She loves to help her friends find solutions and even writes an advice column for her high school newspaper.

When Andie transfers colleges to be near her long term boyfriend, only to learn he has done the reverse to be closer to her, Andie and all her grand plans come crashing down around her. And then there is Milo, the cute, curly haired RA with the sea foam green eyes, who leaves Andie questioning everything.

Thoughts: This is my first book by Emma Lord and I really liked it. If you know me, you know one of my favorite romance tropes is forbidden love. I liked how this book incorporates it in a very realistic way, and doesn’t allow it to overshadow the other themes presented. I would have liked a bit more of the romance, but I understand that it was a subplot and not the main story.

I enjoyed Andie’s journey of self discovery and growth from the start of the school year to the end. One of my favorite aspects of university settings is to see the found family trope play out. I loved seeing Andie develop such a diverse group of friends (with some amazing representation).

Read if you like:
•friends to lovers
•journeys of self discovery
•found friendships
•closed door romance
•forbidden love (minimal)
•college setting

Thank you to Wednesday Books, Macmillan audio and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ahhh!! I always have such a fun time reading Emma Lord's books. This was so fun, so well written. I can't wait to see what comes next from her, because she always hits the mark. Amazing!

What do I say that hasn't been said about Emma Lord before? In typical fashion, Emma has a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The uniqueness of YA for a freshman in college sat really well with me too.
Andie is thrilled to transfer mid-year to the college of her dreams. It's her parents' alma mater and where her high school boyfriend attends. Things have been a little shaky with him and their reunion is going to be perfect. But secrets have a way of blowing up in one's face and Andie's excitement is quickly dulled by her boyfriend's news and how difficult it appears to be to fit in.
Between the setting and full cast of characters, this is a book I'll remember with fondness. The love-triangle-that-wasn't dragged too long for me, but otherwise, I'm well satisfied and eager to keep reading Emma in the future. My favorite thing throughout was Andie's version of cursing, which - without fail - put a smile on my face.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Emma Lord is one of the only YA authors whose books releases I still actively track, so I was definitely excited when I saw that she was writing an YA that focused on college kids for the first time instead of high schoolers! Add to that the fact that the book's title is a Taylor Swift song, and this book quickly became a most anticipated book of 2023! I'm happy to report that it exceeded all of my expectations and is officially my favorite book by the author!

I like to say Emma Lord is the Emily Henry of YA contemporary because I feel like not only do they have relatively similar writing styles but they also write books that at their core are more focused on the main character of the story and their personal journeys through something they might be going through, like that family drama, or maybe just learning who they are and want to be. Yes, Lord's books, just like Henry's, have the romantic aspect of it but in neither of these author's stories I have ever felt like that was the main focus. What I love about Emma Lord's stories and what makes me come back to her books year after year is her ability to create a perfect balance between those plot points as well as make me care about these characters she created and what they might be going through. not just the main characters of these stories but also the side characters who she manages to make just as real and vivid and full of personality as the main ones.

I loved everything about Begin Again, from the characters to the adorable romance between Andie and Milo as well as the amazing friendships Andie makes with Valeria and Shay along the way! I loved Andie's journey of self-discovery as well as her growth throughout the story. her rocky relationship with her dad was also interesting to read about!