Emma Lord is delightful author. The older I get, the less interested I am in YA, but some authors keep me coming back for it, and Emma is one of them.
This could technically be shelved as new adult, as the main characters are freshman and sophomores in college, but it stays YA in tone and content. It’s a romance about finding yourself and moving on from who you were in high school. Not steamy but sweet and satisfying, with characters who feel like real people you’d like to hang out with (although this cast is more like me in college—busy, highly social, energetic—than me now, at 41).
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for the arc.

It took me a while to get into this book, and I’ll admit I found the second half better than the first. I really could not stand the MC-she was whiny and honestly felt really self-absorbed to me. The plot felt thin at best, and I struggled to keep track of everything that was going on. In general, I just had a really hard time getting into this book-it just wasn’t for me.

I was given and ARC by NetGalley and Wednesday Books. All opinions are my own.

Overall I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t my favorite. It was a little slow and I couldn’t really get into it. It was a cute and sweet romance. I like the college aspect and all the scavenger hunts. It was funny and it was sad. The characters were fun. The plot just fell a little short for me. I would recommend it if you like college romances.

Adored this story about starting over, second chances, heartbreak, loss and so much more.
Milo and Andie are the most charming and lovable characters, and you can’t help but feel EVERY emotion they feel. From the losses they both have experienced to betrayals by friends/family to new friendships that become family you feel it all! Begin Again is great for fans of YA, slow burns, college campus settings, and stories of found family. Enthusiastically recommend!

What a great and beautiful story. Emma Lord has done it again, creating a book with all of the charm of Tweet Cute and the kind of emotional insights that can only come from a college freshman learning about the world around her.

I haven’t always been one to read a coming of age story, sticking closer to romcoms instead. But, I really, really enjoyed this book. I don’t know if it’s the fact that she’s a college freshman and that’s who I’m about to be, but everything Andie went through and discovered just hit really close. She had the kinds of thoughts and epiphanies that give you goosebumps and sink deep into your heart.

Andie is a college freshman who manages to transfer to her dream school, but everything isn’t as perfect as she was hoping. Milo is her coffee-addicted RA, and the two of them build a friend group with two other girls, Shay and Valeria, that starts to feel like a family. Begin Again had the perfect balance between our protagonist Andie finding herself and the budding romance between her and Milo, and I loved every second of it. Andie had so much growth as a person, and I genuinely enjoyed watching her learn and change for the better. She slowly became so much more comfortable and at home with herself. Milo also went through some great character development, and him and Andie complimented each other so well. I always love when two characters bring out the best in each other. I do wish there was a bit more of the two of them together, but a lot of things had to happen first and I understand that.

This was a great book filled with college adventures and personal growth and an adorable romance, and I highly recommend to anyone who loves YA fiction with a bit of romance!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wendesday Books for the eARC!

Begin Again is a thoroughly enjoyable story of first and second year college students figuring out who they are as they begin their lives away from the friends and family they've always known. Andie has experienced a lot of loss within her family, but has her life all planned out regardless. To start those plans in motion, she transfers to an academically challenging school to follow in her mom's footsteps and be with her boyfriend, but it turns out he transferred back home to be with her and she needs to find her own way, rather than just doing exactly what her mom did. The friendships in this book feel authentic, as do all the messy romantic entanglements. All of the characters are figuring out who they are and who they want to be, but are there for each other along the way. I loved the way Andie, Milo, and all the other characters waded through hurt and disappointment--it's messy, but so is real life. This book is perfect for older teens who are preparing to navigate the post-high school transition into whatever comes next!

Not my favorite book by this author, but was still overall entertaining (if certain elements felt a little forced or unnecessary) and a good read.

Begin Again was a cute college story. It was good by New Adult standards–a genre I often dislike. We begin with the comical-but-easily-avoidable mishap described in the synopsis, and then follow Andie on her quest to fit in at her parents’ alma mater.

The story was cute if a little cheesy. It’s a very slow burn and very closed-door, but I loved the friendships Andie creates with the side characters.

There were a few things about Andie that irked me, like her “fixer” personality despite usually having bad advice, and her “too cute to cuss” habit. Very little attention is paid to classes in this book, and I have no idea how Andie wouldn’t be failing them all. Only one class was mentioned, which she was struggling with, and she never seemed to go to class itself, only office hours.

Overall, good but not great.

emma lord maintains her status as a comfort author! begin again is one of her heavier titles, but i love how she handles subjects like death of a parent, moving away from home, feeling stuck, and cheating (content warnings for the first and last!). andie is a perfectly awkward and lovely main character to make mistakes and smile with, and i loved the supporting cast of characters as well. the radio plotline is the strongest part of this novel and really hooked me. i enjoyed the romance, but it did feel a bit like it was rushed at the end, especially with all the stuff with andie's boyfriend at the beginning of the story and milo's uncertainty about his future. other than that, i fell easily into this and it was very cozy and fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed Begin Again and Emma Lord is quickly becoming a favorite of mine!

We follow Andie as she transfers from community college to her dream school as a second semester transfer. I love how she immersed herself into life on campus and quickly made friends. I loved her friendship with Shay and Milo. I know YA/new adult can sometimes get a bad rap, but I feel like they deal with more issues than sometimes adult books. Andie is trying to be everything for everyone while following in her late mother’s footsteps. It takes her a little while but she learns so much about herself, her family, and her friendships.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration!

A cute and a little bit naive YA story about growing up and growing as a person.

The main character, Andie, transfers to her boyfriend's college (and the college she always wanted to attend because her mom went there) and keeps it a secret - she wants to surprise him. Well, that didn't go well because her boyfriend had the same idea. Now, stuck in the college of her dreams, but it feels like everything is going wrong.

To me, this book was hard to get into & it couldn't hold my attention for the life of me! It felt a little too naive and too cheesy. I don't like when cussing (for 18-19-year-olds, basically adults) is replaced with weird phrases (or favorite foods, as in this case) which this book does. I refuse to accept that lol.

The characters, however, we fun & entertaining. I want the grandmas to adopt me.

This is a perfect book for younger audiences and I loved the message behind the book - how even the weirdest and unexpected things can turn out amazing and great. And that change is good, even if it's hard to see it at the moment.

3 stars for - entertaining characters, fun college activities and discussions of grief/wanting to connect with those who are long gone.

3/5 stars, thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Andie, a compulsive “fixer”, is determined to follow her carefully laid plans for following in her mother’s footsteps - now that she’s transferred to her mother’s alma mater(which happens to be where her boyfriend is, too), it’s time to put it into action. But when her plans crumble before they can even start, she has to find a new way to create the future she wants(which might be a lot more complicated than expected.)

This book was such a fantastic listen - much like Emma Lord’s previous work! With most of the book spent developing the relationships between the All Nighters(the trivia team and friend group to beat), it was easy to root for each of the characters.

I loved the connection between Milo and Andie especially - their past experiences losing a parent gave them a deep understanding of each other, and I loved that they could talk about it together. From Andie helping with his caffeine addiction, to Milo(to everyone’s shock) showing up to trivia night because she asked, they started a friendship full of care that grew throughout the story. And the thunder snow day?? I didn’t know that could happen, but that scene was one of my faves!

The secret radio show(started by Andie’s mom) was a great example of one person creating something that snowballs into something so much bigger than itself - Andie herself creates a ripple effect when she starts what becomes a weekly game of Werewolf for the dorm (a game I played with daycare kids once upon a time!) I thought it was super powerful that she was able to make change on her first day, even if she doesn’t acknowledge the enormity of connection she created with the people who lived on campus(and the many not from the dorm that would join in).

I could hush about this book for a lot longer, but I think it’s so well executed and deserves all the praise I know it will receive! I’d highly recommend picking up this book in whatever format you can - this is another winner from Emma Lord!

I was interested in this book after seeing the title and who the author was as I really enjoyed another book she wrote (Tweet Cute). This book is about Andie transferring to the same college as her boyfriend, but also the same college her parents went to. It was about finding yourself, friendships, family and relationships. I really enjoyed this book! Loved Andie and all of the other characters especially Milo and watching their friendships grow, but also the journey that Andie went through during her first semester at Blue Ridge State.

AHH so many Taylor references and lyrics! This was really cute! At first I thought the premise was really weird but as soon as the details were revealed within the story, it was a good twist!

emma lord my beloved!! i’ve been lucky enough to read arcs of all her novels and they always make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside <3

first of all, that cover????? OBSESSED. second of all, THE TITLE??? my swifties heart couldn’t take it.

i always adore emma’s characters and andie & milo were no exception! the things they were dealing with and the fact that they had each other? the friendships? loved everyone so much (not you connor you can choke)

let’s talk about how the found family trope is one of the best tropes ever!!

ps: emma how dare you make me cry like that

This book was absolutely adorable! I loved that it was more about finding yourself and coming into your own with a side focus on romance. The characters are college age students but I feel like this book does a great job of reaching readers of all ages. There was something to relate to no matter your age.

Andie was an extremely likable character and I really enjoyed her friend group. Shay was my favorite side character!

This whole book just felt like a warm hug and is a realistic take on starting over when things aren't quite going as planned.

I would highly recommend this book to any fans of YA/NA!

Emma Lord is one of those authors I know I am going to enjoy. Her latest YA/new adult novel Begin Again introduces readers to Type-A, mega planner Andie Rose. She's always known that her place was at Blue Ridge State, where she was going to follow in her mother's footsteps. With a delightful cast of secondary characters, Andie starts to learn that sometimes plans are better when changed.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This was both very cute, as Emma Lord excels at, but also balanced with a very annoying main character who does some good changing. I'll read again when the final version comes out, but I think I'll feel the same way about Andie's journey. Her supporting cast is excellent, with great friends and excellent adults.

I have read all of Emma Lord’s books. And I don’t think I will read another one. I read a lot of YA books even though I am an adult. And most of the time I don’t have a problem with it. But in the case of Emma Lord’s writing I do. I just feel like she writes to cute and a little immature. This book is perfect if you are the right age to be reading YA. But if you are an adult like me this book will annoy you. The characters fell flat and immature. The stuff they did was so annoying. I wanted to like this book. But it was just not for me. If you are an adult who likes to read YA, I think this is one you can skip. This is nothing against Emma Lord, I just realized I am to old for her books. I would have loved this when I was a teenager.

A sweet take on the college romance, Andie's transferred from a community college to a Blue Ridge State and there's a whole new world out there. She's got a room mate, is working with the college radio station, and then there's Milo, the RA. She's a hoot with her lists (I love lists), her penchant for using different words when she wants to curse, and her attitude in general. Of course, Milo is her opposite in terms of outlook- he's a grouch of sorts but he's a grouch whose shell will crack. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read for the YA crowd and for anyone looking for a smile.