As a college sophomore, I personally know how rough college and “beginning again” can be. For that reason, I loved following Andie’s journey as she finds her place and friends at a new school while learning to let go of the perfect life plan she has. While I enjoyed Andie’s journey and tribulations, I didn’t enjoy the romance storyline (which is a huge let down because i have loved Emma Lord’s other couples).

A recent transfer to Blue Ridge State, her parents’ alma mater, Andie is ready to start off her freshman spring right — reunited with her perfect boyfriend and ready to follow her mother’s legacy and crush the school-wide ribbon hunt to join a secret society. But, of course, it’s all upended when her boyfriend, Connor, transfers to her old community college, leaving her torn between setting down roots in her dream college and staying with her reliable past. Along the journey, Andie learns a lot about herself, mends and burns some bridges, and makes amazing new friends in her roommate Shay, tutor Valeria, and RA Milo (aka the love interest).

Let’s start off with the good things. As per usual, this book had the classic Emma Lord humor and charm. Andie is a complex and evolving character, and I really enjoyed following her on a journey as she learned to let go of some things that were holding her back. She has some great advice and revelations that were conveyed really well. As normal the writing style is really easy to read, though it did get a bit repetitive in terms of plot. The side characters are also very fun!

This book it’s different from the other two Emma Lord books I love (Tweet Cute and When You Get The Chance) and that really threw me off. There isn’t a rivals-to-lovers storyline with dual POVs and main characters who are obviously perfect for each other. I didn’t feel that electric chemistry and banter between Milo and Andie.

Where this book fumbles for me is when the romance storyline was introduced between Milo and Andie. For 80% of the book, Andie has a long term boyfriend (who I personally liked before a twist that obviously justified her leaving him). This made it really weird for her and Milo to be obviously set up for a romance the entire book. While neither act on it until the end, it was a bit uncomfortable to read because I didn’t ship it. On top of that, he’s her RA!! That is not allowed and all around skeeved me out. Personally, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it didn’t have the romance plot, and rather focused on Andie’s journey making friends and learning about herself. Milo would have been great as an older upperclassman friend. I just wanted to skip all the “ooo tension” parts. Plus, she shouldn’t be rushing into another relationship right after Connor!

Also, the fact that the main character swears with food words is so annoying. The whole “not swearing” thing is always cringe, especially in a book with other characters saying shit and fuck. Like who the fuck says “Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts” or “Honey Nut Cheerios!” as swears!? Jesus, just stop.

Overall this book was good. Not a favorite, and it was definitely a bit laborious to get through at the beginning, but it really picks up in speed and message in the last 1/3. I would recommend Emma Lord’s other novels before this one though.

Emma Lord's books just keep getting better! She is one of VERY few authors of straight white books that I consistently read, and her latest is even more heartfelt, even more romantic, and even funnier than before. From the Taylor Swift title to the plot reminiscent of Legally Blonde, there is so much to love about this novel, and I am seriously just so in love with it.

Emma Lord is one of my favorites when it come to YA. Lord writes wonderful stories filled with warmth, charm, and wit which never fail to make me happy. I am delighted to report that the streak continues with Begin Again.

There are so many things to love about this story, and I want to share the things that really won me over.

• This is a YA-goes-to-college book. It brings me joy to see more YA stories set during that first year of college. It such a big time of change for teens, and Lord did a wonderful job highlighting the ups and downs of that first year.

• Andie’s plans may have blown up, but she was able to find her place and her way with the help of a fantastic found family. Getting to know Milo, Shay, and Valeria was such a treat, and the support they gave to Andie as she found her footing was something special.

• The ribbon hunt was so much fun. Look, I went to engineering school, so I did not have as much fun as Andie, but I loved reading about all the college shenanigans I missed out on.

• I appreciated the way Lord dealt with Andie’s grief and abandonment issues. Andie was very motivated to attend Blue Ridge because her parents went there, and this was a way for her to connect with them, especially her mother who had died. I found the storylines associated with her parents quite touching, and I was especially pleased with how it all worked out with her dad.

• This was also about Andie finding her place and herself. Andie had sort of been living in a bubble with her boyfriend at the center of her world. She allowed his needs to supersede her own. Being in a new school, Andie was able to explore and discover so much about herself. She found people and interests that were all her own and as a result, she grew in leaps and bounds.

• Milo was a gem. I loved him when he was grumpy and even more when I got to know him better.

Like I said, Lord has been a dependable author for me. I can rely on her books to make me smile and laugh with the antics, warmth, and fantastic friendships she never fails to highlight. Andie captured my heart with that first dorm meet up where she showed her love for snack cakes and ability to bring the fun. The core four who were the focus of this story filled with failures, successes, endings, and new beginnings were all lovely, charming, and deserving of my affection. An A+ love interest with a fabulous family, amusing college hijinks, and some tenderhearted daughter-dad moments elevated my enjoyment and made this a solid read for me.

I'm a huge Emma Lord fan and this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I couldn't get into this one!

Andie decides to transfer into a work study program and psych major program to be with her boyfriend. Little does she know, her boyfriend transferred colleges to be with her! With a bookstagram roommate, a grumpy sunshine RA and some adventurous floor mates, Andie is in for a semester of fun.

What she doesn't expect is to fall back in love with randio broadcasting, something her mom started at the same career. As Andie continues throughout the semester, she's ready to begin again in more way than one.


** I listened to this story and couldn't get past the first 35%. This story was a slow start and did not continue to keep my interest. I'm hope for Lord's next album. **

Thank you MacMillian Audio and Wednesday Books for my alc/arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was good, but nothing spectacular. I was excited that it was a YA featuring a college-aged MC, hoping it would make it more relatable. Instead the MC curses by saying her favourite foods? It was highly predictable, but an easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for advance copies in exchange for an honest review.

After a few sub par suspense reads, this was the perfect light, sweet palette cleanser.

I really enjoyed the academic setting, the character development, and the less cliche story than most romantic plot lines I’ve read. Perfect read for the holidays, I could totally picture this as a Netflix movie!

Emma Lord has this unique way of bringing a theme into a YA romance that binds the story and the characters together. From grilled cheese to broadway, she creates this cohesive current in her books that keep me coming back for more. This story of Andie and her personal expectations for herself and others is sweet and honest and endearing. She transfers colleges mid freshman year to be with her boyfriend and to connect closer to her mom's past. But when she get there, nothing is as she expected. This story of found family and friendship and changing as life does and regrouping when you least expect or want to is so true but fun that it kept me reading and chattering with a friend throughout the book. I can't wait to pass this one on to my own teen readers.

An enormous thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and of course, Emma Lord for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

This was such a cute book, but boy did it make me emotional. May or may not have cried a few times. I really liked Andie and her growth throughout the book. Her obstacles felt realistic and every hurdle just led her closer to truly coming into her own.

Anyone who’s experienced grief can relate to this one, the different ways people cope with them and learning through baby steps how to get out of that hole.

I’ve loved the Emma Lord books I’ve read so far, and this was no exception. I loved all the characters- Andie, Shay, Milo and Val especially. Though I really loved Milo’s big family and their dynamics.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Begin Again is quaint and cute. A little too cutesy wootsy for my liking, personally. I feel like that is just Lord’s style though (read: cheesy). I must say: I like some good, ol’ cussin’. So, the fact the protagonist says things like “Oh! snickerdoodle cookies!!” irked me! Not really relatable to any college student I ever met, but whateva. If you are looking for a simple read, this is it. What I enjoyed the most were the cast of characters. The grandmothers are hilarious and sweet! Shay is funky and funny! Milo is snarky, yet kind. Lord’s little turn of phrases and sarcastic style of prose is appreciated. I smirked (internally) every once in a while. This novel, however, is too on the nose. So much so that I literally guessed every part of this book from the beginning. And I’m, like, the laziest reader ever. That in it of itself takes away a star for me (rounding down to 2 stars). Alas…I think most PG-rated, younger folks will enjoy this.

This was a very cute YA romance. Andie transfers to Blue Ridge State to be with her boyfriend Connor (as a surprise) and also because her mother went there. This is her first semester living independently and taking on new adventures. As she meets new friends, she quickly starts to realize all that she was missing in her little world and finds a way to Begin Again.

My one big dislike was the main character Andie using silly language when "swearing". It was really annoying, although her romantic interest finds it cute. A minor thing that distracted me from the story at times.

Overall, a good story with some great characters.

The first Emma Lord book I read was Tweet Cute, and I loved it. I was hesitant going into Begin Again - would I love the story and the craft of Lord’s writing the same? Spoiler alert: I love it even more. This book is relatable, covering real topics and invoking real feelings of the college years. I loved it and would read it again right now.

Navigating college life as a transfer student, maintaining good grades, and attempting to keep up with her long distance relationship, needless to say Andie has a lot on her plate.

Begin Again is definitely more of a coming of age type book, when I expected some more romance, but see Andie really come into herself and having her recognize that she didn’t always need to the ‘fixer’ and that it was ok to put herself and goals first sometimes was great.

What an absolutely adorable and uplifting story. This is my second read from Emma Lord and the writing is just so fun.

What I thought was going to be a story about a type a girl switching colleges to be with her boyfriend only to find out he switched school to attend hers, turned out to be so much more. I was expecting this to be more about the protagonist simply living for her boyfriend; his approval, helping him, getting them both back to a place where they are at the same school, but what I got was Andie living for herself, making friends, having experiences in a school where her parents attended.

Andie’s friend group is the best! She becomes besties with her roommate, Shay and catches the eye of Milo, the grumpy RA on her floor. And during the time we follow her, she grows so much. She learns what SHE wants, what makes her happy… WHO makes her happy.

This was a really uplifting, wholesome ya read that I loved so much.

Emma Lord is the queen of young adult books and I loved this one! Andie is navigating college as a transfer student, juggling grades, a long distance relationship, and finding bits of her parents' past all around campus.

There is so much to love in this one as we see Andie grow, finding her way and recognizing she doesn't need to fix everyone else's problems and instead can focus on herself and her own goals. I loved the college campus setting and the friends she made, including her bookstagrammer roomie and sarcastic but sweet RA.

There are lots of moments of self-discovery, creating a found family, and making peace with the past that make this a perfect coming-of-age story (with a dash of charming romance). Highly recommend if you need a heartwarming read that will have you reminiscing on your own college days (if you're a bit older than the target demographic ;) ).

Thank you Wednesday Books for my advance copy in exchange for a review.

Overall I gave 4 stars...this was super cute and enjoyable, however I am absolutely not the right age range for this one! Sometimes YA works this mid-thirtys gal and sometimes it feels too young. Too young isn't bad as I am obviously not the YA target demographic, but this one definitely felt too young for me.

However, if you are thinking of getting this for a YA reader in your life: pick this one up!! It was delightful, cute, charming, and felt very relevant for 2022.

A charming read! The main character is quite likable and her supporting cast is vibrant and fleshed out. There were a bit too many plot points that weren't fully fleshed out to give it higher than a three, but enjoyable nonetheless.

This is exactly what I love about YA romance. Andie and Milo learned so much about themselves and grew so much just by being friends. Andie transfers to Blue Ridge mid semester to be at the college that her parents met at years ago. She has a legacy there and can't wait to experience it all. Her boyfriend was supposed to be there as well, but he transferred back to community college just as Andie leaves.
To be honest, I am glad that he boyfriend, Connor, didn't make it there. She was able to open up and meet so many new people without him. They were together for what seemed like forever and she needed to find out who she was, without being under his wing.
Milo was the token grumpy boy that lit up when Andie came into view. She pulled him out of his misery so he didn't drown there. They both had a lot of baggage to work through, but the group of friends they had on their side was so much fun and so supportive. It made me nostalgic for my time at college and I feel like I experienced everything they were going through on some level and it was amazing how the book transported me back.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's and Emma Lord for an early copy!

Oh, I adored this. Emma Lord is really cementing herself as one of my favorite YA authors today. This was adorable, funny, and very heartfelt — I think her most deeply felt novel so far, more than the comedy and antics of her previous ones — and left me smiling and just a bit teary. Lord continues to be excellent at writing friends and family, from a wonderful roommate Shay to the little found family to Andie’s quirky grandmas. I loved Milo, particularly as more was revealed of him. It also fulfills my desire for more YA books about college, as it’s always surprised me there aren’t more about college years in this genre/tone. Lord did a great job of capturing what it’s like to start college and look for your place and your people, especially when it doesn’t come easily (and her setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains was a perfect touch for me, someone from the region just like Lord is). It tips into more silliness with the premise (which I did adore) and all the competition, but was balanced out by so much about finding your footing and working through relationships and loss. So lovely, and a book I would have loved even more at 18, away from the mountains but a bit lost in college too despite being where I knew I wanted to be.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to get a galley!

Emma Lord has been one of my must read authors since Tweet Cute, and with every subsequent book I’ve enjoyed watching new characters grapple with complex family dynamics and the double edged sword of secrets.

Secrets are everywhere in Begin Again — Milo is keeping one from most of the school, Andie is keeping one from most of her friends and Connor is keeping a few big ones from the people he claims to love.

As a notorious consumer of romance novels, the likely HEA here was clear from the synopsis (even more after a few chapters in if you’re familiar with the Taylor Swift song cited in the book’s titled). But rather than the plot, it’s Lord’s characters that catapulted Begin Again to be my second favorite of her books.

Andie is anxious and overcompensating and uses her desire to help her friends as a thinly disguised coping mechanism for her mother’s death. But in the grumpy/sunshine dichotomy, Andie becomes the clear sunshine, mostly in comparison with Milo, a caffeine-addicted RA who loves his quiet hours. But unlike most of his romance novel counterparts, the rationale for his "love is a scam" stance holds some water, though his grudge holding doubles as a conflict avoider’s dream coping mechanism.

Aside from the romantic leads, several supporting characters are given their own arcs, most notably Val and Shay, aka the rest of the All Knighters friend group who made me want to text in all my college group chats. I’m not usually nostalgic for those days but the bits Lord captures (trivia nights, trauma bonding over tough classes, making friends through work study, the tight knit community of both dormmates and extracurricular activities) truly took me back.

Come for TSwift's Begin Again interpreted through the lens of the grumpy/sunshine trope, stay for the collegiate hyjinks and some heartwarming familial reconciliations.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the copy of this ARC. Unfortunately, this book was just a little too YA for me. I’ve loved the author’s past books (especially When You Get The Chance), but the all-knowing teenager and swearing with favorite foods are just things that don’t work well for me at this point in my life. Definitely great for an actual teenage audience, though!