Charming YA rom-com that will having laughing and crying. It is feel good book and a quick read. Likeable characters, great swear words, and interesting bagel choices make it a delightful read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

Overall a cute, chick-lit, romance, college-era read. Fans of Emma Lord will enjoy this.
(+) cute and sweet and a little corny, but not in a way that makes you want to give up reading this book
(+) found family! Milo, Val and Shay are the friends everyone hopes to make in college
(-) the broadcasting piece/radio rebel plot fell a little meh? it was teetering on the edge of a little pointless in the general plot. felt like it should have landed a stronger punch.
(-) didn't love andie as a main character, but overall she wasn't terrible.
(-) felt a little Disney-ish in the way topics were handled.

Super cute story about a girl with her whole life planned out and what happens when it doesn't look like it's going to go the way she planned.

I loved Andie. She was such a good friend, to her own detriment at times. I loved her drive to go to the school, how she started with TastyKakes and a fun game, and how hard she worked for those ribbons. I thought the Knight program and the ribbons were a fun part to the story and I love how it tied the group together. Val and Shay were such a fun part of the story and I appreciated how realistic and flawed they were. Milo was adorable and I loved and appreciated his love for strong coffee. Connor was exactlly who we needed him to be and I appreciate his addition.

I think it's good to read stories to remind us that plans can go awry and everything still work out. This had so many cute moments between the reminder to not neglect yourself in the midst of helping others. Also the push that family (or the family you choose) is important, even when they mess up (or you do) and apologies all around are good when they happen. It was just the read I needed today, adorable and well rounded.

This was the perfectly comforting, emotionally-grounded but still light romance I've come to expect from Emma Lord. Left me with a huge smile on my face, but still hit some super strong emotional beats throughout. One thing I would've liked was to be introduced a little more explicitly to some of the secondary characters earlier on in the story, particularly Milo's siblings. It felt like we were supposed to already be familiar with them by the time they appeared on the page, when they hadn't really been established yet. Overall this was a really small thing though, I still really loved the book and will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a super cute romance with some emotional heft!

Emma Lord has become one of my favorite authors and I will always pick up a book by her without even reading the synopsis. Begin again was a really cute book with interesting characters and I thought the story was really sweet. It was a little slow for me though and kind of drawn out. I think it could have been a bit shorter and I would’ve enjoyed it more. All in all it was cute, but it took me a while to get through it.

Emma Lord’s Begin Again is the perfect school-year read. It perfectly captures the experience of being a college freshman, feeling lost, and trying to find yourself and who you want to be. Andie experiences many things that I could relate to in a fun and easy to read way. The humor of her grandmothers (with their baked goods swear words), and the lovable Milo and his coffee addiction kept me hooked from the very beginning. I couldn’t wait to get more time to read and I was exceptionally sad when it was over. Lord’s writing is witty, sincere, and distinctive. I believed in the characters and wanted to see them succeed. They were so well-written and felt like actual people. Although the book gives a solid ending that ties up lose ends, I was left wondering what happened to the characters after the final scene—as if they were real people out in the world living. Those are the best kinds of books. This is the perfect read for anyone who is about to or has experienced college. Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl will also enjoy it, as I found a lot of similarities between Cath and Andie. I highly recommend this book. If I taught high school, I would absolutely teach these novel.

loved the premise of this story. Andie goes to the same college where her parents met and fell in love. Blue Ridge State had an underground radio station where The Knight does their broadcasts.
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Andie’s late mom was a part of this, and now she’s doing everything she can to be a part of it as well!
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The friendships are what stood out to me the most in this book. They were so prevalent and in the forefront of everything that was happening. It’s not something you see all the time, and it was fantastic.
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Andie, Milo, Shay, and Val were the perfect group. I would honestly love to see more of them!
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🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Begin Again.

Emma Lord has done it again! She is quickly moving into a tie with Morgan Matson for my favorite contemporary romance with substance writer. Despite my anticipation of nearly every plot point (probably because of my age and familiarity with this type of book), I still couldn't put this one down. I would love to live in this town!

Though I did feel like the relationship felt a little rebound-esque, I still loved it. My Emma Lord fans (of which there are many) will be in line for a copy when the library gets it in!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a super cute YA book about young college students as they transition away from home and high school relationships. It's an easy book to get lost in, my only complaint is that it was a little wordy/over written at times. Regardless, I totally recommend it and can't wait to read what Emma Lord writes next!

Andie Rose is a fixer, a planner, and has her life mapped out step by step. However, somehow along with way she became so worried about everyone around her that she forgot about herself and shoved her personal needs and issues aside.
As she moves to college it all snowballs and she has to take a step back and do a self evaluation. New friends, a new roommate and a new love interest makes her realize what her true priorities should be.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the cute read!

Thank you Wednesday books and Emma Lord for this amazing ARC!

This was my first Emma Lord book and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. I was super into Andie’s entire experience as she transfers to a new school and deals with the ups and downs of making new friends, dealing with old relationships, and trying to follow her moms legacy. I thought this book was so cute everywhere it needed to be and I loved every second of it!

I first became a fan of Emma Lord with Tweet Cute, and I feel every one of her books since then has just gotten so so much better. I think I have to admit that Begin Again is by far my favorite.

The voice of our main character, Andie was so refreshing. She was quirky and fun, and unbelievably realistic. I loved reading her tale of finding herself at college through her friends , and even her family.

My favorite part about this was the twist at the end involving the romance. I didn’t see it coming until the very moment it happened and it twisted my guts!

This book also made me so emotionally involved I was tearing up for most of the end of the book. I haven’t been so attached to characters in so so long! Emma Lord is a brilliant writer and an amazing romance storyteller. I cannot wait to continue reading books from this author for years to come!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the arc!!

I truly thought no book Emma Lord wrote would ever top Tweet Cute. I was so confident in this opinion that I went into this book not even considering that this might beat out enemies-to-lovers Pepperjack. I was right, but damn this was on par with it.

Emma Lord writes effortlessly witty and charming books while dealing with real-life issues that many people face today. All her characters are multi-faceted and relatable to the demographic of people reading her books. Andie is a perfectionist, who is so unwilling to look at the broken pieces of her life, that she insists on fixing other people's problems. It has been ingrained in her head since childhood that she has to be useful to be loved. She doesn't feel like, alone, she is enough, which is something most teenagers relate to. We see her find friendships that give instead of constantly taking from her, break out of her own shell, and, with support from her found family, face the issues she has avoided for too long. I loved seeing all of these confused college kids come together and support one another, at a time that is scary for anyone, where everything seems uncertain.

This book made me laugh and cry. I fell fiercely in love with Andie and Milo. This book is going to touch a lot of people's hearts, especially those who are struggling with their self-worth and place in the world.

This was honestly not my favorite Emma Lord book. It was slower than her other ones and didn't grab my attention as early as her the novels. That being said, I still enjoyed it! It was cute and light and just what I needed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for an advanced copy of this book.

This was a delightful read. Andie, a motherless - an essentially estranged from her father, girl transfers to the college where her parents first met. Not only does she get to explore her family's history, she gets to be closer to her boyfriend Connor. However, things do not go as planned. Andie soon overstretches herself socially and academically all while trying to join the colleges secret societies that her mother belonged to and to help with the pirate radio show her mother pioneered.

Her life becomes a mess, but it allows her to slow down and see what she really wants.

This was such an enjoyable read from start to finish - there are some twists (some easier to predict than others) that keep you on your toes and interested throughout. I highly recommend to an YA or adult reader.

📚Recently Read📚

Thank you @dilemmalord and @stmartinspress for the #arc

Okay first of all this picture doesn’t do the cover justice it’s ADORABLE ! Swipe for a better idea ➡️

#emmalord … I see you 👀 I see what you did there with all the @taylorswift song titles casually woven in and I respect it 🙌

This was a little bit more grown up than previous works with the characters being in college and heavier on the emotion than I was expecting. Another great innocent YA contemporary!

This was a delightful YA read. The characters are a little older than traditional YA (first year of college), which I found enjoyable. I think most teens would really love this life and love story. I found the storyline of Andie and her dad heartbreaking and I really resonated with it. I loved the friendships formed in the book as well. My only complaint was Andie's lack of self-awareness and inability to help herself despite constantly helping those around her. Overall a solidly enjoyable book.

Thank you NetGalley/ Wednesday Books for the digital ARC copy of Emma Lord’s Begin Again.
Emma does it again, we have another heart warming YA that I’ll be adding to my re read pile. Andie is a fixer… of everyone else’s problems. We see Andie fulfilling a life long dream and trials and tribulations when you’re going through the I’m a kid turning into an adult in college. And figuring out that you can’t just fix everyone else, you need to deal with your own problems too. It was such a great story, I especially loved the growth of each of the characters.

Oh man, this made me feel so nostalgic for college. The desire to belong, the pressure of expectations (your own and others’), trying to fit your old self with your new self. But mostly the silly nights laughing until you’re breathless from the sheer rush of loving the people around you.

That’s what this book felt like.

Andie wants nothing more than to be her mom’s daughter. To keep her legacy alive. To be worthy of… she’s not sure yet. Milo is bruised and sarcastic and just wants a reason to stay in a place he deeply cares about.

I smiled through this whole book. It felt a lot like my time in undergrad (without the secret societies). I adored the college pirate radio flair; I remember the first time nerves like it was yesterday. This was a delight to read.

I was so excited to rip into this book. I started reading it almost as soon as Net Galley said the publisher gave me the "okay" to read. I started reading and found that the book was not going as fast as I anticipated. Normally, a YA/New Adult novel doesn't take me very long to read. This one, however, took me months to get through. It was a little slow to start. The main character, Andie, is so unlike me that I had a bit of trouble understanding her at first. As I got through more of the novel, I realized it was well worth the slow start. Andie is sweet, kind, and likable. Milo is the kind of boy everyone has a crush on in college. He's got wholesome, boy next door vibes. Andie is able to make a new friend so easily with Shay, and their friendship is adorable. Seeing both Andie and Milo reconnect with family makes the reader feel all cozy inside. I really like the LGBTQ+ representation. It didn't feel awkward or forced. Oh, and we all can agree that Connor sucks.
If you think it's slow to start, keep going. It is worth it.
This is going to a winter hit; I feel it.
*This book was given to me as an advanced reader copy for review purposes. All opinions are my own.