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.

To be upfront, I’m not going to post this review publicly. I’m sure that the typical YA crowd will like this book well enough, but many others will find the setup so implausible that it will likely have drastically opposing posted reviews. I’ve enjoyed Emma Lord’s books in this past, but this one is such a hot mess right from the start that I’m not going to waste anymore of my time. I know it’s making the rounds so it’s too late to make editorial changes. It’s a DNF for me.
In a nutshell, there’s a fundamental problem with the execution of the main character. For someone who had all her ducks in a row to be able to transfer in mid-year to a prestigious college, her utter lack of any ducks once she got there did not work. The massive lack of communication with her boyfriend (both transferring to each other’s schools without either telling the other), and then setting up a new interest before the initial dysfunction was resolved, also didn’t work. The premise of the book had her being an advice giving guru but the advice wasn’t good (deliberately so to prove a point?) and she was the one who needed it the most.
I’m all about those moments in YA when things fall apart and then come back together after some soul searching introspection. However, the way the book started out with so much scrambled egg was a total Humpty Dumpty for me. It can’t put my interest in finishing the book back together again.

This is a true coming of age story that focuses on personal growth and finding one’s identity, rather than a love story between two unlikely individuals. I've read this author's past work and knew what this book would contain. There are the witty and smart literary puns that replace more colorful language, the lead who is trying to carve her own path, and a story that has character development and growth throughout the story. But this book lacks a bit of magic that her others had.

I had a hard time devoting my full attention to this book. It was so slow to start and never truly picked for me. Though there were cute moments that did keep the book interesting, it wasn’t enough for me to fully enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I know it took me almost a month to read but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more books by Lord. I really enjoyed all of the characters except Connor.

This was so cute I LOVE. I was worried that I only loved When you Get the Chance so much because I am a die-hard Abba stan, but turns out Emma Lord writes the perfect fluffy YA contemporary with heart and I had such a good time with this.

Andie was ever so slightly annoying but in an acceptable way, but MILO! I would die for Milo. Her bookstagrammer roommate and fantasy writer math tutor were MADE for bookworms.

The plot was compelling, the romance was heartwarming, and I am HAPPY

Andie has her while life planned out, but when she transfers from her community college to a more competitive school to major in psychology, things start to unravel, and Andie has to find a way to navigate through life's challenges and begin through a fresh start.

Andie wants to become a psychologist, so she is a bit of a problem solver and likes to help her friends solve their problems and give advice. While Andie is at her new school, she tries to find a way to connect with her late mom by partaking in the same events that she did at the same school by competing in the ribbon hunt events and taking part in the Knights program, an underground radio program. I liked how Andie was a good friend and wanted to help solve their problems, but in the process, she tends to neglect her own wellbeing.

I really enjoyed Andie's scenes with Milo, the dorms R.A. There were some cute scenes between the two who become quick friends.

This was a fun, cute, quick read all about finding your way.

I really enjoyed this sweet story of a young woman figuring out who she is and coming to terms with her past and how it has shaped her. The story was sweet but there was more depth than I expected. This author was new to me but I will be reading more from her. Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. 4 ⭐️

I have not read any previous Emma Lord, mainly because I thought that her books were overly hyped so I avoided them. And it's odd because they keep coming up as recommended reads time and time again. So, I decided to try reading this one on NetGalley because it would push me to try her books and, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't feel too bad with a negative review because, well, she's already quite popular as an author.

The book started out a bit questionable for me in terms of the plot set up and how quickly things moved, but once I was able to accept Andie and her quirks, namely her busy body solve all problems personality, I got into the story and the characters. Her roommate Shay was by far my favorite character, although Milo was entertaining in his own right even without the simmering romantic tension. Maybe Andie's advice being given did rub me wrong, because she acted like she was qualified in some way. But having done a Dear Abby column for my high school paper, I guess I can get behind how it's not hard sometimes to come up with a response that just makes sense.

I liked how, despite the story moving quickly, the events rolled out over a few months rather than a few days. There was a shocker towards the end that I really didn't see coming. I mean, I saw something with Connor brewing, but definitely not the way it played out.

All in all, this was a fun read. Fairly quick to get through, with some good characters.

Cute read but Tweet Cute was way better.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I chose this because I really enjoyed the author’s other book, When You Get the Chance, and this college love story did not disappoint! Although there was some romance, the book was also just a great exploration of what it means to figure out what you really want and why it’s ok to “begin again” sometimes. I also really want to visit the bagel shop in this fictional college town because it sounded AMAZING.

This one is out January 2023! Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and of course, the author for the early read!

I love the energy in Emma Lord’s stories. I always find creative but not overdone dialogue, and fun personalities to meet. Some of the inner monologue is a little on the nose as far as introspective thinking goes. Things also got solved pretty neatly by the end. But the journey was so fun. I adored the (real) love interest and the adventures involving him. Definitely a sweet ride.

loved this story of a romance and finding oneself. loved milo's family and loved her friends. I loved that she was alot like her mom and really wanted to help others .

I read this book in under a handful of sittings. It was an easy, fun YA contemporary! 3.5 stars.

Andie transfers to the university where her parents fell in love, her mom initiated a secret radio station on campus, and her boyfriend is currently studying. She becomes good friends with her roommate Shay, her tutor Valerie, and her RA Milo. There were definitely moments when I was gushing over their friendships. University friendships are so special and I loved being transported back to that experience.

As the main character, Andie definitely has some flaws. Although she loves to give advice, I was not convinced she was very good at it. Even still, I loved Andie's "fix-it" personality and her grit to achieve anything she sets her mind to. Overall, the characters were a highlight for me.

Milo was by far my favorite character. Who doesn't love a grumpy, coffee snob.

When it came to the story line, there were quite a few things in the plot that felt underdeveloped. Andie's plans to collect all of these ribbons, the dialogue on the radio show, and even her relationship with her boyfriend left me feeling like there could have been more to it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.