pre-read: one more chicklit in my tbr won’t hurt…

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read: 3.5/5
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! for a brief comparison review: not as horrifyingly corny as her last two books, more on par with Tweet Cute. yay! overall a light comfort chicklit with an acceptable amount of corny. it does its job!)

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in ARC fashion, here’s a few positives and negatives (not many, because most of mine were spoilers):


(+) definitely not as corny as her last two books. still corny, but not in the way that i wanted to give up reading for the next decade. maybe a 3/5 on the cornymeter, which is totally acceptable and approved for a chicklit.

(?) the whole broadcasting piece. not too sure how i feel about it. on one side it’s really not as radio rebel as it could’ve been (thankfully), but on the other side it’s still written and used as a plot device in a very disney channel way.

(-) andie. definitely the worst character, as all main characters tend to be (but if we’re ranking, she’s not the author’s worst main character). her quirky saying-silly-words-instead-of-cussing is enough to make me fight for my life, but i’m excusing it because i know i would have eaten it up in middle school. for a “fix everyone’s problems” character, though, her advice is superficial and sucks.

overall, an enjoyable-enough read. if i shut my eyes i can almost pretend that this is what college is really like!

I adore Emma Lord and this book was delightful. I’ve read her three previous YA novels and loved them all. Her charm and wit is unmatched and Begin Again just might be my favorite so far. Milo was by far my favorite love interest but this whole cast of characters was fantastic. I loved each of the reveals and how the story came together, plus the Taylor Swift reference is top notch. Highly recommend and can’t wait for Emma’s next book.

“A new start doesn’t mean you have to wipe the slate clean. Just pick up the pieces. Begin again.”

I’ve been on a YA romcom kick lately and this one definitely tops the list. It’s a book about friendship, family, and fresh starts. Andie transfers to her dream university in the middle of freshman year and tries to find her place in a new environment, on top of maintaining a long-distance relationship. As she juggles her academics, work and social life, she discovers things about herself with the help of newfound friends.

The characters in this book were all fantastic and highly relatable, and I loved how one of them is a bookstagrammer! It made me reminisce my college experience — my dorm life in particular. And because this is an Emma Lord novel, desserts were a huge part of the story. I craved and ate bagels for an entire week because of this book 😂 It was a fun and charming read, but at the same time dealt with grief and some deep-seated parental issues. I can’t wait to read more of Emma Lord’s future works!

5/5 stars! Young adult is not a genre I typically go for, but Emma Lord is an author I will always read, and Begin Again is just as wonderful as her other books! A lovely cast of characters, who are well fleshed out and I enjoyed all of their journeys. This is the kind of book that you read with a smile on your face!

What a touching story of growing, finding yourself, love, and beginning again. I enjoyed following Andie through her first semester at her dream school after transferring mid-year to follow in her parent's footsteps. I loved the friendships Andie made and following her through the adventures of collecting ribbons and growing into her place at school.

I really wish Bagelopolis was real! All I wanted throughout the book was a bagel... the chocolate pretzel bagel sounds like a DREAM.

Emma Lord is one of my favorite authors and I loved Begin Again so much!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the arc! <3

Absolutely loved this book. I loved the non-spicy touches of romance, the self-discovery, and the emphasis on healing family relationships. Andie and Milo were extremely lovable characters!

A fun YA book, from an author I really enjoy.

This was a cute story and quick read

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Andie is a second semester transfer student to Blue Ridge State - the college where her parents met and fell in love. She had always planned on going here and following her deceased mother’s footsteps. But when she arrives, everything goes awry. She discovers that her best laid plans probably were not the right ones and slowly learns about herself.

The concept of the story was good but the book fell a bit flat for me. There were way too many characters and subplots that it was hard to keep track of everything. I wasn’t attached to any characters and the story just dragged on sometimes repeating itself.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Emma Lord is back at it again with another banger. I was first introduced to Emma Lord when I got an ARC of Tweet Cute and ended up loving it. And as I’ve read more of her stuff as she continues to write, I continue to adore it all.
This one might be my favorite yet. I really like some of the themes the author tackles and I love the actual growth and realizations and changes that these characters make and go through, I’m very realistic ways and paces. Our MC isn’t perfect, but the way that’s written is perfect (IMO). We very realistically go through the challenges she faces with various relationships, including her relationship with herself and I love the setting and world and the friends. It’s a delightful and meaningful read and I wholeheartedly recommend it

What does it mean to start over?

Andie Rose has a plan: live out her college dreams in honor of the mother she lost, be together again with her high school sweetheart, and take over the world as a self-help guru. In that order.

Life has a way of throwing her in more ways than she planned, upending her carefully scheduled and organized path towards something wholly unexpected.

Those are the best kinds of journeys anyway.

Andie is an instantly likeable protagonist with a world that feels real and believable. Her friends and peers have their own B and C plots which are just as compelling and with a love interest that could have easily fallen into tired tropes that never once fails to feel fresh. My one issue, if it could even be called that, is Andie's use of baking euphemisms in place of swearing. It's a staple of Lord's work to have generous call backs to baking (and we all thank her for it) but pairing a "snickerdoodle" with actual swear words was jarring enough to take me out of it, though not enough to hurt my enjoyment. Similarly, the one use of descriptive language for skin tone or any other kind of physical attributes was given to Shay which implies that she's the only Black character. I'm glad that Lord, as she does in all her books, is actively working to show a more diverse cast of characters but would have liked to have seen it integrated in a less blatant way.

Nevertheless, the story, the world, and most importantly Andie's voice are so instantly compelling that it wasn't hard to want more. Lord has a voice that captures that angst of growing up without ever going into saccharine which makes her first foray into "new adult" all the more enjoyable. There's a lack of college voices within YA/NA and Andie's is one that is both interesting and unique. She feels like a real person with real flaws which is a rarity that should be celebrated. I actively look forward to seeing what world Lord creates for us next.

4 stars

This was such a fun YA college book. Andie is such a relatable main character. She always did her best to help others with their problems, even though if it affected her negatively. The book did start off a little slow, which is why I took a half a star, but I read the second half of it in a day. I liked how the side characters had there own goals and stories. I find in a lot of YA books that the side characters mainly revolve around the main characters and we don’t really see their lives, but I’m glad that’s Begin Again didn’t do that. Overall, this was a great read.

Thank you for NetGalley for giving me an e-ARC of this book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Let me start by saying Emma Lord is an auto buy author for me. I enjoy all her books and this one to me is one of her best works. It was a page turner to me that I read in a day. I really appreciate the blend of romance and more serious subjects, which Emma does so well. This is a great YA book that is so easy to get lost in and forget your real life issues for a while. I can’t say it enough I loved this book.

Easily my favorite is Emma Lord's books so far!
Even with the heavy topics of grief and loss being a prominent plot point, Begin Again still manages to have an easy, wholesome quality to it that has what I consider the EL brand. Lord doesn't shy from hard topics, but weaves them into uplifting advice and laugh out loud dialogue that you can't help but have the pain softened.

You have the sunny overachiever with the 10-year plan trying to follow in her deceased mom's footsteps. Her dad is a figure in the rearview and she's basically spent the high school years being raised by two grandmas, and as her boyfriend's parents pet project. But now she's at her parents alma mater. There's an underground radio station and trying to join a secret society and making new friends. Surrounded by a found family that will always be there, no matter how messy life gets.

Another wonderful book by Emma Lord! I loved the character development and story arc. Andie was a deep, thoughtful main character with so many facets to her story, all balanced and well explained. The college town settings were pitch perfect and the pacing kept me turning pages until the very end.

This was a cute and nostalgic book for me, I loved the characters and it brought me back to my first couple of years of college. Also, I wish Bagelopolis was a real place! Thank you to NetGalley & St Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Lord has done it again! Begin Again is a YA book dealing with loss, expectations, friendship, and finding oneself. As such, it definitely also has adult appeal—grown-ups struggle with these things, too! With well-developed, loveable characters, a vivid setting, and several clever twists, Begin Again is a funny and sweet read and a great addition to Lord’s titles.

My history with Emma Lord goes like this: "Tweet Cute" was one of my top reads of the year when I read it, and I was enchanted from page 1. But then "You Have a Match" fell completely flat for me. I was worried Lord was a one and done author for me. :( I decided to give 'When You Get the Chance" a chance, and I'm glad I did, because I was once again enchanted. I was optimistic when I picked up "Begin Again", and I am happy to report that this book has solidified Emma Lord as a must-read author for me.

I was taken in with this book and the characters pretty much from the beginning. Andie is endearing, even in her more annoying character traits. Her grandmas are a hoot. Milo is quirky and drew me in from the moment we meet him. Shay and Valeria are the friends you all wish you had. Milo and Andie together are incredibly sweet, as their relationship develops from RA/new kid to friends to more. If you love a lot of buildup, you will love this one. If you hate love triangles, you won't completely hate this one. The character growth that they each make is a joy to read. The setting of the college takes on a life of its own. Learning the history of Andie's parents gives even more depth to the story.

I will say that as someone who usually sees the twist coming long before the big reveal, I did not see this one at all - it was a complete surprise to me. So props to Emma Lord for throwing me for a loop.

If I had one qualm, I'd say that sometimes Shay's "I only read under-represented authors" was a little tired after it was mentioned for the third time - once is building a character, multiple times is just trying too hard to put in a diverse character.

Alright, one more qualm - I wanted more of Milo's chickens!

I will definitely come back to read this book again, and I've already thrown it into the hands of another reader.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Begin Again gave me so much nostalgia for my college days! From making new friends, to living off of caffeine and carbs, to getting the chance to find yourself in a brand new setting. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This cozy YA coming-of-age/romance story has a cast of characters that will welcome you right into their found family (and have you craving bagels and cream cheese). While I enjoyed the characters, I have to admit that the plot felt a bit slow for me. This was likely due to the fact that I could see the plot twist coming from a mile away. Overall, this was an enjoyable and comforting read, but I wish it wasn’t so predictable.

This story was everything I wanted it to be and more. I’m a huge fan of Emma Lord’s work. She balances the humorous and heart-wrenching moments of young adulthood so well. I always feel deeply when in the throws of an Emma Lord novel and this was no exception.

Begin Again is my favorite of her books, and I’d also say the most mature. Lord touches on deep themes here without the story ever feeling melodramatic. She takes the time to explore grief and how it can linger and shape us. I never felt rushed through the narrative. For every gut-punching revelation, there was a lighter moment to balance it all out.

As well, this story captures the college experience in its truest form from the long-suffering RA to the stress of finding a decent work study. It also make me desperately hungry for a bagel. Lord’s setting is so detailed and carefully crafted that I too felt like a student at Blue Ridge State.

In terms of characters, Andie was an endearing protagonist. I saw bits of myself in her, the girl who always needed to stick to her plan or die trying. I loved how Andie didn’t need to give up her dreams or drastically change her personality to grow; she simply had to redefine her motivations. I won’t spoil much here, but I’ll say that this had the best slowburn friends to lovers trope I’ve ever read. The decisions each character made were satisfying and well worth the wait.

Overall, this book touched me in so many ways. Begin Again is for the girls with color-coordinated planners, big dreams, and a longing to mean something to someone. A huge thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can’t tell you how much this meant to me.

Andie has a life plan and she’s determined to let nothing get into her way, when college turns out to be more than she expected. This was a really cute coming of age story with a romance sub-plot. I wish the romance was a bit more fleshed out and it seemed very sudden, but overall it was very cute and readable.