I have never read an Emma Lord book but this was really cute and full of charm. I love warm YA stories.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Emma Lord has always been one of those immediate purchase authors for me and I was so excited when I got a copy of this book. It's a fun and sweet novel for all the girls who obsessively schedule out their lives and have a detailed plan for just how they are going to achieve their goals. Andie, our protagonist, is exactly that and is determined that she is going to follow in her mother's footsteps at her mother's alma mater. But her plan has been going wrong from the start. First, she didn't get into her mom's college for freshman year, so she's transferring in as a sophomore. Secondly, her relationship with her boyfriend is rocky at best, and as someone who knows how to fix everything, she doesn't quite know how to fix her roommates problems. Plus there is the issue of her R.A. who makes her question everything and her desire to come out on top of a secret quest to join the secret societies in at her school. It's a lot to handle, but in true Type A fashion, Andie has a pretty good idea of just how she's going to get everything to work out.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Begin Again by Emma Lord from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I was so excited to receive this that I cleared my schedule so I could start immediately!!! There is truly something special about Emma's writing that will leave you feeling like this book is written just for you! You will finish this book with a smile on your face and your heart filled with love. Do yourself a favor and read this the first chance you get. Thanks, Emma and I can't wait to read book #5!

Andie has her life mapped out, and her mid-semester transfer to Blue Ridge State puts that plan back on track. She is at her parents’ alma mater, able to participate in the ribbon hunt and join a secret society like her mother and reunited with her boyfriend. Except that her boyfriend has transferred back to the hometown community college, she gets off to a very bad start in one of her core classes, and she quickly becomes overwhelmed with all the things she thinks she needs to be doing.

Andie is also a fixer. She likes to help people solve their problems and she often gives good advice. However, she is not so good at taking advice herself, or applying the advice she gives to others to herself. And in her efforts to help, she can take on too much responsibility, and be taken advantage of. However, with the help of her roommate, Shay, the R.A., Milo, and her tutor and new friend, Valeria, Andie will figure out how to begin again and find herself, including escaping from the shadow of her mother and reconnecting with her father. Though not before plenty of things go wrong, and she fears she has ruined everything. The story has plenty of humorous moments, but also plenty of heartfelt moments.

I loved this book, it was so cute. I loved every single character! It was so good. It was such a great read that tackled relatable issues. I enjoyed how light and sweet this book was. Would definitely recommend!

If you like young adult lit you will love this one. Emma Lord is so talented - I don’t read a lot of young adult lit but I will always read anything she writes. This coming of age story will warm your heart.

Did this book catch my eye because its title is also the title of a Taylor Swift song? Yes, yes it did. However, now that I’ve 3 out of 4 of Emma Lord’s YA novels she is definitely an auto-read author for me. Starting the year off with this campus novel was perfect timing, as it starts with our main character beginning college, in the Spring semester, at her dream school. I loved the found family aspects of this story and it definitely filled me with nostalgia for my own college days.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advance digital review copy!

Emma Lord just keeps proving herself as one of my favorite authors. I read this book going into my final year of undergrad, and as someone whose first year of college was totally disrupted by a global pandemic, I really felt for Andie as her plan to get her freshman year back on track just kept getting upended. This. book perfectly captured both the joy and the struggles of striking out on your own for the first time. Also, like all of Lord's books, it left me hungering for sadly fictional food.

I continue to adore Emma Lord’s YA novels. Begin Again is a sweet, slow burn romance. I loved the depictions of friendship in this novel too. I think Emma Lord is a great author for both the target demographic and also adult romance readers, especially those who typically prefer closed door romance.

Emma Lord is a personal favourite author for me when it comes to YA coming of age stories. This story was a super cute novel following Andie as she goes away to college and finds pieces of her mother's past along the way.

I loved watching Andie find herself and her voice in this book. However, I did find the ending and the relationship rushed in the end. I would have loved to see more focus on that earlier in the book.

**Read an ARC from Netgalley

Rating : 3 Stars

Emma Lord has a hotline directly to my heart. The way she writes her characters and stories is so deeply relatable. I absolutely loved this book and read it in one sitting. It has heart, the characters are complex (particularly for a YA book), and the ending was satisfying.

I LOVED Tweet Cute, and this one, while also very cute, was not as interesting of. a story for me. I enjoyed the details and the podcast experiences, but the relationships felt a bit forced. The ex-boyfriend, in particular, was so unappealing I couldn't get past it. I won't quit Emma Lord, though. :)

DNF this one. Pains me to say this as I am a fan of Emma Lord, but I couldn't get into this at all. I kept trying but nothing ever grabbed me enough to keep reading.

As the cover seems to indicate, Begin Again is a title for young adults.

Andie has LOTS of plans in mind. She wants to transfer from her community college, get an education and be somebody. All good goals but perhaps a bit difficult to achieve. Readers will hope, though, that Andie succeeds.

In this book, there are friendships, romances and college life to navigate with all of their many challenges. While Andie tries to solve the problems of others, will she solve her own?

What is one place that becomes important to Andie on her way? What is its connection with a family member? Will things work out for her…even if events don’t unfold exactly as planned?

I think that this title will appeal to its target audience. There are good characters and story lines, along with some welcome humor.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

A sweet college romance. The characters had their quirks but once you got to know them, you couldn't help but love them. It was a sweet, read all at once, novel and I look forward to seeing what the author delivers next!

After Annie Rose's mother's untimely death 7 years ago, Andie felt like the whole town treated her differently. Andie has grown up wanting to attend Blue Ridge State to a point that it has become part of who she is - as she yearns to live up to her mom's legacy that she left behind.

Not only is it her parents' Alma mater, but it is also where they met and fell in love. Andie's mom founded the Night Watch radio program - a famously popular program that Andie dreams of leading herself one day. When Andie gets accepted as a mid year transfer student accepted into Blue Ridge State, and her boyfriend in a comedy of errors transfers back home to community college, Andie quickly finds herself in over her head.

As she navigates this new setting, she meets new friends, learns to both stand up for herself and to forgive old grudges. She realizes that life doesn't necessarily follow even the most perfectly laid plans and some things have to fall apart so that other things can come together.

While I love Emma Lord, this one fell a bit short for me. I'm not sure whether it's the YA category or my lack of connection with Annie, but I couldn't connect with the story and found the dialogue almost trivial. Connor was not my favorite, and it made liking the story difficult.

Thanks to NetGalley, Emma Lord and Wednesday Books / St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wouldn't classify this as a romance. It falls squarely in the coming of age and starting over genre, and it does that well. I enjoyed the positivity and raw approach to feelings and growth and facing adulthood. We follow Andie Rose as she makes the best laid plans and sees how things get in her way and throw her off track. She's the very epitome of the edict that true character is evident in how you deal with the challenges life gives you.

I look forward to every new Emma Lord book, and this one was worth the wait. It’s immersive and fascinating.

4/5 Stars

I adored this book. I cried and smiled. This was a great journey about finding yourself and a reminder that things don't always go as planned. I adored Andie and Milo. They were so freaking adorable. I never had the college experience but if anything I would've loved to have friends like these. They all really cared about each other and they were all a great support system. Honesty Emma Lord's books always get me right in the heart and I love it. I completely recommend this book and hope that everyone loves it as much as I do.

Emma Lord does it again! This was a beautifully written story about an 18 year old girl, Andie, who transfers to the college of her dreams mid-year, and is trying to fit in. It doesn’t take Andie long to make friends, but it takes a lot of heartache and introspection for her to realize how important true friendship is.

I loved the way the author wrote the character Andie. In some ways she was complex, dealing with some deep seeded grief, yet the overarching theme of self discovery was there, relatable to many. I also really loved Milo, Shay, and Valeria. Everyone should have friends like them!

While some of the coincidences in the story were a little far fetched, they worked well. I enjoyed the “cheesiness” of things. I also really, really want to try some of those bagel and cream cheese combinations now!!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #WednesdayBooks for an eARC of #BeginAgain by #EmmaLord in exchange for an honest review.
-4.5 stars rounded to 5