i liked the found family (a wonderful group of characters!) aspect, and how andie really came into herself as the story progressed, “beginning again.” i loved milo! the celery eyes….the curls……the caffeine addiction…..i just wished andie would’ve outgrown connor a little sooner. that twist though! oof.

#netgalley

I really enjoyed reading this book and I related to it so well. I loved Andie's character and the way Emma Lord wrote her, as I could relate to her struggles and successes as a fellow college student. Emma Lord's writing is so captivating and I loved the way she wrote this story. I was constantly hooked after every chapter and needed to know how the next chapter ended. The story itself is so relatable and relevant to people my age, so I enjoyed relating to that aspect. Overall, the story was interesting and such an enjoyable read. I definitely recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

Emma Lord is a fabulous writer, and I've loved her previous works but sadly this one just wasn't for me! The characters and their respective struggles were relatable and engaging, but I just felt as though there was too much going on at once for me to ever feel 100% immersed in the story. I love that we're getting more college set YA though, and hope this is the start of a new trend of seeing more college age MCs!

Emma lord has literally never missed. I always love her books! She consistently writes compelling protagonists and fantastic friendships and interesting plots. The only downside is, as with her previous book, I've read this eons before publication so I'll be waiting even longer for book 5! A solid autobuy author who has never written a less than 5 star book.

This was a cute read that brought me back to my own college days. I enjoyed the growth exhibited by all of the main characters and it all made me very nostalgic. However, I didn't feel the chemistry from the main couple like I have in some of Emma Lord's other books. But I love seeing YA books that take place in college and this one was certainly fun.

This was a cute YA book with good character development. I loved all the characters and friendships.

I love Emma Lord's previous work and was excited for her new book and that it was set in college. I loved the new friends and Milo. I thought the book was cute and a nice quick read but it was hard to read about her bf for SO much of the book. I kept waiting for the relationship to end and I think it dragged on a little too long and the twist made me even more frustrated. I also thought the ribbon details were a little too much, just seemed to take up too much plot and nothing like that was involved in my college experience.

otherwise I loved Andie and Milo's relationship development and college setting.

wanted to read this since i loved tweet cute! and emma lord does it again, the book is cute and well written and it definitely has the same vibe as tweet cute expect it’s set in college. a die and milo were rlly cute!!
big thing that annoyed me was the no-swearing thing though. it was genuinely so annoying and i wanted to punch her everytime she replaced sweats with food names like it was sooooo annoying.

This is my 4th Emma Lord book and I can safely say that I love them all. Thanks to @netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the early copy of BEGIN AGAIN, a contemporary YA coming-of-age novel. (PUB 01.24)

This book tapped all my sweet spots. It made me feel young again, like I was back on my college campus. Plus- I'm a sucker for nostalgia and this was dripping with it. All the best bits of the "newness" of college. Dorm living, creating a found family, and taking risks. The personal awareness that grows when you put yourself out there. The angst that comes with relationships- past & new, platonic & romantic. It had everything that I've come to expect from Lord- top notch writing, a fair bit of humor, characters that are smart yet vulnerable and tender moments.

LOVED Begin Again!

Andie is great at solving other people's problems; not the best her own relationships.

I never went away to college and Begin Again really made me wish that I had.

Loved all the bagel and cream cheese flavors; to be a college student again and have an endless availability of bagels. Those were the days!

I've had some books by Emma Lord on my "to be read" list, once again I thank NetGalley for introducing me to an author that is "new to me".

I'll be track down and finally get to some of Emma Lord's previously published novels.

I especially love the last paragraph of Chapter 32!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance read copy of Begin Again in exchange for an honest review. Also may thanks to Emma Lord the author and St. Martin's Publishing Group. Publication date is Jan 24, 2023.

Ugh I LOVED this book and all of the Taylor Swift in it!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I always enjoy reading Emma Lord's work, partly because she's such a strong writer, able to blend humour with sweet romances and big, heartfelt personal character arcs, but also because she writes the kinds of characters I could never write: bubbly, extroverted, energetic optimists who walk into new scenarios where they instantly make friends and draw the attention of charming love interests. I can't personally get into the head-space of characters who are so socially adept, but Emma Lord sure as hell can, and it's such fun to join her characters on their journeys. The prose in this one leans heavily into internal monologue, making the tone distinctly reflective as the heroine comes to new realizations about how to let go of the many rules she made for herself and embrace life's unpredictability. Teen readers especially will likely connect with the somewhat cyclical thought processes, the deep questioning of when and how to let go of one's expectations and learn to begin again. The slow-burn romance is adorable, though complicated by a long term boyfriend who's largely off-screen and functions mostly as a symbol, and I really enjoyed the ways the tight friendship group developed. A sweet, triumphant coming-of age story that will appeal to all of Lord's fans, and no doubt garner new ones as well.

This is a YA novel but takes place in the first year of college. Andie is a go-getter, super organized and the like. Except for boys? She was a mess :P The emotional cheating was there. The line was toyed. She was with her boyfriend for far too long I think. The Andie-Milo slow burn was very slow burn, but to be expected with YA.

TAYLOR SWIFT.
is everywhere in this book. and well, I'm here for it.

Solid book. Reading it just before all the students go back to university in September made me a bit nostalgic for my first year of university :(

✨The one where I was like omg please just cheat already 😭 (they didn’t but my conscience would’ve been clean if they had 💅**)✨

YA is my comfort genre because of books like these. Milo was so cute I want to dunk him in my coffee. I loved the semi-forbidden RA vibes. I REALLY loved her found friend group and they really made the book all warm and cozy. Andie had her flaws and blind spots, but I really loved her as a main character.

Andie was a mess (same) and this book kissed the line of emotional cheating but the correct vibes and teenage drama were there so I can’t complain. Her boyfriend lasted too long for comfort in my book, but it was nice to see her shift away from him and grow. I was also hoping that it would end like it did because I loved a saucy little number.

I think I wanted a bit more from Andie and Milo at the end, because it was SO slow burn. This is usually the case in YA, as most times they don’t get together at all until the end, unlike adult where they’re smoochin all over the place (at least the romance I like to read).

Overall, Taylor Swift is strong in this one. I highlighted multiple song titles and need to reread because I’ll inevitably pick out more. I’m a big fan of Emma’s writing and I’m so thrilled that I really liked this one. My college experience was pretty different than Andie’s, which is both good and bad. Good because I never had to take stats. Bad because I never met a Milo. Now that I think of it, the no stats thing is worth a lot.

**sometimes it works like you KNOW I wanted them to get in AWN in Leap Year…I am who I am and what I am is a hypocrite, yes, but it’s fine

Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

CWs: parent death (mother)(cancer), parent death (father)(car accident), cheating, failing tests (I didn’t know this was triggering until I got way too stressed about her grades omg)

This was cute, but missed the mark for me in some places. I'm not sure if I'm kinda in a reading slump or if I was just missing emotional investment in the story or characters, because I don't think it was bad (besides Andie using "Frosted Flakes" and "Snickerdoodle" as swear words.... eek). I can definitely see this clicking better with other people. That being said, there are things to love about this. If you're looking for a cute romance, first year of college, working through grief and parent issues, and a tight group of friends, then it might be worth picking up!

Andie's roommate, Shay, was a particular highlight for me and I like how she had her own little story alongside Andie's main arc.

Andie has her whole future mapped out, starting with attending her dream school with her first love. When things don’t turn out according to plan, Andie has to let go of what she thought was fated and find what’s right for her.

I loved how this book captured the college experience of finding your friend group, struggling with difficult classes, and finding balance between your social and academic needs. Bonus points for the realistic portrayal of finding a decent work study!

I adored the friendship that Andie and Milo formed and how they helped each other heal from bad relationships. The storyline with Andie’s dad was difficult, but I think it was handled well. It was particularly satisfying to watch Andie learn that she didn’t have to be perfect just to keep people around.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Cool Ranch Doritos, I needed this book!!! (Couldn’t help myself.) Emma Lord’s BEGIN AGAIN is THE YA must-read of the year. Maybe even the decade.

A freshman in college, Andie’s relentlessly optimistic, self-assured and quick to help others — the first person eager to rush to the rescue, fixing all the problems of anyone in need, which she does for the people around her and literal strangers, as an anonymous advice columnist. Of course, Andie gets so caught up in fixing other people’s problems that she often bypasses dealing with her own — whether that’s her grief over growing up without her mom, her deteriorating long-distance relationship with Connor, her high-school boyfriend, her tanking grade in statistics, her inability to communicate with her dad, or her still relatively newfound fear of her childhood dream. No matter how much she might ignore them, however, Andie’s problems simmer below the surface, and they just might sink her if she’s not careful. Luckily, she’s surrounded by good people who help keep her afloat. Like her hilarious, loving grandmas who stepped in to raise her, or Shay, her loyal, literature-loving roommate, plus a few others who help make her college experience quintessentially so. And then there’s Milo — dorm RA, friend, co-conspirator…and maybe something more.

I loved everything about this book. It made me laugh and cry (and crave junk food like nobody’s business). Reading it felt like the sweetest escape — but one that actually means something. You walk away from this ready to take on all the big things you’ve been putting off, eager to follow your heart and brave enough to embrace the things that scare you most. (I needed this right now.) So thank you, Emma, for putting this beauty out into the world for the rest of us to connect to.

I can see how this is classified as a YA romance, but I don’t think that’s the real focus here. This book also isn’t solely about the bonds of friendship, the layers of forgiveness between family or the way we deal with grief. BEGIN AGAIN is all of that and more. It’s an ode to the seasons of life we go through, and grow through. It’s a tribute to the way our carefully scripted plans often fall messily, terrifyingly and beautifully apart. BEGIN AGAIN is a coming-of-age story if I’ve ever read one — and in that, it’s absolute perfection.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for a review!*

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Big fan of Emma Lord, and this book did not disappoint! Her books are just so sweet and fun to read! I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

This is not my Emma Lord's favorite book. For me it's not too much a YA since the romance is really secondary in the book. It is all a question, for all the characters, of finding themselves, knowing what they want to become, knowing what they believe in, their dreams and their hopes for the future. I find that some passages were sometimes too repetitive, and I would have liked the relationship between Andie and Milo to be more developed. I loved the characters, especially Shay the roommate, and Andie's family story

Emma Lord has done it again! I never tire of reading an Emma Lord book, and BEGIN AGAIN was no exception to Lord's repertoire of laugh-out-loud funny romances.

BEGIN AGAIN has such a beautiful message of finding yourself, self love, and realizing self worth--a major lesson learned for most college students. This book definitely helps (slowly but surely) fill the college-YA void we readers desperately yearn for. Through Andie's eyes, we're able to explore a whole new world: from managing school work, to being involved with campus activities to find passions, to venturing in work-study positions. This book delicately and expertly addresses handling grief, and at the same time, building a support system. The found family in this book is off the charts amazing.

I found Milo to be absolutely adorable, and Andie's developing friendship with him to be so captivating from page one. AND THAT PLOT TWIST?!?! JAW. DROPPED.

Lord has a special way of making the mundane so incredibly fun. The cast is so loveable--as always with a Lord book--and I simply cannot wait until 2023 when the whole world can fall in love with this book. Plus, there's no shortage of baked goods references. Never complain about too many baked goods references.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for the digital ARC!