This is one of those adorable contemporary romances where everything seems to just fall into place in the best of ways. Our main character has lost her mother and her biggest dream has been to go to the school where her parents met in college. This is one of those books where you are rooting for the main character to find her place and realize that she has found her place. This definitely has found family feels and the romance is adorable beyond measure. I have loved everything I have read from this author so far and can not wait to pick up her next book.

Pub date: 1/24/23
Genre: young adult (college setting)
Quick summary: Andie Rose transfers to her parents' alma mater, Blue Ridge State, with big dreams and the hope of reuniting with her long distance boyfriend. But when she finds out he transferred out, she'll have to find a new path.

I read this book in one day, and I really enjoyed getting to know Andie. She's an A type character with a ton of self-imposed responsibility, and I loved seeing how Blue Ridge helped her grow. Emma Lord gave her an A-plus cast of friends, including bookstagrammer roommate Shay and coffee addict RA Milo. There are plenty of fun college antics - working at Bagelopolis (I'd like to try their cookie dough cream cheese), competing to join a secret society, and giving advice to students (and teachers) on the campus radio station.

If you enjoy college-set stories, this is a fun one to pick up!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Andie Rose's mother passed away when she was young, and her two amazing grandmothers moved in to help raise her while her dad was on the road for work. Now, after months of hard work, she is entering Blue Ridge State as a mid-year freshman transfer student. The plan was for her and boyfriend Connor to attend together, and this is her big winter surprise for him. I'll let you imagine how that turns out, but Andie's persistent and it's not long before the whole dorm, new roommate Shay and even RA Milo are rooting for her as she tries to collect ribbons for an eventual society membership. I really liked the way Blue Ridge State was described and how Andie's feelings ebb and flow as her college experience begins. Shay and Andie's awesome off campus work study jobs at Bagelopolis sounded great as well, every school needs an off-campus institution. It seems natural when she falls into the inner workings of the underground radio show The Knight's Watch, which was one her mother had a hand in creating.

I have enjoyed Emma Lord's books in the past but really struggled with this one. It wasn't as cute or fun as the others and her characters were so tough to root for.

Thanks to St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book!

Emma Lord is my top YA author rec. I have yet to be disappointed in a book from her and she manages to handle serious topics authentically in each of her stories.

Begin Again centers around Andie Rose as she enters Blue Ridge State after transferring from community college. She's struggling to balance her new studies with her long distance boyfriend Connor, and her need to fix each of her friends problems - but she keeps putting her own needs on the backburner.

There was so much to love in this book, the college setting and the ribbons competition, the pirate radio station, all made for a fun setting. And as always Emma Lord had me craving food from Bagelopolis.

Highly recommend for anyone wanting a YA fix.

I loved this coming of age book that depicts things like grief, friends to love romance, long-distance romance and the struggle to find a major and life's work in a joyful, realistic way. The joy comes through in the writing. It's a wonderful, easy read, and that's a compliment. It stays with you after you finish, wondering about the characters and their future. Wonderful book.

Begin Again is a coming-of-age novel about Andie, a girl who has always known and stuck to the plan for her life. Follow in her mom's (and boyfriend's) footsteps to her prestigious dream college, major in psychology, and become a famous self-help guru. When her perfect plans start to go off the rails, Andie learns that sometimes our paths stray to show us where we're meant to be.

Emma Lord's writing is so comforting and relatable, and her banter is laugh-out-loud funny. My favorite thing about all her books, but this one in particular, is how she crafts her character-driven plots. The characters are so human and loveable, which makes their stories and relationships easy to emotionally invest in. I absolutely adored the romantic interest and watching their love develop, but I really appreciated the friendships and family stories just as much. This story deals with grief, the struggles of growing up, romance, and finding your own path and does it all so well.

This was a lovely new adult novel and another hit out of the park for Emma Lord. I also wish Bagelopolis was real because it sounds like a magical place.

"You don't have to prove anything to anyone."

SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK OMG. The love story, the friend group, the college life, self-identity, all of it😭😭😭 Andie Rose has always had her life planned out. After not getting into Blue Ridge State during her senior year of high school, she goes to community college to get high grades, and then apply again. After her first semester at community college, her hard work pays off when she gets into Blue Ridge State! This is the school where her parents met, and she hopes to follow their paths and reach success of her own. Best of all, she's able to go to school with her boyfriend Connor (who I ABSOLUTELY HATE🙄 ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING🙄). But, what happens when Andie gets to Blue Ridge and realizes that Connor transfers to the community college thinking Andie's still there? Now, Andie's living in guilt, but at the same time, she knows she has to live up to her mom's legacy. Andie's also got this record where she needs to fix everyone around her. So, when she meets her roommate Shay, who needs help finding a major? She tries to help in every way she can. (Btw, I love Shay, she's a bookstagrammer too😏). On top of that, Andie meets her R.A. Milo, who's dealing with family baggage involving the new relationship between his ex-girlfriend and his brother. With all of this going on, Andie also finds herself creating a voice on the school's pirate radio station, which also happens to be the station her mom founded all those years ago. Andie's getting her typical college life in there, but she's also trying to handle things with the Connor guilt and her estranged father. On the bright side, she's got Shay, Milo and Valerie by her side (I AM LOVING THE FRIEND GROUP). However, are those looks with Milo really just friendship looks....hmmmm. Also, major major PLOT TWIST AT THE END. Let me just say, Valerie and Andie's friendship is really a strong one, especially when we find out the truth about Connor🤢 A wonderful book about college life and the challenges that come with it, while also realizing that life is what happens when you're busy making other plans :)

Emma Lord is such a great writer! I always disappear into her stories, and this one was no exception. Loved it!

I received this book as an ARC. While I enjoyed Emma Lord’s book “Tweet Cute,” I have to say “Begin Again” was pretty underwhelming for me. I had a hard time relating to the characters. (I graduated a year ago from university, so I’m not completely removed from college life.) I would still recommend this book to others because it wasn’t bad in the case of content or writing. It just didn’t resonate with me.

What a well-rounded book! Begin Again really has a bit of everything - friendship, personal growth, romance, hijinx, and lots of bagels. This is my first time reading an Emma Lord book, and based on how much I enjoyed Andie's story, it won't be my last.

I adore anything Emma Lord writes, and this is easily her best. I'm a sucker for campus novels, and Begin Again is no exception. Lord does a great job building up the characters as well as their desires for their campus adventures. The moment I finished the book, I wanted to grab a large flavorfilled latte an listen to campus radio stations to continue the comforting feeling of Begin Again.

Begin Again 🎶

Emma Lord is a favourite YA author and this did not disappoint!! I usually really enjoy YA set in college which this one was. This was just so enjoyable to read, and listen to the audiobook. The romance in here was adorable, but watching Andie grow and figure out what she wants with her life, and not just what she thinks she should do, was such a great reading experience. I’m so glad to be picking up such great YA contemporaries this year, since it’s a genre I’m slowing reading less and less of (sadly). But I highly recommend this one! 🤩

Okay, I should definitely read all of Emma Lord's books. This was my second one and it was again so good. I listened to the audio for this, and while I sometimes struggle paying attention to audiobooks, I found this one to be really engaging. That's mainly because the characters are all so distinctive, and it's such a charming, heartfelt story. I think this would make for a great movie as well!

BEGIN AGAIN perfectly captured the feelings and emotions freshman have the first time they're away from home. The main character’s motives were easy to understand, and I enjoyed her sweet personality. While there are underlying themes of grief, Lord did an excellent job of portraying the way it impacted Andie both short- and long-term. Her growth while trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps was satisfying (especially when she realized she could forge her own path), and I enjoyed the friendships she made along the way. Even though she was a psychology major and had more than likely gone through therapy after her mother’s death (it was never discussed), I did feel like Andie was far more insightful and self-aware than most 18-year-olds, which at times, made the story somewhat unbelievable. As the novel progressed, I found myself wanting to skim over sections because the introspection started to bog down the story due to its repetitiveness, and I would have loved to see more of a balance between the plot itself and Andie's internal journey. Overall, BEGIN AGAIN was a cute, enjoyable read—one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to the intended audience and to those who appreciate the genre.

Note: the audiobook's narrator had the perfect voice for Andie, making the reading experience even more enjoyable. If you're planning to pick this one up, consider the audiobook!

Absolutely adored this book! It brought me right back to starting college, making new friends and finding out about new passions I could unearth by shaking up my surroundings.

Andie was such a relatable FMC, after not getting into her dream school on the first go, she was able to transfer in her second semester, just in time for the ribbon collecting which allows you to join secret societies if you earn enough. After her mother passed, living up to her legacy was all Andie ever wanted. But she'll realize that maybe she needs to create a legacy of her own instead of trying to be just like her mom.

Milo was such a cute MMC/love interest! I wished I had found such a gem in college, he was equal parts responsible/reckless and had a heart of gold and a very relatable caffeine addiction.

Highly recommend reading this one!

Begin Again is a Coming-of-Age, swoony YA read that will make you smile. I loved how it was more than a romance, and was about finding yourself and starting over. Very true to the title. Andie and Milo are very cute, you are rooting for them the whole time.

I do have a small complaint that is was a tad too much of a slow burn. But that is just a personal preference type of thing.

This was a good book and I enjoyed the story, but I did find it to be a bit slow at parts. I liked the college setting absolutely loved the bagel shop everyone worked at. This book had me craving bagels every time I picked it up!! I found this to be more of a story about college and friendship with a little young love slow burning in the background. Overall it was an enjoyable read!
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

I almost put Begin Again down after reading the first few chapters simply because I thought the main character was going to drive me nuts, but I'm glad I didn't and kept reading. This book ended up charming me and was a quick, warm read. I was genuinely surprised by a twist part way through and enjoyed the way it wrapped up. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Once again Emma Lord knocked it out of the park. While this was a bit of a wild ride, i thoroughly enjoyed it and it might be my favorite of her books. Def recommend reading it!