Thanks a lot for the book hangover! I finished this two days ago and I'm still thinking about it!

Maggie Vine is a musician who can't quite seem to get a break, in life or love. She's madly in love with her best friend, Garrett, but their timing is always off. Then, a ghost from her past reenters the picture.

What I loved most about this book is that in the end, Maggie becomes strong enough to chart her own course, instead of waiting for someone else to be there for her.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice broke my heart here and there. But, it got patched up in the end. Most of all, I'm so proud of Maggie and the choices she made when it counted.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC in return for an honest reviw.

This book had a lot of promise, romance, love triangle, a little My Best Friends Wedding vibe... But it also feel flat and felt rushed at the end. The story was good, the tension palpable, but just not for me. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this opportunity

The premise of two marriage pacts both coming forward to make good on them made this book stand out to me and I expected a majority of the novel to be about that issue and ultimately deciding between the two people but there were multiple side plots— a failed and then burgeoning music career, sexual harassment, and a fertility/ticking clock. The structure of the book is also told in dual timeline as we explore both backstories of each relationship. I enjoyed the humor and the author can clearly write, I found the busy plots, especially the third act surprise and then time jump hard to stay connected to

This was so sweet but felt a little drawn out. I did enjoy the story line along with the fame aspect.

I really enjoyed this unique book! There was so much suspense to this romance, and I was dying to know how it would end.

I adore this author's writing. I couldn't put this one down. Maggie felt so relatable, and I loved her friendship with Summer. I think a lot of women may relate to Maggie's desire to have children and her biological clock, as well as to Summer's decision not to have kids when her partner wanted them.

In many cases the love triangle trope doesn't work for me, but I enjoyed the way the author handled this scenario. I liked both Asher and Garrett for different reasons, and I was happy with Maggie's choices in the end!

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Alison Rose Greenberg in the future.

Really loved it! At first the back and forth between ages was a little challenging, but once you got used to the flow of it it was easy to follow. Otherwise it was cute and super relatable story (not in making a marriage pact, but in thinking that growing older comes up really fast on you!)

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley, for my eARC. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I loved this premise, and I couldn't wait to dig into this second-chance rom-com. While it was a quick read and kept me entertained, I can't say it was my favorite.

It felt kind of repetitive and I didn't really like any of the characters. Normally I like dual timelines but this one just felt at times confusing.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I wasn't the right fit for this one, but that doesn't mean it won't be for others! If you love music-themed, second-chance romance, this is for you!

I adored this book, it's definitely among my faves of the year ! I loved the now-and-then timelines and the how connected I felt to the main character, I was rooting for her from the very beginning. I started off expecting one outcome and then found myself hoping for another one, and I was satisfied with the ending ! This is a great one that has all the feels; angst, hope, lust, grief, finding your person and ultimately, following your passion. Highly recommend this one ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“If we are still single when we’re 35, we should get married?”

Maggie Vine made that vow with two different men at two different times of her life and both just happen to show up when she’s 35.

It’s an emotional and messy love story with a love triangle. I don’t typically enjoy the love triangle trope but the author handled this one with perfection. Maggie made the marriage pact with two different men – her first love teenage love, Asher, and her current best friend, Garret, who she thinks is her soul mate. The book is told via Maggie’s POV in varying time lines of her life at summer camp with Asher, her twenties with Garret and her struggling career of being a singer/songwriter. It’s a story filled with angst, a passion for music and heartbreak. Yes, there is romance, but I feel the real takeaway was a reflection of life and how one’s dreams, choices and regrets pave the way for the person you are today. It was such a beautifully written story and the characters were real and flawed. I highly recommend!

"You know that old saying, “if we are still single when we’re 35, we should get married?” Well, Maggie Vine made that vow with two different people, at two very different stages of her life. And they both showed up."

I LOVED this book so much! I think the characters were so well-written, especially Maggie. Everyone was complex (Maggie, Asher, Garrett, Summer) and had their own issues to work through. The chemistry between Maggie and Garrett and Asher was off the charts and I loved her friendship with Summer. I really enjoyed this book through the lens of Maggie's love of music and her own growth as the book went on. Overall, a FANTASTIC read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 stars - Would have rated it higher but the last 15% of this book ruined it for me. The ending felt all over the place -- as if the author wasn't sure how she wanted to end it either.

Things I liked:
- Was able to get a copy of the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator
- Love a good love triangle and definitely felt torn at times who I wanted Maggie to end up with
- Would 100% read a spin-off from any of the other characters POVs (Summer, Garrett, Asher) to fill in the blanks and time jumps
- All the music references. Waiting for a playlist to be made!
- Appreciated the representation of a protagonist over 30 in a romcom read

Things I didn't:
- As mentioned (and without spoiling anything), the ending!
- Some drama was added in that the story could have gone without
- At times, the book felt long and repetitive
- The main character was frustrating and took too long to grow for me

Simply put, five stars. I loved the concept of this book, and I think it was perfectly executed. I'm excited to see what this author writes next!

Thank you NetGalley, for this advanced copy of Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg. This book is really cute and shows you how messy life can be while growing into adulthood. Learning who you are and who you wanna be, then making it happen.

4.5 stars!

This book gutted me! It was so well done, and I loved the main characters so much. Maggie was hilarious, and I absolutely recommend listening on audio because I loved the narration. I adored the sporadic Taylor Swift references and laughed out loud at some of Maggie's one-liners. Asher was a swoony boyfriend and Garret sounded irresistible as well. I was drawn into this story at once and loved the dual timelines, and even though they jumped around a ton, it all made sense.

The emotional parts of the story were so well written, that I was practically crying through each tough part. Yet the happy moments were so uplifting. This book was just perfect, minus a half star because the ending was tough to swallow! Read this gem of a book!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of Maybe Once, Maybe Twice in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Alison Rose Greenberg for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Vine is a 35 year old singer songwriter trying to get her big break. Maggie Vine is also trying to navigate her love life and if she will have children. Maggie Vine has made two marriage pacts with two different men at two different times in her life, both promising to marry when they turn 35.

I loved the messy love story, the angst, heartbreak, and Maggie attempting to figure her life out. I felt this Alison did an amazing job hooking me from the start and I loved trying to figure out what Maggie was going to do next and who she would end up with in the end.

I was really enjoying this book in the beginning, and I especially liked the FMC. While the first part of the book was very enjoyable, it started to fade and get a bit dry for me. The flashbacks became a bit much, I didn’t need that much history and I was also getting a bit annoyed with the FMC being unable to decide who her ‘true love’ is. Wouldn’t it be obvious if it was meant to be. I also wasn’t a huge fan of this ending. It felt like everything they went through was pointless and then a couple years later he happens to change his mind! And does the bare minimum once he does.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I went in knowing very little about what to expect from this book. Based on the cover and glancing at the description, I thought I was headed for a lighthearted romance.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, there was romance - this is truly romance for music lovers and I was swept away by my love for the familiar song references throughout.

But this story has All. The. Feels. I had allll the emotions while reading and it takes on some seriously heavy topics.

When I was reading, I was all in on the story and torn between what I wanted to happen next. But the heaviness compared to what I was expecting sometimes made it hard to pick back up when I had taken a break.

Music lover? This one is for you. Even if love triangles aren’t your thing, give it a chance. Go in knowing what to expect, you’re sure to enjoy it.
4.5 stars

Posted to Goodreads 11/4/23: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5878452124
Posted to Instagram (@ashlie_overbooked) 11/5/23: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzRbD8ERXb6/?hl=en

This is one of those books where you get so wrapped up in the emotions of the story that once you finish you have to take a deep breath to move forward. It was a moving story of self-discovery, love and friendship. It covered some tough topics in an emotional manner. The timeline jumped around in a way that was sometimes confusing but the format mostly served the plot well. The book was a bit of a rollercoaster to begin with but started to wrap up nicely toward the end. There was a very late conflict in the last act of the book that threw me a bit. The momentum that had been building immediately screeched to a stop and the story fell flat. The problem they faced was an important one but I wish it had been addressed earlier in the book and not in the last pages. Maybe I just needed more pages!

I can see this book getting a lot of praise. It was emotional and slightly edgy but also heartwarming and romantic.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my very own!

Didn’t love the cheating plot or dual timelines. But that is my problem not necessarily the books fault. It might be perfect for someone else.

Many thanks to St Martin’s Griffin for the NetGalley widget for this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I did a mix of reading my eARC with listening to the audiobook - I enjoyed the narration of the audio a lot, too.
Reading the title that quotes Stevie Nicks, I should have known how music-centric this book would be. The book made me nostalgic for the music I grew up listening to in the 90s and early 2000s. From Tracy Chapman to DMB and Blink 182, Blues Traveler and Train to Fall Out Boy and The Killers, I loved how each song/artist mentioned brought back both memories of the music along with memories of my life at those times. Everlong by Foo Fighters, mentioned multiple times in this book, is one of my favorite songs. I immediately remembered listening, to the acoustic cut no less, in my freshman college dorm room - likely via Napster download 🤣 If the contents of that sentence resonated with you, I bet you’ll enjoy this one, too!
The book’s chapters time-hop between different ages for the main character Maggie, from her time at performing arts summer camp to her mid-twenties when she’s touring and to her mid-thirties when she’s unsure of her life. At one point when she’s thirty-five, Maggie’s best friend is appalled when she realizes Maggie has two marriage pacts (both to get married at age thirty-five, nonetheless) that she says it’s worse than the plot of My Best Friend’s Wedding! I’ve argued for a long time that it is the worst movie plot ever. I mean, I love Julia Roberts but that movie is awful in many ways. This is just one small example of the humor involved in the book - the description of a present-day Central Park Dave Matthews Concert also cracked me up.
This book and audiobook came out last month and are available now - go check them out!