Celebs! “Washed up” celebs. Truth about what women in the industry face. (Millennials will very quickly think about Britney.)

Kathleen is a great character. I really liked how Sussman flushed our her experience and her growth.

The MCs have several second chances, careers, reputations, forgiveness, sex, love, it’s all at stake.

Strictly Ballroom appreciation! Love this movie. Loved that Kathleen, Cal, and Harriet appreciate it too. 🤣

Such a fun read! Watching these two figure each other out again and fitting together again was funny, sexy, and honest. 👏👏

This was such an enjoyable second chance romance that is perfect for your summer reading list!

Kathleen ("Katee Rose") was a world famous popstar ten years ago. Following a huge scandal involving her boyband boyfriend and his bandmate, Kathleen's career implodes and soon everyone who loved her ends up hating her. In the present day, Kathleen reluctantly reunites with Cal, the bandmate and her former friend, to star in a Broadway play written by her best friend. Cal and Kathleen have a lot of unresolved feelings and it's not long before they realize it's impossible to leave the past in the past.

As someone who grew up in the peak boyband era (Team JC), I loved all of the throwback nostalgia we got to see in the "Then" sections of the story when Kathleen was known to the world as Katee Rose. I definitely felt transported back to my youth and I immediately thought back to the Britney/Justin Cry Me a River days.

If you enjoy celebrity romances/friends to lovers/second chance romances then I would recommend checking out Once More with Feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for a review copy.

I'm so grateful to have received this ARC 💕

Did I almost cry for Kathleen? Yes. Did I want to smack her when she was Katee Rose? Also yes, but I understand she was young and everything was happening around her, and she's human, so I wanted to hug her too.

Katee Rose was a young popstar, lost in the whirlwind of concerts, fans, fame, a relationship with one of the guys in the boyband CrushZone, Ryan, and loses everything in a single night when she acts out on her feelings towards Cal, another member of CrushZone. What happens when she has a chance at Broadway years later, but Cal is the director? Will the past come to hurt her, or will they have a second chance?

This book is released tomorrow, May 30th! Make sure to grab it if you like:

📚 Workplace Romance
📚 Second Chance Romance
📚 Friends to Lovers
📚 Broadway Setting
📚 Slowburn Romance

This was a fun, fast paced “friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers second-chance romance" set in a Broadway show. Kathleen, Cal and Harriet met at theater camp as kids. Years after a very public cheating scandal between Kathleen and Cal, she is making a comeback in a show that Harriet wrote and Cal is directing. No problem.

It has drama. It has a catchy plot. It has characters with big personalities that were not always charming. It has a then/now timeline that builds angst. It has snarky and whip smart banter. It has best friend complications. It has romance.

FWIW- I had lukewarm feelings about the author's adult debut 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘴𝘬 but I enjoyed this one much more.

Thank you Elissa & Netgalley for an ARC of Once More With Feelings!

I loved Funny You Should Ask by Elissa and I loved Once More With Feelings even more!!! Cal and Kathleen had such a true and adorable relationship and it was so nice to be able to be apart of their story.

For the first time in romance book history, the ending wasn’t rushed… but i needed like 3 more chapters because I needed more ending!!!! I loved that it didn’t end in a predictable and fast paced way but it ended so short and I need another book or chapter.

It was such a feel good, happy and easy read! I’d rate it 4.5 rounded up and would recommend if you want a easy summer read!

Loved it. So much.

I loved Funny You Should Ask so my expectations were high. Elissa Sussman more than delivered!

Kathleen Rosenberg was a teenage pop star. Everything about her was packaged and promoted, from her voice, to her image, to the constant request for a nose job. And when it all imploded she was left to her own devices, left to pick up the pieces.

This novel is a love letter to the theatre. It’s a love letter to women who have been passed over, made the scapegoat, told they were less, yet still persevered. It’s a tangled web of the cost of fame, the complications of friendship, and the price of love.

Couldn’t put it down.

In celebration of release day tomorrow (5/30), I'm gonna talk about how much I enjoyed Once More With Feeling by @elissa_sussman 🥳💖🥹

🎤Once More With Feeling follows the dual timeline of Kathleen Rosenberg, formerly pop sensation Katee Rose! Katee Rose's career crashed and burned after the her cheating scandel, where it was revealed she had cheated on her boyfriend, Ryan LaNeve, with his bandmate Cal Kirby. Kathleen Rosenburg's career has a chance to make a resurgence when her best friend Harriet teams up with Cal Kirby to make a musical, which they hope will make it to Broadway (a dream which they all share), and they want Kathleen to have a main role! But will Kathleen be able to deal with being with Cal again? Will the show make it to Broadway? Why didn't Cal stand up for her all those years ago? All of these questions get answered through the rollercoaster of emotions that is Once More With Feeling.🎤

💓I thought that this book was a VERY fun read! As someone who LOVES fast-paced books, I was super happy because I felt like the book was the perfect pace and didn't dwell on things for too long and slow down! The bounce back and forth between Now, Then, and some in-betweens kept my attention and made me read this book super fast! I was so curious if Riveted!, the musical, would make it to Broadway, how would they do it, would Kathleen and Cal get together, what was all the tension between Kathleen and Harriet, could Kathleen ever forgive Cal and herself for what happened in the past? I felt like there were so many questions that I had and they started to pop up, there would be a flashback chapter to "Then" that would explain some things or reveal more information! It really just kept me on my toes! 🩰

I really enjoyed this fun read and hope that it gets all the love it deserves tomorrow on release day!🥳

Once More With Feeling
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once More With Feeling alternates between Kathleen Rosenberg growing up and attending a theater summer camp which ultimately led to her becoming a famous pop star to the current timeline of finding herself after no longer being in fame. After finding herself again, she meets her goal of performing on Broadway. I have a feeling anyone who loves theater and Broadway will love this story!

This was for sure an entertaining read. I found myself wishing I could hear the songs they were singing and could see the choreography they were describing. I did feel conflicted in how I felt about Kathleen. I was rooting for her and her success, but also didn’t agree with a lot of her actions. While I know there’s reasons behind all behaviors, I just am not a fan of a book where cheating is involved. I also wish Kathleen had better communication with her best friend. I felt Kathleen did a lot of things with only her best interests in mind. There was a ton of history behind Kathleen and Cal’s romance. You’ll see both enemies to lovers to second chance romance. Because of the dynamics of Cal being Kathleen’s boss, this one was also a slow burn. I wasn’t crazy about the event that led to Kathleen and Cal finally succumbing to their feelings. I felt like because of their chemistry, there were so many other opportunities where they could have reconnected.

I still really enjoyed this book! If you’re a theater and Broadway lover, I think you will really appreciate the different references of plays throughout the book. Treat your shelves to this one as it pub date is tomorrow, May 30th!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am definitely in my second-chance romance phase and Once More with Feeling was a delightful read! I'm also one who was the teenager who loved the pop music era while also loving The Phantom of the Opera. This book was a perfect blend of nastalgia while rooting for the second chance that Cal and Kathleen so clearly both need. Their story has been entertwined with each other since they were kids at a theater summer camp. Now, they have the opportunity of a lifetime to make it on Broadway - but they'll have to work together to make that happen. Not an easy task as first since they last time they spoke was full of heated words and hurt hearts.

I can't wait to read more from Elissa Sussman in the future!

Another cute one by Sussman. Her stories are fun and cute, the relationships are frustrating and amazing all at once. The main character in this book is so annoying. I really disliked her, but it did not make me dislike the book. In fact, the opposite. I spent half the book wanting to yell at her to wake up and grow up... all at once! Switching back and forth between then and now, we get to understand the why behind some decisions and also gives us a glimpse into what the future will hold. A great summer romance read!

Katee Rose was one of America's top pop stars, dating Ryan, a famous member of a boy band, until she found herself in the arms of another band member, Cal Kirby. Not only did she destroy her relationship, but her career too. Years pass and Cal reaches out to Kathleen (Katee) to perform in a Broadway show written by her best friend. Will the two be able to move past the hurt from their past? Will they reignite the flame? Will their "relationship" impact the success of the show?

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴—𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝑅𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒
🗓ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖—𝕄𝕒𝕪 𝟛𝟘 , 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟛

"𝓘'𝓶 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓪 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷. 𝓘'𝓶 𝓪 𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓱 𝓫𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓹𝓸𝓹 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓸𝔂 𝓫𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓸𝔂𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓪 𝓼𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮. 𝓘'𝓶 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓵. 𝓘'𝓶 𝓪 𝓬𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓫𝓻𝓲𝓽𝔂."

✂️ P L O T L I N E
THEN- Katee Rose is living the so called dream of being a famous pop star while dating celebrity boy band member of CrushZone, Ryan LaNeve. Her life turns to shreds after she cheats on her boyfriend with her child hood crush and other CrushZone member, Cal Kirby. She is left heart broken and career-less after the entire world turns on her.

NOW- Kathleen Rosenberg is given another shot at fulfilling her dreams of being a star on Broadway. The only problem is that director of this new show is the one and only Cal Kirby. They have not spoken or seen each other in a decade and their bitterness still shines brightly. Will this be their second chance at rekindling their old flame, or will working with each other cause them to each get burned again?

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I enjoyed this book. It was fun, flirty, and funny. I like that it showed the unrealistic expectations that are put on celebrities and reminded us that they are people just like us. There is a bit of a miscommunication trope, but that didn’t seem to bother me much. I was invested in this story and kept turning those pages. I can see that some people might say that none of the characters are super lovable, but I appreciated how realistic and relatable they were.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💫Enemies to lovers 🖤 ❤️
💫Second chance love 💕
💫Forbidden love 💔
💫Slow burn romance 🥰
💫Pop culture 🎤
💫Musical Theatre/Broadway 🎭
💫Dual timelines ✌🏽

🎤𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🎤
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💕Q U O T E: 𝐼'𝒹 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼'𝒹 𝓅𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂. 𝐼'𝒹 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝑀𝑜𝓈𝓉𝓁𝓎. 𝐼'𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝓀𝑒𝓅𝓉 𝓅𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒. 𝐼'𝒹 𝒹𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝓎𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒶𝓁𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃. 𝒲𝒶𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝓎𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒.“

🙏Thank you NetGalley, Random House —Ballantine, and Elissa Sussman for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

Set in the world of pop music and Broadway, this book is big and bold while also being thoughtful and emotionally driven. It is both a second-chance romance and a striking commentary on the unequal expectations of male and female celebrities. Why must women be sexy but not sexual? Why are men much more easily forgiven for missteps (see: Britney + Justin, Janet + Justin)?

Before her career imploded, Kathleen used to be pop star Katee Rose. Everyone knew Katie Rose but more for cheating on her boyfriend Ryan with his bandmate Cal - both members of the mega boyband CrushZone. Over a decade later, living a much simpler life, Kathleen has the chance to achieve her lifelong Broadway goals. But Cal will be her director. So can she put the hurt, pain, love, and longing of the past behind her and get a second chance in both her career and love?

As I started reading this book, I thought Kathleen was overly harsh and unforgiving, but as the dual timeline unfolded, you understood what she lost relative to Ryan and Cal. You also gained a deeper insight into how deeply Kathleen continued to blame herself, manifesting in both anger and shame. Ultimately, I loved the message of forgiving yourself and finally fighting for what you want. Also, I think Kathleen and her best friend Harriet are friendship goals - painfully honest but always in each other’s corner.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House, and Elissa Sussman for the opportunity to read before publication in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the early read!!
Katee Rose (now known as Kathleen Rosenberg) is a former pop star who has chance to do Broadway as an adult. A former boy bander, Cal, happens to be the director of the show she thinks will help her achieve her Broadway dreams. Things are awkward at first since they didn’t end up on the best terms. The dual time line is easy enough to follow and I don’t love dual time lines usually.

“Then: Katee Rose is living the dream as America’s number one pop star, caught in a whirlwind of sold-out concerts, screaming fans, and constant tabloid coverage. Now: Kathleen Rosenberg is okay with her ordinary existence and leaving her pop star image in the past. That is, until Cal Kirby shows up with the opportunity of her dreams—a starring role in the Broadway show he’s directing and a chance to perform, the way she’s always wanted.”

OMWF captured the essence of pop culture and its intense competition and invasive paparazzi. The author also highlights the additive nature of media attention and fame. Katee/Kathleen’s flaws and self centered ambition were aggravating, but I still found myself rooting for a successful comeback.

The book alternated between then and now describing a mix of celebrity highs and lows that kept me engaged. However, the story was a little too “ripped from the headlines” and my opinions about the real life pop stars seeped into my opinion of these characters. Absolutely loved “Funny You Should Ask” also by Elissa Sussman and found it to be a more subtle take on interpreting the celebrity rumor mill.

Overall Once More with Feeling is an enjoyable read for fans of 90s pop culture.

this was a pretty interesting book as i’ve thought about reading funny you should ask for a while. it kinda makes me more interested to read that book. however, i haven’t been in the biggest reading mood lately (which i feel like took a toll on how i felt about this book). i kind of procrastinated finishing this and skipped around a bit. it was a really great concept, though, and i’m excited to see and read more of elissa sussman in the future.

thank you to netgalley and dell publishing for giving me the ARC of this book !!

I wanted to like this so bad but everything about this book just felt super flat to me. The relationship development was kind of nonexistent and I really just didn’t feel anything. I loved the flashbacks to summer camp but the parts I found myself anticipating always felt rushed. It was okay and definitely was a quick read but this just didn’t really do anything for me.

I was so excited to be approved for this title and was not disappointed! I loved the three different timelines. I loved the musical references. I loved Cal. Though I did not love Kat at all times, their banter was perfection. Overall a very fun read!

As someone who grew up on a steady diet of musical theater, I really, really enjoyed this book.

Former pop star Kathleen Rosenberg is finally getting the chance she has always dreamed of: to star in a Broadway musical. But to say yes to the part means she is also saying yes to working with director and choreographer Cal Kirby, with whom she has A LOT of history.

There are three timelines in this book (it works, I promise), and I loved how pieces of Kathleen's story are slowly revealed. She is definitely a flawed individual who has made and continues to make mistakes, but I love how she owns up to her actions and works on forgiving herself. Something that Elissa is really good at is showing the growth of her characters via the now vs. then narrative, and I loved Kathleen's insights into herself as a more mature woman.

The tension between Kathleen and Cal was so very enjoyable to read. They are at their best when they are fighting with their feelings for each other, and their slow burn second chance romance was very satisfying.

This story had a great nostalgic feel to it with the pop star/boy band angle, and pays homage to musical theater greats like Cats, Newsies and Annie.

Again, I just really, really enjoyed this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Genre: Romance
'Age Level: Adult
Content: strong language, 1 fade-to-black, 1.5 open-door scenes, mentions of drug use

If you’re a Millennial who remembers the Britney/Justin/Wade Robson saga and are looking for a good second chance romance filled with nostalgia, this book is for you. It follows a former pop star trying to make it on Broadway and her former Boy Bander flame/director and it is just so stinking fun. I read Sussman’s last book, “Funny You Should Ask”, and enjoyed it a lot, so when I got an opportunity to read an ARC of this one, I was pumped. This book comes out on Tuesday and I think it’s going to be a hit! Order your copy now! You won’t be sorry!!

2.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads.

This seems to be a love or hate book and I'm one of the ones questioning why people enjoyed this as much as they did. I read the author's first book "Funny You Should Ask" and gave it a solid 4 stars for a floofy hollywood scene romance, so it's not like I went into this being completely unfamiliar with this author's work or writing style. This one just didn't do it for me. I love a good famous star romance and even though I was a bit of a theater nerd growing up, this one didn't hold my interest much. I disliked the Then and Now time hops the most and I didn't FEEL the chemistry between Kathleen and Cal. And also? WTF is up with Kathleen and how she treats her friend? Where is the growth of these characters? Why are these people unable to act/talk like adults? Ugh. I was just frustrated reading this and wanted to DNF it but pushed through so that I could give my honest feedback and review. Side note, I love the cover art on this and how well it goes with her previous work, FYSA.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing group for this eARC!