I’m DNFing this one at 51% 😩
Why am I having such a hard time romances lately?? This is yet another one that by half way through, I just don’t care about the plot or characters.

So, why am I not liking this one? First off, I can’t stand the FMC. She’s flawed to the point of being unlikable and unrelatable for me. And another book where there’s this big *secret* something that happened between the main characters in the past that we don’t know yet and will probably end up being some kind of miscommunication that lasted years. I’m just not interested anymore.

I put off reading completely for 2 days because I can’t bring myself to care enough to pick this back up. Maybe I’m just in a slump. I don’t know. Don’t listen to me and read this for yourself. I’m just salty.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an arc for my honest review!

Katee Rose was America’s sweetheart popstar, dating Ryan LaNeve, lead singer for CrushZone. Then Ryan and Katee broke up and rumors spread that Katee had cheated in Ryan with his bandmate Cal Kirby.

Years have passed and Katee has the opportunity to relaunch her career with a stint on Broadway. The only hitch is that Cal is the director.

Told in 3 timelines, this is a charming, sexy, enemies to lovers, second chance romance. A+ banter and chemistry.

Elissa Sussman has become an auto-buy. If you love theater and/or pop stars, read this!

Once More with Feeling
By Elissa Sussman

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Publishing date: 5/30/23

Kathleen Rosenberg, who is about to star in her first Broadway production, is having a hard time getting the public to view her as a talented performer.  10 years ago, she was known as Katee Rose, the most famous pop star on the planet. At that time, she was dating Ryan, who was in a famous boy band, Crushzone.  Unfortunately, Kathleen couldn't control her feelings for fellow boy band member, Cal. Eventually, feelings progressed past friendship, and when boyfriend Ryan learned about Kathleen's infidelity, he announced to the world that Katee Rose had CHEATED. Cal and Kathleen blamed each other for their damaged reputations and haven't talked since.

Now, Cal is directing the Broadway production that Kathleen is starring in. Kathleen has promised not to develop feelings for Cal, but it's proving to be harder than she imagined.....

OK hold on the phone. I had no idea I would love this as much as I did!!!!! I had read "Funny you Should Ask" in 2022 (also by Sussman) and I didn't enjoy it.

BUT THIS?! OH MAN IT WAS GOOD!! Chefs kiss!

I am always drawn to books about fake celebs. And this is definitely going to be a favorite in that category!  I absolutely adored both Kathleen and Cal. I loved that it gives both "friends to lovers" AND "enemies to lovers".

The story bounces back and forth between THEN and NOW and it paints such a beautiful picture. I was totally sucked in and actually loved both time-frames.

You should definitely add this one to your tbr!! Loved loved LOVED!

Thank you SO much to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the fabulous arc!

Oh hi I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK! I didn't know how Elissa was going to top Funny You Should Ask but I think she might have managed it! As a musical theater nerd at heart, this book spoke to my soul. I laughed, I cried, I completely fell head over heels for all of these characters. This is going to be one of my favorite books of the year!

Absolutely love Sussman and her writing and this was such a perfect romance and follow up to her adult debut. Witty, sexy, and all the second chance glory the trope has to offer.

The author did such a good job of bringing together two of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers and second chance romance. I really enjoyed being able to get the full timeline/picture of their relationship and feeling like I got to watch their relationship grow. Overall I think this story was so well written!

I was disappointed with this. I loved her first book so much, but this was a last down for me. The main female character was hard to like to be honest and the whole story line was a bit boring to me. It didn't have the same fire as her first one.

I loved Elissa Sussman's FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK last year (as did a lot of people!) so I was thrilled we have another joyous celebrity love story from her this year as well (also, fun surprise - the books are part of the same universe!)

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING shifts from actors to pop stars, as a thinly veiled Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake-like romance comes back to haunt Kathleen (nee Katee) 20 years after a very public break-up. Kathleen was a solo pop star, Ryan in a famous boy band at the height of the late 90s when Kathleen cheats (or so the rumors say) on Ryan for Cal, one of his band mates.

Cut to now, as Kathleen has a second chance at fame by starring on Broadway but being directed by Cal (their relationship also turned sour thanks to the fallout). Sussman does a great job building this pop culture heavy world, as well as a slow-burn romance. It's a solid book, with a sweet second chance romance (much like FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK), and a must-read if you love pop culture.

I just recently read Funny You Should Ask and I absolutely adored it. The tension, the sweetness, and the dual timeline were done so well. This one just missed the mark for me. I didn't feel connected to the characters and I wasn't invested in the outcome. Overall, just wasn't for me!

I honestly wasn't expecting it, but I enjoyed Once More with Feeling just as much as Funny You Should Ask. Some folks might fight against authors who pick a trope and go with it, but I enjoy the comfort of knowing what you're getting yourself into. This is the perfect, light, second chance enemies to lovers romance and I couldn't recommend it more.

This was my second book by this author, and she’s 2 for 2 in my book! I love dual timelines and this one had pop stars and Broadway and boy bands- oh my! The story flowed nicely and I love that the epilogue goes back to summer camp. 4.5 stars!

Once More with Feeling is a charming and heartwarming novel about second chances and the power of love. The story follows Kathleen Rosenberg, a former pop star who is given the opportunity to star in a Broadway show. As she prepares for the show, she reconnects with Cal Kirby, her childhood best friend and the one who got away. The two of them must overcome their past hurts and learn to trust each other again in order to find happiness together.

Sussman does a wonderful job of creating characters that are both relatable and likable. Kathleen is a strong and independent woman who is still struggling to come to terms with her past. Cal is a kind and caring man who is still haunted by his own demons. The two of them have a great chemistry together, and their romance is both heartwarming and believable.

The novel is also full of humor and wit. Sussman has a gift for creating funny and memorable scenes, and she does a great job of balancing the serious moments with the lighter ones.

Here's cute broadway romcom that delivers just enough celebrity moments to keep fans of Funny You Should Ask satisfied. It's also a nice take on a second chance romance where it's almost a third chance romance? Enjoyed that part quite a bit. As a musical theatre fan, I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes of a broadway production from blocking to choreography to first reviews. It was also nice to see older leads still pursuing their dreams and finding love. I got a little confused with the summer camp, boy band era, and broadway timelines at times, but it was still fun. I absolutely need to watch Into the Woods now.

*Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for an ARC and PRH Audio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review*

“Katee Rose had been beautiful and perfect and manufactured. Until she wasn’t. Then she’d been sad, sloppy and embarrassing.”

Katee Rose isn’t Britney Spears, but when she cheats on Ryan LaNeve of boy band CrushZone I had massive JT/Britney flashbacks. Katee was thrown under the bus, she lost everything. Her career, her dignity and the one person she truly cared about - fellow CrushZoner Cal Kirby.

But this is a comeback story and Katee isn’t done yet. She luckily has the most kickass best friend ever in Harriet who just so happened to write a Broadway show Katee is perfect for. Katee, Harriett and Cal met back in the day at the theater camp and this show has been Harriet’s dream her entire life. So when Cal comes knocking as a director, can Katee forgive him long enough to make it work for the show? Can she focus on her choreography and the changes to her body after all this time out of the spotlight to show who SHE really is. Kathleen Rosenberg! Will people even give her chance to showcase her real voice or will her past dictate the shows success?

The setting of a Broadway show is everything. This may have started a tad slow for me but that’s more me then the book and the second half I inhaled and could not put down. Elissa Sussman bravo, once is quite enough with this beautiful book.

4.5

If you love anything theater/Broadway and an imperfect MC you can't help but relate to, this might be for you!
🎵
What I love the most about this story was that it told Kathleen and Cal's story from their present-day as 30-somethings while giving us snippets of flashbacks into their past. Both of them had made stupid mistakes when they were younger and touring the country as pop stars but in the present, they are both doing their best to work together on what could be the next big Broadway play.
🎵
There was something I loved about the fact that they were "older" than typical romance main characters and that Sussman didn't shy away from talking about how different their bodies were in the now compared to in the flashbacks. It all just seemed so real to me... It's funny because normally second chance isn't my favorite trope, but I read two this past weekend. Absolutely love both of them.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! I thought it was fun and it kept me entertained. I couldn't ask for anything more. I enjoyed every single page and I would happily read this again and again just to feel the happiness I felt while reading. Elissa is slowly becoming a favorite of mine. This is super fun and flirty and I ate it right up. Highly recommend!

I appreciate it when authors find a formula that works well for them and run to the hills with it. There are many times, familiarity is very nice. This is a great friends to lovers, to enemies to lovers plotline and is very fun and engaging to tell.

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This started off so cute but I have to say (and NOTHING wrong with the story) but this one just wasn't for me. I wasn't crazy about the MC's and the story just didn't grab me the way I was hoping.

If I had to try to identify what I wasn't crazy about:
- I thought the back and forth between past/present was clunky? It didn't feel like and exciting flash forward and back. I also thought the first few chapters dragged on quite a bit.

As a mood reader this could totally have been a "me" problem based on just what I was (or wasn't in the mood for at this given time!) So I would totally encourage anyone who is curious to try it out!

Giving 5 stars but did put down at 25% to pickup later.
Cannot thank the publishers and author enough for the chance to read this one early!

Elissa Sussman does it again! I was hooked from the first page with this one!

The story starts with Kathleen Rosenberg, aka Katee Rose, in the present after the fame and glory ran its course due to a crushing story headline. Now she is a normal person just living a normal life until Cal re-enters her life with a proposition that includes her best friend Harriett!

With this new proposition comes the forced proximity that Cal and Kathleen now share. Which in turn brings up a lot of unresolved feelings from the past and the reason for both of their careers taking a turn for the worst. They both still blame one another for what happened, and must decided whether or not they are willing to risk it all again for a second shot at love.

I love that this story have your present POV and past POV. It shows the interwoven ways of Cal and Kathleen's history, starting at a summer theater camp. I love the emotions throughout this book and the characters development.

I want to give a big thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!