Thank you to netgalley and the author for the ARC of this book for an honest review!

3.5 ⭐

I really enjoyed Funny You Should Ask and was really looking forward to this book. I enjoyed parts of this book like the pop star/boy band/Broadway aspects because your loves all of these things and I did enjoy how the book ended because I love a good HEA.

Unfortunately I just wasn't a huge fan of the characters. I guess I just didn't really click with any of them and to me, they didn't really have great chemistry. And I'm really not a huge fan of the cheating trope but to each their own. I really wish I could have given this book a higher star rating but it just wasn't quite good enough for 4 stars!

2.5

you know when you really like a book, so you're psyched to read another one by the same author, but then it's so bad that it makes you question if you ever liked the first book at all? that just happened to me.

i thoroughly enjoyed funny you should ask, and i couldn't understand why so many people were trashing it (besides the fact that elissa sussman definitely should have acknowledged that it was heavily based on that chris evans interview). people were calling the characters flat, the plot nonsensical, and the writing terrible. i was like, huh?? did we read the same book?

but maybe i've been wrong all along because wow, once more with feeling was bad. all of those criticisms of fysa came to life in this book. i could not bring myself to care about any of the characters (of which there were basically only three) because nothing they did/said made any sense. the whole thing felt so one-dimensional and juvenile, like a bad fan fiction. and the cringe factor was MAJOR.

i know the success of taylor jenkins reid and her books about celebrities has inspired other authors to write about fame, but it simply cannot work if an author can't even manage to write one complex character, let alone the vast number needed for convincing world-building. the only thing i was convinced of in this book was that unfortunately, i don't think i'll pick up this author's next release.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine!

3.5 rounding up to 4.

I loved Funny You Should Ask and was so excited to get Once More with Feeling. Another celebrity romance stuffed with drama, tension and complicated characters. This dual timeline story was overall pretty good! I wanted to know what exactly went down with the MCs all throughout the story, but somehow the book was pretty slow paced. While I don’t mind some messy in my books, this one was hard for me to roll with.


Despite the messy and hard to root for MCs, I still wanted to know how the story would pan out. 3.5 rounded up to 4 for me.

I absolutely loved this story! The past and present storylines went together so well. I loved how they both came to the climax at the same point, so it felt like a double gut punch in the emotions. Kathleen and Cal's story was so flawed, but also so lovely. I love how it stemmed all the way through their life beginning at childhood. I wanted more of their story after this one ended as I loved the characters so much and did not want to say goodbye.

Kathleen Rosenberg, then known as Katee Rose, was once one of the world's biggest pop stars, dating Ryan LaNeve, the star of the one of the most popular bands at the time. Although she loved to perform, she was always uncomfortable with what being a star required of her. She often turned to her friend Cal Kirby, one of Ryan's bandmates, as she struggled with being a star. Then, her relationship with Cal became something more, leading to a public breakup with Ryan and the end of her career.

Many years later, Kathleen leads a normal life in New York, far outside the public eye. But when a huge new career opportunity comes her way, the opportunity to star in a new musical heading to Broadway, she is excited -- until she learns that it will be directed by Cal. Despite her reservations, Kathleen can't pass up this opportunity but she is determined to keep Cal at arms length. The more time she spends with Cal, though, the more she feels old feelings return -- and finds herself wondering she wants more than a professional relationship with Cal once again.

This was a fun and perceptive read. Kathleen and Cal are strong characters, and the story is imaginative and very engaging.

Highly recommended!

I am a huge fan of Funny You Should Ask and was so excited to read this one too! However, I was overall pretty disappointed. I felt the main character was quite unlikable and tough to root for. It just didn't have that magic sparkle of FYSA and that captivating, have to turn pages feeling. I kept putting this one down.

This was a fun and emotional second chance/forbidden romance between a Jewish singer/actress trying to make a comeback on a new Broadway play written by her best friend and the director she shares a past with.

Told in the present as they work on the new play and with flashbacks to their past when Kathleen (aka former pop star Katee Rose) first met her ex Cal and bestie Helen at a summer theatre camp. Full of angst, steam and great friendships, this was perfect for fans of other celebrity romances like How to fake it Hollywood, The birds of California, Built to last or The reunion.

Many thanks to Berkley for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing this Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This was a second chance romance that left me much to be desired. The characters were not particularly likable, seemed super shallow/combative, and just didn’t jump off the page for me. They were celebrities, so maybe that’s why? I just really can’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t love it. The romance portion was short lived and only had one bedroom scene, which was not overly done and not too spicy. I haven’t read the authors other book, but just from reading reviews they seem super similar so if you liked it, you will probably like this one too. I wanted to love it, but I’m not sure if all the theater jargon, theatrics, and dramatic points did it for me. The cover is beautiful though.

This was a quick story thay I could not wait to find out how Kathleen and Cal will get back together ( I loved the ending) Ending was expected, bit I loved that story was following 3 different timelines. It was not just love story but also very impprtant part of is friendship story between Kathleen and Harriette. The story looks inspired by Britney Spears and Justine Timberlake.

Kathleen (aka Katee to her fans) and Cal (a former CrushZone member) can not seem to get their timing right. Last time, she was publicly dating a different CrushZone member. Now they have a second chance at their dreams with a new Broadway show, conveniently written by their talented best friend Harriett.

Knowing that 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝗸 was inspired by a Chris Evan's interview, I immediately wondered if maybe 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 was inspired by Britney, Justin, and NSYNC, back in 1999 when touring and dating. And while he went on to have a successful career, she... well... struggled, just like our main character.

Kathleen needed and deserved a win after all her love interests and agent threw her to the wolves/paparazzi years ago. Career-wise, I was rooting for her. Getting behind a relationship with Cal was harder, given his role in the past.

The chemistry started off great and I enjoyed the past/present timelines. But sadly it fizzled after it turned to insta-love too quickly. Even her friendship with Harriett regressed to borderline immature for their age and history.

What I loved the most outside of the nostalgia Britney vibes was the behind-the-scenes look at the progression of a musical from workshop to Broadway and the hard work required from everyone to make it a success. I imagine it's similar to the work it takes to get a book published.

READ IF YOU :
🎤 Love Second Chance, Celebrity Romances
🎤 Remember the days of Britney and Justin back in 1999
🎤 Make sure to catch a Broadway show when in NYC

I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and I’m so glad I did. This was my first Elissa Sussman book and I loved it! This "friends to lovers" meets "enemies to lovers" romance was so good, I couldn’t put it down. Kathleen and Cal were great together, both in the past and the present. The fact that it revolved around theater was just the cherry on top. I can’t wait to read Funny You Should Ask next.

The way Elissa Sussman writes celebrtiies! This was a wonderful follow-up novel. I was really engaged with the characters and the plot. The romance tension was fantastic and I laughed out loud multiple times. Prepare to swoon!

Katee Rose used to be a pop star (ala Brittney Spears). When she publicly broke up with her boy band boyfriend Ryan, he smeared her in the press and ruined her career. Years later, using her true identity as Kathleen Rosenberg, she reunites with old friend Cal (who was in Ryan's boy band also but is now making it as a Broadway director and choreographer) and her best friend songwriter Harriett on a Broadway show that can showcase Kathleen's true talents and reboot her career. The only problem is that she hates Cal and the press and just wants to start over while everyone around her can only see her as Katee Rose. Will Kathleen be able to break out again and find love and come to peace with herself?

This rom com brings in all the fun of Sussman's previous book, Funny You Should Ask, and is set during the process of getting a new musical to Broadway. I loved the setting and the friendships; I even liked the main couples' relationship. This is a good rom com that isn't too sexy or sappy and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Second Chance
- Celebrity Romance
- Then/Now Chapters
- Late 90s/Early 2000s Pop
- Music Theatre

Elissa Sussman knows how to write a bingeable and intriguing second chance with some perfect then/now chapters. In a way this felt like a re-telling of the Britney Spears/J.T. saga and I was here for it. But let's be real, Cal is ten times better than Justin Timberlake will ever be 😅.

I loved that this book focuses on Kathleen and how she was villainized in the past while her teen heartthrob accomplices had zero consequences for their actions. What I loved most about this book was the tension both sexual and just unresolved tension from the past. Flawed and messy characters are my fav and you can find a bit of each in both Kathleen and Cal.

Even with his flaws, Cal is absolutely perfect and I found myself rooting for him more than Kathleen 🤣

Once More with Feelings is filled to the brim with show business, supportive side characters, tension, character development and small dash of spice - which makes it a perfect beach read for you this summer.

DNF @ 56%

After giving Sussman's previous novel a 5 star review, I had such high expectations for Once More with Feeling. Unfortunately, it didn't give me any of the same joy that Funny You Should Ask did.

Let's start with the writing. While written in the same exact style that FYSA is written in, I somehow found it insufferable. I never noticed in my first readthrough of FYSA the amount of times the words "said" and "ask" are used. If you hadn't noticed before, I'm so sorry to point it out to you because once I realized the repetitive phrasing (over 1000 uses of "said" in a 400 page book), I could not get it out of my head. Reading it is exhausting and I'm just wondering.. what happened to literally ANY other dialogue tag??

Now for the characters. Kathleen Rosenberg is annoying as all get out. For someone who supposedly did such a horrible thing (ten years ago, get over itttt), she shows little to no remorse. She only shows anger towards our MMC, Cal, that he got off scot-free when he was involved in the same scandal. To be fair, I would be angry too, but still it's been an entire DECADE. At what point do you move on. Cal is no saint either, he's just as annoying. For grown adults, they get into arguments more often than children having to share toys at a preschool. They are working together on a musical production and I just know that the other people having to work with them are struggling to get out of bed in the morning just knowing they have to witness the same argument once more (without feeling, because there is none).

The plot is not horrible, but not nearly interesting enough to make me care about whether Kathleen and Cal will reconcile their differences. I mostly just want them to never see each other again. I do not believe in their love story simply because the author doesn't do a good job of convincing with these two. It is such a letdown after Funny You Should Ask that I wish I hadn't even bothered.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Elissa Sussman is a writer who can write.

What I love about Sussman’s writing is that nothing is fluff. Every page is prose. When I read her novels, I don’t have to force my eyes to carefully read the descriptive paragraphs between the characters’ dialogue. I want to savor every second.

Her books are mentally challenging without being tiring. You have to follow along and work for the happy ending but you feel worth it in the end. Sussman is a master at call and response. And my favorite technique - echo. Ending chapters with sounds of thoughts before. It leaves me speechless.

I usually despise Then / Now written novels because I don’t have the best patience. I want to read all the Nows and then all the Thens. But not with Elissa’s writing. Nothing is repetitive or easily predictable so you want to read whatever Then chapter is next so you can savor the Now.

I think in most Then / Now books the signs that are repeated between chapters first appear in the Then chapters and then flash forward to the Now. Elissa Sussman always shows us the Now and leaves the reader guessing what happened back Then. Sussman then flashes back and shows us where that inside joke or memory comes from. It’s way more engaging.

Sussman has cracked the code on second chance romance. It’s never gimmicky, or cheap. She makes you believe in the characters and that real love isn’t always perfect on the first try. But it’s just as devoted and worthy.

I love that her characters are so unapologetically Jewish. I love that her queer characters are always treated as people with dignity. Their identity isn’t disclosed for points. Their queerness isn’t used as a pawn to further the plot.

And can we discuss how perfect the title is? It’s catchy without being gimmicky. It’s relatable to the trope and the theatre plot. I love it.

I loved this book. You won’t regret reading it.

I so wanted to love this! I work in theater and have always thought it was a world ripe for more novels - it’s a world with interesting characters, built-in structure, and many scenarios for character growth and interpersonal drama. I was really excited for a romance set in this world. The author did a good job establishing the musical at the center, the camp and theater fan elements, the process of bringing a musical to Broadway, and dynamics of various people involved.

Unfortunately, I felt like the characters and their relationship were quite flat and underdeveloped. We saw their long history through the dual timeline, which I really liked (though I found the writing was “dumbed down” for Kathleen’s younger self, which made it lose some of the nuance), but didn’t get to see what really drew them to each other or brought them back together. The characters around them weren’t fleshed out either, from her best friend to the really brief return of the ex-boyfriend. The pacing also felt very inconsistent and the third act conflict and ending very rushed (all in the last 90~ percent).

Rating: 4.5
I absolutely adored this book and the two main characters. The history they share really comes through in the dual timeline. Every time something from their past was referenced, the following chapter would take place in the past and show the exact situation. The pacing of the book was also phenomenal and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time waiting to see what would happen next.

The third act conflict was believable and made me feel for the characters so much. At some points I really didn’t know how they were going to make it work, but the ending really pulled everything together so nicely.

I always have such a fun time reading about famous characters and I loved how both characters were famous in their own right in this book.

My favorite part of the book was the main character’s relationship with her best friend, Harriet. I wish there was a bit more of the two of them throughout the book. I felt as though Harriet was just forgotten about in the second half. I would have loved more insight on what she was up to during that very stressful period.

Overall, this was an incredible book that I would highly recommend picking up.

I loved a good second chance romance and this is definitely an amazing one. I love this even more than I loved Funny you should ask. While there were moments Kathleen got on my nerves. Almost every interaction between her and Cal had me feeling something.

A big thank you to netgallery and the publishers for providing me and advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Be on the lookout May 30th, 2023. I can't wait to buy myself a physical copy.

4.5 ⭐️
Cal and Kathleen despise each other so much they can hardly stand to be in the same room, let alone look at one another, or god forbid, work with one another. So begins an excellent enemies-to-lovers trope (but wait, weren’t they friends-to-lovers-to-enemies BACK to lovers?—I promise, it works!) where the tension is palpable and the past is always a part of the current day. In fact, Once More With Feeling is written with dual timelines of the past and present day. The story flits back and forth between the Musical Theater Camp that Harriet, Cal, and Kathleen attended, Kathleen’s twenty-something pop star career as Katee Rose and Cal’s dancing career with his boy-band, CrushZone, and the present day Broadway-bound play Harriet’s written stating Kathleen and directed by Cal. What I enjoyed most with the timelines is that Sussman leads the story with the present and then fills in the gaps with the past, helping the reader sink into the feelings and emotions that the characters have for one another.
With no actual on page action until about the 75% mark, this book relies heavily on the friend-mance between Harriet and Kathleen and the tension between Kathleen and Cal. It’s a Venn diagram of anger and love, and where the two overlap in the middle is Sussman’s sweet place. Kathleen (Katee) is a tricky FMC to like. She’s stubborn, brazen, struggles with self-acceptance, and is not always the nicest person to be around. There were times I wanted to throttle her for how she dealt with situations and how carelessly she treats those who love her. But the redemption arc pays off and Kathleen’s stubbornness oddly enough strengthens her when she needs it most. Sussman writes complex characters who are as bold and daring as her writing—no one can accuse her of writing a fluffy romance, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
CW: industry pressure to look a certain way, body image issues, cheating partner, alcohol use, fear of rejection for sexuality
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine-Dell for this early copy. I read and reviewed by choice and all opinions are my own.