Comedian Ari and Chef Josh have nothing in common…except for the fact they are sleeping with the same girl!! You, Again follows them through the years and their floundering relationships as Ari and Josh continue to make new mistakes, but somehow find their way back to each other. First as enemies, then as friends…but could one of them ever fall first?

When a book is described as a modern day When Harry met Sally, I have to read it…and You, Again did not disappoint! It had the charm, wit and setting of WHMS while still being unique with hilarious banter, and 21st century dating problems. Ari’s character, while disarmingly humorous, gradually opens up which endeared me to her more. While pretentious (I say that lovingly) Josh, has his heart on his sleeve and a frown on his face, a combo that I discovered is my ideal man😂 This story instantly became one of my favorites because it showed true friendship and how love could be found when people are at their lows. I loved this book so much I was inspired to make a playlist. (Kate has her own that goes with the book that’s much better lol) Do yourself a favor and read You, Again and try not to fall in love with it!

🧑🏻‍🍳Chef/🎤Comedian
☔️Grumpy/☀️Sunshine
🗣️Dual POV
🍂🗽Fall/NYC setting
🌈 LGBTQ + rep

Thank you @netgalley @randomhouse @thedialpress for an e-ARC, but of course I had to get a physical copy!💛

Okay, this book was….everything. I felt SO. MANY. FREAKING. EMOTIONS. while reading it. Honestly, though, how did my heart even survive the last few chapters?

Josh and Ari have redefined the term "chemistry" for me. They became friends (from despising each other) by connecting at a very difficult time in their lives - and isn't that how the best kind of friendships and relationships start? When someone sees you at your first and still doesn't run away. The witty banter, the conversations, the puns, the nicknames, the dramatic conversations, the comedy—their relationship had everything. There's just something so comforting in seeing two best friends become lovers.

I know that You, Again is a chunky book, and longer than general romances, but keep holding on my dear book friends. I was a bit turned off by how the story started, and how it felt like a lot has happened even at the 30 percent mark and the actual romance didn't even begin yet - BUT KEEP READING. Because this story is a gem. The side characters and the friendship group stole my heart.

If you're looking for a comforting book to read this fall, look no further!

What I liked:
- the Jewish rep ✡️ is great!
- lots of great bi rep too!
- we love a great nyc setting
- Ari and Josh’s banter. They really do have great chemistry.
- the side characters are great! I loved them all

What I didn’t like:
- the length…this book is over 400 pages and it feels incredibly repetitive…after the third “___ months/years later” I was a bit done.
- Ari’s character growth was incredibly slow and then happened all at once.
- the pacing feels off, which I think is the result of the time jumps.

I’ve been holding off on a review for this book while I processed my feelings because i was very conflicted on how I felt but damn. I think I loved it. It was messy and hot and slightly infuriating and relatable and fun and angsty and emotional and raw and real and hilarious all at once. It was truly unlike anything I’ve ever read and has such a unique voice. I can definitely see how this book may be polarizing and not for everyone. but is was for ME and my hot mess, angsty, commitment-phobe, reylo loving brain.

Immediately after starting this book, I knew it was going to be the “When Harry Met Sally” meets the 21st century book of my dreams. I loved the easter eggs from the movie, as well as the gender role reversals of the main characters navigating the messy realities of modern dating and relationships. It took me a minute to keep up with the switching POVs on the audiobook, but I really think having both Ari & Josh’s perspectives made this a rich, angsty, emotional romance that (to paraphrase a quote from the book) “broke my heart and melted it back together.” I think this was a very solid debut by Kate Goldbeck and I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes out for future releases. I’d recommend reading this book if you like the writing styles of Emily Henry, Ava Wilder, and Alicia Thompson.

CALL ME A MASOCHIST BECAUSE THE PAIN THIS BOOK CAUSED ME WAS SO DELICIOUS!

Wow this was incredible!!! The modern re-imagining of "When Harry Met Sally" of my dreams!! Not only was this such an epic and angsty hate-to-friends-to-lovers spanning YEARS but it was also the most subtle yet obvious mutual pining to ever mutual pine.

Ari and Josh invented opposites attract soulmates and now all I want is what they have and a black and white cookie (iykyk).

They complete each other on a cosmic level and I could cry just thinking about it.

I cried (a lot), I laughed (a lot) and I smiled like an idiot (a lot) while reading this book and I'm so so so so happy to have experienced this story.

Kate Goldbeck, you got yourself a fan for life <3

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

You, Again is a When Harry Met Sally retelling for the modern era, starring improv comedian Ari and pretentious chef Josh as they meet and embark on a tumultuous journey of falling in love.

I did not realize when I picked this up that it was a When Harry Met Sally retelling, so it was crazy that I had literally just watched the movie (two times in a row because that was just the vibe at the time) when I started You, Again. It certainly achieves it's When Harry Met Sally-ness, particularly in the hate-to-friends-to-hookup-to-lovers plotline. Because the story is updated and modernized, I felt like it lacked the charm of the movie, but at the same time it developed a charm of its own. Ari and Josh are certainly whirlwinds, neither of them particularly likeable, but ultimately they do grow on you. I did find myself kind of weirded out at how much time was passing at certain points, and there were plenty of times where I felt the slog of dealing with difficult characters, but ultimately I do think this was an excellent enemies-to-lovers romance that certainly scratches a similar itch to the film that inspired it.

Let me tell you, when I started this book I expected to hate it. The characters are so outrageous and pretentious that I was having Sally Rooney flashbacks.

But then... the years go by and the characters grow and goddamnit if I wasn't having a great time. Honestly the whole enemies to friends to lovers might be my new favourite trope????

Kate Goldbeck is hilarious and perfectly balances the comedy and with the heavier emotional stuff. This really hits on a lot of hilarious modern dating issues and I thought it was super smart and witty. Read this if you like second chances, lovable side characters, and snarky text exchanges.

It’s an age old story… she’s a struggling comedian with commitment issues who only does one-night-stands. He’s an uptight asshole chef who believes in “the one” and “happily ever after.” And they both happen to be boning the same chick.

I actually can’t believe this is a debut novel. I loved it so much. The writing reminded me a lot of Emily Henry! Very witty, humorous, great chemistry, banter and tension between the mc’s with the perfect amount of depth and thoughtfulness.

Ari was so damn funny. She had me laughing out loud so many times which is fitting considering she is a comedian. Josh was a total pretentious asshole at first and by the end he was still sort of a pretentious asshole but he was also sweet and cute and mischievously dirty 😏

Initially I was kinda like “ugh it’s dual POV” because I don’t always love that but quickly I understood why and really appreciated it. Also, this really did give MAJOR “When Harry met Sally” vibes. I already want to read it again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Randomhouse publishing/Dial Press Trade Paperback for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I really wanted to like this book, but I found the characters to be so incredibly insufferable. Josh is boring and stuck up. Ari's whole personality is that she sleeps with everyone. Literally, that's it. Ask me to name another personality trait that she has and I don't think I could. All she talks about is sex. I usually love a slow burn but I could not finish this one.

A Nora Ephron inspired enemies to friends to lovers rom com for modern times. I often think the endings of rom coms aren't my favorite because most of the time the story is so quickly and neatly tied up and wrapped in a bow, but I thought the author, Kate Goldbeck did a great job with this one. It really worked for me and was a fun way to recognize how far they all had come. Overall a fun read and great for a cozy Fall afternoon. Just look at that cover, it's screaming PSL in book form!

A fun retelling of When Harry Met Sally with Reylo vibes!

I think the beginning of this was a great and unique twist on the romcom meet cute. It was very entertaining.

I liked both characters, even though they had their frustrating moments. Each has their own journey to go through and I liked that Goldbeck took the time to flesh each character out. I also liked how their friendship and relationship developed. It was believable and paced well.

I also really liked the writing. It was easy to read and very quotable.

Plus if you’re a Reylo fan you’ll definitely see this as a fanfic come to life. The two main characters definitely had the reylo vibes!

Overall very entertaining and romantic!

You, Again is a wonderful interpretation of a modern day When Harry Met Sally - full of great dialogue and snarky banter, tension, sparkling chemistry, personal growth :), and the gamut of emotions that come with falling in love. I adored it!

Ari and Josh do not have a meet cute. Unfortunately for them, they keep running into each other at various turning points in their lives. Slowly and unexpectedly, their mutual animosity turns into a valuable friendship. It seems they may both want more than friendship - but is worth the risk?

What’s not to like about a story of two people trying to become better versions of themselves while also falling in love with each other? Even though the story draws from When Harry Met Sally and enemies to (friends to) lovers tropes, it felt fresh and romantic and I was anxiously rooting for Ari and Josh from the sidelines. I enjoyed that they both had totally different careers - Josh as a chef and Ari as an improv comedian (with a plethora of side gigs). The supporting characters brought a lot of flair and laughs as well.

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I started this book the moment I got it on NetGalley and didn’t put it down once. I absolutely loved You, Again. This debut made me excited for anything else Kate Goldbeck will write in the future. It’s the perfect autumnal romance. If you’re the kind of person who reliably watches You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, and Bridget Jones’s Diary the moment the leaves start to change, you need to read You, Again.

This hit all of my buttons—smashed them, really. When Harry Met Sally with some twists, and set in the present day?? Give it to me.

Plot Setup: When Harry Met Sally, literally, just more modern
Characters: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★
Emotional damage: ★★★★★

Let me preface this review with an obvious caveat: I'm a huge fan of the 1990s hit movie, When Harry Met Sally. I love it. I've seen it way too many times. So when I received this early reader copy of You, Again and it said the magic words, I was all over it.

And it delivered all the vibes I wanted, plus a whole bunch of other ones that I didn't know I needed.

You, Again is a love letter to the messy ties that bind us to other people, the intricate ways we self-sabotage our needs, the fierce desire that we all have in our hearts for connection and purpose. It felt like a manifesto for the late 20-somethings and an intense mirror held up to our fault lines, our fears, and the worst authentic versions of ourselves.

It's a romance, sure, but it's more so a novel about human connection and enduring bonds. And I loved every minute of it.

When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly.

Ari's a hot mess. An aspiring comedian working the roulette wheel of temp jobs, sleeping in spare closets called rooms, and guarding her emotional core with spikes made of steel, Ari's the kind of modern-day female protagonist that we don't often see in novels.... but she's real. Uncomfortably real. (I felt called out, let's be honest.)

Josh is extremely put together on the outside. He's a talented chef, he's got inherited money and is employed well. He's talented, he's austere, he's witty and sharp. He's also a tangled mess of repression and self-loathing and anxiety spiraling and—okay, yeah, he's a mess too.

And fate keeps colliding these two messes together over time. Ari and Josh meeting in an apartment. Ari and Josh running into each other at a drunken New Year's Eve party. Ari and Josh running into each other on the literal streets of New York City.

When they both meet at their rock bottom worsts, the two give in to fate. They become friends.

And then, eventually, they messily collide into versions of themselves that realize that maybe it's time they became more than that.

Y'all.... You, Again gave me emotional damage. In the best way. Heartfelt, devastating, disturbingly real, and grounded in the "now" to the point where I felt like the author was just filming this poor couple in New York in secret—this novel was everything I was hoping to find. I loved it.

Will you love it? I don't know. It's not a stereotypical romance. It also relies too heavily on the When Harry Met Sally structure for the first 25% of the novel, so you've got to acknowledge that and keep going.

But if none of the above turns you off, you've got to try it. Eagerly looking forward to more from this author, who in my head is a messier, not-STEM-focused version of Ali Hazelwood.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not vibe with this as much as I wanted to. Truthfully, I don't think these characters are right for each other romantically - their chemistry is great as friends, always having fun with their banter and teasing. They rely on each other emotionally and it's not always in the healthiest of ways.

That's the issue for me, these characters are made to be in their thirties, but they both feel so emotionally immature to me. Josh almost felt forceful in his approach to make Ari and himself anything more than friends, mixed with Ari's complete lack of desire for commitment - it all felt a little off and a little uncomfortable. Yes, Josh realized his mistakes and began therapy (to also cope with other things), but we really don't see a lot of growth from him. Same with Ari, unfortunately. Yeah, she's no longer a commitment-phobe because she's realized she wants to be with Josh, but this realization comes after she's lost everything, and she's lonely. There's no time spent on her working through her issues. I genuinely think that these two were meant to stay friends, things get so unbelievably messy after they have sex and everything just fell flat after that.

Ari is also, not a good friend??? It's very clear that Ari takes and takes and rarely gives in any of her relationships with the side characters. Rad and Gabe deserved better from her.

The writing was good, sometimes the wording felt a little too smart for me, if I'm honest. The issue I had with the writing was the constant - and I do mean constant - name dropping of different brands, it made the characters seem super pretentious, and I genuinely do not understand why it was necessary to do this. Am I being nit-picky about this? Probably. But did it bother me every time it happened? Yes.

If you liked this book, I'm super happy for you. I did not. I'm still incredibly grateful for the opportunity to read this as an ARC, but this isn't a book I'll recommend.

There's a lot to love about this book. Witty banter. Enemies to lovers and friends to lovers all in the same book. Characters that feel like real people. The spice is at the just right place that tends to really work for me in romance novels. If I had any complaint about this novel it would be the length ... I did find it to be too long for this type of book and I found Ari's negativity and sort of nonsense, failure mindset sort of exhausting, which was tough to read for so many pages. It's funny, I didn't particularly like Ari OR Josh but I enjoyed reading about them because they felt real. Even when they annoyed me (and they did, a lot), my only issue was that it was a bit too much of them with the length - the characters themselves, I appreciated. Overall this is the type of romance novel I can really get on board with - the messiness is front and center but you know that there will be that happy ending no matter what happens throughout the book.

For nearly ten years, the universe keeps pushing Ari and Josh together in the same social circles. They're opposites in every way - she is a free-loving and spontaneous comedian and he is an exacting and particular chef. The start of their relationship is rocky but years later, when they are at their lowest, they strike up a friendship. When that friendship slowly begins to turn into something romantic, things get complicated between the commitment-phobe Ari and her romance-loving friend.

This book snuck up on me in the best way. The first half of the book was good. Not much happened between Ari and Josh romantically and although I usually like the romance to develop earlier in a book, I was just along for the ride, waiting to see what would happen. I came to realize later that the scenes in the first half were really important in setting the stage for Ari and Josh's deepening relationship to come. There were many layers that would be peeled off as their relationship evolved and those the first half of the book was pivotal in developing those layers.

The second half of the book was a deep dive into feels not only because of the love story between Ari and Josh, but also because of the complicated nature of their relationship. They became each other's person when they each needed someone the most. When they finally crossed that line, I could not have prepared myself for the complexities of the situation. That first sex scene between Ari and Joshua was PERFECT. And the emotional roller coaster after that scene had me frantically turning pages to see how their story would pan out. What an all-consuming JOURNEY they went on!

This was a fantastically impressive debut novel. The writing was *chefs kiss* and the dialogue was fresh and witty. I felt like I was entrenched in the characters' lives and minds and I was wrecked by the heartache each of them experienced. Ari was one of the most unique characters I've read in a long time.

This is a 2023 must-read!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥½
⚠️: death of a parent, divorce

This gem of a novel is out today! You, Again is whip smart, messy and chaotic, with witty banter and a love story that spans a decade. This didn’t feel like just a love story between two people, but a love letter to New York City as well.

Ari & Josh are complete opposites that have a meet disaster and instantly dislike each other. Throughout the span of a few years they run into each other a few times, and finally when they are both at their lowest, they decide to get a drink. A beautiful (if not complicated) friendship forms between them that blossoms into something more.

A play on When Harry Met Sally, I was hooked on the relationship between these two messes. Ari & Josh are such layered and complex characters. While I didn’t agree with all of their decisions, I could see how someone would act in such a way. My one gripe is with how the third act breakup played out. Other than that, I enjoyed this book immensely.

I LOVE THIS. THE BANTER. THE SASS, THE BALANCE BETWEEN CHARACTERS. This is an all star booking with all star writing and I am just completely in love with it.