thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

The audio edition of "Maybe Once, Maybe Twice" is well-performed by narrator Katherine Littrell. It's well-paced and fits the overall tone of the novel. Seamless production, as well.
This review speaks specifically to the audio version of this book. Full review will be posted on the novel's page.
Thank you to the author, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a romantic comedy that will stick with me for a while. Instead of the cookie cutter greeting card romance, this novel shows real life in all its messy, complicated glory. The love triangle between Maggie, Asher and Garrett is beautifully written and emotion filled. I laughed, cried and got angry and enjoyed every minute of it!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Rose Greenberg hits all the feels in the best way. Maggie Vine is chasing her dreams of being a successful performing musician and having a baby. Both are big scary dreams and hard to do on your own. I loved seeing this book play out in two timelines.

This was probably the most heartbreaking yet soul filling novel i have read in a while. I absolutely adored it! I was engrossed and probably shed a couple of tears.

4.5 stars

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one at the beginning but as the story unraveled and revealed things, it had me in a choke hold. My heart was in my throat basically the whole time. Stuff made sense and were heartbreaking. So I ended up loving it!
The narration was done extremely well and it was addictive.

I loved the messiness and complexities of the different relationships. I loved the best friend relationship. Some parts frustrated me, some made my heart swoon, I felt anxious and sad and hopeless and hope and just everything. And even though there was a twist close to the end that left me unsettled, it all worked out great. Really really enjoyed this read.

There are some triggers so check that out before reading.

Fantastic. This book was fantastic. This book was a knock out of the park for me and kept me on my toes the whole time. I didn't know what I was going to get when I picked up this book but I could not put it down once I started. This book has the friends to lovers trope, second chance romance trope, a love triangle, all the good things! That being said there is talk of some heavy topics like suicide, infertility, and sexual assault so know what you are getting yourself into.

This book follows Maggie, a struggling musician trying to chase her dreams and find love. When she finds love timing just doesn't seem to be right so she does what any logical person would do. Make a pact that if her and her best friend are still single at age 30 they will get together. Cut to her being in her thirties not where she wants to be in life and all the consequences of her actions coming back to bite her. What I LOVED about this book is that the love triangle was so believable. And you genuinely didn't know who to root for for a while (or at least I didn't). You find yourself rooting for someone who might not have always put her first but who she feels she is always herself around, and then find yourself wondering if the person who meets her where she is in life the one for her. This book talks about heavy topics so well and I loved that there was some substance with this romance. There was still the fluff I wanted but also with the grit I needed to make it feel real. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

I recommend this book to anyone who found themselves saying I could've, should've, would've and wants a romance that pulls at your heart strings. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Maggie Vine, a budding musician, knows she wants to have love in her life. At two different times as a young adult, Maggie makes a marriage pact with two different men, vowing that if they’re still single at 35, they’ll get married. Little does Maggie know or expect both men remember the pact and show up.

Maggie is torn between reconnecting with her first love from high school summer camp and her best friend, who has always been into her (and vice versa) but with all the wrong timing.

What I Liked:
- How different Maggie’s two love interests were
- A shifting timeline spanning two decades
- Maggie’s best friend, Summer. I loved her personality and her role as Maggie’s support
- References to famous musicians sprinkled throughout
- Depth beyond the romance


What Didn’t Work For Me:
- While Garrett seemed charming in the beginning, he made some choices that bugged me
- The book starts on a somber note. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the beginning, but it didn’t stay bleak for long.
- PSA: Check the trigger warnings ⬇️

Be advised this is quite the “open door” romance. It didn’t add or detract from the story for me, but I know some people have a preferred spice level.

TW: suicide, infertility, sexual assault, PTSD, death of a parent, infidelity

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC. Katherine Littrell did a wonderful job narrating.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Alison Rose Greenberg

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Dreamscape Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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.

Maggie Vine’s life is going extra-medium. At 35 she’s pursuing her dreams of being a singer and being a mother—though neither is successfully panning out. So when Garrett Scholl—stifled hedge fund manager by day but electrifying aspiring rock singer by night—comes to her 35th birthday party with the intention to kiss Maggie senseless, it feels like one piece might click into place. Except he’s engaged to someone else, and Maggie knows she won’t fit into the cookie-cutter life he’s building for himself.

Enter Asher Reyes. Her first boyfriend from summer camp, turned into heartthrob actor, he’s lived a successful yet private life ever since he got famous. When a career-changing opportunity is presented to Maggie after her reconnection with Asher, it feels like everything—music, love, family—will fall into place. But her past won’t let her move on without a fight.

My Thoughts: This was a sweet, endearing read with a little spice. Maggie was headed to stardom at a young age and ran into difficult times with a big-name producer, so she hung up her microphone for awhile. Now 35, she is trying her hand again. When her best friend Garrett shows up at her 35th birthday with the expectation of being more than best friends, she is let down to learn he is engaged. Enter Asher, the first true love whom she hasn’t seen since they were young, he has lived a very successful, yet private life. Then Maggie is given a huge opportunity to reconnect to music. Everything feels like it is falling into place, well mostly. However, her past is not able to let her move on, just yet. This follows the tropes of second chance romance, friends to lovers, love triangle, and Hollywood romance.

This was more than a romance novel, it is about reaching for your dreams and never giving up, it is about failing and recovering, about loving, and losing, about friendship, about being rejected, and it is about trauma and how to heal from that trauma and move on. The story is narrated by Maggie in a dual timeline, past and present. While usually I will steer away from love triangles, the author does this in a honest and realistic way that I really enjoyed the story. Maggie is a very independent woman that has developed insecurities from a past trauma that she has not completely healed from. Maggie makes things happen in her life, controls the narrative, and connects to her relationships with no holds bar. I connected more with Asher than I did Garrett. The characters were well developed with depth, compassion, witty banter, chemistry, and were creatively woven throughout the story. The author’s writing style was complex, swoony, steamy, heartfelt, and just brilliant.

Trigger warnings of infertility, sexual assault, suicide, and mental health. While Maggie is the MC, there is a sub-storyline of Summer. I really love how the author approached this and normalizing this among women. This romance novel has spice, friendship, love, loss, grief, trauma, healing, and mental health. I really enjoyed this story and loved the ending Maggie received. This was a bit of a rollercoaster book for me, I laughed, I cried, I yelled, and even screamed at the characters. The real message of this story is a person can heal from the most traumatic experience with help and come to the other side stronger, and you should always stand in your truth. I would recommend this to other readers.

While I did enjoy reading, and am ever so grateful for the opportunity, I really just felt like we were missing something with this one. The end seemed rushed to me. Maggie out here just making promises to everyone all Willy Nilly. And personal preference but I wanted Maggie to end up with the opposite of who she did. Which, again, I know is a personal preference and I know why she didn’t but still lol Or neither of them! I wish Maggie had chose herself! This novel definitely made me feel a mix of emotions for sadness, to frustration (obviously.) I do recommend the read, even while giving a mid range star rating. The novel was great, I just wished for a little more, I guess.

This was not at all what I expected (not in a bad way). I thought it was just going to end up being a little silly cutesy love triangle rom com. However, this was so much more. I would really consider it more women’s fictions than romance, although the romance was crucial to the story. I think, at its core, this is a great story of discovering yourself in your 30s and releasing guilt from the past.

What an engaging story. I'll tell you, Maggie has led one heck of an interesting life. And made some very intriguing choices over the course of thirty-five years. I'm glad, in the end, she made the biggest choice of all.

Alison Rose Greenberg's Maybe Once, Maybe Twice has some facinating characters and is well written. I'd definitely look for more by this author.

The audio edition of Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is nicely performed by Katherine Littrell.

Thank you @smpromance @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for the complimentary ARC & ALC.

Oh miscommunication, or lack thereof, how you frustrate me. And YET! I devoured this book. I mostly read this one and only listened to the first couple of chapters. Greenberg has a way of writing characters that you really feel for and scenarios that rip your heart out. I would love a book about Summer, Maggies best friend. She was one of those side characters that you love and root for as much as the MC. Where I struggled with this one was just the amount of angst. By the 75% mark I was a little fed up, and then there was still more drama to come which ruined the ending for me. While it didn’t quite live up to Greenberg’s Bad Luck Bridesmaid, I’d absolutely read her next novel.

TW: Infertility
2 likes

Summary: 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.

Maggie Vine’s life is going extra-medium. At 35 she’s pursuing her dreams of being a singer and being a mother―though neither is successfully panning out. So when Garrett Scholl―stifled hedge fund manager by day but electrifying aspiring rock singer by night―comes to her 35th birthday party with the intention to kiss Maggie senseless, it feels like one piece might click into place. Except he’s engaged to someone else, and Maggie knows she won’t fit into the cookie-cutter life he’s building for himself.

Enter Asher Reyes. Her first boyfriend from summer camp, turned into heartthrob actor, he’s lived a successful yet private life ever since he got famous. When a career-changing opportunity is presented to Maggie after her reconnection with Asher, it feels like everything―music, love, family―will fall into place. But her past won’t let her move on without a fight.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
*
My thoughts: oh how I loved this sweet romance ! 😍 Maggie was the most relatable main character and something so rarely seen in romance books! Normally I hate a love triangle trope but this one really worked for me. She was an absolute dream to follow, I loved the aspiring singer aesthetic of this book. Overall I found this one to be such a treat to read and the narration of this audiobook was great! This one released on October 3rd, I’m very behind on book reviews 🫠highly recommend it! Thank you @alison.greenberg and @netgalley for the advanced copy !
*
QOTD- who is your favorite singer or band since this one follows an aspiring singer ?!

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. The audiobook production was perfect as usual. I'm pretty sure Katherine Littrell is a new-to-me narrator, but I really enjoyed her performance and will seek her work out in the future.

Wow, this was such a wonderful surprise — emotional and deep and raw and funny and romantic. But most of all, I was impressed by how well the love triangle was handled. I genuinely couldn’t predict which guy the main character was going to end up with, and each of the relationships was interesting and complex.

🎧Song Pairing: Timing is Everything - Garrett Hedlund (I could have made an album for this one)

💭What I thought would happen:

I thought this was going to be devastating due to a death of a soulmate…nooo just unnecessary relationship drama

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

I’ll start with a positive: GORGEOUS cover! But I wanted this book to ruin me. UNFORTUNATELY this book contains my least favourite tropes:

🤢Friends to lovers
🤍MISCOMMUNICATION
✌🏻Emotional and physical cheating
🩵Never the write time
⭐️Love triangle

It doesn’t help that I didn’t like the MC. She was a mess and I just wasn’t rooting for her. Alllllwayyyys the victim. Her bestie should have been the main character.

Garrett is a piece of shit. Won’t add anymore on that.

There was hope at the end and then I was like WAIT NO WTF. All hope was then lost. Bad start to my reading month.

Think 28 Summers, Love, Rosie kind of you should be with me not her vibes. EYE ROLL! Say👏🏼ya👏🏼damn👏🏼feelings👏🏼

⭐️⭐️⭐️ maybe. Honestly probably 2.75.

Overall, I enjoyed the vast majority of this book. I was drawn in from the beginning with the premise of having two separate marriage pacts.

The marriage pacts themselves don't play as large a role as I was expecting. This truly ends up being a love triangle with the FMC having to choose between the two loves of her lifetime.

For the first 75% of the book I could not stop reading. The audio narrator did a great job conveying the emotions of the story and the true internal battle the FMC was going through. The timeline was all over the place, which did sometimes make it hard to follow. There wasn't a clear sequence of what would pop up when.

Towards the end, the story took several interesting turns and felt rushed to a conclusion. I was left with my jaw dropped in shock of how it was wrapped up, but more out of frustration.

I would still recommend this book if you need a relatively quick filler but it missed the mark for me overall due to the timeline jumping seemingly randomly and the rushed ending.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

When I first discovered this one, I was intrigued by the premise. The main character (Maggie) is mid thirties, single, and looking to have a child. She had made a pact with 2 old friends that they would marry at 35 if they were both single, but that was a long time ago... until she is about to turn 35 and they come back into her life.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio copy! It was a delightful switch from the mystery/thrillers I have been getting into lately.

This book was full of messy relationships, tension, heart break, angst, and is just one of those dramatic guilty pleasure stories. I also really loved the New York City scenery. I have always wanted to visit New York City, so it was fun to put myself there through Maggie's story.

Overall, this one was lovely and I really enjoyed it!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a multi-timeline emotional roller coaster of musician Maggie Vine's life both past (17 to 20 years old) and more present day (30 to 25 years old) following her two great loves that she has made marriage pacts to. This is not a mushy, lighthearted romcom, it is a gripping story of heartache, friendships and honesty. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, the narrator did a fantastic job. I definitely recommend and will be looking for more to read from this author!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ALC!