I don't think the book is going to work for me. I know this is not on the book, and I genuinely believe a lot of young adults will love this. I am not interested in reading about what the book is starting conversations on at my age. I think it is relevant for many people, but not for me. I would like to try and get a hold of the physical copy when the book is released for my library if I can find it for a reasonable price!

I’m a big fan of road trip stories, and, given how much I enjoyed Cochrun’s sophomore novel, Kiss Her Once for Me, my expectations going into this book were fairly high. And they were not at all disappointed–although in many ways, this fact ended up surprising me.

First, the romantic setup was great, with a ton of potential for interesting conflict: the two main characters are childhood best friends who, thanks to a gay panic-related misunderstanding when the two were fourteen, quickly turned into nemeses. Life circumstances have led them both to the last place they ever thought they’d be spending their adulthood: teaching high school at their own alma mater, in the same small, conservative town they dreamed of escaping when they were younger. And while they still can’t stand each other as coworkers, they have one extremely important thing in common: their former English teacher, Joe Delgado, who, in addition to being a father figure to both of them for most of their lives well into adulthood (both characters experienced a form of parental loss while still young children, and Joe stepped in at a vulnerable time), has recently received the news that the cancer he’s been fighting has metastasized. He’s officially dying, and his dying wish is to be taken on a final road trip to Maine so that he can die on his own terms, in his vacation house in Bar Harbor, close to the ocean. And he needs both of them to do this with him.

Former best friends turned enemies who are forced to work together is a plot device I already really enjoy, and the more lighthearted, humorous parts of the novel were just as fun, cute, and funny as I’d anticipated. I really liked that the two main characters were such polar opposites–Rosemary is a type A worrier, planner, and neat freak, while Logan is more laid-back and prefers to fly by the seat of her pants–but that, once they began to really resolve their differences, they actively worked to use their differences to support one another. The road trip part of the story was a lot of fun, too; I appreciated that as much of the trip was about seeing cool places, like the Grand Canyon, as it was about the characters growing and changing as people.

There were a few things that didn’t quite work for me–some of the humor comes across kind of woodenly (a LOT of jokes about the fact that Joe, who is dying, has to wear adult diapers–maybe this would be funny to someone else, but it just made me sad), and Logan’s quirk of expressing surprise by shouting the names of queer icons (i.e. “Hayley fucking Kiyoko!” or “Shay fucking Mitchell!”) was honestly just kind of annoying. (Though I’m not too proud to admit it was fun seeing which queer icons, or queer-adjacent icons like Laura Dern, the author chose to include.) I also thought that the third act conflict was pretty bad in terms of easily resolvable miscommunication, though I have some grace for this, because it doesn’t last very long–to the point where I’m not even sure if calling it the third act conflict is accurate–and it occurs at a time of extremely heightened emotion due to an outside event, so it makes sense to me that perhaps communication wouldn’t be first on anyone’s mind.

What surprised me most about this novel, though–and the thing, honestly, that pushes it from a three star read to a four star–was how it doesn’t shy away for a second from the reality of Joe’s impending death. Without giving too much of the third half of the book away, I will say that there are things that happen that feel surprising for this particular genre of fiction. Things that are not happy or particularly hopeful, things that are some of the hardest emotions we as humans can possibly feel–and the author doesn’t spare us any of them. I’m not someone who cries over books very easily, but there were two occasions where what I was reading was so reminiscent of when my grandmother was in hospice care that I couldn’t help bawling. I’d go so far to say that it’s a pretty bold move for a book like this, and for me personally, it really paid off.

Alison Cochrun is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of queer romance. I can’t wait to see where she takes us next.

Fun and tender and wise! Love every Alison writes and this is no exception--sexy and wry and I absolutely loved the voice. Maybe my fave of hers yet.

I love Alison Cochran but I found it incredibly difficult to love the main character Logan. It was a beautiful and heartbreaking story about life, death, and queer love. I just think the main character was too unlikable.

Alison Cochrun's novel, "Here We Go Again," takes readers on an emotional journey through the lives of Logan Maletis and Rosemary Hale, two childhood friends turned bitter rivals. Set in a small town, the story delves into the complexities of their stagnant lives as they navigate adulthood with unfulfilled dreams and a strained relationship. However, when their former English teacher's impending mortality brings them together, they embark on a transformative cross-country road trip that holds the potential to mend old wounds and redefine their futures. The author expertly captures the palpable tension between Logan and Rosemary, showcasing their contrasting personalities and life choices. Rosemary, portrayed as uptight and risk-averse, seeks security and stability above all else. Her dedication to work and reliance on her label maker epitomize her commitment to order and control. On the other hand, Logan exudes spontaneity and chaos, her list of ill-fated romances and dismissive attitude shielding her from emotional connections. Cochrun skillfully weaves their complicated past and present circumstances, creating a narrative that is equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching. Their unexpected encounters, including literal car crashes, serve as metaphorical reminders of the collision course their lives have taken. The impending loss of their beloved English teacher serves as a catalyst for change, propelling them towards an unforgettable adventure that encompasses breathtaking landscapes and illuminating self-discoveries. As the trio embarks on their road trip in a brightly colored van, the journey becomes a symbol of their collective transformation. From Washington state to the Grand Canyon, and from the Gulf Coast to coastal Maine, the physical distance they cover parallels the emotional distance they traverse. Through carefully crafted prose, Cochrun paints vivid landscapes that mirror the characters' internal struggles and newfound perspectives. "Here We Go Again" is a testament to the power of human connection and the possibility of second chances. Cochrun explores themes of forgiveness, self-discovery, and the pursuit of authentic happiness. With vivid storytelling and multidimensional characters, she invites readers to reflect on their own lives and the choices that shape their destinies. In conclusion, Alison Cochrun's "Here We Go Again" is a captivating and poignant novel that captivates readers from start to finish. Through Logan and Rosemary's intertwined journey, Cochrun explores the complexities of friendship, regret, and the courage it takes to confront one's choices. This heartfelt story serves as a reminder that sometimes, it's in revisiting the past that we find the strength to embrace the future.

Finished at exactly 12:00. Apt, as the characters in this story would say.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and the amazing Alison Cochrun for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I knew from The Charm Offensive that I would read anything and everything that Alison released. She is phenomenal at writing character dynamics and the relationships that exist between them.

Here We Go Again had me literally reading through tears at the back of my eyes for the last 15% of the book. I will keep this spoiler-free, but just a fair warning that the last quarter is really gonna hit you. (There is also a scene that takes place at a Dunkin’ Donuts that had me laughing through the tears, so there’s that too.)

My biggest reason for the four stars instead of five is just that the constant use of “Queer Celebrity First Name f****** Queer Celebrity Last Name” was a bit excessive. I love pop culture references, but these were in definite abundance.

That aside, this story was soft. It was beautifully done. I cared deeply for the main three characters: Logan, Rosemary, and Joe, as well as the characters who they came to meet as the story progressed.

It tugged on my heartstrings, had me bursting out laughing, and had me kicking my feet.

Thank you again, sincerely, for this ARC. I cannot wait to purchase this book.

I was aware of Alison Cochrun but I hadn’t read any of her books. Not sure why, because this was so very good. <i>Here We Go Again</i> is a romance between two women who were best friends until they were about 14 years old and how have been best enemies ever since. They are both very close to their old English teacher, Joe, who is dying of cancer. He wants to die in his old cottage on the other side of the US so the three of them go on a road trip. Of course, things happen on the road and some detours are made. Over the course of the book Logan and Rosemary grow close together once more. Nevertheless, the romance seemed almost secondary to their relationship with Joe. As it becomes clear they have to accept losing him, they also learn to let go.

The heavy and difficult themes in this book are handled beautifully and with so much care. I couldn’t help crying at some parts. While death is very much present in almost every scene of the book, there’s lots of fun as well. The balance between the two is perfect.

This is one of my favourite reads of the year and I’m definitely going to read more by this author.

There is no way around the pain, we have to go through it. Please go through it with me.”

Personal review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I adored The Charm Offensive & Kiss Her Once For Me, something about Alison Cochrun’s writing is just comfortable and binge worthy. Her characters and plot as so easy to just slip right into, like a warm coat. This was no expecting - Logan and Rosemary used to be childhood best friends but are currently beefing and have been for 14 years, until their high school English teacher asks them both to accompany him on a cross country “death road trip” as his cancer is progressing and he wants to die in peace in Maine. At first the arch nemesis’ want nothing to do with this plan- both working at the same high school in their small town of Vista Valley, Rosemary is uptight and regimented, Logan is laid back and chaotic! But the two want to honor their English teachers request and set out on an adventure from Washington state to the Grand Canyon, the Gulf Coast to Maine in this adventure filled novel of love, forgiveness, and growth. Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks @alisoncochrun for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is out on shelves April 2!

Synopsis: A long time ago, Logan Maletis and Rosemary Hale used to be friends. They spent their childhood summers running through the woods, rebelling against their conservative small town, and dreaming of escaping. But then an incident the summer before high school turned them into bitter rivals. After graduation, they went ten years without speaking.

Now in their thirties, Logan and Rosemary find they aren’t quite living the lives of adventure they imagined for themselves. Still in their small town and working as teachers at their alma mater, they’re both stuck in old patterns.

But when their beloved former English teacher and lifelong mentor tells them he has only a few months to live, they’re forced together once and for all to fulfill his last wish: a cross-country road trip.

THIS BOOK WAS SO CUTE!! A romantic road trip between two ex best friends and their terminally ill mentor. I laughed, I cried, I swooned!!

Absolutely adored this book. I loved the girls but I really fell in love with Joe. The plot was very entertaining and the message was incredibly important. I can’t wait to tell the world about this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. This is my honest review.

Alison Cochran is an auto request for me now, since I first got an ARC for The Charm Offensive. I enjoyed the author's second book as well but this one left me quite detached.

The story is about Rosemary and Logan, two friends who had a long ago falling out that has affected them far into adulthood. The basic premise is they don't get along, actively avoid each other and are brought together when their beloved high school English teacher, who is dying, brings them together for a goodbye/last hurrah road trip.

The premise is intriguing and I am always here for enemies to lovers, friends to enemies to lovers, second chance romance etc. But the writing and execution of this kept me from being as engaged as I hoped and at times I found some of the writing and execution frankly irritating. The characters felt overly stereotypical, caricatures of their archetypes. The banter was constant and didn't need to be. The writing grated on me and I can not say that ever happened with the author's previous two books. Logan's habit of constantly using queer celebrities names mid swear was vaguely amusing the first time but was exceedingly annoying, unbelievable, and distracting by mid book and only grew more so by the end.

I had to push myself to finish this book. I suppose I wanted to know what happened in the end, which is why I didn't DNF.

I can suspend my disbelief on a lot of situations in romance novels but this one had a few too many for me to find believable with regards to the characters, the situations, the dialogue and banter, and the details of the medical condition and relationships themselves. These women are 32. They act like teens. Their teacher is in his 60s. From the narrative he's made to sound ancient. But he is as immature as they are. Overall I found myself getting annoyed at the characters, the situations, and the writing itself. It makes me sad because I have loved the author's previous books but this was not one for me.

The last few chapters were really the best part—sad and poignant and emotionally resonant.

I loved The Charm Offensive but wasn’t super enamored with Kiss Her Once for Me so I was excited to see how I’d feel about Cochrun’s newest release.

Well party people, I am thrilled to report that I loved this book!!! This had everything I crave in a romance novel: phenomenal banter, childhood friends (and crushes) to enemies to lovers, a hilarious teacher/mentor/friend, forced proximity, multiple mentions of Shay Mitchell, witty humor and an A+ dog.

This was so heartfelt and fun and raw and honest. Logan is an absolute mess but I loved her so much. Rosemary was such a great character and the way she described her ADHD was so relatable to me. I loved getting to see these two rebuild their friendship while finding themselves.

And Joe. Oh, sweet Joe. Was an absolute gem. What I wouldn’t give to read an entire book about him.

I will say Here We Go Again was a bit more melancholy than I was prepared for and the plot was very depressing at times. That being said there was so much humor and sweetness to add much needed levity and Cochrun’s writing is truly something else.

Highly recommend this one! I’ll definitely be rereading it in the near future.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own.

This is the rom com for you if you want to bawl as well as laugh. While it does have moments that literally made me snort awkwardly with laughter, it's also really, really sad. In case you, like me, didn't think too hard about the death part of this book before reading: be forewarned.

I struggled with the main pairing at first--emotionally unavailable asshole characters are really not my thing--but I did warm up to Logan by the end. I really liked the varying experiences of ADHD and queerness represented by the characters here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

A big thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for this eARC!

Yes, I cried. Of course this made me cry.

I loved Alison Cochrun's previous books, it was one of my favourite reads last year, so I was very excited when I found out about this latest book, and waited on the edge of my seat for this one to hopefully be available in ARC form. I won't go too heavily into any plot specific points this early before release, but needless to say, this book at various times had angry, laughing with joy and giving huge, ugly sobs. Basically, it gave me the feels.

I really enjoyed Logan and Rosemary as protagonists. As usual, Alison writes great neurodivergent characters. Of course, I'm a huge softie so my favourite parts were when they got along (and more), but even their snipes were entertaining, in small doses. I wish we could have gotten more of them together, but I usually wish for that so that's nothing new.

Joe, their teachers and/or catalyst, was of course the star of the show, but most of what I have to say about him gets into more plot specifics so I'll just say he was wonderful.

This isn't a spice-heavy book, possibly even less so than Kiss Her Once for Me. What was there was great, and made me long for more, but that's a minor complaint.

All in all, loved it. 4.5 stars rounded up.

This book had that special "it" factor that makes a book stick with me. I laughed. I cried. I did both at the same time. I thought that the author did a great job of establishing the parts of Logan and Rosemary's lives where they had room for growth in a way that kept me rooting for them even when they were getting in their own way, and each others'.

To me, Joe felt like a really well-developed character. I think there's a risk when writing this style of story of turning your Joe into a prop rather than a character in his own right, and I think Cochrun did a great job of avoiding that pitfall. His story was one of the parts of the book I found most compelling. As much as I shipped the main characters, the scenes with him stole the show.

I find myself thinking of the idea mentioned in the book, that there is not really so much difference between classic tragedy and comedy. In my opinion, this novel is part-tragedy, part romcom, and an odyssey entirely worth taking.

Chapter 1 was a fun romp and if it keeps up, it’s sure to be a good time. Easy three to four stars for the target and five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

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

This book is like a prickly pear - it's beautiful, but it will hurt you.

WOW another beautifully written story by Alison Cochrun. I was first introduced to her writing with Kiss Her Once For Me, and I loooved that book! But this one..... I think I love it more 🤭
Here We Go Again is a sapphic rom-com about death. The juxtaposition works so well throughout the story. We have comedy mixed with tragedy, it is equal parts hilarious and sad. I was crying and laughing. Emotions were being felt. The whole concept of this book is amazing, and I want more Logan and Rosemary! (I also want more Joe and Remy... even though Joe passes away at the end of this story, I still want to know more about his and Remy's relationship 30 years ago.)
The characters, the banter, the plot, the relationships, the antics..... I am here for it! This one is so worth the wait. If this isn't on your TBR, you have to add it. It's so good. I will be talking about this book for a loooong time!!

Side note: There are a few references to a facial expression looking like a cat's butthole, specifically "Her mouth puckers into a cat's butthole..." That's just not an image I want while reading a book 🤣 Maybe there's a better way to phrase that?

I was sold the moment I saw this had a Mamma Mia themed title, and I could NOT put this down despite being surrounded by scenery on a cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam!! Logan and Rosemary are impeccable main characters who are so different but so likeable in their own ways. I related to both of them in a very painful and very different way.

Their love story is interwoven with a tragic and beautiful love story from the past as they road trip across the country.

Absolutely zero flaws!!!!!

This book gave me all the feels. It’s about love and fear and confronting the past and growing into the future. About bravery and forgiveness and finding beauty alongside the heartache that's an inevitable part of any life well-lived.

Here We Go Again follows Logan and Rosemary, two high school teachers who end up driving their old English teacher to his place in Maine as his final wish before he dies. Cochrun did a great job creating genuine characters, especially in Logan, Rosemary, and Joe. The book is incredibly emotional, hitting highs and lows, and the pacing works well. The history between the two women was a bit wonky with how much it weighed them down, but the way it was explained kept the flow of the novel going. They were believable in love and how their different dating histories were handled was great. I struggled with the writing at points: Logan constantly uses queer celebrities mixed with profanity (“Cate fucking Blanchett, Tig fucking Nataro, etc) and a few of the bigger discussions felt almost artificial. The latter is a constant issue I have with romance novels, which makes me think it’s more a problem of my taste than the writing. Overall, Here We Go Again is a solid romance novel filled with sincere feelings, that works as long as you're prepared to buy into a bit of ridiculousness.