This author knows how to write romance! I feel like her books keep getting better and better! The romance starts to feel more realistic as she writes them!
I am such a sucker for childhood friends to lover, especially in queer stories because it comes back to them figuring out who they truly are! Such a good trope and she does it well!
I thought there was so much chemistry between the love interests, it allowed me as the reader to feel connected to them, and I loved it! I look forward to seeing what she writes next!

I loved this! It's a poignant story about growing up, finding yourself, admitting to mistakes, facing regrets, and going out and experiencing life in all its beauty, unpredictability, and heartbreak. There's humor, road trip adventures, a failed service dog, found family, and, of course, romance. But it's also bittersweet and deals with grief, dying, abandonment, addiction, and mental health. Getting to know these characters wasn't always comfortable but by the end I was going through it with them, celebrating and grieving. While I love both Logan and Rosemary, Joe is my favorite character, and the chapters in Louisiana were my favorite in the book. Overall, a lovely and joyous read!

I rated this 3.75 stars.

This is a big heartstrings-pulling story, and I applaud the author for also making it so funny and charmingly romantic. It took me longer than usual to get through because I read it in ebook, and audio is my preferred medium for this genre.

It's definitely a cheesy, trope-y read at times, which is both a pro and a con in my books. My biggest critique would be that the author leans a bit too heavily into queer, sapphic, and neurodivergent stereotypes. At times, this felt alienating... and, at other times, it felt clunky and awkward.

I don't know that I would describe this reading experience as "feel-good", because it deals very heavily and very intimately with dying and grieving a loved one. It is, however, an emotional read that includes a romantic resolution.

Alison Cochrun really said: Let‘s make my readers feel love, despair and happiness all at the same time!

And let me tell you. I was here for it. Here we go again is a lesbian enemies to lovers romance - yes - but it‘s so so so much more. It‘s love that transcends romantic love. It‘s unconditional and soul deep. It‘s cross-country roadtrips and venturing outside your comfort zone. It‘s seeing neurodiversity as an asset instead of a hindrance. It‘s healing and hurting and being hopeful.

In short, this is an absolutely beautiful book.
Please note that you should be in the right mindset to read it! The topic of grief felt too overwhelming and too much for me when this lovely book was first released. I only picked it back up when I felt more secure about it! 🫶🏻 Please take care of yourselves.

Otherwise, go read it! I promise you that there will be tears and goosebumps and hiccup-giggles en masse ❤️

I loved this book and connected it from page one. As a huge fan of Alison Cochrun's previous release, "The Charm Offensive," this book was filled with all the little neurodivergent idiosyncrasies that made me fall in love with Dev and Charlie and relate to them both so much. In "Here We Go Again," Logan and Rosemary just bounce off the page and both feel like totally believable, real people with imperfections and arcs that carry them through the book. I loved Joe as the teacher/father figure character and fodder for their relationship. Can't recommend this book highly enough. A personal copy of it is going on my shelf.

Alison Cochrun is one of my ride-or-die authors for sure. 3 out of 3 books are FIVE PHENOMENAL STARS!!!! I simply cannot get over the way she weaves an incredible story line with the most stunning of queer discussions all the while bringing out ALL THE TEARS. Alison Cochrun made me fall in love with romance. I loved this book just as much as I loved her other works as well. Absolutely brilliant.

Full disclosure up front with this book. The last 50 pages or so made me sob so hard that I went through about twenty tissues and left puddles of tears soaked into my couch where I was reading. I was a full mess. I loved it.

An ailing high school teacher asks two of his former students to help him with his dying wish: drive him across the country so he can finish out his days in a house by the water. The only problem with these two students is that they used to be best friends who now hate each other. But of course, once they begin spending more time together, all those old high school feelings come back in full force.

The romance of this book is lovely and there’s romance woven through every page, whether it be between the main characters Logan and Rosemary or the others in the book. In fact, the plot line that affected me the most was completely separate from Logan and Rosemary. That’s how good Alison Cochrun is. You come for the main characters’ love story and end up being invested in two others to the point where your eyes become swollen from how many tears are spilled.

But I digress.

This book is so special and is more than just a romance book. It’s an exploration of queer joy, queer regret, and queer living. It sang to me and someday I’ll be emotionally ready to read it again.

So, while the cover of this book gives accurate vibes in terms of the fact that this is a road trip book, please read the synopsis of the book before picking it up because what the cover doesn't show is the dying English teacher (and his dog) who is also in that van.

Okay, let me start from the beginning. Essentially, this book follows Logan and Rosemary who are two women who used to be best friends and then they had a big falling out. Now they are adults and teach at the same high school. They are both close to their high school English teacher. Logan is a self-professed mess, a Lesbian, and also a "fuckboy," while Rosemary is straight-passing Lesbian (also, I really think she's on the ace spectrum but I can't remember if that's addressed), Type A, and a bit neurotic. The two of them wind up agreeing to take their high school English teacher on a road trip to this home he owns in Maine because he's dying and instead of dying in the hospital or with hospice, he wants to die in his home in Maine.

The road trip that was planned is not really how things wind up going (obviously) and instead you wind up on quite the journey. This is a book that I think will hit for a lot of people. It did not hit for me. The emotional beats in this book wound up hitting too late for me to get invested. I love a messy main character, but not, honestly, more than I love a Type A character whose life is spiraling in a way they are not okay with. So Rosemary was my GIRL in this book. But somehow the pacing of the emotional beats just really left me feeling like this book was lacking overall. I've now read all three of Cochran's books though and none of them have hit perfectly for me yet, so maybe she's just not the author for me. That said, I know she is the author for so many people, so if you're in the space to read a grief book, take care of yourself, but I would not steer you away from it!

THIS BOOK WAS *ACTUAL* PERFECTION!!!
It was beyond hilarious but also SO heartwarming.
it was story of love and loss - heartbreak and grief
it's a read the make you swoon but also bawl your eyes out simultaneously!
this was exceptionally written - it was a story that will forever stick with me
anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, will wholeheartedly connect to this beautiful story.
Logan & Rosemary were TRULY made for each other. Their banter was EVERYTHING and there connection was FIREEE!!
BUT the true star of the show?! JOE!!
He was the embodiment of living life to the fullest each and every day - and we should ALLL live like Joe.
love is worth taking risks for. love is worth the heartbreak, and pain..because it turns into a stunning love story.
Seriously ya'll: if you have not read this book yet... RUNNNN to find it at local library, bookstore, ANYWHERE!!

A sapphic Mamma Mia inspired second chance romance roadtrip novel?? Sign me up!

I have loved Alison Cochrun's other novels but this one might be my favorite. I am already a book crier but the tears that this book made me cry? Uncountable.

The way the author intertwined Rosemary's and Logan's story with their friendship with Joe was so heartbreakingly beautiful. I have had many English teachers who changed my life and this was a beautiful tribute to all of those teachers who made a difference, especially those who created a safe space for their students.

I will say, however, that the main romance felt overshadowed by Joe's story. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing since I enjoyed Joe's story more than the main plot, but it made it less of a romance novel.

The ended truly gutted me in the best way. Alison Cochrun is a true artist for being able to combine so many emotions in the final scenes of this book.

4.5 Stars

This book! I wasn’t expecting this one to be jammed packed with emotion.

It’s a road trip book but so much more! Filled with a cast of lovable characters and adventure. This book will make you smile, laugh and cry. I suggest looking at the trigger warnings because it is a book about an end-of-life adventure. It’s also a second chance queer romance about opening up your heart and dealing with curve-balls that life throws at you. It was beautiful book!

A strong 4 stars for this sapphic, friends-to enemies-to lovers romance. The main characters, Logan and Rosemary, grant the literal dying wish of their former high school teacher (who has become a close friend and mentor to both of them) by taking him on a cross-country road trip in the "gayest van on the west side of the Mississippi." Logan and Rosemary couldn't be more different, and the forced proximity forces all three of them to explore their complicated relationships, the choices they have each made in the past, and their future. The novel touches on so many issues and themes - friendships, death, neurodiversity, mental health, forgiveness, and of course love - and somehow manages to be funny, sad, AND spicy. I love Alison Cochrun's writing. Her character development is flawless, I loved these characters and was immediately invested in the story. I cried, I laughed, and I cried some more.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#netgalley #atriabooks #herewegoagain

As soon as I saw a new book written by Alison Cochrun, I knew I wanted to read it right away. And, just as before, she's written a book with a group of characters that are authentic, funny, troubled, honest, and lovable.

At the heart of "Here We Go Again" (pun somewhat intended) is the troubled friendship of Logan and Rosemary, childhood best friends who lost their friendship, but are now all grown up and forced to face each other and their pain when their favorite high school teacher/mentor/father figure is on his death bed and has one last wish: a road trip with the two of them to Maine.

The road trip becomes so much more than honoring their teacher's wish--it's an adventure, it's a chance to heal old wounds, it's a history lesson, it's a forcing mechanism, and it's just what all of them need.

The story is powerful and could be triggering, but, in the end, it's hopeful.

I loved this book so much! The ADHD rep was amazing, and so was the story. I was a bit concerned it would be too sad for a romance but it was so beautifully done that it was worth it. I would highly recommend.

THE BEST BOOK IVE READ IN 2024!

Wow.

Logan and Rosemary are 2 beautiful individuals who have their own baggage that they overcome in their own ways. I am in awe of Alison’s talent with writing and creating such a beautiful story. Joe was such a good older character (even though I don’t consider him old with him being the same age as my parents). This book hit me hard because my dad has Parkinson’s and dementia and also not the same as pancreatic cancer, it is life changing. I thought of my gram and when she passed, as my family and I were in the room when she was taken off life support and that’s something that’ll live with me forever.

I really loved how Joe was the “grandparent” to the 2 former students of his and how he changed their lives.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙢-𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮.

📍 Read if you like:
• Frenemies To Lovers
• Opposites Attract
• Found Family
• Road Trips

I absolutely loved The Charm Offensive by this author so of course I wanted to pick this book up… plus it involves a road trip, which had me so hooked and excited.

Unfortunately, I feel like I’m in the minority with this book. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t work for my liking. I did set too high of hopes on this.

As I said the road trip aspect was so fun and captivating, however, I feel like the story dragged at times. It also felt way too repetitive for me… and Logan and Rosemary never really connected with me.

While I wish I would’ve cared more about the characters and the story, the little bit of miscommunication threw me off guard - it wasn’t to the point where it was unbearable, I just didn’t love it.

I did find the ending to be satisfying, despite all the pop culture references throughout the book.

I feel like this is more of a personal experience, but I didn’t really care for this book as much as I wanted to. I’ll still always recommend The Charm Offensive and this author in general, but this story was middle-of-the-road for me.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you for the early copy! I waited too long to read and review so I actually bought and read the finished copy. I thought I was going to totally love this one. It’s a friends to lovers romance which is one of my favorite tropes. I did really enjoy this book, it just wasn’t a new all time favorite which is always what I’m hoping for. Logan and rosemary were best friends in their childhood but turned rivals as adults. They’re tasked with driving their dying mentor across the country. It was filled with great roadtrip antics, cool places and things to see on the way, but it was also a highly emotional book. Both women are dealing with the impending death of their beloved teacher, while also trying not to deal with their feelings for one another. They can’t fight their love, though, and the journey of their falling was filled with funny bickering and eventually letting the walls down and trusting each other again. I really liked how the story was wrapped up. It had the potential to be devastating, but the author was kind to us.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Atria books for allowing me to read this amazing book early. Let me just say, that reading this book right after my mom passed away was not a good choice mentally, but I absolutely adored this book. It made me wish that I was allowed to take my mom for one last adventure before she passed unexpectedly back in March.

I rated this book 4.5 stars rounded up since we can't do half ratings on here. This book was everything I wanted and more. Logan and Rosemary are essentially the main characters in this book, but their teacher, who is dying from terminal cancer, Joe, stole the whole show for me. A quick trip across the country turns into a three week life-changing trip. Logan and Rosemary enemies to lovers story, for me at least, takes a back seat to the amazing connection that they have with Joe, living their best life on the road, and finding out so many new things about one another.

I can't really say much without spoiling this book. It made me laugh and ugly cry at the same time. You felt all the emotions that these three were going through, love, regrets, anger, sadness, ( I can sit here and go through all the emotions that the characters go through, but it would be Inside Out all over again, haha). I just love that, even though Joe had all these amazing people at his side, he chose his two former favorite students who he loved as family. The reason why this book didn't get a full five stars from me was because of how Rosemary and Logan were just so nasty with each other before they fully realized what they meant towards each other. Once you realize that what happened a long time ago made them the way they are towards each other, it made my eyes roll and I told myself "that's it?!". It was a little too much and a bit ridiculous for me.

This is going to sound really stupid, but I'm also glad this story didn't end up with a proposal or anything else along those lines like most romance books that I've read do. It gets very repetitive and cliche at times, but I'm glad this book didn't cover it.

Overall, this book was amazing and a queer book you don't want to miss out on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

dnf @ 9% and this has nothing to do with the book itself but with me being in a reading slump.

Of what I did read, I enjoyed the premise of the book and the characters themselves so I am excited to follow up on this one in the future.

Title: Here We Go Again
Author: Alison Cochrun
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: April 2, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Delightful • Heartfelt • Wanderlusting

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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. Uptight Rosemary chooses security and stability over all else, working constantly, and her most stable relationship is with her label maker. Chaotic and impulsive Logan has a long list of misguided ex-lovers and an apathetic shrug she uses to protect herself from anything real. And as hard as they try to avoid each other—and their complicated past—they keep crashing into each other. Including with their cars.

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. Stuffed into the gayest van west of the Mississippi, the three embark on a life-changing summer trip—from Washington state to the Grand Canyon, from the Gulf Coast to coastal Maine—that will chart a new future and perhaps lead them back to one another.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd previously loved The Charm Offensive, but Kiss Her Once For Me didn't hit the same level for me. Regardless, Here We Go Again was one of my anticipated 2024 releases (hello road trip!), and it quickly rose to the top of my stack when it was recommend by a trusted book friend.

What an absolute delight!

Filled with a combination of laugh-out-loud and heartfelt moments, this story and it's characters wiggled their way into my heart as they embarked on a road trip to fulfil Joe's death wish. It's full of adventure, memories, beautiful relationships, belonging, love, and heartache. Some of my favourite moments were the van, the binder, the detours along the way, the nude painting discovery, the drag show, all of the musical moments, and of course, when they finally make it to Maine.

Logan and Rosemary's character growth felt wholly natural and the author does a fantastic job subtly incorporating their neurodiversity (ADHD and anxiety rep) into the story. I really enjoyed getting to unravel what tore them apart and slowly seeing them come together again. Their banter had me laughing often.

And then there is Joe - he was the glue holding the entire story together and I absolutely adored his character. Learning about his past - how he came to play a parental role for each of the girls and his own queerness was such a joy. The teacher/student relationship was beautiful. Of course, I cannot forget Odysseus, the cancer dog. And Remy... sweet sweet Remy.

The romance never overtakes the story, yet it's easy to see where their relationship will end up. It's really the secondary love story which had my whole heart. Stunningly beautiful! Additionally, the open dialogue on grief and talk about death was a breath of fresh air. As an avoidant society, these types of discussions are so important, yet we don't have them. Lastly, I thought it was an accurate depiction of the caregiving process and all that it entails. End-of-life care is physically, emotionally and psychologically exhausting and portraying it as such is so important.

Here We Go Again is one of those stories that made me smile through tears. There were so many beautiful moments in this childhood best friends to enemies to lovers story filled with queer joy. Found family stories have quickly become a trope I adore, and the ending was bittersweet. There is no doubt it'll be making its way onto my Top Reads of 2024 come December. Definitely bring the Kleenex for this one.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• road trips
• forced proximity
• life lessons from the dying
• sapphic rom-coms

⚠️ CW: cancer, terminal illness, medical content, excrement, vomit, death, death of parent, grief, abandonment, toxic relationship, lesbophobia, homophobia, outing, sexual content, cursing, mental illness, alcoholism, panic attacks/disorders, alcohol, drug use, overdose

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"He saw the way her brain worked, and instead of trying to fix it, he celebrated it."

"Hale looks even more perfect to Logan in this moment, because she looks like a flawed human being."

"Life is the prickly pear. It's always going to be a combination of beauty and hurt, no matter how hard you try to protect yourself from the hard parts. There is no way to avoid pain."

"Your brain in the most beautiful thing about you. And I'm including your soft ass in this list."

"This is love. Love is seeing perfection in every flaw. Seeing every flaw as a miracle because it belongs to the person you care about most. Love is saying, yes, still. Even after all these years."

"We're never truly safe. That's life."