DNF at 60%… I’ve enjoyed the authors other books but this one never really got better for me and had no desire to finish. Both main characters are very unlikeable and honestly I got tired of them. They were both of their own journeys which I appreciate but I got annoyed at the communication troupe lasting 20 years/they were just immature.

FIRST OF ALL, the amount of spice in Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun was enough to get the people going, and I have to call this a romance since I consider romcoms like Hallmark Christmas movies. 🤣 Also though, while there are definitely parts that made me laugh and I would consider this a funny book it is super sad too and I ugly cried multiple times. In the beginning, I wasn't fully sure how I was going to feel about this one and I was getting ready to rank it at the bottom as far as my love for Cochrun's books go. Once I started getting to the halfway point though my view shifted, and she got me all up in my feels so much that I ended up loving it just as much as her others.

Natalie Naudus & Jeremy Carlisle Parker did a wonderful job of narrating the audiobook and they were perfect for their roles as Logan and Rosemary respectively. Naudus narrated Kiss Her Once for Me as well, and I will never tire of hearing her voice. Both of these women did a beautiful job of capturing both the essence of their characters and the story as a whole and I would recommend the audio to anyone and everyone! Here We Go Again will pull at your heartstrings with its romance, family drama, and found family elements while making you laugh and cry in equal measure. This is yet another emotion-fueled romance from the amazingly talented Cochrun, and I cannot recommend it enough if you are in the mood for something decidedly funny, heartbreaking but hopeful, and spicy in a captivating way.

does it count as a five star prediction if you’ve only ever given that author five stars? 🤔

here’s my review for one of my top anticipated 2024 releases, and oh my goodness gracious did it deliver.

alison cochrun has crafted a third certified BANGER, and i got the privilege of reading the ARC. i found myself slowing down as i read it, not for want of enjoyment, but because it felt like a special moment i needed to let savor on my tongue.

i only can name a few books that have had me full out sobbing, and i get to add here we go again to that list. so many emotions in such a short span; grief, joy, elation, remorse, all tangled with these stunning characters and my own struggles that feel similar shaped to theirs.

i can’t properly articulate to you how much this book blew me away. i can’t pick a favorite alison cochrun novel just yet, but… i think this might take the cake. or cactus.

thank you alison for bringing such a wonderful work to life 🫶 your books speak to my soul in such a singular and poignant way.

and thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the electronic advanced reader’s copy of this novel

here we go again by alison cochrun
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I feel that Cochrun just never misses! No matter the subject, her stories have so much heart and passion and a couple that you really end up rooting for in spite of all odds! I cant wait to read more from her!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc

~ ARC provided by NetGalley and Atria Books ~

Ugh, this book got me in all of my feels. "Here We Go Again" by Alison Cochrun is a stunning portrait of all the ugly facets of queerness that takes place on a cross-country road trip. Logan and Rosemary are former best friends, now icy co-workers at their former high school, who rally around their retired queer English teacher, Joe, when he asks to go on a final trip. For the past four years, Joe has been battling cancer, but it has spread throughout his entire body. This book was difficult for me to read at times, as I have someone in my life fighting cancer, but I really appreciated the realness and gentleness Cochrun applies when talking about how Joe's illness impacts the trip. As if that won't get you in your feels enough, Cochrun also manages to pack a few extra emotional punches by tying in themes of anxiety, abandonment, shame, and intergenerational queer trauma. This book will be relatable to any queer person today, and I promise there is enough levity and sexiness and queer sparkle to prop up such a heavy subject matter.

I will absolutely read anything Alison Cochrun writes. The Charm Offensive is one of my favorite books of all time and I love, love, loved Kiss Her Once For Me. Here We Go Again was a bit more up and down for me than her previous books. And don't get me wrong, I still liked it a lot and I will for sure read whatever she writes next. But Logan was an extremely tough character for me to root for -- which I understand to some degree is kind of the point. But she's just downright mean at times in a way I couldn't quite square. And that combined with the broader backdrop of a literal death road trip + cancer is a lot. Which doesn't make the book bad by any stretch of the imagination nor do I think Logan is poorly written. It just means I didn't enjoy the process of reading this book as much as I have her previous ones.

In contrast, I did really love Rosemary. Perhaps it's because I see a lot of myself in her but characters that just care SO much and are trying SO hard always burrow into my heart. I also loved the subplot of uncovering Joe's past and romantic history. All in all, not my favorite Cochrun but still worth a read.

Here We Go Again was absolutely stunning, but I would plan some self care around the time you read it because it was also DEVASTATING.

First up, five star representation of teachers. I feel like Logan and Rosemary are both me, and you have to find a balance to make it as a teacher.

Second, can two lesbians be friends without being in love? Absolutely. But do people of all sexualities deserve the friends to strangers to lovers angsty ridden romance of all of our dreams? Absolutely. And that is what this book was, and I loved it so much.

I usually binge romances in a day or two, but I took my time with this one because the whole death road trip situation was really intense, as was the emotional rollercoaster and soul searching both Rosemary and Logan were on. So again, please take care of yourself if you choose to pick this up. And if you need to cry into someone’s dms, mine are open!

Long live Joe and all the teachers that make school feel safe and joyful, especially for kiddos who need a safe space to land. 🫶🏻

🎧 This was an incredible audiobook, and Natalie Naudus is one of my favorite narrators. Highly recommend.

This was a super fun road trip story perfect for fans of Cochrun’s previous work. Logan and Rosemary are childhood friends turned enemies who work at their former alma mater. They are thrown together on a cross country trip when their former English teacher reveals he has months to live. This is like a coming of age story but with adults with a lot of humor and heart.

This was very very very very very white. not my jam but I guess besides that it was a cute little story. Dragged towards the end though.

Alison Cochrun does it again! This was such a heartbreaking but touching story. Definitely an emotional book filled with a lot of heart. Lots of humor thrown in as well. Cochrun always writes a great love story and this was no exception. I really enjoyed this book.

Alison Cochrun hit me in the feels with her latest book! She does such an incredible job at incorporating humor in her stories, but in a heartwarming way.

Logan and Rosemary are two very different characters, but I loved the relationship between them. They start off as friends (prior to the book starting), then we see them as enemies turned lovers. Their dynamic made for a great story.

For those who like their books with a medium level of spice, this book is perfect. It is not overly graphic, but is enough to be sexy.

If you are someone who finds books about cancer or death triggering, I'd either suggest skipping this one, or if you still want to read, make sure you are in a good head space. Most of the book is pretty light hearted, but the ending is heavy.

Thank-you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Alison Cochrun for the eARC.

This book absolutely solidified Alison Cochrun as an auto-buy author for me. Anyone who knows me knows how much I ADORED THE CHARM OFFENSIVE and how I take the opportunity to recommend it to absolutely anyone who will listen. I didn't think it possible, but I loved this book even more.

The emotional whiplash I experienced while reading this book was INTENSE, one moment I was giggling and having a good time and the next I'm weeping so hard I couldn't even see the page in front of me.

This book was so incredibly beautiful I genuinely cannot even find the words to describe, you just HAVE to read it for yourself. It immediately became one of my go-to recommendations at work and, in real life, reading it is now a requirement to maintain a friendship with me. ;-)

I reallyyyyyy wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t for me and didn’t do the trick, I love the cover and the premise, I’d be willing to try again in the future with a different book by this author

This was such a cute book! I loved Joe from the beginning, and was super sad with his end even though we knew it was going to happen. I’m glad Logan and Rosemary took him on his roadtrip, and made the pit stops. I loved Logan and Rosemary together as well!

Loved this as much as Cochrun’s past books! Such a great exploration in end of life care and grief and love and family.

Name a better duo than Alison Cochrun and getting me to tolerate and even agree with a third act break up because one and/or both of her incredibly well written characters DESPERATELY needs therapy before being anywhere near correct to be in this relationship. I'll wait.

Anyways, I'm UNWELL and I need to stop letting this devil woman do this to me (unlikely) This was stunning and I don't see it leaving my head for a long time.

I absolutely loved it. But I would add a caveat that you should probably not read this if someone you love is dying of cancer or recently died of cancer. It was *heartbreaking* even without that.

I went into it expecting a light romance - it appears to be marketed as a "queer rom com" - and boy howdy is that not what this is. But it was beautiful and I'm glad I read it. It's a good thing I was listening to the audiobook though because I sobbed through approximately the last half of the book.

The light romance is there, as is the humor, it just often takes a backseat to the story of the girls watching their former teacher and beloved mentor succumb to cancer. There is so much joy they discover in that final road trip, and so much pain, and honestly I can't think of it without starting to tear up again.

I definitely felt this one more than any other book I've read this year.

The audiobook was performed brilliantly and the narrators perfectly captured all the humor and love and pain and heartbreak. 10/10

*Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an early copy for review.

Logan and Rosemary used to be best friends until something happened. Now they both work as teachers at their local high school. They met Joe Delgado in 9th grade he was their mentor and surrogate father. Joe is dying of Pancreatic cancer and wants to die in Maine. He requests that both girls drive him there.

Logan is hilarious and broken. She had me laughing all throughout the book. This book is filled with so much heart and love. I laughed and bawled. Such good insights about love and life. Joe and Odie are my favorite characters. 😭

🌼 LGBTQia
🌺 Second chance Romance
🌸 Enemies to Lovers
💔 Cancer/Death

Here We Go Again was a special book for me. Thank you @netgalley for this ebook ARC.

By all accounts it should be a sad book, and it was certainly bittersweet, but mostly it was about love in its purest forms: childhood loves, mentor loves, found and chosen family, and long-term loves. It's a lovely cousin to The Guncle, if that touched your heart.

My two main comments are about neurodivergent representation and grief/loss, two of my favorite storytelling angles.

Blessedly, this book presented multiple sides of ADHD symptoms for different people, was honest about mental health and its sidecars, and let Logan and Rosie grow in their own lanes before together. So often we see neurodivergent queer characters parentify their relationship or cast aside their symptoms for the sake of love and this was a notably mature novel in that it accepts the symptoms and supports the person who has them without judgement.

I also love love love a beautiful novel about grief and living, and Alison Cochran nailed the complexity of dying and living with agency, joy, dignity care, owning your choices, and a tribe of found family members navigating it all together for the first time.

I wish I could read it for the first time again. But now, for a good cry and a great sunset. Thank you, @alisoncochrun from this queer kid who hid in her English teacher's room for lunch, too.

This was such a fun read! I read it in two days. I think it was a really unique and profound approach to the second-chance romance trope, and a road trip setting always keeps things interesting and moving along at a good pace. I could have done without the "Hayley fucking Kiyoko!" recurring joke, and each MC representing a different side of the ADHD-in-women-coin felt heavy handed at times, but the characters were well developed and, by the end, likeable. The descriptions of their time in ?Mississippi? with Joe's second chance (whose name I cannot remember now) were very dreamy and were one of the highlights of the book for me.