I wanted to love this book because I'm six years sober and I relate to Emma in a few ways. However I didn't get sober as young as her and I didn't use AA so there are a lot of ways that I didn't connect with her. I liked the concept of the book, exploring what life looks like after one year of sobriety once you start dating again. But it wasn't as funny as the blurb promised and it was kinda dull in the middle. I read a digital ARC which had a lot of formatting and editing errrors that distracted me. Hopefully those will be fixed in the final product and you wouldn't experience that.

I can't say I'd recommend this one.

I feel like my opinion on this book is marred by the fact that I read a similar book earlier this year that turned out to be one of my favorites. This one just didn’t have it. I felt very frustrated by Emma and Ben’s situation, and while I realize she was navigating her first love interest in sobriety, there was so much miscommunication. I just like Emma as much as I needed to in order to fully enjoy this. I normally enjoy slice of life type books, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. I’d still recommend it to others though!

There was a lot going on in this one and I think that's what kept me from truly enjoying it.
Appreciate the depiction of sobriety and the journey to maintain it especially from someone in their 20s. However, the romance bit was sometimes interesting and sometimes forgotten.

Overall, interesting read that I think a lot of people will enjoy and appreciation.

Ahhh, I really enjoyed this!! I didn't realize I would learn so much about AA! I loved seeing the relationship between Ben and Emma evolve and Emma learn so much about herself after her first year of sobriety. An important message throughout this book is not to let small things come between you and your family and to know when it's time to move on from things in life that no longer serve you. This is a wonderful story that will stay with me!

Emma Finley is 26 years old and one year sober, thinking that she finally has it all together. She's disconnected from her complex relationship with her alcoholic absent father and his new-age hippie-esque wife, has a new persona at her desk job where she keeps a low profile, and follows the instructions of her very opinionated sponsor. But Emma soon realizes that sobriety doesn't solve everything, and that life is messy wether your drunk or sober.

This book is part workplace romance, part character driven fiction. While I loved reading from the perspective of someone in their 20s and sober, which is a demographic largely undressed in modern fiction. Most of the times when AA or alcoholics are mentioned its as a backstory to a main character that drives their mistrust in men! I loved hearing about Emma's AA journey and motivation to stay sober. The book deals with intense topics of death, grief, and regret in a raw and vulnerable way.


There were a few things that kept this book from being a solid 3 or 4 star for me. Firstly, I didn't love how Emma's sponsor and AA group was depicted. I can't speak from experience as someone who isn't an addict or knowledgable about the 12 steps, but it was portrayed in a very negative light. Secondly, I think the romance element of the book could have used some fine tuning. At times the relationship between Ben and Emma was front and center, at times it was totally on the back burner. They lacked chemistry and I think the author tried to fit too many elements into their storyline as well as using a lot of miscommunication tropes that felt unauthentic. Lastly the pacing was very off to me, the first half of the book really dragged and all the action/plot occurs in the last 30% of the book and felt rushed.

Not going to lie, this book was a tough one for me to get through. It was well written, and exceptionally done, but the topic was hard for me. My mom was an alcoholic, so while it isn’t necessarily triggering for me to read books about alcoholism, it is a little tough as was the case here. I think that the author did a good job portraying what it is like for someone with alcoholism. It’s a tough disease as is any addiction, and Emma did so good navigating life. She was such a real character; she felt like she was my friend and I knew her personally. This takes exceptional writing to pull off, and the author did. The writing really moved me and I loved it so much.

This is a really well-done debut that you won’t want to miss.

I have addicts in my life and I thought this was a great contemporary fictional book on being sober and that journey. I don't know anything about it, I cannot claim to really know the lived experience but I thought this was a tender and honest way of framing this story. I highly recommend.

Emma is a recovering alcoholic in her 20s celebrating her first year of sobriety. Emma felt so REAL. You really are rooting for her in all her aspects of life. I felt like I couldn’t help but to be proud of her for going through and experiencing the firsts in life sober. She was honest about parts of her addiction as well as just trying to navigate life with a new light while life still throws her curve balls. She took her faults, her firsts, her love, her fears, and her struggles and continued to push forward in life for better in all aspects. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Publishing for providing me with early access!🥰

Ava Robinson’s “Definitely Better Now” is her debut novel. When the novel begins, Emma is getting ready to celebrate one year of sobriety from alcohol. The overview is slightly misleading. The novel wasn’t quite as humorous as it was described to be.

Instead, the reader follows Emma on her journey as she navigates her sobriety, her relationship with her divorced parents, working on how she feels about her past mistakes, as well as entertaining the idea of dating as her sober self. I don’t recall having read a fictional book about a recovering alcoholic so it was interesting to learn more about that world and what it may look like.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and found it memorable. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for a eARC of this novel! This was such a lovely surprise. I was deeply touched by these flawed characters. There was depth, sadness and humor all wrapped up in Emma’s story and I felt like the author did a beautiful job of balancing the complexities and intricacies of life in your twenties - and how uncertain and uncomfortable it can feel. I really loved the writing here and I truly enjoyed Emma’s character arc. The writing really moved me. I think this one will stick with me. What a stunning debut!

If I had to pick one word for this book, I think it would be: real. I don’t have any experience with many of the things in this novel: difficult parent dynamics, addiction, living in New York, and more, but it all felt so authentic. The romance had awkwardness and never felt sugar coated, the healing wasn’t linear or full of platitudes or straightforward solutions, and the characters felt real and flawed. Sometimes you may want to shake the real and flawed MC, Emma, lol but still 😆

This book was such an amazing debut and definitely moving! I think in the end it didn’t get more stars from me just because I got a little tired of spending 352 pages with Emma and the romance was maybe a little too slow burn?

This was a great read. It shows the realness and heaviness of being an alcoholic and being in recovery. Fantastic.

Emma is navigating so many things. She's just reached 1 year of sobriety. She's trying to open herself up to letting people into her life. Making friends, working on her relationship with her family and maybe even a boyfriend. All while maintaining her sobriety.

I loved how real this book was. It showed Emma really struggling at times. Not only with her alcoholism but also with how she wants to stay sober. What does she want in her life and what doesn't she want. Great read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This was a beautiful read that seamlessly blended the hard with the happy into perfect rolling hills. It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes being vulnerable isn’t as hard as we make it out to be in our minds. I especially loved Emma’s nerves and anxieties, her thought spirals and insecurities—they are all so relatable. Emma’s strained relationship with her father is well done, and captures the difficulties of someone who has a good relationship with their family members failing to understand or make space to accept that not everyone does.

3.5/5 stars

Definitely Better Now is a solid debut, and reminded me of different elements from Margot's Got Money Troubles (heart, going through struggles and family issues), Interesting Facts About Space (the writing), and I Hope This Finds You Well (workplace issues). The main character, Emma, is trying to find out who she is as a sober person. She is trying to work through all her issues with friends, work and family - and heal, while trying to maintain her sobriety. The book piqued my interest and I kept going, but did find the book ended sort of abruptly and didn't wrap aspects of the book up as much as I hoped it would. The book had a great slow burn romance and I liked the character development that Emma had.

Darkly funny, heartbreaking and awe inspiring barely scratches the surface of what lies between the first and last pages of this book.
I am familia with the AA program and found the descriptions here very accurate (though routines and vibes of each AA home group differs).

This starts on the eve of Emma's first full year sober and follows the next year of her life through the various ups and downs dating for the first time sober and trying to navigate a relationship with her estranged father.

There's so much to process her and I mean that in a good way. I absolutely love every messy thing about Emma and her journey. I'm also an ENORMOUS fan of Ben and how relatable their dating/getting to know each other plot unfolded despite some serious hiccups and personal family tragedy.

Parts of this book, especially the ones dealing with her dad's cancer, absolutely gutted me. Having lived through losing a loved one in that way, I have a great appreciation for how authentically this was conveyed.

I can't thank the publisher and author enough for the opportunity to read and review this. It was a beautiful, beautiful book. I look forward to future works by this writer for sure.

Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson is an incredibly heartfelt and empowering read. The author beautifully captures the complexity of overcoming personal struggles and finding healing, all while crafting a story that is both raw and hopeful. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and Robinson’s writing offers a perfect balance of vulnerability and strength. It’s a poignant reminder that, no matter how difficult things may seem, growth and recovery are always possible. A truly inspiring book that resonates long after you turn the last page! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

*I received an advanced copy of this book. This is my opinion.*

This book is a journey. Real, addressing sobriety without being preachy and grossly positive, and often incredibly poignant and relatable to life in general not just sobriety. Pick this one up if you’re a fan of situations that read like a story your best friend might relate from their workday.

Emma’s been sober for a year, and we go into a lot of depth with her descriptions of AA meetings and her feelings about them.

I think what I appreciated most is the honesty of Emma’s navigation of her life after a year of sobriety. Her father’s cancer, a shitty coworker, and fledgling friendship and relationship—and she thinks how the old version of herself would react but she never really considered drinking in the present. She remembers some, frankly, gross things about her past but it’s from a distance and through the smudged lens of drunkenness. Emma feels very real, as do all of the characters around her. I really loved Ben, too. I think my favorite part is Emma’s finding a new meeting and having a lot of clarity in that new place.

This book feels very personal, we get so much insight to the pain alcohol has caused Emma all her life, and we get to see that the 12 steps aren’t a magical heal all spell, though she still manages to find her way through anyway.

Some heads up for content:
-a coworker who calls her crazy
-death of a parent and brief description of their decline
-loooots of prayer (and almost forced prayer) due to the Big Book used by AA

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book! It’s a bit of a departure from my usual romance reads, but I’d still recommend it to my friends who enjoy women’s fic. I know Emily Henry is often touted as romance (imo they’re women’s fic with romance aspects, at least her most recent ones) and I feel like Emily Henry readers would enjoy this one!

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Ava Robinson for the arc!

I really enjoyed this novel! Knowing only the basic tenets of AA, I appreciated this closer look into the life of a recovering alcoholic. The reader empathizes and roots for Emma, even when she realizes she's "still an asshole." Maybe especially then! The trope of "oh there has been a misunderstanding but we're going to stew in it and not talk about it" drives me crazy. I LOVED seeing Emma take responsibility for her actions with Ben, initiate hard conversations, and ask forgiveness for her part. The characters illustrated what a real, adult relationship needs to be like. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP/Mira for the advanced copy of Definitely Better Now.

What a great book this was, outside my comfort zone (I read mostly thrillers).
It's a heavy read with a touch of romance. I learned much more about AA from this novel, I can't imagine what people to through with an addiction and trying to recover.

Coming out December 17th.

Thank you once again to the publisher for this copy.

emma is one of my favorite book characters i've read this year. she's awkward, anxious, and kinda messy, but also feels very real. i loved being inside her head. the romance subplot was great too!

thank you to netgalley and harlequin trade publishing for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!