DNF at 39%. I was really excited about the premise of the book and am always happy to feature books that represent those difficult subjects like alcoholism. Definitely Better Now started strong and had such promise! But by about 20% I was so bored with the main character I was trudging through because I’m not a quitter and I hate dnf’ing books. Overall there wasn’t enough happening to hold my interest, though. I think this book might be better enjoyed by a younger crowd that is still in the dating and bar scene.

Thank you anyway to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mira books for the free advanced reader copy.
Emma has lived in every borough but Staten Island, Emma has never had a serious relationship, and Emma is an alcoholic in recovery.
Emma, now one year into sobriety, is uncertain how to navigate life now that her change is less raw, and she is hoping all those changes ahead will be a magic fix to make her “better.”
Yet, Emma learns there is no magic switch for life. She spends a lot of time trying to spare new, improved, shiny “work” Emma from “before Emma,” but as she learns, even a past she so desperately wants to hide has contributed to who she is in the present.
I loved watching Emma learn how to feel. After spending a lifetime numbing herself, her reaction to making adult friends, dating, and navigating her complicated feelings toward her father seem to be Herculean efforts. Yet Robinson does a beautiful job showing how messy, scary things that make you feel fragile are often what add so much richness to life.
Robinson's writing is inviting, raw, and filled with a tiny bit of humor. I really appreciate the way she wrote about Emma wanting to feel and be “normal” because who hasn’t felt incapable of fitting in? The parental relationships here are particularly poignant, with Emma struggling to embrace her parents’ flaws.
There is a tiny romance here, but it is not the focus. Instead, dating presents more obstacles for Emma to navigate: Is coffee a date? How do you kiss sober? I loved seeing her figure it out with Ben, a thoughtful and patient partner. The non-linear nature was refreshingly realistic and added to the depth of Emma’s development.
𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘰𝘸truly a book about finding yourself, navigating life, and learning that sometimes it is okay to be a mess. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary women’s literature!
It's an absolutely stunning debut novel, and I look forward to reading her next work!

This book had a slow start for me, and the detailed descriptions of AA rules and traditions almost turned me off at first. It felt like a companion book to someone's sobriety journey, with a play-by-play of what to expect.
Later on, I came to see it as a step in Emma's journey of healing - at the beginning of the book, she follows all the rules and sees it as her path to salvation - hence why we get such detailed descriptions of meetings and conversations with her sponsor. As she deals with personal issues, loss, and self-doubt, not everything about the specific flavor of AA she joined matches her needs, and it is nice to see Emma put herself first.

I truly enjoyed the book - it is well written, the love story is realistic, and family relationships are relatable. Everything makes sense and nothing felt pulled together in a rush.

You will probably enjoy the book even more if you have some sort of healing/sobriety journey yourself, but it is a great read regardless.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is put on December 17.

Now that she’s been sober a year, Emma can think about dating and life outside of work and meetings. Was it always this complicated though?

I loved this story that follows newly sober, Emma, as she begins her second year of sobriety. Life, especially dating, while sober is a lot different than when not. I thought this was a really accurate look at the early days of sobriety and how naive and fresh you feel. No matter how old you are, you’ll feel new. Emma also has some family drama to work through, as well as work antics which added humor. I really enjoyed this one, despite a slightly slow pace it was so real and I was rooting for Emma.

“Every part of my life had gotten better and richer when I stopped drinking, but this, this alone was a reason to never drink.”

Definitely Better Now comes out 12/17.

Emma’s story really resonated with me, even though we couldn’t be more different. Her awkwardness, dry humor, and determination to rebuild her life after hitting rock bottom made her feel incredibly real. I especially loved the sweet, slow connection she builds with Ben—he’s such a genuinely kind character, and their dynamic had me rooting for them the whole way through.

The details about Emma’s sobriety journey, like her trying out different AA meetings, felt so real and thoughtfully done. It was a great reminder that healing isn’t one-size-fits-all and that people need to find what works for them. Those parts of the story really stuck with me.

If I had one gripe, it’s that I wanted more from the other characters. Emma’s coworkers and family felt a little one-note at times. Maybe that’s because the story is so focused on Emma’s perspective, but it would’ve been nice to dive deeper into their lives, especially since so much of her journey is about building healthier relationships.

This book felt like an honest portrayal of what it’s like to rebuild your life while navigating sobriety, complicated family dynamics, work drama, and dating. It’s messy and imperfect—just like real life—but that’s what makes it so relatable. Emma’s story reminded me that growth takes time and that we’re all just figuring it out as we go.

If you enjoy heartfelt stories about resilience, growth, and finding your place in the chaos of life, this book is definitely worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had many elements that I enjoyed and some I did not. By about 15% in, I felt that Emma was sort of pretentious and preachy - especially as she compared her different personalities of Work Emma, Sober Emma, and Drunk Emma. I do feel that she got more relatable and down to earth as the story progressed. I thought it was interesting to read about her experiences in her AA group (which 100% feels like a cult) and how she genuinely believed in all the rules and prayers. I think if I were in her position, I'd be much more skeptical.

I really enjoyed the descriptive writing of this story including the imagery of the city - it helped make the setting in NYC feel real but also beautiful, especially when many stories in NYC have a way of romanticizing the city. This story and the writing also had good anxiety and grief representation and the author was able to make me feel like I was in Emma's shoes with her writing.

I loved this book 🥺 Just as the description reads, this is a novel about navigating sobriety and complicated family dynamics, and it is indeed both witty & heartbreaking.

Emma is 26 years old, and a year sober. She’s spent the last decade of her life under the shadow of substances, mostly alcohol, but now she’s “clean” — she’s attended every AA meeting, completed all of her steps, she’s followed every “rule” they’ve told her to… so why does her life still not feel “perfect” like she imagined it to be? Navigating through corporate work life, making & maintaining friendships, and trying to figure out how the heck to date and have a real relationship. Add to the list: a sudden bombshell in her already complex and stressful family life.

A reminder that through it all; work, friendships, love, heartbreak, grief… it’s messy, and it hurts, but it’s GOOD. Life is so much better when you let yourself FEEL it all and face it head-on. And you’ll have people who want to love you through every step, if you let them. 🤍

This book comes out on Tuesday, and I would definitely recommend picking it up at some point. Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars, rounded up.
I adore Emma. She is such a lovable narrator, and I rooted for her every step of the way. She is relatable, even though I have never struggled with addiction or alcohol use, which makes her a great character for being a window into another perspective, and I'd imagine she would also make a phenomenal mirror for readers who can relate with the struggles she goes through.

The story revolves around Emma's life as a single woman who is *officially* one year sober at the start of the book. This means she can date, she's got a little more freedom, and she.... should feel different, right? But Emma isn't sure she does.
The narrative of this is very character focused. It's more about Emma, her journey, her life, and her perspective, than it is about anything else. While Ben is a great romantic interest (I love Ben almost as much as I love Emma), he isn't the focus, nor is his romance. The focus is Emma. If you go into this expecting a rom-com, you'll be bummed. While there are light/humorous moments, and while there is a romantic plot woven through the story, the focus is rather on Emma and a coming-of-age-esque story.
There were a few twists and turns that got me, and one plot point that hit way too close to home for comfort - I'd recommend looking up warnings if you've got some things you don't necessarily want to confront in your ARC on a plane, or you might end up bumming tissues from a stewardess.

Overall, I loved the story and the premise and the narration in this book. There were a few points where the pacing felt ever-s0-slightly off (and these parts alternated between being way too fast paced - how did we get here?! and way too slow), but in general this was a lovely novel. It's not lighthearted though - and I'd hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for a light holiday read. There is mention of holidays, and there are funny parts, but holy moly is it heavy and thought-provoking.
If you're looking for a character-focused novel that dives into the depths of alcoholism and explores the various ways that we can grow and change as people in the face of (all sorts of - not just alcoholism) hardships, this is a great choice. I'd steer clear if you're looking for something light-hearted, and I'd caution you against going into this completely blind and reading it on a late-night flight.

This is a strong debut novel. Emotions spilling out in every page. The story of Emma, celebrating her one year of sobriety, is heartbreaking and emotional. the life of an addict is not romantic. It's frantic, chaotic, frightening. All the time. This author brought all that to page in this journey of someone in recovery. I was a mess reading this book. I have first hand experience with someone who had struggles with addiction and what it is like to try to be supportive. This books gives new perspective of the struggles addicts have each and every day. The amount of spiraling going on the heads of people who have to make choices for themselves to survive, which non addicts can't fathom. Emma is readying herself to celebrate being one year sober, when she meets someone who makes her feel new emotions, and as if that is not enough, there are other twists which come up, questioning her ability to stay on the path of sobriety. This story shows, in such a raw manner, that life does not stop happening just because you have reached a milestone.
Bring your tissues when you read this book, but it will be worth it.

I gave this book 4 and half stars. I loved how this book was her her first year as a sober adult. It shows how it affected all aspects of her life including never having a boyfriend or even sex as a sober pension. Emma meets Ben who is a coworker and they are seeing if he can break down her walls and get her to see she is worth loving. Emma also has a complicated relationship with her father and she shows us how she has navigated all of the trials of staying sober while attending AA meetings. The book was well written and I can’t wait to also listen to this on audio. Not sure if this was just the early release of the Kindle but when Emma is texting with Ben, you never know if she is thinking something or texting it. There is no way to know.

3.75* This was a nice story of finding yourself and your purpose. The writing was beautiful throughout

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy. This book is out November 17th (P.S. it is also a BOTM pick for December)

Poignant with a lot of moments of reluctant triumph, this is a (somewhat) darkly cute story of how Emma tumbles unwillingly and headfirst into Being An Adult, learning to appropriately navigate work, friendships, and relationships without the crutch of her addiction. I found myself rolling my eyes, giggling, and feeling some serious heartstring tugs. Would recommend!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this E-ARC.


Definitely better now:
1. I hate Mitchell.
2. I love Ben - so far. I’m only 47% in.
3. I just want to scoop Emma up and carry her in my pocket.
4. At 47% in this is for sure not the turn I thought this book was going in. I’m excited.

5. This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be.

Emma stopped drinking. She wants to be a better person. She wants to remember things and not sleep with random men in bars and not know their names. She wants to be demure work Emma and keep things professional.
She’s doing a good job. This book was exactly as it was described. Emma is living her life. And this book is telling us what’s happening. It’s pretty straight forward. She struggles with things. She gets horribly sad things thrown at her. It’s a beautifully sad story about a girl trying to make a better life for herself. I enjoyed it.

Wow what a powerful book. I fully enjoyed this one and definitely cried several times. I found it so raw and real. I highly recommend.

I really appreciated Emma’s character and her sobriety journey is relatable and real. Emma didn’t always make the “right” decisions but they were definitely realistic. I appreciated Ben’s character and how we respected Emma. This book did take longer for me to read because I found the pacing to be slow. There were moments where I was wishing for more to be happening, I found it interesting enough to keep going and to read further books from this author.

This was a tough read it was dark and dealt heavily with alcoholism and grief. With that said it was a beautiful story but not something I could see myself reading again. This was my first book from this author and enjoyed the simple, easy to read writing.The characters felt very real but a few were a little annoying. The pacing on this one was an issue for me when it got into some of the AA information I found myself losing interest. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson is a touching and emotional story about love, healing, and second chances. The book follows Emilia, a young woman struggling with the aftermath of a traumatic event. As she tries to rebuild her life, she meets Simon, a kind and understanding man who helps her navigate her fears and insecurities. Their relationship blossoms slowly, with both characters dealing with their own personal baggage, making their connection feel authentic and heartfelt.

The author does a great job of portraying the complexities of trauma and recovery. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and their growth throughout the story feels real and earned. The romance is sweet, and the chemistry between Emilia and Simon is genuine, making for a compelling and emotional read.

I just finished reading Definitely Better now by Ava Robinson and feel completed blown away. This is a debut?!?! It's SO good. Good isn't enough of a word. This book grabbed me immediately and didn't let me go. It might never let me go. Emma was such a dynamic FMC. So vulnerable, so flawed, so relatable, so genuine. I loved how Robinson didn't shy way from the messiness and self doubt that Emma was going through. A story about family dynamics, becoming sober, and trying to figure out how to live life without the devastating comfort that came with your vices. But also, make it funny. She made it so funny! There is grit and there is with and betwixt the two lies Definitely Better now. I can't rave enough about this one.

A debut novel that follows a recovering alcoholic and her interactions with the world—her family, coworkers, and potential love interest—while sober for the first time. It’s a heavy but fulfilling read that will make you want to hug your loved ones close.

This one hit soooo close to home, which made me love it so much more—even when it put me in all my feels. Definitely one of favorite books of the year.

Heads up, you might need tissues for this one 😭😭😭

(Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

This debut book was full of depth and felt like a letter that was written to the reader from a friend. Emma shares her story with alcoholism and how it feels to navigate life while keeping sobriety. It plays apart in her relationships, new and old and she grapples with life events in a new light that is described thoughtfully and with grace.

From looking inside of New York City from the outside it was a cool look into a life I do not have, but find interesting. The way Robinson describes upstate New York compared to The City made me kind of chuckle as I am from Western New York and could see how Emma felt visiting her father when she was a child.

This book brought me to tears and also made me laugh. I think everyone should read this book! It has such a good mix of highs and lows, there is no sugar coating life sometimes.

Thank you @netgalley and MIRA Publishing and Ava Robinson for with ARC in exchange for a review