This is a fantastic raw look into a young woman finding her way in a new world of sobriety. Dating, happy hour with coworkers, a complicated relationship with her own alcoholic father, making new friends—so many areas of her life she assumed would come with fewer complications now. Only it turns out that there aren't fewer complications—just different complications.

From Emma's recounts of early drinking that spiraled out of control and the behaviors and regrets that often accompany it to the AA meeting schedules and happy hour bar scene when you're a non-drinker in a world of drinkers, I fell in love with Emma's character.

Nothing in this story is painted rose-colored for us. It is equal parts hopeful and painful. Emma's struggles with what her expectations would be when the added complication of alcohol is removed aren't sugar-coated. Because of this, I think this story is a beautiful portrayal of a commitment to recovery and starting over- stories I am a sucker for! Every bit felt real and understandable. Ava Robinson writes Emma's story with the type of bluntness that lends itself to levity, so while heavy at times, your emotions are reprieved. (NOTE- at times when it was heavy, it was HEAVY. This book comes with an I ugly cried warning.)

While I would personally consider it more contemporary fiction than romance, it's impossible to remove Ben from this review. He is kind and gentle and wholeheartedly meets Emma where she is. He is willing to show up for her when needed, proving to her that THIS love is possible for her.

AND Karissa Vacker knocks this performance out of the park! I love her narration! She is 100% my favorite female narrator’s MMC voice!

I enjoyed the narrator chosen for this audiobook.

Our main character is celebrating her one year sober anniversary. From there we as readers get to see how she continues to find herself through a new relationship, her job and reconnecting with her father.

This story was beautifully told and I enjoyed reading about the growth of the main character. It feels like I have more insight into what a recovering alcoholic faces once they decide to get sober. We really see our main character become a new version of herself and make memories that don't involve alcohol.

Highly reccomend.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for a copy of this audiobook.

I had seen great reviews about this book, in particular the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker, and I had placed a hold at my library. I was still a few months out from getting access to it when Harlequin Audio auto-approved me on NetGalley and I was able to grab the audiobook to listen to immediately! Thanks so much Harlequin and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion, even though the book and audio have been available since December!
Definitely Better Now definitely lived up to the hype I had seen. I'm shocked it's a debut novel. And Karissa Vacker does a terrific job narrating the story. The story follows Emma, 25 and about to celebrate one year sober. She has grown a lot in the last year since starting to attend AA meetings, but she has kept her sobriety journey a secret from the coworkers at her new job, having never attended the happy hours she is always invited to join. She is also working through some trauma from her parents' split in part due to her father's substance abuse. The reader gets to witness Emma working through her relationship with her father and her ability to socialize and start to date without the substances she used to rely on in similar situations.
I really enjoyed Emma's character and found her to be handling her sobriety in a mature, eye-opening way. It was well-writeen and didn't feel like it was preaching AA or anything like that. In terms of what I've witnessed from friends getting sober, it felt realistic. However, I don't know how someone with their own sobriety journey would feel about how Emma and her sobriety are portrayed. I do recommend it, especially the audiobook, as I think the humor used really makes the heavier topics more approachable.

This book was a really beautiful depiction of vulnerability and real life. It just feels raw and real. As someone who hasn’t dealt with alcoholism or addiction in my personal life, this book was eye opening and well written. I felt for Emma, but more than that I understood her. Alcoholism or not, she was dealing with real life things that felt very applicable. This is pretty much a closed door, slow burn but there is definitely language and conversations about drinking and substance abuse, as well as death.

‘Definitely Better Now’ follows a recovering alcoholic as she discovers what it means to be sober in your twenties. Re-experiencing life and love we journey someone who is older exploring the world for the first time which is an interesting way to make an almost YA feeling novel but for older individuals with heavier and more intricate feelings.

I loved the characters in this novel. I thought that they were well-developed with clear progression and growth. The workplace setting for a large part of the novel was another unique way to plot the novel. It added another drive for the novel and too and is an accurate reflection of real life as we do spend most of our week in work and with our colleagues.

The narrator did a good job although it was relatively basic.

4.5/5

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC.

I loved this book. Such a great story for pushing through when times feel like everything that can go wrong does.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows a young woman who is a year sober. She is trying to navigate life and dating while being sober. I listened to this one on audiobook.

I enjoyed this book! I liked the main character and she was really relatable. I think it was interesting to hear her thoughts and follow her throughout her life.

Emma messes up a lot but she is a relatable and a nice character. The romance was nice to follow as well. It wasn’t perfect and that was nice to see.

There was a lot of talk of addiction and AA. I didn’t mind it but some people may not enjoy that part of this book.

I enjoyed the audiobook as well!

This book was a surprise to me. I didn’t see it all over the place. I only saw it because Karissa Vacker, the narrator, shared about it. I immediately ran to Netgalley for the request and was ~shockingly~ approved! Thank you @ netgalley and Herlequin Audio and Ava Robinson !

I want everyone to see this book for what it is. A beautiful tribute to Emma going through her new life sober. A little bit of romance to spice things up, while keeping it primarily contemporary fiction. I was rooting for Emma the whole time as she was tested time and time again. But it was a happy story that Emma continues to find herself and also find a true relationship worth fighting for 🤍

It had similar vibes to Margot’s Got Money Troubles. So if you like that, this one should be a definite win.

Thank you to HTP HIVE for the access to this audiobook! I was so excited to get my ears on this one! I kept seeing it around, but hadn’t seen a lot about it. The cover and title were all I needed to jump right in! I thought this was a great book! The audio was well done, I literally listened in one day, unable to pull my ears away from the story! It was an emotional, heartbreaking read, but also hopeful and uplifting! A story that can be relatable for a lot of people who have been through the woes of online dating, which was quite hilarious! So happy I was given the chance to read this one!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. I did an immersive read and listened to the audio as well. This was really good, funny, and sad. This talks about addiction and trying to get sober and I love how she made up with her father before he passed away. This was a very drama filled book, but done really well. I gave this 5 stars.

I loved this book when I got to read the ARC way back in May 2024 and am so glad it is finally out in the wild and being enjoyed by so many. Karissa Vacker is one of my favorite narrators and was perfectly casted in this one. As a single narrator she handles the multiple female and male characters perfectly. She adds a lot to the fun and emotions of this book. Highly recommend in audio format.

This book was great! I loved Emma’s story and her attitude as she went through all these struggles. She was so real and her feelings were all so valid.

4.5. Touching, heartfelt, raw, relatable, and funny. I absolutely loved watching Emma navigate life one year sober. Ben was the absolute sweetest, most supportive character. This was a completely unexpected book and I’m so glad I listened to it. Karissa Vacker did a phenomenal job narrating as usual!

Alcoholism and sobriety: a sensitive topic in our modern society of excess and extremes. In Definitely Better Now, we follow a newly sober Emma as she navigates recovery and relationships.

There are many stereotypes and misconceptions around sobriety, AA, and recovery; many of which are explored in this narrative. But in contrast to the commonly portrayed extremist personality of alcoholics, Emma’s character is quite relatable. She’s a little socially awkward, she’s nervous about dating, and she experiences a moderate swing of emotions throughout the story. She remains carefully optimistic despite hardships, and ultimately becomes a loveable character despite her flaws. You can’t help but root for her! With a healthy dose of dry humor, workplace drama, and messy family dynamics, the plot remained engaging and well-paced.

Overall, quite an enjoyable debut from Ava Robinson. I can’t wait to see more from this author!

I listened to the audio version of this book. The narration by Karissa Vacker was engaging with consistent pacing and clear character differentiation. The production was clean and professional, offering an immersive performance that elevated the overall story.

Thank you to MIRA, NetGalley, and Harlequin Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

A tender, heartwarming debut about 26 year old New Yorker, Emma, who we meet as she celebrates one year of sobriety. Emma is such a flushed out, fully realized character. It truly feels like she could be walking to the subway after a day of making GIFs about saving for retirement as we speak. Even though I am not sober, nor do I feel a need to be, Emma was still a deeply relatable character. She is a young woman still in the process of finding herself and her place in the world. She wonders what kind of underwear you should wear on a first date and overthinks social and workplace interactions. I think this book is a great read for romance readers looking to segue into literary fiction.

Thank you Harlequin for the audio copy! This is a complex read, a set of themes that I was excited to explore as I appreciate an author writing about sobriety and also the long term effort, and self reflection, that is woven into that journey. Robinson's Definitely Better Now explores what it means, and feels like, to be one year sober, telling the story about newly sober Emma's effort, her self growth, and how she has to know reckon with a range of relationships and family stuff in her life. The pace is a bit slow, a little under developed in places (which stands out more to me in an audio when I want to be sucked in) but the themes are powerful and the storytelling, and narration, are strong.

I found this book to be extremely relatable. The author did an excellent job depicting the struggles of being a twenty-something who is trying to make her life better. While Emma's vice was alcohol, I could easily see my own twenties vices in this story. What I appreciated about this story was that Emma's life wasn't instantly fixed when she stopped drinking. While she didn't relapse, she still battled with the ramifications of her alcoholism . Her road of recovery was not linear, which made the story that much more relatable. I also appreciated that the author chose to tell Emma's story of finding herself in sobriety rather than finding her way to sobriety. This was another choice that made the book relatable even to those who don't suffer from addiction. It was also a very interesting character development arc since we meet Emma partway through her growth.

While I cannot speak about the AA program from my own experience, I thought the author did a wonderful job presenting the program from different angles. She did not present AA as the end all be all fix, but she showed how it worked for some people and how differences within the program served participants differently. My only holdup was that I did not quite understand Emma's epiphany when she discovered her father's copy of The Big Book. It wasn't entirely clear to me why that discovery was so important when the program didn't seem to work for him.

The story compelled me the entire way through, and I liked that, while the romance between Emma and Ben was important, it served Emma's character story and was not the center purpose. I found the book to be well-written and expertly paced. The narration by the wonderful Karissa Vacker was perfect as always.

"Definitely Better Now" by Ava Robinson is an emotionally charged yet surprisingly uplifting read. The themes explored in this book are heavy and raw, focusing on Emma's deeply personal journey of self-discovery. Even though the topics are intense, I found myself laughing out loud at the moments of comic relief that Robinson expertly weaves into the narrative. It’s a delicate balance, and I thought it was handled brilliantly.

Emma’s growth felt so real and authentic that I couldn’t help but root for her every step of the way. At times, it felt like I was right there with her, sitting in her apartment, chatting like friends.

And then there’s Ben! I absolutely loved him. His presence in Emma’s life brings a sense of warmth and stability that perfectly complements her emotional journey.

While romance is present, it’s not the main focus of the story. Instead, this book is about Emma finding herself, navigating her past, and ultimately embracing the person she’s becoming. It’s a heavy read at times, but every moment felt worth it. If you're looking for a powerful story about healing and growth, this one is absolutely worth your time.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review!

I almost considered DNF'ing this book. It was a bit slow. However, I ended up powering through and quickly finishing.

This was a heartfelt and emotional book about addiction, sobriety, dysfunctional family, and finding herself through out.

I did enjoy the second half of this book much better. I also adored Ben... he was super sweet and careful and understanding.

While Definitely Better Now had an intriguing premise, I struggled to connect with the story and its characters. The emotional depth and pacing didn’t quite land for me, making it difficult to stay fully engaged. However, the real highlight of this audiobook was Karissa Vacker’s narration. Her voice is effortlessly captivating, bringing a warmth and nuance to the story that kept me listening even when the plot didn’t hold my interest. If you’re a fan of Vacker’s narration, this might still be worth a listen—but for me, the story itself fell flat.