5 ⭐️
Tropes: friends to lovers, second chance romance, dual timeline, slow burn, forced proximity

I absolutely adored this book and the only negative I have is that it wasn’t a dual POV because I would have loved yet would have been completely undone getting Adam’s perspective so I guess it was a blessing in disguise. The dual timeline was amazing to see the birth / beginning of Adam and June’s relationship, to the messy in between and the happily ever after - it was seriously a roller coaster. I swooned at the relationship they had as roommates and loved them simply as friends because they had a beautiful friendship 🥹 but they were both terrified of the hypotheticals and what ifs of letting anything happen - they simply couldn’t risk jeopardizing what they had and risk things falling apart.

“My friendship with Adam is too important for me to be thinking of him any other way.”

They eventually went their separate ways because things inevitably did fall apart except it happened without them even giving things a shot. Years later they were forced back together by fate and the home they once shared. Now June was back in NY and had Adam back in her life forcing her to deal with unresolved issues and face the music.

“I want Adam Harper. I want him, all of him, and maybe I don’t have to be afraid of that anymore. We used to be two halves of a whole. There was no June without Adam. No Adam without June. I want to get back to that.”

June was faced head on with her insecurities and so many unresolved feelings being back in Adam’s orbit. She had to relive the choices she made and work through things because Adam was to important to let slip through her fingers again.

“Maybe the things worth having in life aren’t supposed to come easy. Despite the years apart, Adam and I have found our way back.”

They both got another chance to make things right and get that happily ever after they deserved. Together they seriously felt like a warm hug and I couldn’t get enough of them - the heartache was worth it because it was different this time.

I cannot recommend this enough! 😍😭 And I can’t wait to see what Joss Richard writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.




Let me tell you something. I started this book about a month ago and I was in a little bit of a funk so I decided to put it down for the time being because I didn’t wanna DNF the book just based on my own mood and not the book. I’m so glad I made that decision because this book was amazing. This story follows June and Adam two 20-year-olds in New York City cohabitating a brownstone house trying to be just platonic friends and ending up being more. Six years in the future June comes back to New York from LA And she runs into Adam due to a issue with the brownstone they had rented years ago together. There’s some intrigue and some mystery as to why they are no longer talking and why June is nervous to be in the room with him. I’m not gonna give more informationdue to the fact that I want you to pick up this book and read and figure out what happens. I loved June and Adam’s relationship. I loved the time jumps. I loved the writing. I’m just so glad I picked this book up. This book reminds me of New York and fall and it gives me fall vibes. This is one of my newest favorite breeds of the year. I highly recommend this book.

"It’s Different This Time" is a heartwarming story of friendship, love, and the importance of being honest with our feelings. The character development is a true highlight—Adam and June feel so real and relatable, like people you’ve known forever. Their journey is filled with emotional depth and charm, making it easy to root for them.

While the story starts off a bit slow, it gradually builds momentum and ends on a beautifully high note. The payoff is worth the wait, delivering a touching reminder to cherish the people we love and to not let important words go unspoken.

A sweet and satisfying read for anyone who enjoys character-driven romance with emotional resonance.

Cozy fall second chance romance book set in NYC. June is an actor who isn't finding success in LA but comes to find that it's because she left a part of her in NYC and she goes back to find out what's left there for her.
I found this slow at times and wanted more excitement to move the story forward. It was easy to pick up and read a few chapters, The story line wasn't complicated and had a lot of cozy fall vibes.
This would be a great read for someone into theater and musicals, as June talks about her love for Les Mis and has been in a few shows on Broadway.

Loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. Perfect fall book! My heart was hurting wanting Adam and June to be together. They were a perfect couple and such likable characters! I can’t wait for another book by this author!

Unfortunately, I did end up DNF-ing this book.

I was so excited to read a book set in NYC in the fall, and the premise genuinely intrigued me, but there were some things that I just couldn't ignore that confused me while I was reading and made me not want to continue.

I found the FMC's characterization to be difficult to understand and contradictory; she didn't want to go to NYC or do theater or live in her newly gifted house. Maybe a chapter later, she does want the role in the Broadway show, but still doesn't want to live in NYC, which doesn't make sense because she'd have to be in the city to do the show, so that conflict was a nonissue to me. It also frustrated me that she was struggling with money and didn't immediately rejoice at the fact she would be living in NYC-in the West Village for that matter-for free. It felt like a no brainer to me: she could get the role and be on Broadway and live in the house for free. The MMC was just kind of also there.

From the parts I read, the FMC and MMC felt like they really didn't mesh well together. I found their arguments to dip into genuinely mean territory in both the flashbacks and the present. The structure of the flashbacks weren't insightful to the present story in my opinion. Usually flashbacks in a dual timeline book are meant to directly thread with and inform the current timeline, but the transitions between the chapters felt disjointed. The thing that ultimately stop reading was in one of the flashbacks, the FMC snaps at the MMC because she doesn't want to speak to him or explain that she doesn't have a relationship with her parents but maybe two pages later she says he's the person she can trust the most in the world. I decided then I couldn't do anymore.

Overall, while the setting of the book was fun, I will be on the lookout for something else to satisfy my NYC fall itch. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s Different this Time, was sadly not different this time. An enemies to friends then lovers, this was an incredibly slow burn. Now, I love a good slow burn, but this ironically made the story a not so different this time around. And that is what made the book a miss for me. It didn’t live up to the title. Maybe that is what the writer was going for, a bit tongue in cheek , but it certainly put me off of the story.

It's Different This Time is a beautifully written exploration of love, timing, and second chances. Joss Richard captures the emotional complexity of relationships with heart and honesty, creating characters that feel both flawed and deeply relatable. This story pulled me in from the start and left me thinking long after the final page. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Country Press and Reviews for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

People love an enemies-to-lovers trope, but for me, friends-to-lovers reigns supreme. 👑

June Wood hasn't been back to NYC in over 5 years—not since she had a falling out with her best friend, roommate, and situationship, Adam Harper. But after the two co-inherit the $6 million brownstone where they used to live, she's willing to give the city (and the man) a second chance. Now that she's in New York, though, not only is she sharing the same house with the same person, she's also forced to remember the first time this happened and the painful reasons she had to leave. But maybe this time it's different?

This book has a lot of the painful growing pains of a debut, but it grew on me over time. The setup felt entirely too convenient and there were a decent amount of cringey moments ("not like other girls" referenced😬), but there were also a lot of sweet and swoony moments. There is something really romantic about a relationship with your best friend of over a decade. When I found out what the falling out was, I wanted to shake our girl June, but otherwise, this was a sweet and emotional summer read. Recommended to fans of Emily Henry or Katherine Center.

"There's no way to preserve anything forever. Trust me, I know. You win, you lose... but you can't do either unless you take a chance."

"Maybe that's how life is--we do things because it's the best decision we can make in the moment, and there's no way of knowing if we made the right choice. There's no way to gauge if all of it's for nothing, or if it's so we can have everything."

4.5 STARS!

Love love loved this book! A fantastic debut from Joss Richard. A true love letter to New York.

June has been living in LA for the last five years after taking a chance on TV and movies only to be dramatically brought back to NYC with the news that her old landlord has passed away and left her a brownstone. BUT there's a small catch, it's been left to her AND her estranged best friend, Adam who she hasn't seen since she abruptly left for LA, and they have to wait four weeks before they officially own the property.

We spend chapters in the past recounting how Adam and June met and even became roommates, how their friendship developed, and it's ultimate demise in between sections of current day where they are relearning each other and reconnecting.

The tension and yearning between our main characters, and their story of hidden feelings was so beautifully written. I was ecstatic by the end watching June achieve a huge milestone (hello Broadway starring role!!) and seeing both Adam and June talk about what happened in the past, where there feelings are in the present, and if they might have a future together if they let themselves.

SO SO GOOD. I just love a perfect second chance romance. Definitely going to be in my top reads of the year. I can't wait to read what Joss Richard writes next!

It’s Different This Time is a second chance romance between roommates June and Adam. They have recently inherited the brownstone they lived in together for years. As we see them live there for a month in the present, we get flashbacks to their past and how their friendship started and ended.

I liked the premise of the book and the flashbacks to their early years as roommates. I really liked Adam but couldn’t connect with June. Her self-sabatoging feelings of not feeling good enough made sense with her upbringing but her slow growth and selfishness turned me off.

It’s Different This Time is perfect for second chance romance fans or fans of friends to lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine I was able to review an advanced copy of It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard.

Two one time roommates are forced to be together again after fate intervenes in this story about how love deserves a second chance. But can they overcome the events that lead to their estrangement?

Our two main characters are so relatable and human. There were many times where I teared up at the rawness of emotion that June and Adam shared. Watching them navigate the vulnerability of opening yourself to someone was heart wrenching.

With June, who has never known the true love and support of family, we see a woman desperate to be independent and not give in to the ever increasing feelings she has for Adam, her unexpected (and gorgeous) roommate. Adam, raised in a loving “nick at nite” style family, aches to find the kind of love his parents have and the two of them orbit each other like planets, struggling to find a way to coexist in the same home and not fall prey to each other.

I absolutely love a second chance romance and this book is no exception. Add in that it’s got theater kid vibes, a sexy chef, and dual timelines and it’s basically everything I could want in a book.

This is an amazing slow burn story told in third person and set predominantly in the beautiful backdrop of NYC in autumn. It’s Different This Time is a debut for author Joss Richard and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from her!

4.5/1.5 spice

"My gaze focuses on my reflection, and I push down the lump in my throat. It's not from sadness, but an overwhelming feeling of joy for the girl who used to stand in this spot, who fought and prayed so hard for all the things that are now within reach."

June Wood used to live with her best friend Adam at 74 Perry Street--a gorgeous brownstone in the West Village. She was a struggling to break into theater and he is an aspiring chef. They were literal strangers that shared a gorgeous space with reasonable rent. But, the two quickly became best friends, family, and the will thy/won't they energy is literally off the charts. We know Julie is now in LA still struggling to break into film/tv when she receives an email beckoning back to the brownstone under strange pretenses. Julie hasn't seen Adam in five years only to found out they now co-own the brownstone they used to live in! The dual time line shows their connection, closeness and begin to find out where their splinter occurred.

Whew. This debut. New York in the fall, an ode to Broadway fans, slow burn, second chance, friends to lovers. But, the chemistry of these two of the charts! I laughed out loud and teared up. 4.5 enthusiastic stars rounded up. June is an FMC with abandonment issues. Adam is the best MMC. Seriously, read this for the fall in NYC montage scenes alone!

Thank you to Dell and Netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for my opinion. This was so fun. It's Different This Time comes out September 30, 2025!

o you know how it is going to end from page 1? Of course. But will you have fun along the way? Yes! If you like second chances, enemy to friends, or miscommunications/misunderstanding tropes and/or Broadway, NYC in fall or dream of a house in the West Village, this one is for you. I also really liked the female best friend character and just wish the male best friend character had been more developed. Enjoy!

5 Stars – I’m genuinely impressed by this debut novel! The story kicks off with the basics: June and Adam share a past, and Adam broke her heart. Right from the start, I found myself disliking the MMC (main male character). However, since the novel is told from June’s perspective, it quickly becomes clear that we, as readers, don’t yet have the full picture. As the story unfolds, we learn the truth—Adam loves June, and it’s ultimately she who made the missteps in their relationship.

That being said, I did find the initial breakup a bit dramatic. June’s decision to move across the country and block Adam after she rejected him and he moved on felt like an overreaction. But as we get to know June, it becomes apparent that she’s a complicated character with a complex backstory, which heavily influences her choices and emotions. All of the twists and turns in their relationship made sense, and Joss Richards did an excellent job of conveying the undeniable bond between these two—soulmates, without a doubt.

The setting of New York in the autumn, with their careers as a chef and Broadway performer, added a delightful layer to the story, making it even more engaging. Overall, I loved the book and would highly recommend it to anyone!

June and Adam meet as roommates. Many years later, fate places them back in the same house together and they rekindle their relationship. As the title makes clear, it's different this time. This is a fun take on a friends-to-lovers rom-com, because they seem to inhabit a space between these categories for much of the story.

I really enjoyed the characters and storytelling. I wanted to keep reading. I wanted them to stay together. Sure, it's slightly predictable, but it was the cozy romance I was looking for.

The "plot points" that created tension, especially the set up that brings them back into the same brownstone, are a bit silly and contrived. This is normal for the genre and it didn't bother me too much, but if you're looking for realistic, this isn't it.

I would read more by this author! Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this.

Such a cute story. Loved the characters and their bonds formed throughout the book. I couldn’t believe that this was her first book she’d ever written! It was so good! The story hooked me from the beginning. An emotional rollercoaster but I loved it. Well written, can’t wait to read her future books.

It’s Different This Time - Joss Richard - out on September 30, 2025

5 years ago June fled to LA from New York, leaving behind her best friend Adam and the brownstone they shared without telling him she had no plans to ever come back. When she gets a cryptic email enticing her back to New York, it coincides with the show she’s been doing being canceled. When she arrives, she finds herself face-to-face with Adam again where they find out the owner of the brownstone they rented for years together has died and left it to the two of them. All they need to do is wait a month to sign the paperwork and it will be theirs. Easy except when you factor in that they haven’t talked since the day June left and they know nothing about each other’s lives despite years of history.

As they’re forced together, they realize how much unfinished business is still between them and how much there’s still a longtime attraction there, one they both tried to pretend for years didn’t exist. June’s conflicted between returning to LA and her film/tv acting career or pursuing a show on Broadway, something she hasn’t done in years but really, she’s unsure how much of her heart she can give to Adam without being totally destroyed. Adam, for his part, knows June is the one who got away but he’s hesitant after the years apart.

I LOVED this second-chance romance, will probably end up in my top ten of the year easily! It’s a little slow burn at first but I was sucked into the story immediately and curious to find out what happened between these two. Adam is a dream of a character and June has her issues like all of us that she needs to work through as she learns to trust Adam and take a chance. I can’t wait to read more from this debut author in the future!

Thanks to Netgalley and Dell for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Joss Richard for an advance copy of quite possibly my favorite read of 2025 so far!!! Ok, I’m newer into diving into romance books and I think second chance romance might be my new favorite trope but honestly how can it not be with a story like Adam & Junes!!! Watching these two grow their friendship over the years while they both were oblivious to the fact that they are perfect together. I don’t want to give much away but you need to have this one on your radar if you love romance books that include friendship, love, delicious food, some stem, and dual timelines. I cannot wait to have a copy of this one on my shelves on September 30th and I cannot recommend it enough!!

Read this if your favorite romance tropes include second-chance romance, "it's always been you," forced proximity, and strangers-to-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers. I was a little annoyed by how long the reconciliation was dragged out, but overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.