Thank you netgalley for this arc! i loved everything about this! the fact that this is a debut novel is crazy to me, definitely one of the best books ive read this year

I just loved this book so much. Everything about Adam Harper is a top tier trait and I just??? Cry because where can I find a man like that.

“You’ll know when I’m telling you what to do.” Add it to the rizz list. And when a man tells someone else to make your food good, he's the one. This was fantastically written. I laughed, cried, swooned. I need so many more books by Joss Richard.

Thank you Joss Richard and Netgalley for this arc!

3.5 ⭐️’s

Ok, so it was really great for me in the beginning. I love the vibes and the allure of the connection between Adam and June. Then somewhere in the middle I kept getting frustrated because I knew that I would have to wait towards the end for something to truly happen. Not saying the middle parts were bad, but I was just not caring of what was happening. Which is where the three stars come in.

The extra .5 comes from the ending, which I was decently entertained with. The issue is I was still incredibly frustrated with June and wanted to shake her and wake her up. I like miscommunication but there was too much of it for my personal taste here.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely adored this novel! It was about two individuals who had previously stayed together in NYC. Years later, both are summoned to a lawyers office to learn that they are joint owners of the building and that starts their living arrangement again. The banter, the longing, and multiple timeline POV was fantastic! I loved this novel and it captured the beauty of fall in NYC so well!

An adorable friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance between two roommates who are thrust back together when they inherit a brownstone in the West Village. I thought the concept was spectacular and while dual timeline isn’t always my favorite this one was pretty compelling.

I liked a lot about this book though i do think that it could have used some more time with the fmc and mmc on page, It was a healing journey for the fmc more-so than a romance if that makes sense.
Overall I really did enjoy reading this book and I am looking forward to more from the author,
I want to say thank you to netgalley and Ballantine for my arc.

ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!!!!!!

The setting.
The tropes.
The story.
The characters.
The cover.

OMG THIS WAS INCREDIBLE! I loved this so very much - the pining for eachother just about did me in!

immediately 5 stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. Wow, I am so obsessed with this book. I finished it last week and cannot stop thinking about it. I am a sucker for a second chance romance and friends to lovers tropes.I love how the book switches from different timelines. It gives us a better understanding of the story.
Adam and June started out as roommates and somewhere during the years, they became best friends with an undeniable attraction with one another. I LOVEEEEEE their chemistry so much. I was kicking and screaming while reading this book. I literally had FOMO while reading this book if that makes sense. This story hold a special place in my heart. I cannot recommend it enough!!!

4.5/5 stars

This was a perfect fall romance especially being set in New York in October. I was equally giddy to experience June and Adam's relationship through both timelines. I think seeing them as young adults and further on in life really added to the story. I will say, there were a few things that I was frustrated with towards the end of the book and it knocked it down to a 4.5 vs a 5 star for me. Otherwise I loved it and will be recommending it to everyone!

*Friends to Lovers
*Dual Timeline
*Found Family (with amazing side characters)
*Second Chance

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the chance to read this early in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

June and Adam are thrown back into each other's lives by inheriting their previous home together in New York City. I loved June and Adam together and as individuals! They each had unique career paths that I wasn't familiar with, and the author gave just the right amount of detail to make me excited for them without overwhelming the story.

Their banter was fantastic, and I also enjoyed some of the side characters. The pacing between past and present was well balanced, and the writing style was smooth and witty. I found myself connecting with the characters almost immediately.

My only critique is that, while this is marketed as a second-chance romance, June and Adam’s past relationship didn’t feel fully clear until about halfway through the book. If that backstory had been fleshed out earlier, this easily would have been a 5-star read for me!

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

3.5 stars rounded up

Went in with low expectations and ended up loving it! I feel like all the characters were very lovable and relatable and easy to read. I think the whole premise was unique and fresh and was a fun spin on the typical second chance romance

June Wood is earning a living as an actress in Los Angeles when her TV series is cancelled. She receives a mysterious email that leads her back to New York City, where she discovers that she has inherited the brownstone she rented in her twenties while starting her career trying to make it on Broadway. To her surprise, she learns that her former landlord also left the house to Adam Harper, June's former roommate, whom she hasn't seen since leaving New York five years earlier. When they see each other again, it's evident that many unresolved emotions linger between them. With a month to decide the fate of the multimillion-dollar brownstone, they both move in to figure it out. Through flashbacks, we learn about their past together and the reason they separated. Will they get a second chance at friendship or perhaps romance? 

It's Different This Time, the debut novel by author Joss Richard, was wonderful. This charming, engaging, and often emotional story resonated with me, bringing back memories of New York City, when life was filled with excitement and possibilities. Adam is the man you dream of meeting - handsome, ambitious, talented, and family-oriented. However, June, who never had a strong parental foundation, has major trust issues. This book, filled with passion and longing, was just what I needed. Grab it. 

4.5 stars.

i know we are all getting that itch, the air is turning crisp, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and the leaves are fading into warm autumn hues. the magic of fall is in full force and if you’re lost as to what to read, look no further than @joss.richard’s debut novel ‘it’s different this time’ !! 🤎

brimming with golden autumn streets, laughter-filled friends, and a hero who will sweep you off your feet, IDTT is a story that reminds you that you are always worth being loved, and the right person will wait for you. some moments in life are rare, but once you find them, you hold onto them forever!

everything about this story was utter perfection & it was beautiful to see love grow through the little moments, the lessons, and the magic of simply knowing each other.

like a steaming cup of coffee on a crisp morning, this story wraps you in warmth, tenderness, and love ☕️✨🎃

I'm a sucker for second chance romance and cozy autumnal reads, and It's Different This Time gave me both of those things! A super quick and easy read, and a fantastic debut!

I knew before I was even half done with this book that it was going to be a 5 star read for me. I loved it SO much! I’m a fan of second chance romances and this one had slightly different dynamics than others I have read. Both June and Adam were perfect characters. I enjoyed seeing their growth and how they ended up getting back to each other. This is a debut novel but did not seem like it. I can’t wait to read more from Joss Richard.

This is the perfect book for autumn time. It’s got the cozy vibes, perfect setting and such a good second chance romance trope!

I’m pretty picky when it comes to the second chance trope. I feel like this trope can either be written really well or not and not much in between. I can easily say this second chance book was written very well! I devoured this book in two days because of how much I enjoyed it and how invested I was in the characters.

I thought the character development for both the FMC and the MMC was written beautifully. I loved how it shows the human side of relationships and how things can get messy and not everything is perfect; but on the other side of that coin of how hard some people fight for the people they love and how taking that second chance is worth it.

I absolutely loved the past/present timelines within the book. It gives more perspective and depth into the relationship and makes the ending that more sweet. Overall I highly recommend this book!

It's Different This Time
By Joss Richard
Publish Date Sep 30, 2025 

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

It’s Different This Time is such a cozy and engaging read. I loved the way Joss Richard captured New York and brought the characters to life. The dual timeline was handled beautifully, and the chemistry between the characters kept me hooked from start to finish. It may be a little on the long side, but it’s absolutely worth it. Overall, this was such an enjoyable read and one I would definitely recommend

Very easy to read and fast paced. Even after it was explained towards the end of the book, I was not entirely convinced that the reason she left NY for LA 6 years ago was realistic. But I did enjoy reading the book, which had some nice twists at the end I was not expecting.

What a great debut by Joss Richard! She had me rooting for June and Adam from the start. How could you not fall in love with them and NYC? The brownstone they shared was dreamy, Stanley was the sweetest landlord of all time, and the yearning and tension these two shared was something else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballatine for the ARC!

Words cannot express how much I love this book and has quickly became one of my favorite reads of this year. Joss Richard's debut(!!!) is beautiful and full of so much love, warmth, and will pull at your heartstrings. There's so much in this book I love and felt from the yearning, care for eachother, the friendship, dreams and what the guard close to themselves, the secondary characters, Adam's family and June's relationship with them, this was such a well-rounded emotional book.

It's fall in NYC and June has returned from LA to a brownstone she used to rent 5 years ago with Adam, who became her best friend. She hasn't seen him in those 5 years after their friendship ended abruptly. But why is she back? They both surprisingly inherited this property if they can live together for one month. With unfinished business between the two and feelings they need to work out, the past catches up to them as they navigate this month together.

You will find:
- Two estranged best friends/roommates
- New York City in the fall
- The best of NYC: Broadway and Chef's special
- Watching two people stupidly fall in love and they don't know it
- A second chance to see if it's different this time

A dual timeline and single point of view, it is written so well that I really felt and understood what Adam was feeling. Which sometimes I don't get from a single POV book. Through his dialogue and actions I really felt his intensions, emotions, and everything that made this book the way it was.

I love this book so much and was pre-ordering it before I even completed it. It's the perfect fall read and one that just might make you cry and hurt and feel all the feels for these two as they navigate their friendship in the past and present and what could be more.

Thank you so very much Dell Romance for the eARC of this book!

Thank you to Ballantine/Dell for an advanced copy of this book!

I am hesitant to read books pitched as “For fans of Nora Ephron” because more often than not, they rely on poorly rewriting Ephron plot points into stories that otherwise have no similar chemistry or vibes. This book, however, IS absolutely for those people, myself included. Over the decade plus of them knowing each other, it is in the quiet moments of their lives that June and Adam’s chemistry builds and comes to a head.

While this book starts with a rather ridiculous premise — two former roommates are set to inherit their former landlord’s 6 million dollar brownstone in NYC, I became so enamored with the writing and the characters that it didn’t matter how ridiculous the reason they came back together was. Dual timeline and second chance romances are not my preference but this is an example of someone doing it so well. I am so sad that this is a debut novel only because I am eager to read more from Joss Richard soon.