As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.
But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.
But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.
Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again
Title : Begin Again
Author : Emma Lord
Format : eARC
Page Count : 352
Genre : YA contemporary
Publisher : Wednesday Books
Release Date : January 24, 2023
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★.5
Hollis’ 2.5 star review
Even though this is the lowest I’ve rated a book by Lord, I still consider her an auto-read author. But this didn’t quite reach the usual levels of charming that I’ve come to expect. And mostly, and I’m bummed to say it, that’s because of the main character, Andie.
Strike one : her way of non-swearing by instead using cutesy dessert names. Nope. Strike two : her over-fixating on everyone’s problems but her own. Strike three : the romantic drama that any hints at would mean revealing some spoilers.
While I liked the supporting cast, barring the one we aren’t supposed to like, I wish they had been fleshed out a bit more. So much time was spent on various elements like the advice plotline, the ribbon plotline, the parental issue plotline, and then all the love interest backstory drama plotline.
Maybe I’m just in a mood and maybe I would’ve liked this more had I read it another time but the whole thing just tried too hard to feel rosy and charming and sweet without authentically being that way. And I’m used to feeling that authenticity from this author so I’m bummed. But that’s okay. There was enough for this to be still somewhat enjoyable but it did take me way too long to push through during those draggy bits.
Despite all this, I will continue to pick up and read Lord. While I’m sad this wasn’t a win the odds are definitely in her favour (and mine!) for future releases.
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
A Take from Two Cities 