Again But Better by Christine Riccio|Book Review|
fictiveescapes Book Reviews May 18, 2019 2 Minutes
First, I have to start by thanking NetGalley for the early review copy that I received… so, THANK YOU NetGalley!🥳

This is a book that I have been following the progress of for well over a year thanks to being a follower of Christine’s YouTube channel (PolandBananasBooks) I have noticed that author-tube and openly talking about writing has started to become a bit of a thing, but Christine’s channel ( and by extension this book) is the first time that I have seen it done in so much detail. Christine shared with viewers the entire writing process as well as her writing playlist; her writing videos serve as a great inspiration to me and always leave me feeling very empowered.

I know that YouTube and it’s stars seem to be getting a lot of flak lately, but its always nice to get to see something productive coming from the internet.



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Backstory out of the way onto what really matters: Characters and Plot

SHANE: A young woman on a college exchange trip chasing her passion while wrestling against her parents’ ideals.

PILOT (Pies): The young man that Shane meets in England who is dealing with his own onslaught of issues.

If I had to summarize the theme of this novel up in one word it would be RELATIONSHIPS closely followed by EXPECTATIONS.

At its core, the novel is a classic Do Over story (character A is unhappy so they get the chance to go back and attempt to make things better)

My favorite part was the focus on all of the different countries and international monuments. I think the group’s trip to Rome and Italy was the best because of how detailed the segment was.

One of the coolest things is all of the little inside jokes put in for long-time viewers of Christine’s channel. (Shane names her laptop and is also deeply invested in writing and Cassandra Clare books😉) It was nice to feel like a friend of the author for once, but I know some people could view that as a turn-off.

I could totally see myself re-reading this novel and I hope that Christine writes another book because her writing style is very laid back and real just like her videos. It was also nice to see a YA cover be simple for once it seems like a lot of the time they are way too busy with different fonts and colors.

100% would definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a fun summer read

I tried a few times to give this a read, but I couldn't gel with the writing style. I appreciate the opportunity to review this title and wish this author the very best of luck!

Again, but Better, by Christine Riccio, is a light romance intended for the Young Adult and teen market. I am almost as distant as possible from that demographic, while still being alive. I read this book with certain presumptions: First, I was probably not going to get a percentage of the cultural references. Second, the dialogue of college kids is different from those of professionals or older generations. Part of it is generational short-hand and part of it is that constant anxiety of being afraid of your own opinions, feelings, and not being cool.

Having disclosed all that, this was an enjoyable read. The main characters, Shane and Pilot, find themselves in a Study Abroad program, disengaged from home attachments, and very much engaged in each other. Shane is so painfully plagued by self-doubt and anxiety that she is unable to communicate her own feelings about other people or her own career goals. Although much cooler, Pilot is similarly burdened by “shoulds and coulds.” Their intense romance never really launches and yet, leaves an indelible mark. Six years later, they have an opportunity for a “do-over.”

Based on my own memories of college and the conversation of students and kids still in the YA age group, Shane and Pilot seemed relatively authentic. They were reliably selfish, thoughtless, and conniving without ever meaning to hurt anyone, including themselves. They desperately want independence, love, acceptance, and friendship. The story is a lovely fantasy…I couldn’t help thinking how nice a do-over might be!

I recommend this book for the intended YA market as well as those looking for a light novel to read by the pool or on the beach. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to read this but the writing style just didn't jive with me - I couldn't get into it. Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

While this wasn't for me, I can see a lot of YA/NA fans loving this.
Pros:
*Differentiated narrative voice well in the two parts; I was concerned about this as I started to read. At first, Shane's personality and thoughts were grating, but they get a little easier to read as the book continues. Once you get to the second part, it becomes much easier.
*Loved the focus on career/life when it was touched on.
*Easy to read. While I took a long time to read the e-ARC for various reasons, I can see this being a good book to read in one sitting. Perfect beach/vacation book.
*Enjoyed the sections on travel!
*When discussed, I liked the sections on trying new things and overcoming anxiety/shyness.

Cons:
*I didn't like the main love interest very much, and I hated his name and nickname.
*I didn't like Shane, the main character, very much. I didn't think she was funny, and for most of the book, I cringed pretty hard at her. There's also a LOT of self-insertion going on, but other reviewers have covered that.
*If it hadn't been for the plot shift in the last ~10-15% of the book, this would have been a 1.5 - 2 star book. Now, it's a 2.5 star rounded up to a three because Goodreads.
*The pop culture and time references were a little heavy-handed.
*I wanted more of a resolution to some of the smaller plots.

Ultimately, while I wouldn't rave about this book, I know there are some who will adore it. I recommend this to those in college, and those who are starting their careers. It's a book that's perfect for any time in your life where you're doing big, new, scary things and need that push to embrace the unknown.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Let me start my saying, I don’t really understand why this book is getting a lot of bad reviews. I really enjoyed it! There was a few issues that I had, and without giving the spoilers away, I will chalk up to it being Riccio’s first book.

The story follows Shane who is on track to become a doctor because that is what her parents want. She wants to be a journalist but her parent’s would never go for it. She lies to them and goes to London to study abroad. There she meets the first real friends she ever had and a boy she falls in love with, Pilot. In 2011 (when the first half of the book takes place) she never told Pilot how she felt about him and that decision has haunted her. Years later, she decides to come clean to him and the two of them land back into the past to relive their time in London and to change the outcomes of their lives.

I thought everything about this story was so cute. Pilot and Shane were adorable and I loved their friendship. I also loved all the references to my favorite books, movies and music of 2011.

I do think the story could have been maybe 100 pages shorter, but overall I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it!

This book took me on an emotional ride! I really connected to Shane and her journey of self-rediscovery. I am also an introvert and felt like I was reading a book about myself which doesn't happen often! I had a little trouble connecting with the romance between Shane and Pilot but that was really it! It was a fun read!

This book is baffling to me. It is labeled as Teen&YA, yet it is about a woman who is 20-years-old in the first part and 26 in the second part. Despite her age, the protagonist thinks and acts like she's 14, which is frustrating to no end, as are the constant pop culture reference written in to remind the reader that this book takes place in 2011. The romance is very flat, and I wasn't rooting for the main couple since the male protagonist, who has the ridiculous name of Pilot Penn, was already with another girl. That's right, the author seems to be encouraging cheating on a partner. Overall, this book reads like a juvenile, self-insert fanfiction rather than a book ready for publication.

Again, but Better follows Shane as she studies creative writing in a London study abroad creative writing program. The only problem? She’s told her parents it’s pre-Med. the first half of the book shows her initially flourishing and then faltering big time, especially once her parents find out.

After that, the ground hog day traup comes into effect with predictable, yet still fun results.

I did really enjoy this book—I thought there were some timeline jumps that seemed too quick and the first half I just felt like it was too rushed and not fleshed out. I loved the initial story idea and wanted more. I was really hesitant once the “timetravel” started and sort of rolled my eyes. However, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the second half more. I feel like it filled in gaps in the first half that I just wanted more of.

It’s not a deep, meaningful read, but it’s certainly a fun one. I definitely feel like I’ll be re-reading it several times as one of my “guilty pleasure” type reads.

There were also several moments that really hit me hard—Shane’s struggles with feeling like an outsider in her big Italian family could have been right out of my own journals.

And the magical moments with Harry Potter are so impactful for me.

Overal, content wise I’d give it 3*, but for the sheer fun of it it’s definitely 4.5*

I didn't particularly enjoy Again, But Better. I think that the book had so much of Riccio's voice that it was hard for me to differentiate her from Shane. I could tell the story she was trying to convey but I don't think she executed it well. The parts about traveling are the parts of the story I truly enjoyed. However, the rest of it just seemed lacking. The allusions to 2011 in the story were quite unnecessary and took away from the plot. I also think the character names were quite strange like Pilot and . This book had me on the edge of my seat from cringe, not excitement.

You can really feel the author in this book. I really think that was intended as it was written based off of her own experiences in London as a study abroad student. Knowing how the author is on her own youtube channels the characters personality feels more authentic than it would be had I not watched her in the past. Meaning, the character can be a bit over the top at the time and unrealistic and this would normally annoy me but knowing that this charter is based off of the author I find it more more believable.

I really feel strongly that the the first half of the book should have made up a smaller portion of the book. I wanted more of the second half and how it all worked out. The first half drug on and on while the last part was way too fast.

Over all it was an enjoyable book and I would recommend it to those that read this genre.

I adore contemporary books. Truly I do. When I saw this was about a girl who does college “all wrong” and wants to study abroad to reinvent herself, I was in!

My main issue with this was the writing. It felt very choppy and awkward. I thought it could have been tightened up a lot. This story also suffered a lot when it came to showing vs. telling. This book takes place in two years: 2011 and 2017. The 2011 media references were brutal. The author made sure you’d never forget that you were reading a story that takes place in 2011.

There’s a genre twist halfway through the novel. Which wouldn’t have been bad, if I’d known it was coming. I thought the title was referencing Shane’s second chance at college while abroad. Instead we get some “magical realism” thrown in halfway through and we just have to go with it. It was jarring.

The romance was also pretty mediocre. I’m a huge romance fan, and I’ll be honest, it doesn’t take a lot for me to root for a couple as long as I see some connection. However, when it came to Shane and Pilot, I wasn’t 100% convinced of their relationship. There was a point where Shane was convincing herself she was better off without Pilot, and I agreed.

I also don’t think these characters are particularly likable. They aren’t unlikable (because that would be great!) they are just very… bland, I guess. Shane’s main personality trait is “quirky”. She’s very socially awkward XD and clumsy. And Pilot, well, he’s a straight up cheating douche bag. I should have known by just looking at his name.

While I give an author props for adding diversity into there book, it was very forced here. Like she was doing it to meet a quota. Every diverse character could have been white and nothing would have changed. Also, while I don’t subscribe to the author’s YouTube channel, I have seen a few of her videos. And yeah, Shane is very much Christine. They are both the exact same person, they even look the same. Which isn’t necessarily horrible, it was just kind of odd and very wish fulfillment-y.

Overall, I wasn’t a fan of this one.

Hi, don't mind me I'm just going to go cry for the rest of the night.
I had high hopes going into this and sadly those expectations were not met.

I felt the writing was juvenile and at times cringey. The refernces to pop culture I enjoyed but I think they could have been written better and it didn't read well or integrate well into the story.

The relationship between Pilot (I love to hate that name so much) and Shane is poorly developed and I hate the fact that Shane falls madly in love with him five seconds after knowhing him and then continues to pine so hard for him for the next 6 years that she tracks him down and they go back in time. Pilot himself just lacked entirely, he had no personality whatsoever outside of the noneexistant relationship.

The story didn't make sense. When I first heard the synopsis I originally thought it was going to have time travelling aspects and so, although it wasnt done as I thought i was excited when this time travel aspect kicked in mid way through but the reasons for it make no sense. I feel like the plot would have benefited and had more of an impact if that had never happened no matter how cool the concept.

I feel like overall this book tried too hard and it pains me to say that because i enjoy the author and i cant imagine what it must be like to have so many people waiting on you to publish your first book, the whole experience must have been daunting but it really did give off a "trying too hard" feel.

Overall i enjoyed my experience of reading this for all the wrong reasons, i just really wished Pilot and his relationship with Shane had been developed so much more and even that could have bettered the time travel aspect.

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.* 

As soon as I read the synopsis of Again, but Better, I wanted to read it! I love stories about people who do study abroad, and anything set in London makes me super nostalgic, so even better! I am finding myself more drawn to contemporary lately, and this book certainly didn't disappoint. 

First, I want to say that I related to and saw myself in Shane so much, almost to an uncomfortable degree (Christine Riccio, did you camp out in my head while creating this character??) She is very unsure of herself, awkward to an excruciating degree, has to force herself to act outgoing...she really hit all of the points that I dislike about myself. However...she is also brave, kind, fun, caring, and talented. I found her to be very well rounded, which can be hard to find in YA contemporaries, so I greatly appreciated this. 

I enjoyed the side characters. I love Pilot and Babe so much! They were both so fun. I did wish that we got to know Sahra and Atticus a little better, but that is a minor critique. Her parents made me mad in the best way possible, and her work colleagues were awesome. 

*Mild potential spoiler alert ahead!* 

I will say, the first half of the book made me a little frustrated because Shane kept making so many stupid decisions and I just wanted her to FIX IT!!! But, when she got to go back and do it again...but better , it made me absolutely fly through the rest of the book. I loved how she made different decisions, but also kept a bunch of things the same. It was nice to see that she had the perspective of knowing that she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize her friendship with Babe. I thoroughly enjoyed her second journey.

*Mild potential spoiler over!*

The reasons why I docked a star were that I felt like the first half was a little bit too slow. It seemed like a pacing issue, since I realize that you absolutely needed the first half to set up the second. Also, personally, I found the names of the characters to be a little crazy. It was a bit off-putting for me. I got used to them eventually, but for a bit at the beginning every time a new character was introduced, my reaction was, "Really? That's the name she decided on?" Personal preference only! 

Overall, I thought this book was so much fun! It really captured the college experience and explored that fantasy that everyone has of potentially getting to go back and do everything again, but better!

My Rating: 


I gave Again, but Better 4 STARS!

Again, but Better is an amazing and adorable story. It’s about a girl named Shane, who lies to her parents saying that she is traveling abroad to do a pre-med program that is in London for the summer. What she is really doing, though, is a writing program because her passion has always been blogging. While Shane is in London, she decides she needs to make friends, pursue boys, and find some adventure to make up for her college mistakes.

This heartwarming story is funny and made me cry all in one sitting. I loved Shane’s inner monologue and I loved all of her comedic quips. The characters felt real and were bubbling with personality .The pacing was perfect and I didn’t expect the fantastical element that was sprinkled into it. The story is real and all about doing what you want to do and being the real you.

This book is everything, go buy it immediately!

I am a bit puzzled about this book. It had parts I loved and adored and it had parts which I didn't. I struggled with the writing and pacing, but I really liked the plot twists and whole atmosphere of this book. It had it's flaws, but it was also funny and heartwarming and I enjoyed reading it.

Unfortunately, this was not for me. The writing was more juvenile than I expected and littered with incessant references-- ones that were distracting to the story. There were a lot of new author mistakes in here, including lots of dialogue tags and over written descriptions. She doesn't play music-- music leaks out of her computer speakers, etc. It was written in what was supposed to be a conversational tone, but I think was also more distracting than anything else. The romance between Shane and Pilot wasn't great. Shane's internal monologue felt manic and everything about the emotional cheating and Shane's behavior toward Pilot was uncomfortable and not at all romantic. The cheating and verbal abuse were glossed over and normalized. It was thankfully a fast paced read.

The execution of this book was lacking for me unfortunately. I saw the twist coming a mile away (It's literally the title?) but I thought that was an interesting element that I haven't seen done too many times before.
The writing was fine, although this book seemed to suffer from that thing where new writers try to use as many synonyms as possible for "said" and once I noticed I couldn't unnotice it.

Shane as a character was okay, but at times she was just so... cringe-y? Which I feel bad saying because as many other reviewers have pointed out Shane is a self insert of Christine and it's really hard not to notice that. I don't really want to penalize the book for that though as I'm sure many authors do similar things, but we just don't realize because we haven't spent years watching them on YouTube. The other characters were fine (other than their names, I mean... Babe? Come on) and I would've really liked to get to know them more.

The romance in this book was completely cringe-y, I could NOT get behind it. Every time Shane said "Pies" I gagged. She gave him a (terrible) nickname within .5 seconds of meeting him which read as super awkward to me. This romance also had major Anna & The French Kiss vibes with all the emotional cheating going on.

There was about 5% of the book towards the end where Shane wasn't focused on the romance and was really focusing on her friendships and writing. That was the best part of the book for me. If the rest had been written like that I might've given it 4 stars. But overall too many things about the book were just made me cringe and I rolled my eyes so many times they might be permanently stuck.

Let me preface this review by letting it be known that I had absolutely no idea who Christine was prior to hearing about this book. I read the synopsis and it sounded like something I would be interesting in. I won’t get into too many specifics about the book because I’m not here to be spoilery in the least. What I will say is that the book is told in two parts. I did not really feel an attachment to any of the characters although I did like Shane well enough. I liked the diversity within the book as well has how social anxiety was handled. It was an ok read and I would check out more from Christine in the future.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A positive and nicely written book by one of the most famous BookTubers out there.

This story centers around a girl named Shane, who has had her life completely predictated by her parents’ wants and aspirations for her. Her parents want her to study medicine and to one day become a doctor, while all Shane wants to do is read and write. Yet, she somehow manages to be able to study abroad to the UK, where she will also be able to intern as a writer for a travel magazine and, most importantly, escape her parents’ expectations.

The book is also told in two parts; the first part being set in 2011 where Shane is 20, and the next part set in 2017 where Shane is 26. But the book starts out in 2011 and we soon follow Shane during her oversea travels, and we soon meet all of her flat mates, most of which who have ridiculous names; Babe, Atticus, Sahra, and Pilot Penn. Yeah, you read that last one right. But Shane is making sure that she is going to make the most of these three months of freedom, while trying to make friendships and connections that will last her entire life.

This books just reads so personal. Like, I would even go as far as to say that I would feel comfortable as classifying this as semi-autobiographical. But instead of me being interested in the story, it really took me out of it because it felt so much like Christine and, in turn, felt so damn invasive. There are numerous pop culture references that felt cute when we were first introduced to them but got a bit repetitive over time. But where the book completely lost me is how MUCH it truly felt as if Shane was Christine in a parallel universe. Too many inside jokes and nicknames to make you NOT unsee it. From studying abroad, to being open about not making many friends in college, to *gasp* Shane’s blog name being French Watermelon, to the constant Lost references, to the endless Cassandra Clare and Shadowhunter references, to Harry Potter galore, while the character of Shane also just has a personality and the same mannerisms as Christine. This just feels so semi-autobiographical. I promise, you won’t be able to not see it. And maybe that will completely make the reading experience for you, and I truly hope it does, but it really pulled me out of the story constantly.

My biggest problem with this book was the "light" cheating and even eventual cheating (a kiss). This was truly the reason that I could never love this book or ever feel anything for the characters. Plus, the character that is getting cheated on is always villainized to look like a bad girl, when she has every right to feel threatened.

What I loved about this book is how effortlessly it reminded me to stop being constantly afraid and begin living my life for me, for my own dreams, eccentricities, and passions. It reminded that there is so much more to live for than what we experience at this time, this moment, this month. There was a magical element that surrounded the story, but I don't want to give too much away due to obvious spoilers.

All in all, even though I couldn't completely connect to this book, I felt that Christine has got so much potential for the future and I believe I want to give a chance to her future works. This book wasn't badly written at all, I guess it just wasn't for me.

Thank you so much for providing me with an ARC, NetGalley!