Utterly sweet, cute, and funny. I loved Shane's character, she one of the top three main characters who I relate to the most and I wish I could just hug her. I loved the story but the little magic element was a surprise to me, I was not expecting that.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and the personalities of the characters. I'm sure a lot of readers who are "lost" will be able to relate to Shane.

I really could not even finish this book. I was just annoyed with the bad writing style. I’ve been a fan of Christine for ages but I can’t bother with this book.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Shane is unhappy with her college experience. She’s pretty much friendless, and she hates her major. However, her parents won’t support her if she changes her major so she concocts a plan to start over by studying abroad in London with a creative program track and internship at a travel magazine.

On the first day there, she meets Pilot, and she’s immediately smitten with him. There’s a problem though; he has a girlfriend. However, he may be interested in her too.

However, trying to start over is hard when the past cannot be changed. Or can it?

I struggled with this book. First, I question why it’s classified as YA when the main character is 20 from the beginning. However, because that has no merit on the overall writing quality, I gave that a pass.

The writing quality, however, was rough. Throughout the first half of the book, set in 2011, I questioned what the point was. Shane writes, goes off to other countries seemingly every weekend, and pines after a guy who doesn’t want to break up with his girlfriend. The writing drags, and some of the descriptions just feel forced and get in the way of the story itself. It almost reads like it’s someone’s first draft, and it was painful to read at times.

The second half of the story provides a unique twist, but at that point, the writing had already lost me. It felt like the first half dragged on too long, and most readers will give up there before the story actually becomes interesting.

This book is separated into two very distinct parts. I enjoyed the first part fine and when it transitioned to the second part I was caught off guard and annoyed. However, I quickly grew to love the second part of this book. Pilot and Shane are amazing characters and I loved everything about them, There was so much depth added to their characters in the second part of the book. I was all in for them and loved how everything came together in the end. Such by a unique spin on a classic fiction romance.

I absolutely loved Again, but Better. This debut novel is full of laughter, heart and enough quirkiness to wonder if it was written about young me. The story follows foreign exchange student Shane and her semester abroad in Europe. Her parents thought she was on her way to being premed, but Shane has other ideas with what she wants to do with her life. After having to go into a field she never wanted to be in, losing a crush that could have been more and having a hard time adjusting to the life she lives now years later. Shane gets a do over and charts a path for the life she's always wanted.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

DNF at 23%

None of this is meant to bash this book or Christine. In fact, I think if you mesh really well with her personality, you’ll LOVE this story. But, to me it all felt a bit too wattpad-esque with its quirky main character with a terribly mean family, an obsession with the Beatles, a two dimensional love story, and an over-usage of exclamation points.

I found the narration to really grate on me, and I do not intend on finishing this story.

If I am being honest, I really struggled with this review-- more than I thought I would considering I am not an avid or regular polandbananasbooks watcher! Even so, how do you evaluate the writing of someone whose videos you've watched on and off throughout the years? I do not think it possible to write this review without acknowledging that her years on booktube have basically made it impossible for me to do as Barthes would urge me to and completely separate the work from its author. So, in addition to my usual discussion about what I loved, what can be improved and why or why not I think this might be a book for you (the people reading this), I'll also be including a short discussion on Death of the Author and the Self-Insert character. I think both of these are worth talking about in relation to this book, my review and how I believe other people will review it.

Best Parts of the Book
Again but Better is a fast read. I read it in roughly two days and flew through the pages. I started the book expecting a fast, light-read contemporary and it delivered for the most part. Shane's struggles will also resonate with a lot of readers, I think. Shane sets off to London for a better college experience, yes, but also to do the things she's been afraid to do. I remember the experience of my first study abroad-- the thrill of being able to start fresh with new people, and to reshape the bad habits I had developed or do away with my insecurities. It's more challenging than writing out a list and seeing her stumble through on her way to being better, to having the courage to face her choices and re-direct her life from doing what she should to what she wants is something I think a lot of folks in their late teens early 20s will relate to. A lot of people talk about the mistakes the characters made-- but I honestly could see a twenty year old doing those things. In fact, some of the people I knew at that age did those things, made those mistakes (including me).

Beyond that, I think Christine added a pretty nifty element I don't see often in these types of contemporaries. I picked it up expecting a standard contemporary with some relationship angst, unusual names and family or friend drama. I was pleasantly surprised when one specific part of the plot was introduced and I appreciated that Christine didn't do what so many contemporaries do and equate finding oneself with finding someone to love you.

Where it could improve
I think Christine Riccio has started with a great base here and I'm excited to see how she'll build upon it. One area I'd love to see her grow in is her dialogue and descriptions. The arc I received had some of the better known mistakes of new writers: too large a variety of dialogue tags (splurted, I think I was used at one point), overly repetitive mannerisms (what the fudge is used frequently) and a tendency to group descriptions together (especially clothes) where they could be threaded in.

I also think there were a few opportunities to weave in hints and show what the secondary characters are struggling with (that maybe Shane missed until later) rather than tell us-- though I acknowledge that's more tricky through a first person narrative. Still, there were a couple I'd marked off when reading, so I'd love to see her take better advantage of those opportunities in future books!

Generally, I understood character motivations and relationships, though there was one important moment, in the latter half of the book, that I questioned. I think either the connection between Shane and another character needed to be made stronger in the first half or the mechanism Riccio used to get them together should have been different. I will acknowledge the second half of the book must have been tricky to write. Some of the hints were maybe a little too blatant (though some said they missed them so maybe that's a me thing). Moreover, when she finally executed I had moments where I wished to see other parts of the world to which she only dedicated a few sentences

[spoiler- which will be hidden on good reads] A teeny tiny thing but-- I was surprised that the array of objects Pilot gave Shane at the end didn't include a lamppost. I thought for sure it would!

You'll like it if…
1. You want a lighter read/contemporary
2. Silly and fun humor. There were a few lines with some puns or kind of absurd humor that made me crack a smile. There's a bit of dry humor as well, in smaller doses.
3. Imperfect characters who still get a happy ending. There are definitely moments where the characters stumble, they're selfish, they're manipulative, they're dishonest. Their realization of these flaws are scattered throughout but not all of them are a major focus.
4. You're cool with characters who feel younger and might sometimes be a little 'immature'

You won't like it if…
1. You love polished or lyrical prose and are bothered by more 'realistic' dialogue with ticks like 'um' or 'uh' or phrases like "what the fudge" (that one personally really got me)
2. You'll be distracted by some of the similarities between the main character and the author (see my discussion below)
3. You need to stick it out for a while to see the character begin to really grow and have realizations. Shane has a few smack you in your face epiphanies and works to change her behavior afterward, but she needs to stumble around for a while first.
4. You're not a fan of heavy pop-culture references. I'll be honest, I didn't get some of them.
5. A snarky love interest who does some questionable things in his relationship. That is to say, you don't have to approve of both the love interests or their choices to like the story.
6. I think it will rub a lot of people the wrong way that she's also exceptionally good at the things she doesn't love


Death of the author and the self-insert:
Here's the part I struggled most with. A lot of reviews have pointed out that Shane is a self-insert. I don't think they're necessarily wrong-- there are a lot of similarities between Shane and Christine. They enjoy similar things, the look similar, and have similar mannerisms. I'd also say her in real life booktube best friend is inserted into the story, too. Can I be completely honest? A lot of folks have been saying they don't like it because it shows a lack of creativity, but a part of me wants to defend her a little b it.

I suspect that authors insert more of themselves in different ways into characters and their stories than we expect. They just have the advantage of not being a fairly well known public figure beforehand. Death of the author isn't super achievable for her. It is impossible for large swathes of readers to separate the text from the author's intentions because she has such a huge online presence! We can't evaluate it without comparing it to her in someway and that kind of sucks a little bit for her, but I think it's also an opportunity for her in her next book to try writing someone much different.

I will concede that I wish she hadn't made Shane quite so similar to herself in superficialities at the very least since I spent parts of the book wondering if she wanted us to see her in a certain way or if I was reading about her, not about this character she'd created. It pulled me out of the story more than once or twice-- at one point Shane gives a speech about the power of YouTube that felt like an especially egregious moment Christine inserted her thoughts or self. Still, people have said the only reason it's getting published is because she's a well-known booktuber; that the quality of the writing doesn't merit the publishing. First, let's not knock the effort it takes to build an audience. Second, regardless of the merit of the writing it's hard to say this is the only reason it got published. I have read books of lesser or equal quality written by little known debut authors. Now, do I think there was an expectation around the book due to her being involved so publicly as a reader over the years? Yes. I don't think there's anyway around it completely, but I hope that making people aware of how their expectations and knowledge of Christine might affect them going in might help.

*This arc was given to me in exchange for an honest review*

I will be posting a short video discussion on this in the next few weeks, and will be including it in my wrap up video as well.

4.5 ⭐ omg this book was ADORABLE!!! I've been reading a lot of psychological thrillers lately, so it was nice to read a book that I didn't have to think about too much. I loved all of the characters! I was not expecting the middle twist, but now the title makes sense. I think we can all think of a time in our lives we'd love the chance to go back to for a do-over.

Like every other person on this planet, I was interested in reading this book because the author is one of the biggest booktubers out there & as a fellow booktuber I had to check this out. I was pleasantly suprise. This book follows the story of Shane, an American student who does exchange program to London. She meets a boy, of course, and along with her article writing for a magazine, she travels a lot around Europe and that was my favorite aspect of the book. A certain part of the relationship that she developed with the boy turned me completely off but the rest of the book was extremely engaging and it will be a sweet summer contemporary for teens to read soon. I recommend this if you are looking for a book that deals with academia, your parents pressure to be perfect and follow THEIR dreams & a travel YA full of twists and turns.

I'll just say it up front: I LOVED THIS BOOK! The first half of the book was so much fun to read! I loved how relatable Shane was as a character. Pilot will also go down as one of my favorite characters to date. I mean SWOON! The travel element of the book also added so much to it! The second half of the book had me a little skeptical at first, to be honest. I was nervous it would turn into one of those "and then I woke up" stories, but it didn't! Yay! One thing I also want to point out is how much I admire the author. You can tell inside the novel how much excitement and love was put into it! Overall, I would totally recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Enjoy!

I think this is more like a 2.5 star for me. I’m honestly so sad because I was hoping to really love this book but it just wasn’t for me unfortunately. There were parts I thought were really cute and sweet and fun but overall there was something that just didn’t click with me. I really loved the development of the connection between Shane and her cousin Leo as well as the general friendships and travel adventures throughout Europe with Shane, Babe, and Sahra. BUT the cheating elements of the main romantic relationship and the horrible dynamics between Shane and her parents made me so uncomfortable and it was hard to move past that.

You’re just trying to follow your dreams. There’s nothing wrong with that.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for supplying me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I think I can speak for a huge majority of students and admit that college can be incredibly weird and strange at times. So much so, in fact, that you almost wish you had a time turner at your disposal so you can fix absolutely everything that went wrong. In Again, But Better, our characters feel almost exactly the same.

I think I can also speak for a lot of YA readers that are in the college-age range (what is it with me thinking that as an singular individual, I can think for huge populations of people??) and confess that it can sometimes be beyond hard to relate to YA characters that are still in high school, and their biggest problem is who they’re taking to the senior prom. That said, when I first heard Christine talk about what Again, But Better would be about, I was instantly excited. Finally, a book about someone (near) my age that would probably be going through the same things I went through. But, I’m sad to report, that I was let down with this book.

Synopsis: Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal—but Shane’s made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time’s a ticking, and she needs a change—there’s nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She’s going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination, one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic—the possibilities are endless.

Okay, let’s start with the good; despite the book not living up to its hype for me personally, there are definitely some highlights.

I like being their perfect daughter.

Technically speaking, I really loved what Shane was doing for the YA world. Here we are, being introduced to a 20-year-old college student that feels beyond lost; has no idea what she want to do with her life, whether she follows her own dreams or her parents; she has trouble making friends at school due to social anxieties; and she hasn’t been kissed. I love YA books as much as the next person, but it can get exhausting when these 16-year-olds know exactly who they are, who they want to be, and, on top of it, how to save the world. Shane was a breath of fresh air. I for one would have loved to meet a fictional character exactly like Shane while I was still in college because her personality and experiences normalized a lot of what I was experiencing and what I saw my friends going through.

And it’s no surprise that Christine got Shane’s study-abroad friend group just right, considering she studied abroad herself. Even though I didn’t fly across the world, I did move to New York on my own for a summer graduate program where I knew absolutely no one; it’s a strange feeling, finding yourself in a strange city where you have no idea if you need to go Uptown or Downtown for your classes (I’m geographically challenged and still have no idea which way I went for class).

Being forced into an uncomfortable situation like studying abroad or moving to a new city for school is this strange experience where you almost become an entirely different person. You’re surrounded by people in the exact same situation you’re in, and you’re all pursuing the same (or similar) things. At least from my experience, this uncomfortablity made you become close to quite a few people very quickly. I was in New York for just over two months, but I met some of my best friends, and I am pretty sure that they all knew my whole life story within two days of meeting me. So, in that way, I could relate to Shane because, at her “normal” college, she was being held back because of her social anxieties, but then, in England, she’s forced to get to know these people she’s going to be spending her time with.

I also just love reading about and living vicariously through characters that travel to anyplace in Europe because I’ve always wanted to go.

I just want to be normal.

There is no normal.

While I did understand what Shane was doing in the whole grand scheme of things, I wasn’t the biggest fan of any of these characters. To me, they all felt very surface level—I would’ve loved to learn more about what makes them tick: their likes, their dislikes, their favorite weird food combinations, their lives at school, their favorite animal, etc,. It was almost as if the characters only existed when Shane needed them to; they weren’t real people outside of her world.

Along that same vein, I wanted to go through their experiences with them. A majority of the book was set up to read like “we did this, then this, then this,” and then we’re plunged into a scene with the characters and dialogue; you’re told that they visited historical places in Rome, but you never got the chance to go with them. Stories can be told in so many different ways, and I know that an author will occasionally pick telling over showing for stylistic reasons, but I really love being right there with the characters. Again, But Better follows Shane as she finds herself, and I just wish I was able to go on that journey with her.

And, as a smaller note, the dialogue also fell a little flat for me. There were times were it felt so forced that it was like the characters didn’t believe what was coming out of their mouths—almost as if these people were trying to be too relatable for their audience. I even had troubles distinguishing a difference in 20-year-old Shane’s voice and 26-year-old Shane’s voice; it was almost as if she didn’t change.

‘Magic is just science we don’t understand yet.’

I know what you’re probably thinking. “Wow, okay. Lauren is really going off about this book.” And trust me, I really, really wanted to love it, but I just couldn’t. I think it’s so incredible that Christine was able to write a book and got it published, seeing as how much it was her dream to become an author. Writing a book is something to be proud of (even if it’s still sitting in your old, tattered notebook or filed away on your laptop somewhere (I’m talking to you, dear aspiring author)). This just wasn’t a story for me. I was also reminded of Never, Never by Colleen Hoover while reading this, which I didn’t enjoy either (even in the height of my CoHo obsession) so it honestly might just be me.


Overall: 3 flip phones out of 5.

While I was reading this, I thought I was going to rate it as 4.5 stars, because as one of the characters said during the story, pretty much you can’t rate something 5 stars because then there’s no room for growth or improvement. I was going to be all clever with my rating choice, but the second half of this book just completely blew me away, so it has to get a full 5 stars from me.

I was so nostalgic while reading this book. Ten years before I read this book, I had gone on a spring break trip through a college course. So having this book follow a college aged young woman studying abroad, and going on weekend trips to places like Rome, Italy, and Paris, France…it was just an experience that I felt such a deep connection to.

Oh, and there are definitely bits of Christine’s quirky nature sprinkled throughout this story as well, which was really fun. Main character Shane even has an online handle that is quite similar to Christine’s.

I liked the descriptions, and the way Shane’s social anxieties were portrayed. I think it is something most everyone can relate to, so it just makes the characters and the story that much more realistic.

This seemed like just a simple and fun contemporary romance, sort of coming-of-age in college type story, but then some stuff happens around the halfway point, and I wasn’t expecting it, but it really propelled the story forward into some very interesting plots. I really don’t want to say more because it was such an interesting way to format this story, and I just want others to be able to fully experience this fantastic roller coaster ride.

Needless to say, I will absolutely be following Christine’s writing and editing process for her second novel, and I look forward to many more Riccio novels in the future. I am definitely a fan…of her writing, because I was already a fan of her BookTube.

This book was really interesting but ultimately it just wasn't for me! It had a great premise and the idea of the book was cute but it was too similar to Anna and the French Kiss which I didn't love either. I loved that the main character was in London and trying to make a change but it wasn't enough to get me to love it.

This is a beautiful love story!
It has a Great ending and I love how this story shows that an unexpected twist in life can change one' s path. Shane is a lovely,gentle woman with great potential but is she ready for what lies ahead?
Loved how she was able to believe in herself and command her own destiny!

Thank you to netgalley and Christine Riccio for the advanced copy.

I got this week an e-arc via Netgalley, which is a site where you can request arcs and get them if you’re a reviewer. So thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books.
I started this book without knowing what it really is about and as you can guess I was shook. I’ve been watching Christine’s YouTube Chanel for years so I kinda of knew it’ll be a modern coming of age story. Christine’s writing style was so modern and funny, you could’ve guessed this is Christine’s book just by her magnificent writing style. I really enjoyed reading Shane’s story in modern funny words. The thing I missed was the description. There were no descriptions at all. I don’t know if this is the last draft but the characters and the places weren’t described and I was kinda disappointed by that. There are two characters I don’t know how they look like. The pace of this book was too fast. In one chapter you can get twenty scenes and that was so unique yet so strange and weird.
I definitely related to Shane, o my god, she really was cool and funny. I think she was based on Christine herself, that’s why I felt throughout the whole book like it was a biography. I was literally waiting for it to be revealed but it wasn’t. I don’t know if I’m able to share the characters names due to it to be not out yet but the B character was a QUEEN, I liked her so much, she was so freaking funny. The P character was every girl’s crush, he was too perfect and I shipped him with ‘someone’ (I’m trying to not spoil but it’s hard...). The main love interest was a kind of an insta love and although I shipped them so hard, they were so fast in love with each other.
The last conversations of Shane and ‘spoilers’ were so WELL WRITTEN AND I LOVED THAT. That problem Shane had was so so relatable. The L character was so hateful but in the end I WAS NOT OKAY. I really adored the way this book ended and I feel Christine did an excellent job with this book. Sometimes it didn’t feel like a book but more like a script I was reading. Those acknowledgments were so emotional and beautiful to read.
I would recommend this book to every YA reader. I hope you’re gonna like it when it’s out! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mediocre and at times awful writing. Uninspired story. Annoyingly meta and bland characters. Don't waste your time.

First of all, I want to congratulate Christine for an amazing debut. I have followed her channel since 2013, and I feel incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to read a story from such an amazing person.

Personally, I don't read a lot of contemporary novels but I wanted to support Christine's debut, so I decided to read it. This book was such an easy read, the chapters were short, but flowed so nicely into each other. Whenever I was reading it, I could picture everything in my head, even the little adventures that the flat 3 family had. The big twist in this book was the perfect mashup of 13 Going on 30 and 17 Again, and I was overwhelmed with nostalgia.

I immediately fell in love with Shane and Pilot's friendship 4 chapters into the book, because it was just so easy to love and relatable. I saw a bit of myself in Shane, and I think any book lover and TV show junkie would too. I definitely felt for her story and the relationships she had. I just wish there was more insight to her relationship with Leo and how much of a role he played in her life, other than the cousin that loved to annoy her. Speaking of relationships, the relationship Shane had with the rest of her flat 3 mates was definitely lacking, in terms of content. I feel like Atticus could have played a slightly bigger role in her life, other than the person who would occasionally check up on her. He definitely deserved a little more presence in the book, even if it was just to show that he made an effort to hang out with them, despite his busy schedule.

Everything after the Paris trip was such an emotional rollercoaster. When I was reading the dinner with her parents, I was physically reacting to the whole scene; I had clammy hands, my heart was racing, and I was reading at top speed. I just felt like I was witnessing this part of the book in real time; I felt like I was right there with Shane. The buildup of Shane's white lies to her parents was so well done, and you could definitely feel the impact of it in this very scene. And then there was the Rome and Paris trip take two. It just felt so cheesy (in a good way) and I felt giddy with all the love (also in a good way). It was just so adorable to watch them in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. I was smiling and giggling the whole time I was reading it.

And of course, my favourite part of this book is all the little lessons that we can take away. Although we got what we wanted, and that was to see Shane and Pilot finally getting together, Christine reminded us that life will not stop for anything, not even love. In a way, she reminded us that you can't put life on hold just because you're enjoying something, we need to find a way to live while not letting it consume you. But on the other hand, she taught me that if you want something, you cannot be afraid to disappoint people you love. Shane tucked all of her dreams away and pursued medicine to make her parents proud, but she wasn't happy at all. She then decided to take the writing route, which strained her relationship with her parents severely. But in the end, they came around to supporting her after they understood that it's what made Shane happy.

I really did enjoy this sappy contemporary, and reading it was such a breeze. I look forward to reading more of Christine's work in the future. Here's to Christine's "Great American Novel" and Schwednesdays!!

*HAS SPOILERS*

Honestly, I don’t follow and/or watch Christine on any social media but have heard a bit about her just by reading other reviews. Apparently one of the main characters (Shane) is basically Christine with just a different name.

So with just about any book, I’m not a fan of insta-love, and it happened hardcore with Shane and Pilot, even though at the time he had a girlfriend. The three biggest problems I had with this book was the insta-love, the cheating was never called wrong in any way (not even by the side characters), and even though this book is set in a college kind of setting, it didn’t feel like a YA book to me, it was still too juvenile in my opinion. I don’t always have a problem reading books set for a younger audience but this definitely was supposed to be geared toward us late teens/early 20s.

I normally love when magical realism is in a story, but in this instance I got really confused. It literally came out of nowhere and I felt like it didn’t fit in with the story so I’m hoping that gets tweaked a little before the book is published. Also, hopefully it’s just because I’m reading a arc, but the segue between 2011 to 2017, then back to 2017 was a little confusing and I hope that changes as well. There was also some typos that I’m sure will be fixed but who misspells Paris? Like, come on.

Overall, I didn’t hate this book, but I definitely did not love it either. Putting aside the fact the whole technical cheating bit, (that we could have gone without) this book was kinda cute and semi enjoyable, just hoping it becomes a bit more put together in the final copy.

I've scheduled this review and I'll be posting it to my blog May 30, 2019, a week prior to it's release, I've put the main link to my blog in the "add link" section.

Book Review: Again, but Better

Title: Again, but Better
Author: Christine Roccio
Pub. Date: May 7, 2019
Rating: 5/5

Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal—but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change—there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic—the possibilities are endless.

I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will also be a spoiler free review!

I was shocked when I got approved for Christine’s debut on NetGalley, I kind of freaked out. I’ve been following Christine’s progress of her writing this book for what feels like forever now and couldn’t wait to read it. I was excited and a little wary going into it, not sure what to expect. Excited because based on the description it sounded great, wary because I don’t always hit it off with contemporaries. I don’t usually go for contemporaries unless they are highly recommended by someone I trust, or they’re by a favorite author.

I freaking loved this book.

So much in fact, it’s earned a spot on my Top Fave Contemporary List – I should do a blog post about those books specifically.
I expected – once I started the book – that I would end up enjoying it, but I didn’t expect it to be a favorite. It’s only been eight hours since I finished the book, and I wish I could wipe it from my mind and re-read it again for the first time. I keep thinking about it, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. I already know that I’m going to push it on so many people. I might even reread it when I go on vacation this summer.

Where do I even begin? I could just go on and on about how much I love it without saying anything but that – which is what I want to do and am trying to avoid, because not helpful.
So I’ll start with this:

I don’t think there is a single person out there who doesn’t wish they could go back in time and make a different choice, do something different, redo a moment…do it again, but better. We’ve all be there; all have some kind of regrets. We all think about if we were able to go back in time and do it all over, how we’d do it, and hopefully do it better. I know I have, which is why I think this book will resonate with so many people. Well, that and it’s just a great, enjoyable read.

I thought the pacing of this book was perfect and the writing had this witty and fresh feeling. At first, I thought it the writing, which felt a little unpolished, would hinder the story. It doesn’t. As the story unfolds, the writing style makes so much sense, and it works with the characters, the story, the atmosphere. The characters were unique and relatable. And oh, how I now wish that I had done a study abroad program. I went through a range of emotions while reading this book, though, most of the time I was a giddy, grinning, melted mess. There were moments when I wanted to shove the two MCs together and be like, “kiss already dammit”, I teared up and cried a bit at another point, and in still other moments, I felt the second hand embarrassment for real.
I need Netflix to pick this book up and make a romcom. That’s what this book is – a romcom about second chances.

Did I mention I loved this book?

Let’s talk about the characters – Shane, Pilot, Babe, Sahra, Attticus, Chad, Amy, Shane’s family…the fantastical element.

I really liked Shane and really connected with her. She’s spent her whole life following the rules, doing what she knew her parents wanted her to do. This trip was a way to start fresh, have a new experience, to break the rules. Now, my life isn’t…or wasn’t exactly like Shane’s during college. I wasn’t pre-med, but I did just go to school. I didn’t live on campus (I lived too close to justify the expense), but for the most part, I went to my classes, spent time in between classes doing work, or reading, or writing. That whole “college experience” I didn’t have it, and there was a moment, a month out from graduating, where I wished I could go back and do it slightly differently.
I understood where Shane was coming from. It wasn’t my parents desires for me to do my work, but maybe my own fear? Regardless, I know I missed out on some things. Did I still have a good time? Yes. If given the chance, would I do it differently. Some parts, yes.
I also felt connected to Shane through her love of reading and writing and blogging – three things I do on a daily basis – or at least I try to do on a daily basis.
Her growth in this novel is wonderful, and her character was just quirky and fun, and there to have a good time. She was so realistically human, and there were times that I felt for her.

Pilot, Pilot, Pilot. Why are all the good guys fictional? I loved him, even for his flaws. No one is perfect and definitely not at 20 years old. Mistakes are made. He’s here for adventure and to have a good time and to work on his music. I can’t say I related much to Pilot, but if I were in London, and needed a sightseeing buddy, I’d choose him. Easily. In a heartbeat.

The two of them together was easy. It was natural, it was right. But like any romcom, shit hits the fan before the happily ever after happens.

Babe and Sahra, Shane’s roommates and eventual friends. I loved them. They were so different and unique and existed outside of Shane. They weren’t just there to add to Shane’s story. They had their own stories, and experiences, that helped to add to Shane’s experience abroad. They had their own lives, their own troubles. I wouldn’t mind having friends like them.

Atticus, Pilot’s roommate, and all around, good guy. He doesn’t hesitate to offer a shoulder to lean on, or an ear if someone wants to talk. He’s always down to have fun. He’s pretty busy, so most of his time is spent away from the group, but he’s there when things get hard for Shane.

Chad. Chad. I have no words, because, he wasn’t a main character, but he kind of had a role. He was just Chad, and Babe deserves better.

Amy, again not a huge role, but her appearance has impact. Can’t really talk much about Amy without spoilers.

Shane’s family…she’s always felt like an outsider, always on guard against teasing and being the butt of all the jokes. It’s one of the big reasons she chooses to do the summer abroad. Just like her family doesn’t seem to truly know who she is, she doesn’t know everything that goes on with others. Like with any family, there is hardship and drama, and things don’t always go over as smoothly as we’d hope.

And finally, the fantastical element, the spirit guide, or fate if you will. She pops into Shane’s life very early on, and it drives Shane crazy. This is another one of those things, that I can’t go into too much detail on, due to spoilers.

This book was everything I wanted and didn’t know I needed in a contemporary. I loved it from beginning to end – and stayed up all night reading it because I just couldn’t put it down. I loved following Shane’s journey of self-discovery and growth. I loved watching her interact with her friends and Pilot and watching her fall in love. It was evident the time Christine spent writing and editing this book to make it be what it is. Based on her YouTube series on writing this book, she spent so much time writing and rewriting until it was perfect – for lack of a better word.

There were so many scenes in this book that I loved and having been to most of the places they went to during their travels, I could picture in my mind very clearly. Some of the scenes had me doing that thing when your super excited and anxious and you just have to shake your arms and legs and squeal – do you know what I mean? Like when you see (or in this case read) something so cute, so cheesy you just burst? There was also a moment when I threw myself out of bed and had to do that standing up – that excited happy dance…it was like 3 AM, and I’m sure the dogs didn’t appreciate my interrupting their sleep.

I love this I book and cannot wait to have a physical copy for my shelves. I can’t wait for everyone to meet these characters and hopefully fall in love with them like I did. This book will leave you feeling so warm and good inside. If you’re looking for a new contemporary romcom, with traveling abroad, making new friends, having new experiences and falling in love, then you’ll want this book!

Check out Again, but Better by Christine Roccio when it comes out May 7, 2019 – you aren’t going to want to miss it!