From all of the hype that Again, but Better was getting, I was expecting it to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I figured that as a booktuber wrote it, she would have a good idea of what does well in a YA novel. Now, I'm not pretending as if I could write a better story or that I have more knowledge of how it should've gone, but I just thought that some of the choices made were peculiar. All that said, there were parts that I did enjoy, but they were unfortunately overshadowed by the bad.

The best, but still annoying, thing about this book would have to be how relatable it is. There are just little things, mainly about the MC, that I found myself making my friends read. Shane is a Potterhead, a fan of lost, and super clumsy. It didn't make me fall in love with Shane because of how relatable she was, but it was nice to have the small moments that reminded me of my friends. But, Riccio tried too hard to make it relatable and quirky, which was a big "no" from me. Yes, some parts were nice, but others were just too much! Shane names her computer and exclusively refers to it, even to others, by the given name. I am perfectly fine with giving cars, laptops, whatever names, but it went a bit too far for me.

The story also seemed to be SO promising. A college-aged girl takes a semester abroad in London to work on her writing and make new friends, as her college experience so far has been lackluster. But besides those sweet moments that reminded me of my friends, it fell flat for me. The pacing was weird, the whole magic element completely threw me off, the late 2000's setting led to some cringy moments, and there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end.

The first thing that I want to address is the pacing of the book. It was extremely slow to me, and it never picked up. There were some attempts at variety, but they weren't written well and I never got into the moment. The book lagged on; I persisted though because I had heard such great things. Right before the magic part, which I'll touch on next, I quite honestly thought I was nearing the end of the book. I remember thinking to myself that it was finally wrapping up. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I realized that it was only the first half of the book. Even after the magic, the story dragged on. There weren't any super pressing stakes; I didn't suddenly become more engaged. Besides the noticeable changes (due to the magic), everything was the same. It was boring; I felt myself trying to finish it as soon as possible.

Magic-wise, I wasn't expecting what happened to happen; and it wasn't a happy surprise either. Let me clarify, I knew that something was going to happen. As Gibbs from NCIS says, "there is no such thing as coincidence." What happened was too coincidental, and wasn't even subtly integrated. It was very apparent that something was up; it didn't sneak up on me. But, I certainly didn't expect the type of magic that occurred to occur. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what happened. I should have seen it coming from the title. But, the description said, "a touch of magic," and it wasn't a "touch." It was a lot more than that! Furthermore, it didn't add to the book. It took from it, and I wish that magic didn't exist in this book.

This book takes place in the late 2000s (2009-ish), and it led to some really cringe-worthy moments. The moments didn't impact the story too much, but it made it less enjoyable to read. The most prominent example of this that I can think of is the new favorite app, Angry Birds. There is a whole section of dialogue and two scenes about the app. It felt unreal, unauthentic, and extremely forced. I don't mind when the book is set in a different year, but moments like these that are so forced make me annoyed.

Finally, the ending and the epilogue had two main problems: there were too many unanswered questions and the epilogue seemed as if Riccio was projecting her desires for this book onto the MC's story. The unanswered questions mainly came from the magic aspect of the book. I didn't understand where it came from, as there wasn't any other magic in the world. Additionally, there was a character associated with the magic, and their part and skills were never fully explained. I was left wondering how they were able to do what they could do and if there were other cases or people who had that talent. The epilogue was written from an outside perspective (a book blog), and it was too similar to what I would imagine Riccio wants. In the epilogue, Shane is famous for her work and content, both professionally and socially. Maybe it is just me, but it seems too hopeful not to have Riccio's own desires mixed in.

Overall, this book fell notably flat for me. From the way people were talking about it, I was expecting a masterpiece. It was unfortunately far from that. I had too many problems with it from trying too hard to be relatable to unanswered questions at the end. There were some good parts in it, but they were entirely overshadowed by the bad. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I know that a lot of people adored it, but it, and the magic, weren't for me.

First of, if you watch BookTube then you definitely know who Christine Riccio is and you have probably picked this book because first you want to support her and second it sounds pretty damn amazing. And yes, I also fall on those categories too. So I picked the book up and I read it, my opinion? I totally enjoyed this book. Yeah, it took a turn that I was not expecting but I still enjoyed a lot, really, really enjoyed. So, now let's talk about this book that enjoyed so much lol.

Shane has been the perfect daughter to her parents, they want her to go to med school and be the perfect student and she has been that perfect student and she is pre med because that's what they want and that's what she will do for them. But, she is not happy, they may think she is but she is not. She has no friends and romance? That is so far off her radar that's no even funny, she hasn't even kissed a boy yet.

So, when the opportunity comes for her to sign up for a semester abroad in London, she just does it. Her goal is to make friends, find a boy or two and find adventure. But, things don't go always according to plan, specially when that plan started with some flaws at the beginning. However with some courage and determination and faith Shane finds herself been able to do anything. Even if things come by in a weird form.

Be prepared for some major twist, I wasn't expecting, but if you have an open mind and let's be honest this is fiction and anything is possible, right? Well, then be prepared for a crazy ride. I loved the romance, loved the friendships that were created, loved the traveling to other different countries, family drama (who doesn't love that?). Can't give too much away without spoilers but really cute contemporary with a total different twist. Totally recommend.

Again, But Better
Written by Christine Riccio

I loved the title and premise for this book. I know that I have certainly experienced wishing that I could go back in time and made a totally different decision in how I have handled certain life altering moments. I have had many instances of split second communicating that I wish I could have a do over. I guess that is part of life, learning lessons the hard way. I have also learned there is nothing gained in ruminating over bad choices or beating myself up about learning on my journey. I thought that was what this book was about. It is more about following your own dreams and passions and not doing what other's expect you to do.

There is two parts to this book;s formatting. It takes place in 2011 in part one and 2017 in part two. Shane is twenty years old and feels like her college experience has been all wrong. She hasn't made any friends and has never been kissed by a boy. More importantly, she is unhappy with her major as a pre-med student. Shane is only majoring to become a doctor to please her parents. I would describe Shane as severely codependent and her mother having some narcissistic traits on the spectrum.

Shane in part one lies to her parents who are paying for her university education. She tells them that she is spending a semester abroad doing an internship having to do with the medical field. In fact, Shane is going to do an internship for creative writing which is truly where her heart wishes she had already pursued. She meets her roommates and becomes friendly with them. She also falls obsessively in love at first sight with a young man named Pilot. They flirt and the only problem is Pilot has a girlfriend named Amy that he has no intention of leaving for Shane in part one in 2011.

Part two has some magical realism and time travel to 2017 where Shane is now 26 years old. I really enjoyed this rather unexpected aspect. I could be absolutely wrong, but when I requested this I thought it was for adults. To me this is more of the young adult demographic. I think teenagers and those attending college will also really like this. The Author has a YouTube channel where she talks about books. For roughly there are many parallels between herself and Shane, which isn't a bad thing at all. I think all of us have at least one book in us we could write drawing on our own lives.

I left out part two with the jump ahead to 2017, where Shane is twenty-six because I really don't want to spoil it for those who have not read this but intend too at some point. Some reviewers have labeled this book as rom-com.
I went into this completely blind except for my preconceptions of what I described I assumed from the title and the cover which I absolutely love. I never usually look at other reviews before I type my own, but I did with this one. I was really surprized by the mixed reviews. I highly recommend this book because it has something for everyone. I loved the snappy dialogue and Shane's growth. This is an easy read. I was thoroughly entertained and loved it. The publication was in May so treat yourself to a feel good beach read. This was an excellent debut novel.

A heartwarming thank you to Net Galley, Christine Riccio and St Martin's Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own and not subject or biased by receiving my ARC.

Tweeted on Twitter: #Net Galley, Again But Better. Posted on Facebook for public

This was a very cute book and I enjoyed the setting of a study abroad trip. I ended up only getting to 25% because personally I realized I don’t enjoy YA. I think this would be a wonderful book for someone in high school or college.

Again But Better was an interesting read.

It had an elemental surprise, which I really liked.

Travelling and studying abroad, which I really enjoyed.

I accept that Christine was a self-insert to her book, and I was literally picturing Christine in the story as I was reading.

There's a lot of references to fandoms like Harry Potter and The Shadow Hunter books by Cassandra Clare.

Overall, it's not a BAD book. It was an OK book with room for improvement. Like I say it's Christine's first book, and this is how we learn to improve. I'm still going to read Christine's other books.

In the end, I am glad that I have read it and gave it a chance. I will continue to support Christine.

I think that this book is perfect for girls 16-19. and sadly I'm outside that age range, but enjoyed it nevertheless. The idea of a young girl traveling to a place unknown (London) to get a second chance (at college!) to do what she wants, make new friends and find herself is a story as old as time, and one that I love. This was predictable, but a fun read!

I did not get a chance to read this book, But I still plan on it. I enjoy her youtube videos, and I've seen her speak at a book festival, so I'm sure this book is enjoyable.

This book was not my favorite. The writing style felt like it was written for middle schoolers, yet the content was for a much older audience.

I could not stand the naive, immature, and self-absorbed main character. Reading the reviews and hearing it was basically autobiographical makes me feel bad for thinking this... but not sure how to review this book accurately without this opinion. Perhaps the character just didn’t translate to the page well. I also did not enjoy pages on the differences between grocery stores and the faux outrage over ONLY TWO TYPES OF PASTA SAUCE. Make your own. And no one cares they bag pasta over there instead of boxing it. As far as foreign countries go, the differences between the US and Britain are pretty benign. This book makes US citizens seem completely vapid.

Also I HOPE the quotes from her parents when they found out she lied were completely made up. How do you get over being called a piece of shit by your dad?

One star for surprising me mid-book (does changing the genre mid-book count as a surprise? I’ll give it to her I guess... but how did this turn into a fantasy novel?)

One star for making me remember all of my young college adventures studying abroad.

Thanks to netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of potential, esp. with the time travel bit, but unfortunately it just fell a little flat for me. The characters seem a little immature for their age and the story a little rough.

This was definitely my favorite read of 2019 and wish I could’ve given it more than 5 stars. If your looking for an awesome summer read this is the one! I found this book funny, romantic and even surprising at times. I would highly recommend this book. Ever read a romance novel and wished you had the romance they described? This is one of those book!

I LOVED this book. Definitely a young adult romance. Loved the angst of the star-crossed lovers following the hopeful rainbows and stars, . And the time travel was a delightful (if a smidge unrealistic) surprise. I couldn't stop reading in order to find out what happened with Pilot and Shane. And who wouldn't love a do-over? My high school students will love this book. This will definitely be a purchase for our library, as will the author's future books!

This is between a 2 and 3 star for me. The overall storyline and tone of the writing was not my vibe. I can see other people really loving this book and writing style, but I think I was just not the intended audience.

I was pretty excited when I saw Again, but Better, because I've watched Christine Riccio's YouTube channel on and off for a couple years. I'm not an avid viewer, but it's always so cool to see booktubers/bloggers become published. I thought Again, but Better was a decent debut novel that was incredibly relatable and quite heartwarming.

In the 2011 section, I feel like all the characters read a lot younger than they were? I mean, I'm admittedly a childish twenty-one year old, and Shane in 2011 reminded me of how I was when I was 15 or 16. I did find Shane very relatable--I mean, yeah, moving out of the country to make more friends? I have done that. This is a sidenote, but I just could not get over the names. I'm not too fond of the name Shane, but okay. Babe? Pilot? Atticus? Pilot???

I don't feel as if the plot really got rolling until halfway through the book. The first half was so heartwarming and reads a lot like a travel diary - heck, it gave me wanderlust, and I was travelling while reading this book. (Incidentally, it also made it really nice and immersive, because I read the part where Shane visits Edinburgh literally on the flight back from Edinburgh, so I kept going "I was just there!!" like a five-year-old.) But I don't feel like a lot really happens in regards to character development. I did think it was nice and fun, though - that's the kind of life I want to live. Honestly, I feel like reading this during my study abroad really meant I could relate a lot more to Shane, because my university experience so far has been a lot like hers.

The time travel aspect was something I didn't see coming, but I thought it was really interesting - you can see how much Shane has matured and how unhappy she was with her life. I really enjoyed seeing her go through her experience in London again, but better - and it showed that even though Shane may have been twenty-six and more mature, she could still make mistakes. This part really showed how much of a focused, determined person that she was, and how the fallout with her parents changed her. I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get to see the slow character development in the first part but the 2017 bit was great.

There were also a lot of nods to the book community as well - this book is super geeky, which was cute. On the whole, I enjoyed reading Again, but Better, and I'm excited to see more from Christine Riccio.

A cute and fun story that is rather silly, but still a solid read. Makes great company for a dark and stormy day. I do love me some London, so I did enjoy reading about students studying abroad and all the travels they go on. Plus, I did enjoy the idea of getting to re-do life choices - finally making the right ones. All in all, a solid read.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But, wow. I’m not sure it was just one thing as much as a series of several things in the writing style that were just too much. Some things were over the top, names for characters, including naming the protagonist’s computer...all oddly done. Not only were the names randomly unusual, I mean, maybe one or two unusual names will be unique in a group of strangers but the entire group? Nope. And then all the scenes were so exaggerated cringey. I like that Shane is searching for a do-over to remake herself, but this was not believable. Even the writing of every detail of experiencing a new country and the shock to the system of that, both in jet lag and culture shock was dealt with clumsily, detailing way too much. Maybe some more editing would have been all that was needed to clean this up into a much better debut.
The idea was great but the execution needs work, maybe just a harsh editor. Keep practicing.

#AgainButBetter #NetGalley

This book wasn't my favourite and Unfortunately I don't believe it lived up to the hype surrounding it... (Sorry Booktube).
This book had a great pace that meant that it didn't drag too much, the little nods to the different cites (including Edinburgh) and the work, life balance kept the book an interesting read.
I went into this book honestly knowing nothing and I think that was the best way to do it, because I didn't like the magical element to it. I feel like this was just throw in and had no real context, It would be awesome to be able to do over everything we have ever done but that's just not how life works and I feel like that helps to make us into the people we are today, it helps us to grow and not make the same mistakes. All it did here was made Shane focus on Pilot more rather than herself and I hate to say it, but this was super CRINGE! She just seemed very obsessed almost to the point of being a stalker and if the shoe was on the other foot...
Another thing I really didn't like was the constant reminder that its 2011, I get it Angry Birds was the rage and Avril Lavigne sang about life being Complicated but I don't need to be constantly reminded, also every Diary/postcard entry...
I did have an early copy thanks to NetGalley in return for an honest review and even though this wasn't my favourite as too many things were just passed off as Normal, I don't think this should put other readers off. This book just wasn't for me. But Well Done Christine for the effort, I will definitely give the next book a go because I liked the writing just not the content.

Note: Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an ARC review copy of Again, But Better.

I finished this book two days ago (two nights ago, actually) and I'm still trying to figure out how to say what I want to say without sounding mean or nasty. Like people actually want this book to fail because it's made by a successful booktuber/internet personality, and we know her and love her so much. I for one have been following Christine's youtube career since it's inception in 2010, and haven't stopped since. When she first announced that she was writing her debut novel, I followed pretty much every Writing Video because not only did I believe that she had (has) the talents to transition into publishing novels, but also she has such a passion for books and reading that I don't see from anywhere else.
With that being said, I had a hard time enjoying Again, But Better.

I know I gave it 3 stars, but my version of 3 stars means it was a decent read. Just strictly decent; not downright garbage, but not that great, either. The more I think about it, the less I think I really did like it. Because I didn't want my 'fave' to let me down.

The writing is simplistic, at best.

There are 2 parts and an epilogue, and in Part 1 2011, we are introduced to the main character Shane Primaveris, who has traveled from her small hometown in New York to study abroad in London for a creative writing program, unbeknownst to her parents. In one aspect, you want to root for the MC because everything is in her perspective. But if her actions are questionable, her thought processing is all over the place, and her morality is poor, then you won't like her. And that comes down to the writing. I understand that Shane is 20 years old and had lived a very sheltered life, but the way Christine wrote her made it seem like Shane was 16 years old; 18, at most. I didn't feel like I was reading in the context of a mature 20-year-old learning about herself, starting over in a new country, to do what she really wants to do, who she really wants to be.

Granted, the writing isn't piss-poor, but the incessant amount of pop culture references (specifically 2011 pop-culture references), started to drive me crazy. Also, the amount of song lyrics.... Christine couldn't have described the song without having the characters obnoxiously scream them into the abyss?! Additionally, I didn't feel the environment in which London took place; I didn't feel like we were in London, but merely watching snippets of the city and other cities Shane and her friends visited. I didn't feel immersed in imagery, similes, metaphors. This book could have taken place in New Jersey (where Christine is from, and also where I'm from!), and it wouldn't have been any different. But at the same time, I knew walking into this book that the writing wasn't going to be of the essence of The Great American Novel. Most debuts don't have that kind of luck, except if you've been working on the same book for 5-6 years, developing your craft hardcore.

Ok so on to the characters. I'd already spoke on Shane, so I'll go on to the others. There's Pilot, her love interest; and her roomates Babe, Sahra, and Atticus. There is also Pilot's roomate Chad. These people (with the exception of Pilot) were pretty forgettable. I liked Babe, but I didn't know her enough as a character to root for her, either. There is a little more information about her in Part 2 2017, but it's still not enough. Sahra is invisible; and Atticus is the drama major who is mostly too busy with his own life to join in on the adventures they had. Not much else I can say about them, I'm afraid. But they weren't bad or awful, by anymeans. With the exception of Chad; because there was a moment between him, Shane and Babe that was so rude and awful.

Pilot. What can I say about our dear, ol' Pilot Penn?

Pilot ain't $hit.

He'd started out as a nice, cute, funny, kind of sweet guy that Shane had a crush on. But it could only stay as a crush because he had a girlfriend back home. However, he didn't even let the group of friends know himself; I think Atticus (or was it Chad?) who let it known about Amy, Pilot's girlfriend. And while I'm not okay with what is now known as emotional cheating, I didn't hate Shane like everyone else did. She was being called a homewrecker/whore/boyfriend-stealer by other reviewers, and I didn't see it. I still don't see it; Pilot was the one with the girlfriend. Not Shane. Pilot was the one who kept leading her on and practically kept dodging everyone's questions about Amy, until Part 2 2017. So if anyone should be mad at anyone, it's Pilot. Additionally, Pilot showcased more of his ain't-$hit-ness in Part 2. He'd gotten a bit better at the end, but by that time, I was already so done with him and knew how the story would end. I imagine that if this story continued in 2018-2019, Shane and Pilot would have been broken up again. Because I did not see the character development between the 6-year time jump. Shane and Amy deserve better than this manipulative, singer-songwriter, one-time Youtube sensation.

Also, I've noticed how none of the reviews mention how borderline abusive Shane's parents are, especially her father.

One of the key moments that made me cry and finally feel badly for Shane was during the dinner scene when her parents surprise her in London. Not only do they find out Shane lied to them about the pre-med program in London, which doesn't exist, but are furious when they find it's a creative writing program. Not only does her father proceed to humiliate his only daughter in a crowded restaurant, but he takes her British phone and smashes it on the floor! I understand that these rich-ass parents want the best for their daughter, but they're also dumb for not looking into this school they've spent possibly thousands of dollars for. I don't know any parents who would just accept a handmade brochure (yes, handmade! Shane had the time!) to a program that doesn't exist, in another country no less! But I digress; Shane's father is an abusive bastard who knows nothing about his daughter's dreams of being a writer and doing what she loves. Her mother was passive-agressive as fck; she only spoke when she needed too, and what she said didn't help the situation. This was one of the key moments where the writing was actually better than the rest of the novel. I could feel everything Shane and her friends felt; there was an emotional pull in the writing that made me cry buckets! If Christine were to create a prequel or spin-off series on Shane's relationship with her parents, I wouldn't hate it, because I want to know what that was like.

Not to mention, there is a magical realism thing that happens in Part 2 2017; that's why there's a 6-year difference between then and now.

Which to me wasn't executed well at all; I could have done without this part because it wasn't needed. Even if there was a time-jump, it wasn't expressed in the writing. Shane (now 26 years old) still acted and spoke like a 16 year old kid, but now engaged to some guy named Melvin. Pilot still had Amy back home. Not that 6 years isn't that much of a difference, but between 20 and 26 years, you've lived a little bit of life, had some experiences that changed you and matured you in some way. Nope, no, Shane was still speaking like a 16 year old goofy, nerdy, shy, awkward kid. She didn't grow into herself that much. Same with Pilot, who was also older in 2017. Not only did that make me not want to root for them even more, but it made me angry at times. Also, Shane and Pilot had a spirit guide redhaired woman creature that followed them around and basically set them up for this time-travel adventure. And her magical abilities weren't explained at all. We didn't even know she was a spirit guide until Shane proclaimed her as such. The redhaired woman never confirmed or denied it, which made the plot more jumbled and all over the place.

However, there was a period after their breakup that Shane drove herself into her work, her internship, hanging out more with her friends, becoming her own self. And I really liked that; aside from the Pilot drama, we got to explore the Shane that could have been. The aspiring writer from the US traveling to UK to explore her dreams and pushed herself to the extreme in every aspect. That last quarter (before the ending) was what gave me to rate this 3 stars. That last quarter of the book made me finally root for Shane and her well-being.

Also, in Part 2, there was another moment between Shane and her cousin Leo, who was a closeted gay person. She helped him and was there for him during his own breakup and homophobic father. Even though it was through Facebook chat, I felt their connection, and I thought that was really sweet of Shane to help him.

I could go on and on about this book, but I need to let my fingers rest with all of this typing! All in all, this wasn't terrible, but it just wasn't very good. It was just....ok.

To tell you the truth, if Christine were to write a second book (or even do this one Again, but better!) I'd read it because I do think she has a talent and a way with words. Her words just need extra cleanup and way less pop-culture references.

This book is hard for me to rate. The writing style was wonderful. Shane felt relatable in some ways and unrelatable in other ways. I wasn't a fan of some of the themes in this book like girl on girl hate and emotional cheating. It was hard to get through. I enjoyed the setting, the elements of being abroad and the pop culture references. I think that Christine is a wonderful person but this book just has parts that I wasn't able to connect with.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley

I enjoyed the book but it was not my favorite. Some parts of the story were definitely stronger than others. There was a twist in the book that I was confused by but you just have to roll with it. The parts I enjoyed outweighed the issues I had with the book. Overall, pretty solid debut novel.

Although this book had a couple great quotes that made me laugh so hard, overall this one just didn't work out at all. The character is supposed to be 20 and then 26 in the two time period POVs but I have to say that they both sounded more like Shane was 15-16 and then in her early 20's. I really wished that someone who was editing this title would have seen that as well and could have done something with it. Shane herself was WAY over the top. Which made this one a pain to read. Early on she talks about how she's never been kissed. But its not just that she's never been kissed but that she was kiss blocking herself. I think in a different setting this could have been so funny. But by the time you just get there which is about 2% in this title you are already kind of over the over the top writing that this one had.

This book had a lot going for it but it just felt like this was still not fully formed in thought and execution.

Go Into This One Knowing: Juvenile Writing, Over the Top Writing, Verbal Abuse