This is a solid sister swap book for fans of Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. It's going to best for readers who are good with a bit of magic and suspension of reality. Ultimately, I felt that the plot dragged a bit, but it's a good premise.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with this book. All thoughts are my own.

Cute tale of two sisters facing a quarter mid life crisis! The promised hints of the Parent Trap type feel were delivered, and it was a fun read.

Unfortunately, this was not a favorite book and it lost my interest very early on. I think the premise of the relationship is interesting but this just isn't the story I was looking for.

Thank you so much to @WednesdayBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 01 June 2021)

SYNOPSIS | Siri is an aspiring ballerina who recently experienced an injury & has been informed by her doctor that she can do longer competitively dance. Jamie is an aspiring stand-up comedian who has stage fright. Both of them attend the "Re-Discover Yourself" retreat only to find that they are actually estranged sisters.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the Freaky Friday / Parent Trap charm of an idea

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- I didn't think it was quirky to literally describe swear words e.g. "excrement" instead of "shit"
- the magical element just didn't work for me (yet I loved it in Again, but Better)
- I wasn't invested in either of the romances
- are we seriously going to ignore the fact that what their parents did was absolutely awful?!
- at 450 pages this book was just far too long for a slightly magical contemporary

This book is one of the few that I truly did not love. I think the idea behind it was cute and fun, however it seemed disconnected and almost painful in a way to read.

I really wanted to like this book for a couple reasons. One the concept of The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. Two of my favourite movies. Two, I had enjoyed the authours first novel for the most part. I figured with some writing under her belt, this book would be even better than her first.

I just could not drag myself through this book. It took me months, and I still could not finish it. Nothing about this book could hold my attention sadly. I got 20% of the way through audiobook, and then tried reading a physical copy from my library once it came out. That still did not keep my attention.

I think the idea is great, but maybe it is too close to the source material. I did not mind that it was so far fetched, but I feel it could have been rained in slightly.

The narration by Brittany Pressley and Karissa Vacker was okay. It was not bad, it was not fantastic, just kind of middle of the road.

I received an advanced audio copy from MacMillan Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books for a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Better Together is Christine Riccio's follow up to Again, But Better. Better Together is The Parent Trap meets Freaky Friday. Jamie and Siri were super close sisters when they were young. Only a few years apart, they were often mistaken for twins. After they're parents divorce, Jamie left to live with her father and Siri remained with her mother. Jamie was upset with her mother when she left so growing up, she tried to put her out of her mind. While Siri grew up, she had very few memories of her older sister. So few that she thought she may have dreamt her sister up. After both of them go through a rough patch, they each are sent to a camp to find the calm within them. An accidental meeting, and the sisters are reunited. Riccio throws in some mysticism and comedy to help tell the story of found sisters, new friends, new loves and a peak at familiar characters from her first novel.

I really enjoyed reading this story. It had everything I was looking for: humor, heart, and fun. It checked all my boxes and I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to read it prior to release!

Oh no, I could not get into this book whatsoever. It was way too long and boring. I didn’t enjoy the characters or any of the plot. I personally would say pass.

This is a super fun, summery YA read with a Freaky Friday / Parent Trap mash-up that gives you warm fuzzy feelings by the end. I can see tremendous growth in Riccio's writing since her first novel, and I loved the character development that both Siri and Jamie go through in this book. I enjoyed the camp vibes and the contrast between both girls' city lives when they switch places and learn more about how each other live with their respective parent-guardians. It was a great heartwarming story of long-lost sisters and childhood trauma that led the main characters to have a great relationship, regardless of how difficult their parents made it to start. It goes without saying that the parents in this book do some pretty irredeemable things, but I feel the positive spin on how the daughters come together and confront each parent shone above everything else and this was a really fun read!

Freaky Friday meets the parent trap Jamie and Siri are sister who hasn't seen each other for years until one day they met again at a retreat so what do you do when you see your sister after years? well you switch places and read a weird fortune that kick off some crazy shenanigans.. It a light and fun read

If you grew up watching The Parent Trap this book is for you.

Better Together by Christine Riccio is a modern-day take on Freaky Friday meets The Parent Trap meets Dysfunctional family. I loved the sisters, Siri and Jamie. Their personalities are almost polar opposites but both are hilarious and charming characters to get to know. Siri and Jamie run into each other after more than a decade of disconnect. And I mean they literally run in to each other in the shower room at the Colorado mental wellness retreat they're both attending.

Here's some things to know: Siri is 18 and is reeling after the realization that her back injury has ended her ballet career. Not just put it on hold, no, her future as a ballerina is completely out of the question. That's been her trajectory since about age 4 so she's trying to figure out her next move and what the heck her entire future will be like now that everything she's worked for is over. Her mother is there but barely, she works constantly and Siri felt like the one thing that held them together was their connection through dance, which she's effectively severed.

Jamie is 20 and she's floundering. She's an emerging comedian and actor but just recently experienced a horrific failure during a 10-minute standup set where she wrapped things up by vomiting all over the stage. She's mortified. She's been kicked out of her apartment and forced back into her childhood home where her father has made her sign a contract, yes an actual print document contract, of steps she will complete to get her life back together. One of the conditions was a wellness retreat in Colorado, so away she goes.

Where Siri is full of emotion Jamie is aloof and flighty. They make the perfect pair and after their tumultuous reintroduction they come up with a plan to switch places. Each sister has a mess to work through with each of their estranged parents and it all comes to a head when they make the switch back in Las Vegas.

Oh and also there is actual glittery magic involved in the swap too.

I loved every second of this book. It was fast-paced switching between narrators frequently with short chapters and engaging characters. The girls are flawed. Their parents are definitely flawed. And instead of pretending like this will some how magically work out in the end without conflict, there is conflict aplenty. And with the conflict there is a normal, mature, and healthy relationship with therapy. Therapy is for everyone, friends. I love how Riccio manages to normalize it in this novel - something I hope to continue seeing more and more of in today's literature.

Unfortunately this book was a "Did Not Finish" (DNF) for me. I will give it another try at a later date. Could be my mood at the time.

Riccio brings the parent trap from the past to the future. In this funny, warm, and sharp book, Better Together. Jamie and Siri are sisters but only one of them knows it. When the universe brings them together they cook up a plan to get their questions answered. I enjoyed the contrast between the two sisters and the updated feel of switching places. I felt like I knew both characters fairly well and had enough depth to carry the story. The plot is fast and action-driven since the sisters change their appearance and can only confront the parents when together. What really made this book stand out from all the other Parent Trap and Freaky Friday plots is that the goal is not to bring the parents together but to gain knowledge and information. Both parents are horrible human beings but gave the daughters the ability to be their own people and reflect their past.

I was hesitate to pick up this book for the first book was half and half review for me. I tend to give more grace for a debut author. But since this her second novel, I wanted to give her a try again. Let’s just say this book didn’t go anywhere. The story concept seem really fun with similar plot like Freaky Friday. But the fun stops there. It got really strange quickly when sudden the sisters started to look the same due to magic. I felt like author didn’t well plan out her storyline and just kept writing to meet book deadline.

I was thankful to receive an early copy for review for this book from Netgalley! This book has gotten so many wonderful reviews and I can understand why!

3.5 look, listen I wasn’t aware of the pretty bad reviews for this book until I put this at currently reading but the reviews are bad. I didn’t think this was a bad book though. I feel like maybe it was a bit too long and definitely needed some editing on that part but for the most part I had a good time with this book.

After reading and loving Christine’s debut novel, Again, But Better, I knew I HAD to read her new novel ASAP. Again, she had me so wrapped up in her story and I loved this one so much. This book was described as Freaky Friday meets The Parent trap, and that’s exactly what it was! This one gave me all the feels and the similarities between this book and those two (amazing) movies, somehow had me feeling nostalgic. I loved the characters and found them all to be so real and relatable. Another home run by Miss Riccio, and I look forward to her future work!

I really liked this book and how she got over someone. I enjoyed the romance and the friendships. I liked she came to enjoy her family. I liked that she was able to get over a boy and move on with her life. Great story.

This book was okay, though I did enjoy Christine Riccio's previous novel more. It was quick to get through and fun, though the longer I sit on it the more I have to nitpick about it. I'll probably be interested in trying out more books by Christine in the future, but this one just wasn't great for me.