I was a little wary about the concept of “Freaky Friday meets The Parent Trap.” I was worried it would feel overdone or derivative, but I was willing to give it a chance. But I was right. The concept was something we’ve all seen a hundred times, and I didn’t feel it was done in a unique enough way to make it worth it. It felt a little sloppy in the way the “happy haunting” was thrown together. I just felt like the book would have been better without all of the magical elements.

On a more positive note, the main characters were both lovely and well-written ladies (I saw a lot of myself in Siri and I wanted to be Jamie‘s best friend) and the romance aspects were absolutely adorable! I was living for the romcom moments (Zarar is a new favorite book boyfriend!) and was always disappointed when we returned to the Freaky Friday storyline. I’ll also say that once the Freaky Friday magic lifted, the last 20% of the book was fantastic. The family drama/coming-of-age plot lines got really fleshed out in the last section, and it definitely made the read a little more worth it.

I think if I was in middle or high school I would have been obsessed with this book, but as an adult I just felt like it wasn’t for me.

Overall, this was a super quick and cute read. Even with all of my complaints, I still finished this book in two sittings. It definitely feels like a beach/summer read! If you do decide to pick it up, just be aware that the concept is a little overdone and silly, but the characters are really fantastic. 2.5 stars rounded up.

*I received this book (Via eArc by Netgalley) for free from the Publisher (St. Martin's Press /
Wednesday Books) in exchange for an honest review*
Where to begin. This book was the book I was looking for when it comes to the Parents Trap meets Freaky Friday trope and boy did this book deliver. It is about two sister (not twins) that are at their all time low and go to this retreat to get their shit together. At the same time when theses girls comes face to face Siri thinks her sister is imaginary and it really made me sad that this is the kind of situation that her mother put the entire family in. And the ship does end there. It is messy and real as well as super raw and I loved it. I related to both Jamie and Siri on a deeper level. Its nice to have this raw sister-sister relationship and a the mental health that was surrounding it. The relationships were so cute. But Zarar and Jamie and Dawn and Siri. It was clumsy-angthsty-bubbly that I think is Christine's style and I love it a lot. I watched her journey with this book on her Youtube and I think that made my experience more elevated if not love the book so much. I teared up and felt all the emotions and it is the perfect book that is both super light and yet super dark at the same time. I am so looking forward to Christine's other books if she is releasing more. I never thought I needed this in my life at the moment and it was just perfect. Its fun to see some cool hobbies for once and interesting references to Pop culture and there are some diversity which is always amazing. and I think the best part was seeing Pilot and Shane as cameo characters and I was so surprised and it made me smile. Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press /Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eArc and I am looking forward to more!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of Better Together by Christine Riccio, in exchange for an honest review. It publishes June 1, 2021.
Now, not all books are for everyone, and all books are for someone. Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. I was expecting this to be very similar to Again, But Better, which was a fabulous book and everyone should read! However, this was very different. I can see how it would appeal to YA audiences, and maybe I'm just getting too old, but I had a hard time with this one.
I think if you enjoy YA, and not just kind of tolerate it, you'll enjoy this one, but if you're on the fence like me, read Again, But Better!

DNF at 22%

I really tried with this book, but when I found myself dreading picking it up, I knew it was time to call it a day. Both of these characters are irritating in different ways, but both incredibly immature. Siri reads like a 12 year old instead of 18 and is so wrapped up in herself and being miserable all the time. Her alternate curse words are extremely ridiculous and very hard to read and comprehend what is going on. Jamie is also immature but thinks so highly of herself and is so self absorbed. I just couldn't handle this clunky writing and bad characters anymore.

I read Christine's first book, Again, but better, and adored it and that's coming from someone that doesn't usually like rom coms or contemporaries, but I wanted to support her, so I bought the book and read it. Suffice it to say, Better Together was more up my alley and I loved it. The Parent Trap is one of my favorite movies and it for sure had that vibe going on and it sucked me in from chapter one. I really liked the chapters weren't too long so I felt like I was making a lot of ground reading. I really connected with Siri's character and enjoyed her parts of the book more than her sisters, but both were delightful. I would recommend this book to anyone fifteen years old or older. Wonderful writing, wonderful story. I couldn't ask for better.

Christine has the great ability to add mysticism to contemporary. Solid in the real world, with a little bit of everyday magic. It's really refreshing to read.

Christine's books always exude her sense of fun and enthusiasm. This really hit that mark. The parent trap influence to this book was SO MUCH FUN. It's one of my favourite childhood movies and this book lived up to that sense of fun and silliness so well. I love so much how Christine writes coming of age for an older generation. It's a point of view less often seen but so necessary. Love!

3.5 stars

I’d like to start by saying that I could tell that Riccio has grown as a writer since her first novel. Something that was very noticeable in her first book was that the main character was a carbon copy of her. With this new book, the main characters have their own distinct personalities, which is great. I was able to get a sense of their voices, which helps bring a reader into the story.

I was very interested in the idea of a Parent Trap retelling. I enjoyed how the story developed for the first third of the book. It didn’t go downhill from there, I was still interested in how quick of a read this book is and how the characters developed.

All that being said, I’ve noticed that in both of Riccio’s books, she likes to explore with magical realism. I think that with this book it was an example of a great concept and poor execution, making this book a Parent Trap/Freaky Friday combo. Some aspects of magical realism that Riccio uses make it seem a little crazier than it should be. The ideas of the “happy haunting” and “glitter bomb” are examples in this story of it being a little too much (if you’ve read the book, you understand).

The ending was also a lot to process. Without spoiling, the grandparents' involvement was never fully explained, which makes it lack closure for me. I also feel like we spent a lot of time exploring Siri and Jamie’s relationship with their mom, whereas when it was time to explore that with their dad, a page or two was only dedicated to that.

I’m not writing off Riccio’s future books. In fact, I’m really interested in continuing to see how she develops as a writer. I could definitely see some growth from her first novel to this one. I’d say to go ahead and give this book a try and see what you think. I’m landing on 3.5 out of 5 stars. This book gave me slightly more entertainment as opposed to being middle of the road. I didn’t love it, but it did keep me interested throughout the story and I enjoyed the evolving romantic relationships for each main character and the bonding between the two main characters.

*There are connections to Again, but Better. This book still stands on its own.*

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story. Reminded me of The Parent Trap with a little magic blended in.

Jamie and Siri are sisters that have been separated at a young age, each going with a parent.

During a summer retreat, they are reconnected and hatch a plan to switch to go confront the other parent.

This was a quick read and I'd recommend to someone looking for some summer "fluff".

As someone who has watched Christine on youtube for years who wasn't a fan of her first novel again but better, I had very mixed opinions and perspectives going into it. First of all I love the two covers for this book and the overall premise. i think I book that centers around a parent trap kind of story was very interesting and creative. However many of the issues I had when reading again but better re appeared in this book however I did enjoy it more. I think its improved from her first book and overall I would recommend it. Its just not really for me.

I was really hoping I'd enjoy this one, but sadly it's just not for me. There's nothing *wrong* with it; the characters are good and interesting, it's well written. It just felt too long, it took too long for things to happen, and the magic came out of nowhere with no prior warning that this was anything other than a contemporary. I found Jamie grating as well; I don't tend to enjoy the type of character who drags others along and ignores their complaints.

I think there are plenty of readers out there who will enjoy this, and I'm very sorry I wasn't one of them. I hope it does well.

Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.

I enjoy this author and her writing but this was a much more difficult read for me. I love the wit and humor and the banter between characters. This comes through in her books so well. The cover on this book is amazing. Very well done. I really wanted to like the two main characters but I honestly found myself annoyed by them most of the time. However, they had very distinct voices so it was easy to tell them apart. They both had unique personalities and those came through exceptionally well. Overall, I did like the storyline. I liked that these two young women were lost and confused and trying to find their way in the world as well as an understanding of who they are. They deal with a lot of emotional baggage, some their own and some dropped on them by others, but it is still something that has held them back. The family dynamic is messed up but also heartwarming.
Here are just a few things I did not like....

I did not like the romantic relationships in here. I didn't like the immediate love but not at the same time. It didn't feel real to me, but that is also addressed but I just wasn't a fan. In fact, the entire Part II, I did not really enjoy. It also made the book very long. I felt like it could have been condensed and still been good.
I did like the hidden gems from her first novel. That was fun. Overall, I can't help but like this author and her books. I see so much of her in her characters and I know she puts a lot of work into her writing.

Well, this was a mess. Though I’m not Christine’s biggest fan, I watch and enjoy her Booktube videos from time to time and I was more than ready to love this and prove that those 1 and 2 stars reviews were greatly exaggerated. But after reading this the only thing I can say is that those reviewers were more than fair.

First, this could have benefited from a few more rounds of editing. Though it’s kinda long for a contemporary, I don’t have a problem with it being a 400+ pages. My problem with it is that it feels looooooooooong. The set up took almost 30% and once the Parent Trap/Freaky Friday plot begins it goes even slower.

The characters were all horrible. Both Siri and Jaime were super irritating , their parents were human trash and Zarar was a creep so I could never get invested in his relationship with Jaime. The only one I liked was Dawn and she was the one with less screen time, so...

Also, the plot is all over the place. The magical element doesn’t add anything apart from some confusion to the story and the issues between Siri and Jaime with their parents are completely fucked up but never addressed and dealt with in a believable way. And don’t get me started on the “swearing”. If I have to read one more “Excrement this! or Intercourse that!” I would’ve thrown my Kindle against the wall. I don’t know if the author thought this was quirky and cute but I think it was f*cking ridiculous.

Seeing how this went I’m not sure I want to try her debut, but as it’s been sitting on my shelves since it came out and some think this was worse maybe one day I’ll read it and observe first hand her improvement or lack thereof.

I can honestly say I had a fun time while reading this Parent Trap, Freaky Friday style story. I was very interested in seeing how everything was going to end and enjoyed the ride we were taken on.

I do not think I was the intended audience for this book seeing as it pulled very young in the way the story was told and written, but I enjoyed it all the same.

This book has a lot going on, magical realism, pop culture references, parents who are very self-absorbed, spunky and flawed characters, sweet romances, and is lgbtq friendly.

The book was slightly long and was a little bit repetitive with the non-curse word curse words but overall this was a cute read and I think younger readers will really enjoy it.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the early review copy. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Personally, I had a difficult time trudging through this novel. The magical element spoiled the story and the storyline also somehow spoiled the story. I was looking forward to this read because I love magic and family and the path to self discovery as much as the next reader, but unfortunately this was not it sis

First off, I want to say that the cover design is spectacular! Sadly though, I wasn't a fan of what was in the inside. I enjoyed Christine Riccio's first book, even though it did have some writing issues. Sadly, Riccio still needs some help. The story is there, I think the execution just needs to be better. While this book wasn't for me, I know a lot of students who would love this book, so I do plan on getting this book for my library.

I am longer interested in reading after reading many reviews about the quality of the book. It sounds terrible and poorly written and don’t want to waste my time.

Sadly I don’t think this book is for me. I tried, i really did. I got 10% of the way and I just couldn’t do it anymore.

First off let me start off saying that i was so excited for this book. When i seen it had parent trap vibes I was there for it. So much so that I preordered this book before getting this copy. That’s how much I knew i was going to love it.

Here’s my issues with this book.
1) Siri comes off like a brat. Was it sad about her injury absolutely but he mother trying to console her she just acted not her age at all. This girl is like what 17-18 and she’s acting like she’s 12.
2) i thought there was an unnecessary use of bigger words. It’s not how this age group talks at all. I’m not sure what the author was trying to portray with that.
3) Jamie seems like a normal character until her and Siri meet and then she turns into this person who literally cussed at every sentence. Again not how most people talk.
4) the writing of this book is just not good. It’s not original it’s not descriptive it doesn’t try to draw you in and make you like these characters in anyway.

Jamie and Siri wind up at the same Re-Discover Yourself Retreat at Colorado because their lives are both slowly crumbling. Jamie is an aspiring comic in LA, but she can't seem to make it through her set without throwing up. She's been kicked out of her apartment and is back at home, stuck living under her famous father's oppressive thumb. As for Siri, ballet is her entire life. But when she suffers a career-ending injury, everything she's planned for falls apart. Jamie and Siri also happen to be sisters. They've grown up entirely apart: Jamie lives with their dad in LA and Siri with their mom in New Jersey. When they reunite at the retreat, they decide to switch places and seek revenge on their estranged parents. With the help of a little magic (yes, actual magic), Jamie shows up in New Jersey, looking just like Siri and Siri arrives in LA, looking like Jamie. Before they know it, Siri's hanging out with (and falling for) Jamie's best friend Dawn. And independent Jamie might be making an actual attachment with Zarar, their instructor from camp. But can Jamie and Siri set out to do what they planned--right their childhood wrongs?

<b><i>"The day everything fell apart three months ago, I tripped into this anger ditch, and I can't seem to find my way out." -Siri</b></i>

I stumbled across this book because it was billed as The Parent Trap meets Freaky Friday and well, sign me up. To me, there's not a ton of The Parent Trap here, as the goal isn't to reunite Siri and Jamie's parents, but rather seek some sort of vengeance on them, as they basically split the kids up when they were six and four and then each parent abandoned one of the siblings. Jamie and Siri never saw each other again, and Siri's mom told her Jamie was imaginary. So, um, yeah she has some baggage. The parents come across as pretty hideous here, to tell you the truth! (Reexamining The Parent Trap as an adult and parent is quite eye-opening!)

Also, reading some of the other reviews for this book, apparently there is some sort of rating controversy and issue with the author? I had no clue about any of this. I have no idea who Christine Riccio is. I am one of those people who dislikes videos of all kinds. News article is only a video? Won't watch. I don't even really like Instagram reels let alone Youtube. I don't even love that my car has a backup camera. So whatever drama surrounds this book totally escapes me. If you don't like a book about magic, I guess don't read a book about magic? I thought this was pretty cute. Anyway, just a disclaimer, I guess, that my review has nothing to do with any of whatever that drama is.

You need to go into BETTER TOGETHER prepared to suspend a little disbelief if you want to fully enjoy it. There is magic involved--a happy haunted trail at the retreat that leads to the sisters looking like each other. Jamie and Siri already look really similar, so it didn't seem like maybe they needed that? (You don't in the The Parent Trap, this purist says!) Then there is their terrible parents. It's sort of hard to believe people that awful exist.

But if you accept the magic and the awful parents, this is a cute book. Is it weird? Sure. But it was definitely better than I expected after reading all the hater reviews. I liked Jamie and Siri. They were flawed (pretty expected after those parents) but funny. There's some great bisexual representation and while the book is about family, forgiveness, and reuniting, there's some sweet side romantic plots, too. Siri and Dawn were pretty adorable. And Zarar, their canoe instructor who winds up in New York, is just a cutie. Siri and Dawn each have a grandparent living near/with them who offers some great comedic relief, as well.

The story is told from Jamie and Siri's perspectives and sometimes it takes a moment to remember which sister is speaking, though the chapters are labeled. As the book progresses, you get more used to which sister is which. Siri has a very annoying quirk where she says things like "intercoursing" instead of the f-word, which grew old quickly. The book was long--there definitely could have been some cutting down.

Still, this was a cute read and I enjoyed Siri and Jamie's story and watching each of them come into their own. I have Riccio's first book on my shelf, and I'll definitely pick it up at some point. 3.5 stars.

The sisters felt a little self-absorbed, and there was nothing really interesting about the book except for the 'Parent Trap' concept. Plus, I think it would have been better if the girls were identical twins, not 'just' sisters.