I enjoyed this mix of Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. Jamie and Siri were such opposites. I was invested in their story. I needed to know why they were separated. I also loved the side characters. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked her first book, Again but Better, so this book was an automatic read for me. This one was pretty good.

I was a little weary when I first started the book because Siri was annoying and not my favorite character. The beginning was a bit boring but once I got through that it was really good. As I got further in the book I started to really like all the characters. There was a lot of development which I loved. Both Jamie and Siri were interesting and very different. I really liked the plot and all the romantic relationships were really good. The diversity of the characters and sexuality was good too. I do think the ending was a bit drawn out, but I still liked it a lot.

The audiobook part was very enjoyable. Both narrators were really good at their characters and did not annoy me at all. It was easy to understand when sped up and at a normal pace.

Overall I’d recommend this book to contemporary and young adult book lovers.

This book was awesome it feels like the author took the Parent Trap and Freaky Friday and maid it one hundred times better. I love how all the characters were thre own person and had there own opinions, and weren't close to the same as the other characters. All in all this book was amazing and would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Better Together was such a cute summer book to listen to; with definite Freaky Friday meets Parent Trap vibes. The summer camp setting had me dreaming of those long lazy, hazy days of summer.

I really liked the sister dynamic between Siri and Jamie while they were at camp and their interactions via text and phone afterwards. Not to mention the sisters’ interactions when they meet their other parent fo the first time.

There’s some cute, swoon romance in this book, but nothing too explicit - some heavy making out and sex is alluded to.

I really enjoyed the narrators Brittany Pressley and Karissa Vacker, who really brought Siri and Jamie to life and kept me engaged throughout the entire book.

The concept of the book was fun and the parent-trap in a modern age interesting. BUT I really struggled with the main characters. Both of the girls really got on my nerves. One of a spaz and overly dramatic (but did grow on me by the end. ) The other was ok at the beginning and got more annoying. I realize that some of this was their character arcs, but it did make for a less delightful journey.
The two characters I loved were the side characters and love interests. They were fun and I could totally read a full story about them.
I do love how Christine weaves a little bit of magic into her stories. It makes for a fun little adventure in the story.

I tried so hard to enjoy this book and reading that it was being promoted as a mashup of Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap had my hopes high that I would enjoy it. Unfortunately, the unlikeable main characters and the juvenile writing had me forcing my way through the book from the very start. I felt there were a lot of plot holes and the story felt like it was longer than it needed to be.

I am going to keep this review pretty short . This was heavily inspired by the parent trap movie, I really like that aspect of the book. But at the same time it was unoriginal, I mean they met at a camp just the the Parent trap movie and then swapped places when they left. This personal did not hit well with me but I can see it hitting with other people.
I loved hi Jamie was a standup comedian, one of my favorite parts. But at the beginning I got a little confused when Jamie did her throwing up comedy set I thought it was Siri .

Cover review: I loved the cover , it is very cartoon chic!!
Wish Jamies hair in the cover was more neon Orange, that’s the only critique for the cover I would give.

🎧Audio review: all the characters voices were unique and well fitted to The characters and showed their emotions beautifully!

The narration of this novel added so much to the character development throughout the book. I love that there are separate narrators for both Jamie and Siri as well.

Better Together is about two sisters who were separated at a young age and have a Parent Trap moment when they are away at a ReDiscover yourself retreat in Colorado.

This book was alright. I think that the supernatural/magic element to it with the sparkles and the mystery box wasn't a necessary element to it. Considering that the author established that Jamie and Siri were so alike in looks that they would get mistaken for twins as kids they could have just gotten away with pulling the switch-a-rue without magic being added into the mix. I enjoyed the love interest that was provided for each of the sisters. It felt like one sister had more character development than the other one but I did enjoy watching each of the characters grow throughout the book. It was a little heavy on the Game of Thrones references, especially for me who is not familiar with the books or the TV show outside of hearing about it from friends and only watching the series finale.

I think that a big strong suit was the way that Christine handled therapy in the book. I know that she had sensitivity readers for it, one of them being one of my favorite book tubers, emmmabooks, who just graduated to become a therapist.

I liked this book. A lot.

Christine’s writing has improved tremendously since she first published Again, but Better. Where the main character of her debut novel was an obvious Christine insert, Siri and Jamie in this book were both unique, each with interesting and distinguishable storylines. It made both of their POVs equally engaging, although I admit, Jamie was more fun to read about, mostly because I couldn’t take Siri’s cursing seriously.

That being said, I really enjoyed the narration. Jamie's voice actor was my favorite of the two, but both managed to really embody their characters.

I also really enjoyed all of the side characters, especially Zarar. He’s too good for this world and now I too want a ‘meet cute’ that I can tell my grandchildren about!

Plotwise, this is a mix of The Parent Trap with Freaky Friday. And yet, it wasn’t a copy of either of those. The story took different turns and implemented many different elements that I didn’t see coming. The story also looked into the individual traumas that the sisters had endured at the hands of their parents. I felt especially bad for Jamie who was literally erased by her mother.

Speaking of the mother, she was a horrible person. The dad too, but the mom really spent 14 years gaslighting her daughter. That’s why I am so glad that this wasn’t a Parent Trap situation about bringing the parents together because it is clear that they don’t have a good relationship. This was more about the girls and them reconnecting and learning to become both friends and sisters after being apart for so long. It was also about each of them learning how to be individuals and find true happiness.

Overall, I really liked this one. I think Christine has grown so much as a writer and I can’t wait to read more of her stories in the future.

This just wasn’t the book for me. At first i was intrigued by the idea and the camp was set in Colorado, which I was very excited about. However I quickly realized it was just a remake of Parent Trap, with two twin sisters separated at birth reunited at summer camp. The plot was uninsured and did not entice me.

I really did love Christine Ricco's Again But Better, within the first chapter of this book, I knew I wouldn't like it. I didn't know exactly what I was getting into while reading this, but I didn't expect to not enjoy it this much, I couldn't even bear to finish the book.
Siri and Jamie are two separated sisters who switch places to solve family issues when they discover magic glitter that makes them look like each other?
Contemporary and magic don't really fit together that well, it worked in ABB a bit, but magic glitter is a bit of a stretch. It didn't really add anything to the story either, because the parents don't recognize the difference without it, so what was really the point? Also deceiving everyone around them wasn't given any consequences and the magic glitter was just accepted like it was totally normal. Very off-putting.
The creative swearing is... I get the point in a way, but at the same time, it's so random. Like excrement? What the underworld? It made me want to stop reading immediately. The pop-culture references also reached a new high and it just pulled me out, to be honest. Maybe I would enjoy this book more if it wasn't an audiobook, but unfortunately, I really did not enjoy this.

This audiobook/novel was really fun!
I love sibling tropes, so with the parent trap-like feel it made it even more enticing.
The two sisters individually throughout the novel we're really loveable.
Seeing each perspective made the story more interesting to read, rather than a single narrative.
I found it to be really cute, and easy audiobook to get into!
Would definitely recommend if you enjoy sibling tropes.

Freaky Friday meets Parent Trap in Riccio's newest novel. I did really enjoy the mix of both into one. It made it extra fun. These sisters are polar opposite. Jamie has a big personality and recently started struggling with stage anxiety. Siri is recovering from a life changing injury and keeps to herself. Jamie lives in LA with their dad. Siri lives with their mom in NY. They were ripped apart by their parents at a young age and haven't seen each other in over a decade. It was tough to connect in the first half of the book. Both characters were frustrating, but there was character development for both so I can let that go. The story focuses more on the relationship between the sisters, but there is a romance brewing for both throughout the read. I did enjoy the side characters. Lots of family drama really drove the read forward. The ending really saved the rating for me. One of the narrators was hard to enjoy, but it wasn't bad enough that I didn't finish. Overall, it had fun characters, laugh out loud moments, so much family drama, and a splash of magic.

This book is intelligently written and the audio is fantastic. I felt connected with the characters and appreciated the duel stories with their respective layers. Christine is a talented author and the subject matter is important.

3 1/2 stars

Better Together by Christine Riccio opens with Siri visiting her doctor after week’s of physical therapy, certain that all of her hard work means that she will be able to resume her career as a ballerina, a career she’s dedicated her entire life to. When he tells her that she will never be able to return, she’s beyond heart-broken. What is she going to do now? Against her will, her mother signs her up for a retreat in Colorado where she’ll be able to try to find a new future path.

Jamie has just suffered a stupendous career humiliation, the kind that involves bodily fluids on a stage in front of a crowd due to performance anxiety–the comedic kind. She’s also lost her apartment and must move back with her Dad, but under his conditions, which means signing a contract. One item on that contract is to go to a retreat in Colorado. While it’s not her first choice, Jamie doesn’t really have any choices so she goes.

In the pre-camp scenes, Siri was tolerable, but once she arrived at camp she became a whiny, sullen, self-centered brat that I found myself disliking more and more intensely. I did, however, find her substituting non-slang for cuss slang like excrement for sh*t and intercourse for f*ck to be really funny and might start yelling “INTERCOURSE!” when I’m really, really mad. Books really do provide us with gifts.

In direct contrast (and probably purposefully), Jamie is a hoot. She has faults, many due to bad parenting and bad relationship examples, but she comes across as self-aware, certainly aware enough to begin self-fixing.

Budding romances for the two sisters are handled well and are very cute and probably equate to some of the most enjoyable scenes in the novel.

There are some cringe-worthy scenes with the parents, but the one thing that holds me back from giving it a really high review is that it just tries to do too much and ends up being too long for what it is. The novel is 448 pages with some passages being a bit long-winded.

The audio version comes in at over 12 hours. Speeding up the voices doesn’t help because then you lose the nuances of the narration. Speaking of the narration, Brittany Pressley continues to be amazing. She really gives Jamie the hilarity and over-the-top qualities needed while Karissa Vacker is also very good. They really made the story come alive.

This one’s a toss up, a familiar cute story well done but too long.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the two different narrators for each main character. I loved the Freaky Friday/Parent Trap trope. I enjoyed the supporting characters. But the book also had a lot of extra back story that just detracted from the main story for me. I also kept thinking that it would end for like the last 8 chapters and it just kept going.

Better Together is a twist on the classic, Freaky Friday, with a dash of the Parent Trap. This made for a really interesting and unique plot. Two sisters are separated early in life are now young adults and run into each other at a wellness camp. The older sister Jamie, moved across the country with the girl's father and is now trying to become a comedian. While, young Siri was only four when they left so was told by her mother that Jamie didn't even exist.

The book alternated between sisters, which was a bit confusing in the audio version, but I loved hearing each sister's POV on a specific situation. Overall, it was a really enjoyable read.

Growing up, I was consumed with all movies Disney put out. Reading the description of this book, I was fascinated with the idea of mixing Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap (my all time favorite, the original of course.). This book did not disappoint.
Two sisters, separated early on in life, run into each other at a wellness camp. Their mom, who raised Siri, refuses to acknowledge that Jaime is anything other than imaginary friend. Their dad, who raised Jaime, refuses to talk about anything to do with his ex wife. Both parents set up a toxic family situation and the girls are trying to earn their way back into the others lives.
Listening to the audiobook, I was able to hear tone and emotion. This made for a more pleasant “reading” experience. The narrators did a great job throughout the whole book.
Both sisters find themselves in romantic situations. While alluded to, nothing too graphic happens in this book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was so good that it will go in my repertoire of audiobooks to be pulled out on long road trips. There are certainly details I know I missed the first time through that I will be able to catch the next time around.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook.

Better together was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I don’t know how to feel.
I enjoyed The unexpected magical realism, the plot, the audio narrator, The fact that it was a PARENT TRAP RETELLING (ah<3), the lgbtq+ rep, etc.
However, it doesn’t come without its faults. At times the two MCs read too similarly which left me a little confused and having to check who was who. This occurred more so in the first half of the book rather than the latter. None the less I definitely enjoyed having the two MCs but I wish there was more of a distinction in the way they were written.

I enjoyed Jamie’s character a lot more than Siri’s because at times Siri was definitely a bit unbearable and her character just felt like a soft characterization of “Gen Z”
Jamie’s character felt a lot more unique, interesting and developed than Siri did.

I really love how Jamie in ways felt like a 90s-00s movie it girl. She was like that one character that one everyone falls in love with.

I don’t have too much to say about Siri however I really did love how she just was Bi. There was no coming out scene she just was.
I wish more books with lgbt+ main characters did this. I really fucking love just seeing queer people living their lives.

Now onto the things I didn’t really enjoy.

I could not stand it every time Someone said “inter-coursing” Oh my GOD. I’m so sorry but it drove me nuts and made me cringe. I hate it. I hated it a lot. It was funny for a second and then I just internally cringed every time after. I wish Christine used something like fudge in placement of fuck or just steered clear of any Variation of the word in general.

The writing in the second half of this story went downhill about 60-70 percent into the book. I don’t even know what to say. I feel like it needed so much work and overall just felt like an early draft.
I CRINGED A LOT AT THE DIALOG. I just wish this was edited more because it has a lot of potential but ultimately in my eyes fell flat.

I found that personally for me the magic became inconstant and confusing? I loved the magical realism but overall I think Christine could've either done without it or again have edited to make it better.

Overall im really disappointed I wanted to love this book the way I loved “Again But Better” and I did at times but the bad just completely outweighs the good I also feel like this book could’ve been 100-150 pages shorter than it was.