This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

I have loved Emma Lord's previous books but I could not get into this one. Maybe one day I'll try to come back to it but I'm not a huge fan of the FMC and the school swap in the beginning had me rolling my eyes, so I don't have high hopes for a second attempt.

Andie's always dreamed of attending the same college her parents graduated from. She wasn't accepted for the first semester, but she was able to transfer in the next. Better yet, she plans to surprise her long time boyfriend who's also studying there. But Andie discovers that dreams & detailed plans don't always work out in real life. Her boyfriend transferred to her old community college to surprise her. The classes are on a higher level than she's ready for. And she really shouldn't be focusing so much of her time on extracurricular activities. Freshman year comes with a lot of challenges and upheaval, but with the friendships she builds and the work she puts in, Andie may just pass the semester.

This was a great book. Emma Lord has a way of bringing the setting and characters to life. I could feel the pressures of college classes and the freshness and stresses of new friendships and dorm life. I was drawn into Andie's emotions as a nervous freshman, a young woman making new friends, a person eager to help others, and her journey through an emotionally turbulent and stressful college semester 

Andie was a vibrant and upbeat personality. It was a pleasure to read from her perspective. I loved the way she made and built her friendships and drew everyone together, changing their lives. It was also interesting to learn about broadcasting, and to read a story from a radio show host's perspective. It was nice to watch Andie progress from the voiceless email responder to the show's Squire. She had some really good character arcs.

Andie loves solving others' problems. It's so much easier than dealing with her own issues - her estranged relationship with her father, who's seriously dating and wants to build a family after years of ignoring his own daughter. Her relationship with her boyfriend and his family. And her battle to pass statistics, where the numbers are not in her favor.

There was a lot I liked about this book, not the least of which was the food. I wish I could try Eternal Darkness coffee. And is cookie dough cream cheese really a thing? Where is this bagel store hiding?? But mostly, I loved the friendships and the way Andie and her friends were there for each other, the way they became like a family.

Emma has done it yet again. I love all of her books, and Begin Again is no exception. The fun and the serious blended so well together that somehow I ended up crying for most of the last 20% of the book. While I did root for Milo and Andie to be endgame, I especially loved watching their friendship blossom, and the way they helped each other become more grounded and open to beginning again. The characters in this book truly had my heart, and while the plot itself was interesting, the characters, especially the side characters like Shay and Valeria, really made the book shine. Overall, this book didn't disappoint in the slightest, and I'll never get enough of Emma's fantastic storytelling.

I started 2022 with a Emma Lord book (it was Tweet Cute), and I started 2023 with one of her books as well. I might stick to that tradition for the rest of my life because Emma's characters bring SO. MUCH. JOY to my fluff-loving heart. 🥺 And therefore, to no one's suprise, reading Begin Again was absolutely delightful!
Begin Again made me forget about all of my academic troubles (for a little while) & gave me a chance to escape to a beautiful story just at the perfect time.

• Begin Again highlights:
- story set during freshman year of college
- the MC's roommate is a bookstagrammer!!
- friendships that will LITERALLY melt your heart
- anonymous identity and advice columns
- radio station feature
- fun college traditions and events + entertaining scavenger hunts
- the story is full of the author's signature wit & charm
- the storyline follows the lead's dream of following her mom's footsteps :')
- the plot showcases the MC's journey towards finding her own place in the world.

Andie was such a remarkable character. Seeing her grow throughout the story, especially by finding comfort among her new circle of friends made me so happy. Her thought processes were so relatable! I think a lot of my Type A book friends will connect to her greatly! And MILO. MILO. MILO. I will run out of words if I start sharing how much I loved him. So, please do me a favor and read the book ASAP. Begin Again is guaranteed to move the dark clouds from your life away, atleast for a little while. 💜

Andie Rose is so excited to transfer to her first-choice school, really her only-choice school, midway through her freshman year. She had worked so hard to get there, and that first semester at the community college gave her a good foundation for the academically challenging Blue Ridge State. Plus, it means she’ll finally be at school with her boyfriend Connor. She’s so excited to surprise him when she shows up at last.

It turns out that she’s the one surprised, when Connor calls her to let her know that he’s transferred to their hometown community college to be closer to her. Suddenly, Andie’s idea to keep her transfer a surprise doesn’t seem like such a great plan. But she’s at Blue Ridge State now, and she’s not leaving. This has been her dream her entire life. It’s where her parents met, where her mother ran an underground radio show as the original Knight, and where they joined a secret society. Andie’s mother died when Andie was young, so following in her mother’s footsteps is incredibly important to her.

Andie has her future planned out. She’s going to study psychology, write a memoir, and then get her own television show. But first, she has to get through the class that is the gateway for the psych program—statistics. Andie also has to go to the ribbon events—in order to get into one of the secret societies, she has to collect ribbons at a series of events set up by the student committees. The details for the ribbon events are announced every day on the underground radio show by the current Knight. Andie knows all about the show, and about the Knights, because the original Knight was her mother.

As Andie struggles with stats and getting to her ribbon events, she’s also making a splash at the dorm. Her RA, Milo, is addicted to strong coffee and walks around like a zombie. But her roommate Shay is a book-loving influencer who can’t pick a major. She gathers everyone up for game night with promises of fun and an assortment of snack cakes, which is a huge success until Milo shows up asking them to respect the dorm’s Quiet Hours. She gets a job at the local bagel shop, and continues to write the advice column for her high school newspaper.

Andie is naturally sunny and prone to giving helpful advice, so others are drawn to her energy. Mile, addicted to his Eternal Darkness coffee blend, is reluctant to join in her orbit. But then she accidentally stumbles into his big secret—he’s the current Knight—she can’t help but see her mother’s photo, as the original Knight, in a place of honor and feel drawn to stay in the old office they use as the recording booth. And when she sees all the emails to the Knight that no one has answered, she uses her high-school advice column experience to start answering.

The weeks roll by, Andie collecting her ribbons and spending time with a stats tutor to try to make some progress in her worst class. She’s making friends, eating good food, and putting her best advice into the emails that come in for the Knight. In fact, her advice is getting pretty popular, and they even try taking some phone calls, with Andie typing up an answer Milo can read on the air. They try to get her to go live herself on the air, but her fear holds her back. She knows she could never live up to her mother’s legacy, and she’s pretty sure that it’s only because of her mother that she was allowed into the school at all.

When Milo oversleeps one day, in part because Andie replaced his Eternal Darkness with a caffeine-free version, she has to step in and take over the radio show. She finds that she’s able to get past her nerves for the most part, but she still feels inadequate to take on a role behind the mic. She blows her stat test, finds out that some of her advice has backfired in a way that’s damaged a potential relationship for Shay, fallen into the frozen lake, found out Connor’s been lying to her, and inadvertently announces a major secret to the entire school body. Will she be able to recover from all that to finish her first semester at Blue Ridge State strong, or will she just walk away and find somewhere else to start over?

Begin Again is the latest young adult novel from Emma Lord, whose books continue to entertain and inspire. Her characters are well drawn, with complex personalities and histories and goals. Her books are dense with story lines, creating compelling plots that unfold naturally, with lots of fun and sweet surprises along the way. This is her fourth novel, and she just keeps growing stronger as a writer.

I was thrilled for a chance to read a new Emma Lord book, and I was not disappointed in anything at all (except maybe for Andie’s father’s choice of bagel). Begin Again sparkles with wit and warmth, from the named chicken to the experiments Andie and Shay do to help Shay find her major to the bagel schmears. There is a playfulness to this story, but underneath that, Lord deals with serious topics like grief, relationships, forgiveness, and finding your own path.

Ever since I read her first book, Tweet Cute, I have expected her books to be dense. They feel twice as action packed as a typical ya book, and Begin Again is no different. There are so many subplots that there is always something happening. It’s hard to put the book down, even to get some snack cakes, because there is so much going on, I never want to stop reading, from page one to the end, so be sure to set aside a hefty block of time, get your snacks ready in advance, and settle in for one of the best books about college underground radio for a good purpose and indeterminate fruit flavors that you may ever read.

Egalleys for Begin Again were provided by Wednesday Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

If you’re a fan of a college romance Begin Again by Emma Lord will not disappoint. When Andie Rose doesn’t get accepted to her dream college, Blue Ridge State, and her long-time boyfriend does, she somehow manages a mid-year transfer from her community college only to find that her boyfriend has also transferred to her school. What is she going to do?

Andie’s parents met at Blue Ridge State and it’s been her dream to attend as long as she can remember. Her boyfriend has been fairly absent all year and being apart has been hard. He swears he’s trying to transfer back. In the meantime, Andie becomes fast friends with her roommate, her RA, and stats tutor. Together they attend the many social events at Blue Ridge State that can help Andie earn society ribbons just like her Mom. Andie’s Mother died when she was young and started the underground Blue Ridge State radio show that lives on. The only way that she can find out what social society her Mother joined is to earn ribbons at the social events. Andie is always trying to help others. Maybe a bit too much. When a secret between her new friends presents her with an opportunity to help others with their problems, Andie reluctantly agrees to help and finds that she can put her need to help to good use, and she’s really good at it.

Will Andie and her boyfriend end up together or will she end up becoming more than friends with someone new? This book is a look at families, love, friendship, and finding where you fit.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a woman who lost her mom at 18, I'm always drawn to stories of girls finding themselves and their independence in the midst of grief and missing their mom. I loved the mix of Andie holding on to her past and building her future. Her new found family were my favorite, quirky and loving, really there for each other. Milo and Andie really supported each other, challenged each other and grew together in a mature way and I just love them together. All that being said, the whole Connor bit was very predictable and I could have done with that story line coming to a head earlier in the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Andie Rose, our main character, is the definition of type A. She goes into her first year as a transfer at Blue Ridge State with a plan, a legacy to uphold, and a boyfriend back home. With ribbons to win to earn her place in a secret society, family problems to mend, and the troubles of being a transfer, Andie has a lot on her plate. It takes a little bit of loosening up, a whole lot of love, and some things you just can’t plan for to help Andie Rose feel like she’s somewhere she can be herself.

Andie is a mildly annoying main character, but she definitely gets better over the course of the book.

The author’s perception of college life is interesting (y’all if I tried to get my whole floor to play a game of werewolf in undergrad, I would’ve simply gotten roasted )(not that this isn’t a nice thing!) Lord portrays a very optimistic idea of college, but it overall doesn’t take me too far out of the story.

As a college DJ myself, I love the radio concept, and this storyline was a lot of fun to follow and unravel with Andie! While sometimes we must suspend disbelief (transferring schools to be with your high school bf), I think this is a great YA book, especially for older teens about to head to college and for those finding their footing at university.

The ultimate romance plot line is a deeply slow burn that is so satisfying and well worth the wait. I really love the idea that And gets to make her own future and the Emma Lord deftly and tenderly handled issues around family, legacy, and choice.

Andie has just transferred from community college to Blue Ridge State - the school her boyfriend currently attends, and the alma mater of her late mother. However, her well-thought out plan starts to crumble almost immediately upon arriving on campus when she finds out her boyfriend actually transferred to community college to be with her. But thanks to her roommate Shay and her RA, Milo, Andie starts to find her voice on the same radio-station her mom founded, and begins to really find herself.

Emma Lord can do no wrong when it comes to writing YA novels, and Begin Again is another example of why I love her books so much. This book is filled with charm and the magic and stress and mystery that the beginning of college holds. I loved Andie’s spunk, how deeply she cared for those she loved, and especially her version of cursing. I felt for her when she struggled to find her place within her new family dynamic and how the pain of losing her mother impacted her. Most importantly, I was rooting for her and was cheering her on as she found a love she deserved and began to learn her worth.

I switched between ebook and audiobook and really enjoyed the audio and how it brought this world to life.

Thanks to Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copies.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Honestly im not a slow burn friends to lovers kind of gal but i really enjoyed this! I would have liked the main character to figure out her feelings a little sooner but overall her growth was amazing. She starts out as unsure of herself but throughout the story she becomes more comfortable at her dream college and with her friends and she really becomes her own person. This is DEFINITELY a coming of age story! I can definitely see this book turned into a young adult romance move on netflix, kind of like the kissing booth (i love that movie this is a compliment). I can’t wait to see where this story goes and I know it’s going to resonate with so many young readers also trying to find their place in this crazy world!!

3.5*

Begin Again was an entertaining and endearing read. While the characters are in college, it definitely falls more in the YA category, rather than NA. It was a slow burn, and not in the romantic sense, as this was more of a coming of age tale than an out and out romance. Although it did have some romantic elements, that wasn't really the focus of the story.
While I enjoyed Andie's journey, the story did drag at times and I found myself skimming a bit in the middle. Andie tended to get bogged down in trying to almost relive her mother's legacy, instead of making her own mark, and that got a little frustrating. But I was very happy with how she did finally come into her own by the end of the book.
There was a really great supporting cast of characters in this book, and I really liked that they all had their own little side stories as well.

I think this book will resonate with a lot of teens. Andie is a likeable and relatable character for sure.

I always love Emma Lord’s books and Begin Again was no exception.

Andie Rose, always a planner, has worked hard to be able to transfer from community college to hyper competitive Blue Ridge State where her boyfriend Connor goes. Their relationship has been rocky because of the long distance, and she decides to surprise him and not tell him she’ll be transferring, instead choosing to show up at his door. I was sure this would end up with her catching him cheating, but no. Instead, Connor doesn’t live there anymore and Andie finds out he transferred to their hometown community college to be with her. And so begins the trials and tribulations of Andie’s first semester at Blue Ridge State.

This book covers a lot of territory. Andie is still dealing with grief over the death of her larger-than-life radio host mother, and the subsequent abandonment of her father who didn’t seem to be able to handle being around her after her mom died. She was basically raised by her grandmothers, and now at school she’s dealing with a little bit of imposter syndrome trying worrying that she only got into the school because her parents were alumni. Ultimately Andie struggles a lot with both trying to live up to her mother’s memory and pave her own way.

Along the way she makes some great friends—an amazing roommate Shay who is so much better than any assigned roommate I ever had, a statistics tutor, and her seemingly grumpy RA, Milo who always seemed unbearably sweet to me. Milo is dealing with his own heartbreak and Andie connects with him almost immediately on a level she didn’t expect to.

I thought this was a wonderful coming of age book about a first year in college that will give a lot of insight and inspiration for teens about to leave the house for the first time. I loved the arc Andie had with her father and the understanding they came to in the book. He was a wonderful character and hats off to Emma Lord for making him so likeable when his actions could have made that a lot more challenging.

I wish we had a little more of the positive aspects of Andie’s relationship with Connor. It was always pretty clear she was going to end up with Milo (and have I mentioned I LOVED Milo), and I understand Andie’s attachment to Connor and his family after the way she grew up, but I wish he hadn’t been quite so awful. I also didn’t love the very end of the book. I didn’t need Andie to get the great guy and the great friends and figure out college and also get a national radio show opportunity as well. I wish it had been enough to just have her be happy at college, but that’s a small quibble in a book I really loved.

The audio was wonderful for this one as well. I think the narrator did a fabulous job with the different voices and I could absolutely distinguish who was talking throughout the book. As Andie, the narration was infused with her pep and optimism and really helped me get in the mindset of the book. I did think that the tutor’s voice sounded a little like Britany Murphy in Clueless, and I had to keep reminding myself she was not a clueless character.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers of YA romcoms!

Andie Rose transferred from her community college to Blue Ridge State to major in Psychology. Her boyfriend, Connor goes there, and she views it as a chance to repair their rocky relationship. She was hoping to surprise him with her arrival but was the one getting surprised when Connor called her to inform her that he had transferred to her community college to be with her. Woops!

But Andie makes the best of it with her I-haven't-declared-a- major-yet roommate, Shay and her constantly drinking coffee RA, Milo. Andie also finds her voice at the college's pirate radio station.

Going away to college and making friends is a rite of passage for some. You have your family and then you have your family of friends who see you at your worst and best. You try new things, meet new people, and learn more about yourself.

This was an engaging book about finding yourself, finding your family, finding your community, beginning again, and personal growth. I enjoyed Andie, her grandmothers, her group of friends and of course, Milo.

This was a great YA romance book that was equal parts charming and engaging. It’s all about the journey and I enjoyed the journey that several characters in this book went on.

As always Emma Lord delivers a book full of emotion, heartfelt plots and likeable characters. I immediately cared about the main character, Andie Rose. She has been through so much in her short life and now that she has transferred to her parent's alma mater her college life should be perfect....but all does not go as planned. Shay, Milo and the Grandmas are fun and amazing supporting characters.
This book tackles some tough topics with great sensitivity and in the perfect moments. The plot is not weighted down by these topics but they are worked in throughout to make the book much more lighthearted than it actually is at times.
From the brilliant cast of characters to the well-conceived plot I enjoyed this book very much. Although it is categorized as a YA book it is easily enjoyed as contemporary/realistic adult fiction.
I am extremely grateful to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this delightful book in exchange for an honest review.

Since her incredibly, well … cute … and fun debut, Tweet Cute, I’ve read every one of Emma Lord’s new books. I admit I’ve hoped each would be as hugely entertaining as that first one, but I’ve been a bit disappointed. That’s not to say each hasn’t been a good book on its own merits, but it’s hard not to compare. This latest young adult book (really a new adult book, with its college freshmen and sophomores) is the same: a fine story with depth and good characters but just not quite as full of the charm and chuckles as TC.

In Begin Again, Andie has managed to transfer to her dream college in the middle of her freshman year. She is surprising her longtime best friend and boyfriend from her small hometown, who has been there since the beginning of the school year. The school is also where her parents met and her late mother was the first host of its underground radio show, “The Knights’ Watch.” Being here is a way for Andie to feel closer to her mom, who died when she was 11. Since then, she’s been raised primarily by her two grandmothers. Her father took a job out of town and only visited. The grief they both have felt at their loss has not drawn them together; rather, it’s kept them at a distance.

Now is where her meticulous and thorough plans for her life will really take off, too. Andie will get her psychology degree to help advise other people, as she has been doing in a column for her high school paper. She’ll eventually marry Connor. They will collect ribbons at the famous activities held for freshmen throughout the year for the secret groups they can be part of during their whole college experience.

It’s all coming together.

But then Connor isn’t there: he’s transferred back to their town’s community college, where Andie went for a semester (to surprise her!). School is hard, particularly statistics. And Andie keeps bumping up against some painful truths she’s been able to kind of suppress. Plus, her hall’s RA becomes a good friend — and has the potential to become something more. But there’s Connor to think about back home.

Begin Again follows a young adult who is trying to find out who she really is and what she really wants, much as most people her age. Andie has the added concerns of her distant father to deal with and grief for a mother she lost young — and expectations she’s set for herself based on those gaps in her life. As she makes new friends and slowly faces her fears, Andie begins intentionally creating a life that truly fits her. It is a young adult romance book on its face, but it’s fully a lovely story of blossoming into adulthood.

Begin Again was such a charming, heartwarming young adult story that had me hooked from the beginning. It does cover some heavier topics but still left me with such a warm feeling. This was my first book by Emma Lord and I just loved her writing style. I’m definitely going to need a physical copy of this book for my shelves!

Andie is a planner and is always out to fix everyone’s “problems”. She’s a freshman in college and has just transferred mid-year from her local community college to Blue Ridge State (where her parents went to college and met) with a fail-proof plan to study psychology and become a self-help icon. But as soon as she transfers to BRS her big plans begin to go off the rails.

The character development was amazing in this story. I loved seeing the characters grow and confront things in order to continue developing into their best selves. I absolutely love a good “found family” friend group and this one was top notch – the love and support between all of them was outstanding.

All in all, this was such a moving coming of age story. Just do yourself a favor and go read this if you enjoy young adult contemporary fiction/romance! Now I need to go back and devour Emma’s backlist!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy!

I am a huge fan of Emma Lord's writing—her voice is fun, quippy, and upbeat. In particular, Tweet Cute and When You Get the Chance were standout reads, making Emma Lord an auto-read author. I was excited to see this new release featured a (slightly) older main character and set at college, as I've been reading less and less YA. Unfortunately, while this wasn't a total miss for me, there were a lot of elements that just didn't click.

My biggest issue with the book was the sheer number of storylines and themes this book attempted to include—radio broadcast, college life/extracurricular activities, academic pressure, family relationships, friend dynamics, romantic relationships, workstudy, career path decisions, and sooooo much moooore. And because of that, the things I was excited to read about—the fun stuff—seemed to happen off-page between chapters. Perhaps this was supposed to mimic Andie's (our main character) struggle to keep up in the college environment, but it just left me exhausted from trying to be invested in all the different pieces.

So, alas, it wasn't a hit for me, but I'm still a big fan of Emma Lord's work and can't wait to read her next release.

ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"It smells like death."
"It smells like resurrection," Milo corrects me.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this ARC. I read this in 7 hours. it was that amazing. It had me smiling and laughing to the point that my partner asked me to start reading things out loud because he wanted to be in on the jokes.

This book felt like I got to revisit my freshman year in college and I adored it. As a fellow Andi(e) Rose, it gave me an instant connection to the character even though we were nothing alike. But what I didn't find similar in Andie, I found in Shay, as I too had a roommate who refused to swear and had a multitude of expletives that sounded out of a nursery rhyme. I found myself in Milo, due to being an architecture major with a pension for all-nighters and a coffee addiction that would have rivaled Milo's. But as the story progressed I did find where I connected with Andie. I too was a freshman who tried to do too much in hopes of joining an organization that ended up being an weight pulling my grades down.

This book has endless humor, a slow burn romance, found family, and lessons of forgiveness and finding yourself by losing yourself. I adore this book with my entire heart and wish there were more to the story. I want to pull more quotes out desperately, but I want everyone to be able to explore the humor on their own.

After finishing the book I went and looked at the 1 star reviews because I couldn't understand how people didn't love this book. I found that many comments were about finding Andie annoying as a character for her quirks, as well as a some of the university aspects "not being realistic". What I would like to remind readers is that everyone's college experience is different, and just because it was unrealistic to these reviewers, doesn't mean someone else couldn't have had a similar experience as these characters. As for finding Andie annoying? That was the best thing about college. It was a new start and we got to pick who our friends were. Andie may not have been a friend they would choose, but I personally think that Shay, Milo and Valerie were very lucky to have her, and I feel lucky to have followed her story as though she was my own friend.

I adored this sweet romance and all the young adult angst that came with it. The characters were well-written and experienced a lot of growth, and I loved that they had each other's backs when needed. The ribbons and mystery radio host added an intriguing vibe and came together so perfectly at the end. I need to check out this author's back list now!