Emma Lord has done it again! BEGIN AGAIN felt like the perfect book at the perfect time, as a freshman in my first year of university trying to find my friends and my place. It’s just about the perfect mix of YA contemporary and romance, giving Andie the time to become herself and make friends without the endgame relationship being the most important thing. It made me feel like I could make it through college, it made me make ridiculous reactionary faces on a plane, and it was enjoyable all around. Well worth the read in my opinion.

Andie Rose has a plan for her life, and her transfer to Blue Ridge State has her one step closer. But as soon as she gets there, it all starts to fall apart. And as she tries to get back on track, you can’t help but root for her and her friends along the way. There’s a secret society competition, a work study job, and the infamous anonymous radio show that her mom started back when she was a student. Any level of unreality in the book is completely overshadowed by how well the story is told. The romance is built up in the best way, with friendship coming first and delightful degree of quiet yearning.

As much as I loved the story, I also couldn’t help but love the characters. They felt like they were friends that were made for me, and I’m almost mad that they aren’t my friends. Andie’s roommate is a bookstagrammer (why can’t she be my roommate??), her tutor-turned-friend is a fantasy-romance writer, and Milo is a great mix of contemporary angst and loveability. They felt real and I wanted to root for them without fail. The relationships are nuanced, and there’s an emphasis on not just the romantic relationship, but platonic and familial as well. Also you get a side sapphic romance and I’ll count that as a win.

I went into this book with high expectations, and it completely surpassed them. It couldn’t have come at a better time and I wish I could read it for the first time again. BEGIN AGAIN is so genuine and heartfelt, and also just so fun. And it’s a great reminder that when it all goes off the rails, sometimes the best plan is simply to begin again.

This book was both cute and heavy at the same time if that makes any sense.
I somehow keep reading these books about grief and ugh its a punch to the solar plexus honestly.
I totally felt the chemistry btwn the 2 young MCs but I wish the ex boyfriend was not in the picture for the whole book
And that plot twist I knew from the 1st tutoring section.

Anyways I dont think it matters what age you are, you are forever learning and growing as person.

Mare~Slistsread

I am on the record saying that there are not enough contemporary YA books that take place during college so I had extremely high hopes with Emma Lord's new book and I am so happy to say my expectations were exceeded. Lord is one of my favorite voices in YA - you can instantly tell her zippy and funny voice from page 1. I really think with each book, Lord has gotten even better at balancing her irreverent tone with tender romance and lovely characters that grow in fantastic ways as her books go on.

Andie transfers into the prestigious Blue Ridge college to reunite with her hometown sweetheart boyfriend and to walk in the footsteps of her mother, a former "Knight" on the underground radio station of the college. Andie has lofty dreams of getting a degree in psychology, being with Connor forever and continuing her self-help column. Andie soon learns that college is its own beast, but as she begins her own journey, she meets wonderful friends - including roommate Shay and cute RA Milo. College is such a difficult and formative time and Lord really delves deep into what makes it such a challenging but rewarding time and how it can bring out the best in her characters.

The friendships and relationships in this book really shine and both Andie and Milo have a lot of past trauma that they work through together in ways that just made my heart want to explode out of my body.

Another fantastic YA book from Lord who is quickly becoming one of my 'must buy' authors.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emma, I really wanted to take my time with this one and you really said, but what if I made another book you wanted to zoom through. Queen of YA contemporary that I love and my heart. Honestly.

I love any work my Lord, I always know it will be fun and comforting to read the world she’s crafted in every new book. I felt a little less attached to this book compared to any other one of her books. The writing however was good, as I’ve come to expect with Emma Lord!

This was a great YA fiction book!

Andie was a relatable protagonist who showed a lot of growth and her internal monologues were insightful. The side characters were also a lot of fun. The were quirky, unique, well developed and added a great layer to the story. The college town setting created so much nostalgia for me. I really felt like I was back in college with the lush descriptions of the setting and the college events.

This book was fun with lots of shenanigans but it had lots of depth and tackled big topics like grief, identity, and ____. The balance between the fun and the big topics was perfect for a YA book.. I loved the underground radio station and the air of mystery it added to the lighter plot lines.

My only complaint was that I felt the ribbon activities were underdeveloped. For playing such a crucial role in the protagonists identity and journey, I felt like they were kind of glossed over and not utilized to their full potential.

Overall this was such a delightful and relatable YA read. There was so much heart and soul and I definitely recommend it.

Andie is a perfectionist…….she is fixated on fixing others but doesn’t want to think about or tackle her own issues of her life.
Begin Again is a story showcasing how people can struggle with their self-worth.
I loved the humorous aspect within the story.
Friendship
Forgiveness
Romance
Growth
The beginning of the story seemed to drag a bit but it does pick up. I’m glad I kept reading on.
A cute YA contemporary read for those that enjoy that genre.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the arc of Begin Again. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“The bagel is so perfectly pillowy on the inside and toasted on the outside, with this sweet tangy cream cheese unlike anything I have ever tasted in my entire life.”
Did that sentence leave you craving a bagel? Try a whole book full of imagery like this… and lots of bagels of course!
This story follows Andie Rose as she transfers colleges to be with her boyfriend Connor. She transfers to Blue Ridge State, a hyper competitive school, to pursue her dreams in psychology. Everything goes off the rails as soon as she arrives only to learn that Connor transferred out to be with Andie at her former school. Andie meets her roommate Shay who is trying to discover what she wants to major in, and Milo – her R.A. who disrupts all her ideas about love and relationships. Andie soon finds her place at the school as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away. Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.

Things I liked:
- As I said at the start, the imagery of the food and characters was incredible.
- I wish these characters were real because they were so sweet and cozy, it made me so happy for Andie!
Things I didn’t like:
- Andie was a bit much at times. She uses terms like ‘snickerdoodle’ instead of swearing and it was annoying.
- I also didn’t realize how young the characters were when I picked this one up, so it really felt like YA at times.

Overall I enjoyed the cozy-ness of this book, and I would definitely recommend it to my YA lovers out there!

3.5 Stars rounded up.

I thought this was cute! However, I don't think that it was particularly memorable. I picked it up because it is a YA book set that is set in college. I do think this was a good blend of YA themes with college aged themes as well.

Before this book, I'd already decided that I will read anything Emma Lord writes. I've loved her since her debut, Tweet Cute, and she is definitely my comfort YA author of choice. Her books are full of charm and tend to balance lightheartedness with deeper themes of friendship, family, and coming-of-age. This one was a little different from her previous books, simply because it took place at college, but it still had all the fun and sweetness of EL's past work.

Andie, our protagonist, is a high-achieving "fixer" who comes to college as a first-year transfer just wanting to live out all her pre-set plans for her life: transfer to Blue Ridge State (where her parents met and graduated from), major in psychology, become a self-help icon, and marry her childhood sweetheart, Connor. Also, her late mother was a big deal at this school, so she's trying to honor her legacy while dealing with a lot of unprocessed grief, and she likes to try to fix other people's problems because it makes her feel useful. So, yeah — Andie is definitely flawed and you have moments where you're frustrated with her, but I found her to be a very relatable teenage girl, and I was really rooting for her on her journey.

Throughout the book, we get to see Andie grow in her self-confidence, rebuild a relationship with her father, and find her own voice and place — apart from her mother's legacy, apart from Connor, and apart from any expectations that were placed on her externally and internally. Add in dorm shenanigans, college town fun, found family, learning to live with loss, and an RA-turned-friend-and-love-interest named Milo (PSA: grump x sunshine trope!), AND the Taylor Swift references. Yeah, I was ALL in from the beginning.

Also, Milo is such a wonderful friend and love interest. I was worried that the ex-boyfriend storyline would be drawn out for too long or that there would be some emotional cheating on Andie's end, but it was all wrapped up nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions!

Listen up, YA fans — Emma Lord has done it again!!!

🎙 REVIEW: BEGIN AGAIN 🎙

By Emma Lord

📖 SUMMARY: Andie Rose’s life plan is back on track — she just transferred to her parents’ alma mater, Blue Ridge State, where she’ll be with her boyfriend, get to participate in on-campus activities, and start her path to a stellar career. Her mom, who passed away a few years ago, started the legendary campus radio personality as a student, and Andie can’t wait to follow in her footsteps. But the plan goes awry when she discovers that her boyfriend actually transferred OUT of Blue Ridge State to be with her, and she seriously underestimated the workload of her new classes. Things start to look up when she takes on the role of the anonymous Squire on the campus radio station, and with the help of Milo, her cute RA, she starts to find her place in her new home.

💭 THOUGHTS: Emma Lord does not fail! I absolutely adore her main characters/narrators, and Andie is no exception. Who can’t relate to arriving at college with grand plans, only to have life not work out that way… I know I can! The anonymous radio personality aspect of the story is so fun. Something that Emma does really well is writing side characters with legitimate storylines of their own, which I loved following along with almost as much as the Andie and Milo storyline.

✨ MADE ME FEEL: nostalgic, giggly, ready to pick up a mic and be a radio host

👍 YOU’LL ENJOY IF: you like college campus stories but want one that’s more lighthearted than normal

Usually I love Emma's books but this one and I were not friends. I had a really hard time with the main character and found her overbearing in her need to help everyone. I get that that was part of the point of her journey but it just felt icky to me and put a damper on the entire story. Love the secret society aspect but the rest was just meh for me.

Thank you Wednesday Books and MacMillan Audio for the #gifted eARC/audiobook of BEGIN AGAIN!

Emma Lord is back again with another fantastic YA coming-of-age book. BEGIN AGAIN follows freshman Andie has she transfers to Blue Ridge State aka her dream college. She’s so thrilled to be joining her longtime boyfriend at school and to become a part of the university that her late mother loved so much. After a bumpy start, Andie slowly finds her place and her people.

BEGIN AGAIN made me nostalgic for my freshman year of college. I loved that rush of being independent for the first time and figuring out my interests, meeting new friends who quickly become like family, and falling in love.

I think both teens and adults will really enjoy this one. Her characters are relatable and charming. You can’t help but root for everything to work out for them.

I tandem read/listened to BEGIN AGAIN and really enjoyed both formats. My main complaint for the audio was the voices that the narrator used for Valeria and Shay. It was like a really weird accent for each of them and I had a hard time reconciling that with how I heard those characters talk in my head when I was reading.

BEGIN AGAIN comes out on 1/24/23!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5252749472
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnj1jcZrXZU/

The 'Emma Lord writes a book' to 'I love that book and fall in love with the characters' pipeline is terrifying and direct. This was a highly anticipated book for me, and I was not disappointed. Friends to lovers is not always my trope, but it works really well here and I love seeing Andie grow in confidence in college.

Begin Again by Emma Lord

Published: January 24, 2023
Wednesday Books
Pages: 343
Genre: Young Adult Romantic Comedy
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, lots of love, and a copious amount of grilled cheese.

“But people who only like to do stuff they’re already great at? They end up limiting themselves. And they end up regretting it.”

Andie is transferring to her dream school late in the year. She didn’t get in initially, but she was accepted as a transfer. Now, she has to do everything to prove she belongs. She meets people, participates in events, and tries to balance school and life. She holds close to her past to motivate her future until she realizes that her future is happening all around her.

This was such a sweet story. I loved Andie. She was easy to identify with. I loved Shay, Val, Milo, and the grandmas as well. The characters in this book were fantastic.

I loved the journey Andie took in this book. Such a beautiful coming-of-age moment. It’s a moment we all have, to varying degrees, and it was lovely.

I loved the scenes between Andie and her dad and the clarity he was able to bring to her life. The themes in this novel were so superb. The writing style, the delivery, and the pacing were perfect.

This was such an easy book to read. I didn’t want to put it down- and I only did it to sleep. I loved the way this story came together. And I loved the concept of taking the past and wearing it into your present.

The dynamic between the characters was beautiful, and I enjoyed watching them all connect. This was a charming story, and I highly recommend this book.

I adored this sweet book and smiled constantly while reading it. Andie is a freshman in college and has just transferred to the school her parents went to, which also happens to be where her long-distance boyfriend is going to school.

Everything about Andie is endearing and it's impossible not to root for her and want the best possible outcomes for her. While she clearly makes some mistakes, it's obvious her intentions are all so pure -- and she shows so much growth as a character.

Along with Andie, the supporting characters are incredible. Her roommate Shay, her tutor Valeria, her RA-turned-friend Milo, as well as her two Grandmothers that raised her and her toughest teacher. Each of them provide a unique and enriching voice to the plot, and the entire book is so heartwarming.

Not only is this book charming and fun, but there are also really great moments of growth and introspection from the characters.

This is the third book I have read by Emma Lord. In her first book, Tweet Cute, there are a lot of amazing food descriptions, and in this book, three of the characters work at a bagel shop and there is lots of fun bagel talk.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Emma Lord is a go to author for me that never disappoints and while BEGIN AGAIN isn’t my favorite book of hers, I still thoroughly enjoyed it 🤓

My thoughts:
-Gammy Nell and Grandma Maeve were hilarious & so cute
-i want to go to Bagelopolis 🤤 this book will have you majorly craving bagels
-MC Andie got on my nerves a little bit with wanting to solve everyone else’s problems
-Milo and his caffeine addiction 🫶🏻
-loved the inclusion of the MC having a bookstagrammer roommate

It was fun to have this be a college campus setting as opposed to her usual HS setting, but at times I felt like Andie was more immature than her HS characters she typically writes. Even so, I will continue to read whatever Emma Lord writes 👏🏻

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Wednesday Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Begin Again by Emma Lord

I’ve read 3 books by this author and I have to say she definitely has a style and formula. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me. Her books are enjoyable but always leave me wanting a bit more.

This story follows a freshman in college as she transfers to a new university for second semester. It is a coming of age story, about finding yourself amongst a tidal wave of pressure, expectations and new friendships.

I liked the characters well enough, I think my problem was that nothing really happened. It was a slow, introspective character driven novel. This is YA so it may just be that I’m not the target audience and did not relate to the story.

Overall I do think this author is very popular and I can see the appeal. I’m not sure why it took me 3 books to wonder why I keep trying to love these books, they just aren’t connecting.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @wednesdaybooks and @stmartinspress for an early copy of Begin Again by Emma Lord. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Begin Again is a young-adult contemporary romance about Andie Rose who is never without a solid life plan. She just transferred from a community college to Blue Ridge State to major in psychology and reach her goal of becoming a self-help figure. Her plans get derailed when she discovers that her boyfriend Connor transferred to her community college to be with her, her roommate Shay is still undecided with her major, and despite her track record of being The Fixer, Andie’s stumped on how to help her. Additionally, her caffeine-addicted RA Milo is contradicting all her ideas about love and relationships.
Despite her plans being derailed, she figures out that she’s more than her mother (her idol who founded the pirate radio show at Blue Ridge State) as she takes on the role of the Squire at said radio show, and not all her plans are the best ones.

Firstly, I wouldn’t say this is a straight-out romance novel, it’s more of a coming of age where Andie discovers her true self and what she wants. There’s teenage drama all around with each character dealing with their own troubles, and Andie tries to fix them at her expense, and as Milo mentions, to avoid dealing with her own problems. The novel dives deep into healing and personal growth, and how Shay, Valeria, Milo, and Andie all help each other out.

While overall the entire story was heartwarming, I found this particular trait that Andie does throughout the story – she swears with her favorite desserts. Might be trying to be cute but it was quite annoying, like, why even? And it’s different desserts every time!

Rating Begin Again ⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases January 24th, 2023.

Begin Again by Emma Lord was such a delight. This is my second novel by this author and I’m so happy I enjoyed this one. I couldn’t put this one down! Each chapter kept me wanting more. Andie was such a relatable character and great narrator. Emma Lord has won me over again!