Emma Lord does it again! I love how atmospheric her YA novels are.

Andie is a fixer in every way (relatable), and thinks she has everything worked out when she transfers midyear to be with her boyfriend. Unfortunately (or fortunately..) he transfers home, and Andie is left to become her own person at the college her mom and dad attended. She meets the best friends and has a multitude of adventures and misadventures.

I loved watching Andie discover herself, repair some relationships, and build new ones!

The romance is a lovely part of the story, but not the entire story. This book is the perfect cure for the January gloom! It feels bright and sunny!

As a 30 something I sometimes feel too old to read YA, but also, I don’t care, hahaha. This novel, set on a college campus and due to chapter ending cliff hangers it was so hard to put down, as I continuously said to myself, I’ll just finish this one chapter, which easily turned into just one more... It made me yearn for the new setting, defining yourself era of college. I loved the main character, Andie and her desire to connect with her deceased mother at her Alma mater through a secret society, she was just so easy to like. I also loved to watch her relationship develop with her dad, it made me miss my own.

Say hello to this upcoming release from the author of Tweet Cute and When You Get the Chance!

This college-centered coming-of-age story is sweet, humorous, and brimming with Taylor Swift references. Definitely a must-read for Emma Lord fans!

I have been an Emma Lord fan since I first read Tweet Cute back in 2020, so I was incredibly excited when I received an advanced reader copy of Begin Again. Thankfully, it did not disappoint! Begin Again has everything I would expect from an Emma Lord book: exceptional character development, a cute romance, a gut-wrenching family storyline, and, of course, lots of food.

The first year of college is a difficult time for everyone, but Andie is having a tougher time than most. She transferred to Blue Ridge State, her dream school, in the middle of the year. Andie’s mom passed away when she was young, but before her mom was a local radio star, she was legendary on campus as “the Knight”, the host of an underground radio show. Moreover, she was a part of one of Blue Ridge’s legendary secret societies, and Andie will only know which one if she can manage to get into one of them. So on top of her schoolwork and her new job, she is also soon juggling surprise activities to get into a secret society.

I love seeing more YA books set in college. The first year especially is a tumultuous time, and I think lots of young college students will find comfort and assurance in Begin Again. I found Andie’s experience to be extremely relatable, and I loved reading about her journey. That being said, I do have two main issues with how college is portrayed just in terms of fiction vs reality. Within the book, the secret societies are fun clubs and the activities to get into them are fun things like “dance party” and “snowman building competition.” However, in real life secret societies (and other similar things like Greek Life), have a long history of hazing and generally not being safe places. Within the universe of the book it is fine, but I worry about young readers being left with inaccurate impressions. Secondly, please for the love of God do not date your RA. I cannot even begin to tell you what a bad idea it is, not only because it is probably against your school’s rules. Do not do it.

Despite these few quibbles, I really did enjoy the book. The side characters were memorable and well developed, from Shay and Milo to Andie’s Grandmas. I thought Lord did a great job with the dynamics of Andie’s friend group, and I loved reading about their shenanigans.

My favorite part of the book was the progression of Andie’s relationship with her dad. After her mom died, her dad withdrew and Andie was mostly raised by her grandmothers. She has felt very abandoned by him, but at the same time while he has started making an effort to repair their relationship, Andie finds herself avoiding his calls. They both have a lot of work to do, and I liked watching their bonding and the gradual repair of their relationship.

The fun moments in the book are fun and cute, but what really made an impact on me were the more serious moments where Andie has to make some choices and step up to the plate. Watching Andie grow was really the highlight of the book for me. I would recommend Begin Again to Emma Lord fans and anyone interested in a YA college novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel. I ended up reading this in about a day and found it pretty enjoyable. It is not a perfect novel but it was definitely a good one. Seeing Andie try to find herself in the new environment she has always wanted to be at and her evolution was intriguing. The supporting characters were really good and Milo was adorable in how he wants to help. A very good example of a well crafted coming of age story and I am interested to read other books from this author.

Sometimes all you need is a sweet and swoony story that tugs on your heartstrings and has you sighing all over the place, and that is exactly what you get with Emma Lord’s “Begin Again.”

The book follows Andie, a college freshman who transfers to her dream school to follow in her parents’ footsteps and surprise Connor, her high school boyfriend – but discovers that Connor has transferred to the community college in their hometown. Though she’s gobsmacked by this, Andie wants to stay at the new school, where she meets Milo, her grump of an RA who drinks too much coffee and is passionate about expanding the work-study program.

Both Andie and Milo have complicated relationships with love and family, and I love how Lord navigated these emotional beats in a way that felt realistic but hopeful. I can’t resist a grumpy MMC, so I adored Milo, and really loved the friend group Andie cultivates at school.

There’s so much great character growth in this book as Andie and Milo both work through betrayal and grief in parallel, and though it’s a slow burn with no open-door scenes (I’d categorize this as YA in a college setting), the emotional pay-off still hits in the best way.😌

Begin Again follows Andie Rose, a second-semester transfer student at her dream college. Blue Ridge State is highly competitive but holds a special place in her heart. Her parents met there, and since her mother passed away when she was a tween, she wants to reconnect with her mother's past.

Andie has other ambitions, too. Her goal is to major in psychology and eventually become a self-help figure. It's within reach, and nothing can stop her.

But when she arrives on campus, her plans come to a screeching halt. Her boyfriend, Connor, transferred out of Blue Ridge and back to their local community college. She's also struggling in her statistics class. Plus, she's at a loss with how to help her roommate Shay pick a major or her R.A. Milo kick his caffeine habit.

Throughout the book, Andie experiences the kind of growth someone can only hope to have once they're out on their own. I love a contemporary with a good friend group, and Emma Lord has done an excellent job with this.

My only problem with this book was the conflict near the end of the story. I saw some of it coming from a mile away, but some miscommunication could have been resolved much faster.

Begin Again is heartwarming, cute, and one of the best YA contemporaries I've read in a long time. I recommend it to anyone looking for something on the light academia side of fiction. (Also, the Taylor Swift references!!!)

Thank you to Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've read all of Emma Lord's books and I've enjoyed each and every one. Begin Again was no exception. I will say I guessed the twist/conflict in the story early on, but I still found the ending so satisfying. I adored these characters!

Andie Rose is transferring to her dream school in the middle of her freshman year and she couldn't be more excited. She wants to be there for so many reasons, but one is to join her boyfriend Connor. Who she finds out transferred to their community college to be with her. Oye ve. Now she's on her own ready to make a go at the college experience she always wanted.

Andie finds a new friend group, including her roommate Shay, RA Milo, and tutor Val. She also starts helping out with the top secret broadcast her mom founded. Things are hectic but good, until things come crashing down around her.

When I say Andie was relatable... sheesh. The helper, the planner, the organizer. Totally me. I Aside from her, Milo was my favorite in the book. Emma writes great heroes. As this takes place in college it was more NA than YA and it worked for me! This one was great and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

If you are looking for a medium-paced, romance for young adults this book is absolutely for you. Was this book perfect? No. But did it leave you with a smile on your face hoping to learn just as much about yourself, as Andie did? Yeah, it did. If you ever wanted to know what going to college will be like, how there will be amazing moments, and sad moments…then read this book. Lord does an amazing job setting realistic viewpoints of the college experience and truly doesn’t gloss over much of anything.

I loved the journey Andie took to find herself away from home, even if it was unintentionally done. The lessons these characters face really sit with you during and after the book. It had my heart hurting and laughing throughout. And isn’t that exactly what you want in a book?

The supporting characters were some of my favorites, but the grannies won by a landslide! Because while sassy and straightforward, you always got the sense they would drop everything and be there for Andie. They were a warm hug when things were getting too heavy and I loved that feeling.

My dislikes are more nitpicky and personal, more than a ‘dig’ at the book. I am not fond of miscommunication or a lack of communication. I know the characters are freshmen/ sophomores in college, I just struggle with the fact that people in a relationship wouldn’t pick up the phone and talk to each other, or even text, more so than was alluded to through the book.

Lastly the pacing seemed off in places to me. There were parts that read a bit slow-paced, instead of the medium-pace the rest of the book sets, and I couldn’t tell if that was intentionally done due to the scenes, or if it was unintentional. Either way, for me, it just didn’t read smoothly.

I really enjoyed Tweet Cute and was very excited to read this book. However it fell flat for me. Although the book is set in a college setting it was a little too childish at times for my liking. The main character replacing swear words with food very annoying.

Thank you Wednesday Books for a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was YA perfection and I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s cute, covers heavy topics in a way that still made the story itself feel light, and was full of so much heart.

I went into this expecting a cute college romance but this book delivered so much more. Andie is a perfectionist who is constantly aiming to take care of others, even at the expense of her own goals and dreams. When she transfers to her dream school of Blue Ridge State she expects to surprise her boyfriend, only to discover that things aren’t going according to plan. Enter Milo, her dorm’s moody, coffee loving R.A. who Andie is increasingly drawn to over the course of the semester.

Andie and Milo are both in need of personal growth and healing. They find each other at the exact right time and they support one another through their personal journeys. I loved seeing their relationship grow almost as much as I loved seeing both of their individual character growth.

This is a cute YA romance that covers a variety of coming of age topics. If you’re looking for a college romance with the friends to lovers and grumpy x sunshine tropes then this is the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I have not stopped thinking about this one since I read it! I have loved all of Emma Lord’s books but this one is definitely my favorite! If you enjoy books set on college campuses, bagels of all different kinds & flavors, the sweetest albeit slightly grumpy RA and the girl who is trying to make the most of every day, you’ll love this one! Easily 5 stars & will definitely be a re-read for me in the future!

Emma Lord, you have done it again! I absolutely loved this book. Reading this felt like a warm hug. A perfectly wonderful coming-of-age rom-com that deals with grief, transitioning to college, making new friends, and personal growth.

I love that Emma Lord's characters feel realistic in that they're your typical charming, romantic leads, but they still have very human flaws. Both Andie and Milo are so likable and you just find yourself rooting for them. The banter between the characters is so fun to read and had me giggling so much. I think Emma Lord did a wonderful job at encompassing the experience of your first year in college. There were definitely many aspects of Andie's experience that I could relate to my own first-year experience.

The ribbon hunt and the Knight's Watch were my favorite parts of this book. Andie Rose, I will protect you with my life. The title of this book being the title of a Taylor Swift song just makes it so much better. Overall, this book was such a cute, lighthearted, and heartwarming rom-com and I absolutely loved reading it.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Begin Again follows Andie and her life at her new college, the one she transfered to because her boyfriend goes there and her mom went there. The same college at once she arrives at she finds tha that her boyfriend transfered from to go to the community college Andie was previously attending. Andie then must find her own way while trying to balance the shadow of her mother's legacy and memory around this scavenger hunt. Andie goes through trials and tribulations during this time, finds good friends, and finds more of herself along the way. I thought this book was cute but moved a little slow for me. I was annoyed by the "cute language" in place of swear words. Milo was adorable and I enjoyed Andie's roommate Shay too.

This was such a cute book about beginning college life, trying to fit in, trying to find yourself and first loves. It also dealt with grief of a parent and handling difficult familial relationships. All that to say, I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it. I didn't know if I would care that much about a girl that transferred half-way through her Freshman year to a college where she thought her boyfriend was at. I have LOVED Emma Lord's other YA books, but they took place in high school and something about the angsty-ness of high school dramas had me hooked. So going into this one, I wasn't too sure what I was getting myself into, but I really enjoyed it!

Emma Lord does such a good job at writing characters and character development. The main character, Andie Rose, grew on me and she has my heart, although I was slightly annoyed at her using foods as curse words, ha! Andie, transfers mid-year to join her boyfriend at his college but when she gets there she realizes that he transferred back home. She has to stay and make the best of the situation and while she's there, she discovers herself. This was such a sweet book and by the end I was sad it was over! I was definitely rooting for Andie to cheat on her boyfriend with her cute RA, HA! I just loved how she wrote Andie and Milo's friendship and growth. This was a great YA/new adult romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Begin Again by Emma Lord is a delightful and engaging YA romcom about finding yourself. Andromeda (Andie) Rose is excited to start college at her parent’s alma mater, even after discovering her boyfriend transferred from there to the community college she moved from. Sounds romantic? Think again! Andie has much self-discovery to go through, including learning about the true nature of her relationship with Connor. Some discoveries are exciting, and others quite the bitter pill, but she must go through it all to come out on the other side, the person she was always meant to be.
Actual Reading Experience:
I just loved this story! I could relate to Andie’s college experience and empathize with her pain over her parents. I even shed a few brief tears at one particularly poignant part in the story when Andie comes to terms with her complicated feelings of self that she tied together with her grief. When she looks at her mom’s picture as her self-awareness becomes clear, it gives me all the feels.
I also loved the secret society/ribbon hunt plotline in the story. It is a great deal of fun and made me wish I had something like that to do when I was in college. I wouldn’t have minded if it had played a more significant role in the story as I wanted to know more. I love puzzles and games.
The writing is highly engaging and paints a story that feels authentic through and through for me. This is my second book by Emma Lord, and based on the writing I experienced in both stories, I will continue to look for her books as they come out. She takes me to a place where I can reconnect with my younger self and remember the fun and heartwarming aspects of my teens and college years.
Characters:
Andromeda (Andie) Rose – Andie is a fixer. She lives to help others solve their problems no matter what they are. And she always has a natural knack for finding just the right suggestions to offer. But she often hides behind her fixer persona, not dealing with her grief over her mother’s death and the anger at her father for leaving her in the care of her grandmothers when he moved to another town for work.
Connor – Connor and Andie have known each other forever – literally. After one semester at Blue Ridge State University, he transfers to the local community college, surprised to find that his girlfriend Andie is not there anymore. She is now at Blue Ridge. I had Connor’s number from the first moment he was introduced in the story, and that’s all I have to say about him.
Milo, Shay, and Valeria are the wonderful friends she makes at Blue Ridge State. They help Andie discover who she is and support her when things go wrong. They are a wonderful heartwarming group, full of personality and unique qualities that speak to their extraordinary character development.
Narration & Pacing:
The story is told solely through Andie’s POV in first-person narration. She has a quirky way of using her favorite foods instead of profanity and a bubbly, outgoing personality that is infectious. I’ve never used profanity, even during my college years, so I was okay with that detail, though I understand it is irritating for some readers.
The pace is quick and can be described as medium to fast. I found that the book went very quickly for me – a one-sitting kind of read that I didn’t want to end.

Setting:
Blue Ridge State University is the setting for this fun yet poignant story. The story is about college life and finding yourself, so the location is significant. The fictional college was true to real life. The partying aspect was downplayed A LOT, but that wasn’t the main character’s thing, nor the people close to her.
Read if you like:
• Coming-of-Age stories full of heart and personality
• Stories about college living and learning
• PG-rated YA romantic comedies

4.5/5 stars

Begin Again is my fourth book by this author. It is YA contemporary fiction/romance.

The narrator is 18 year old Andie Rose (1st person POV). She transfers mid-year from community college to the prestigious Blue Ridge State. This is the school that her mother attended (her mom died 7 years ago).

Andie has always known what she is good at, giving advice. She's had a life plan for herself. And she loves helping friends and even strangers.

There is so much that I loved about this book. I really enjoyed going on Andie's journey starting at a new school. I loved seeing her meet friends. And I was invested in her relationship with her dad.

Her grandmas were so funny. And The Knights' Watch radio show was epic. I really liked seeing her at her work study program and was fascinated by everything that happened in her statistics class.

There were a few things revealed that were a bit too obvious. And I really wish that somehow I could have been surprised. Or else I just wish that everything had been spelled out sooner. Also I think that everything to do with her high school boyfriend Connor should have been dealt with much earlier in the book. And I would have liked the book to have had more romance.

Overall, I absolutely loved Milo, Shay and Valeria. I really did enjoy this book. Andie was such a great heroine. And I really loved her story.

Emma Lord has killed it again with another book. This adorable YA book was filed with friends, adventures and lots of snack cakes. When the main character transfers to her parents alma mater and also the school where her boyfriend currently attends. Andie has a plan in mind and it quickly goes awry. I adored Andie and all the other characters in Andies orbit.

Andie transfers to Blue Ridge State, her dream school which is also coincidentally where her boyfriend attends, mid-semester to find that he's transferred back to the community college where she had been studying the previous semester. Andie finds herself a community at Blue Ridge State in her roommate, grouchy RA, and stats tutor while trying to collect enough ribbons for both her and her boyfriend in a campus-wide ribbon hunt to join a secret society. Though of course, everything doesn't go according to plan.

I love the trend of YA books about college that aren't as sexually charged as New Adult titles are, but this book reads like it's college as written for people who have never attended college (aka high school students). From weird contradictions about Blue Ridge State and a blatant FERPA violation to the fact that Andie only seems to be in one class the setting lacked realism. The plot ended up being predictable and Andie felt over-the-top in a way that made her hard to be sympathetic too. I liked Milo, but otherwise this novel was a no for me.

Begin Again
Andie always has a plan. And when things don’t go the way she planned, she makes a new plan. For instance, now she has to transfer to Blue Ridge State, not an easy feat mid-year, considering it’s never been done before. There she will major in psychology, after collecting as many ribbons as possible to join one of the three secret groups, just like her mom did. But from the moment she arrives her plans start to go sideways again, starting with her boyfriend who surprise transferred himself to the hometown college she transferred out of. Her incredible roommate needs a major, and her grumpy R.A. keeps trying to ruin her ideas on love and relationships, as does the school’s anonymous pirate radio hit-Knight, a program her mom started years before. When Andie finds out the Knights secret identity & that of his helper, she accidentally falls into the identity of the Knight’s Squire one ill-fated morning. But maybe this secret identity was what she needed all along.

I loved this story. It’s filled with the whit, sarcasm, and quips I’ve come to love from Emma as well as some personal heartbreak. Andie was an easy character to relate to, having been a fixer myself and her friend-family even more so. The struggles she faces to fit into college and dorm life, two separate things mind you, are so relatable to so many people. I would highly recommend to seniors getting ready for their first year at college. Shay was also a really relatable character in her struggle to find a major. You really have to think about what you’re good at and what might fit for you and Shay portrayed that struggle well. Milo was an easy character to fall in love with, with his green eyes, coffee addiction, and how much he cared for his friends. I wish Andie would have ditched Connor sooner, but I did like her, not quite struggle, but taking a beat before breaking with him to process everything. With the kind of relationship they had and how deeply she cares for people it made more sense. Anyway another perfectly lovely story from one of my favorite authors.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley and Wednesday books/St. Martin’s press in exchange for an honest review