Emma Lord is the queen of young adult books and I loved this one! Andie is navigating college as a transfer student, juggling grades, a long distance relationship, and finding bits of her parents' past all around campus.

There is so much to love in this one as we see Andie grow, finding her way and recognizing she doesn't need to fix everyone else's problems and instead can focus on herself and her own goals. I loved the college campus setting and the friends she made, including her bookstagrammer roomie and sarcastic but sweet RA.

There are lots of moments of self-discovery, creating a found family, and making peace with the past that make this a perfect coming-of-age story (with a dash of charming romance). Highly recommend if you need a heartwarming read that will have you reminiscing on your own college days (if you're a bit older than the target demographic ;) ).

Thank you Wednesday Books for my advance copy in exchange for a review.

Overall I gave 4 stars...this was super cute and enjoyable, however I am absolutely not the right age range for this one! Sometimes YA works this mid-thirtys gal and sometimes it feels too young. Too young isn't bad as I am obviously not the YA target demographic, but this one definitely felt too young for me.

However, if you are thinking of getting this for a YA reader in your life: pick this one up!! It was delightful, cute, charming, and felt very relevant for 2022.

A charming read! The main character is quite likable and her supporting cast is vibrant and fleshed out. There were a bit too many plot points that weren't fully fleshed out to give it higher than a three, but enjoyable nonetheless.

This is exactly what I love about YA romance. Andie and Milo learned so much about themselves and grew so much just by being friends. Andie transfers to Blue Ridge mid semester to be at the college that her parents met at years ago. She has a legacy there and can't wait to experience it all. Her boyfriend was supposed to be there as well, but he transferred back to community college just as Andie leaves.
To be honest, I am glad that he boyfriend, Connor, didn't make it there. She was able to open up and meet so many new people without him. They were together for what seemed like forever and she needed to find out who she was, without being under his wing.
Milo was the token grumpy boy that lit up when Andie came into view. She pulled him out of his misery so he didn't drown there. They both had a lot of baggage to work through, but the group of friends they had on their side was so much fun and so supportive. It made me nostalgic for my time at college and I feel like I experienced everything they were going through on some level and it was amazing how the book transported me back.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's and Emma Lord for an early copy!

Oh, I adored this. Emma Lord is really cementing herself as one of my favorite YA authors today. This was adorable, funny, and very heartfelt — I think her most deeply felt novel so far, more than the comedy and antics of her previous ones — and left me smiling and just a bit teary. Lord continues to be excellent at writing friends and family, from a wonderful roommate Shay to the little found family to Andie’s quirky grandmas. I loved Milo, particularly as more was revealed of him. It also fulfills my desire for more YA books about college, as it’s always surprised me there aren’t more about college years in this genre/tone. Lord did a great job of capturing what it’s like to start college and look for your place and your people, especially when it doesn’t come easily (and her setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains was a perfect touch for me, someone from the region just like Lord is). It tips into more silliness with the premise (which I did adore) and all the competition, but was balanced out by so much about finding your footing and working through relationships and loss. So lovely, and a book I would have loved even more at 18, away from the mountains but a bit lost in college too despite being where I knew I wanted to be.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to get a galley!

Emma Lord has been one of my must read authors since Tweet Cute, and with every subsequent book I’ve enjoyed watching new characters grapple with complex family dynamics and the double edged sword of secrets.

Secrets are everywhere in Begin Again — Milo is keeping one from most of the school, Andie is keeping one from most of her friends and Connor is keeping a few big ones from the people he claims to love.

As a notorious consumer of romance novels, the likely HEA here was clear from the synopsis (even more after a few chapters in if you’re familiar with the Taylor Swift song cited in the book’s titled). But rather than the plot, it’s Lord’s characters that catapulted Begin Again to be my second favorite of her books.

Andie is anxious and overcompensating and uses her desire to help her friends as a thinly disguised coping mechanism for her mother’s death. But in the grumpy/sunshine dichotomy, Andie becomes the clear sunshine, mostly in comparison with Milo, a caffeine-addicted RA who loves his quiet hours. But unlike most of his romance novel counterparts, the rationale for his "love is a scam" stance holds some water, though his grudge holding doubles as a conflict avoider’s dream coping mechanism.

Aside from the romantic leads, several supporting characters are given their own arcs, most notably Val and Shay, aka the rest of the All Knighters friend group who made me want to text in all my college group chats. I’m not usually nostalgic for those days but the bits Lord captures (trivia nights, trauma bonding over tough classes, making friends through work study, the tight knit community of both dormmates and extracurricular activities) truly took me back.

Come for TSwift's Begin Again interpreted through the lens of the grumpy/sunshine trope, stay for the collegiate hyjinks and some heartwarming familial reconciliations.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the copy of this ARC. Unfortunately, this book was just a little too YA for me. I’ve loved the author’s past books (especially When You Get The Chance), but the all-knowing teenager and swearing with favorite foods are just things that don’t work well for me at this point in my life. Definitely great for an actual teenage audience, though!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview. I always enjoy reading anything Emma Lord writes and this book was no exception. It made for the perfect cozy, winter weather read. The characters were fun, likeable, and well written. The story made me experience many emotions. All in all, it was a fun read.

I'm just gonna say it: Emma Lord can do almost no wrong in my opinion.

The friendships? Top notch.
The nostalgia for college: Top notch.
The angst? Top notch.
The banter? Top notch.
The constant referrals to pop culture I love? Top notch.

This book made me crave my days back in college - the friendships you make, the studying you do, the crazy amount of coffee and caffeine you inject into yourself to make it through the day.

I loved the shoutout to bookstagrammers through Andie's roommate (and honestly, kind of loved Shay's whole personality), I loved Andie's subtle plan to fix Milo, and Milo...damn, if I didn't fall in love with him within the first few pages. PLUS - I did not see the "twist" coming and I freaking loved it. Like LOVED.

Honestly, just, do yourself a favorite and read this book. You won't regret it.

I’m speechless.

It was an absolute honour to get the chance to read this absolutely sweet novel by Emma Lord. I adored Tweet Cute the first time I read it, and Begin Again brought me all the feels just the same.

Begin Again navigates us through friendships, love, heartbreak, grief, and how difficult post secondary education and finding yourself can be.

This friends-to-lovers masterpiece checked all the boxes for me. I can’t wait for everyone else to read and appreciates Andie’s story of finding herself, repairing family relationships, building friendships and finding love.

A big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 stars from me, Bookish Bree

Check this one out on Jan 24th, 2023

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the gift book!

Emma Lord is such a great YA author - I loved her other book, Tweet Cute, so when I saw this one was coming out, I knew I needed to read it.

I felt like I was transported back to my college days as I was reading this. I loved all the nostalgia is gave me! Dorm living, found family, finding new hobbies, finding yourself - all wrapped up into a super cute book!

I thought the perspective of being on an anonymous radio show host in college was so fun. I thought the storyline unfolded really nicely and felt really well rounded. A light hearted, Disney channel kind of book .

I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for a cute YA book about family, self growth, and some charm.

Begin Again by Emma Lord is another amazing YA romance from one of my favorite authors. Andie Rose transfers to Blue Ridge State mid year to be with her longtime boyfriend Connor. Too bad he’s transferred back home to the local community college to be with her. So, on her own for the first time, Andie has to find her footing in a new place, surrounded by strangers, while still attempting to save an already strained long distance relationship.

I loved this story. It made me remember my first year at college, figuring out who I wanted to be, finding new friends that are still closer than family, wondering if I was going to be good enough. Lord does a great job of capturing those emotions and putting it all on the page. Andie and Milo are pure joy together, even though they’re both weighed down by grief and the heaviness of loss. She’s sunshine. He’s an over-caffeinated grump. Together, they’re perfect.

The publisher says ages 12-18 years, but I would put this one solidly on the older end of YA/the young end of NA. The main characters are 18-19 years old, and because of the subject matter and the language, I.certainly wouldn’t want my twelve year old reading it. (It’s crazy to think I have a twelve year old.)

Every time I think *this* is the book that will be my favourite of Emma Lord’s, she puts out a new one and it somehow turns out to be even better than her previous one. Seriously, I have no idea how she manages it.

There are certain things I’ve come to expect from her books, like very relatable set of characters, found family, more focus on familial relationships, lovable main characters, a unique story in a normal/ everyday setting and of course, lots of food references (enough to make you hungry throughout reading)

Begin Again delivers all of this and more. I will say this book is more serious than her previous ones as it deals with grief over losing a loved one but also because it involves lots of introspection and our main characters facing their fears and becoming better versions of themselves for achieving their dreams.
But it’s this distinctively Emma Lord way of managing both emotional and light hearted scenes that never made me feel overwhelmed.

I don’t want to talk a lot about the plot of the book because there were so many things that (pleasantly) surprised me and I’d love for everyone to keep reading and discover it all on their own too but there are so many things to look forward to in this book: Bookish trivia, Snow ball fights, multiple games of Werewolf, book clubs, kayaking, dance parties and many more fun things!!

Andie is such a fun protagonist, I instantly loved her! She’s a morning person, an over-achiever, gets involved in EVERYTHING, loves her friends to death and is just an overall such a sunshine person, you can’t help loving her.
Milo is a caffeine-addicted, total grump in her comparison, with wry humor and sarcastic quips always ready! They were so different from each other, this pairing couldn’t be more perfect!!
His ‘love is a scam’ dialogues always made me laugh so hard.

Friends to Lovers is one of my favourite tropes ever and there were so many *feelings* that I was squirming in my seat and just rooting for these two to GET TOGETHER ALREADY!! (And for Andie to leave that garbage of a human)

Also, ALSO, we can’t not talk about Shay and Valeria!! Shay is Andie (and Milo’s) best friend and I was so pleasantly surprised by this very cool thing she’s really passionate about (most of us will relate 👀) and it made my little bookish heart heart SO happy!!
I love Valeria and she also plays an important part in the last 1/3rd part of the story.

Their entire friend group was so cute and lovely!! Just thinking about these four makes me want to start another reread!!

What I’ve written so far is barely touching the surface of this amazing book but I don’t want to bore you all with my review, I’d rather you just go ahead and read this book and come back to fangirl with me because there’s no chance anyone sane can’t love this book!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press) for sending me an e-arc!

Short synopsis: Andi transfers to another college to go to school with her boyfriend of 3 years, only to find out he transferred to her previous school. When all her best laid land seem to go awry, Andi realizes sometimes life doesn’t go as planned.

My thoughts: This is a sweet story about a girl trying her best to get as close to her recently deceased mom as she can.

I loved that Shea was a Bookstagrammer, and that her side of the room is reminiscent of what my house looks like. An over abundance of books, which makes book lovers like me completely and utterly happy.

And I’d grandmas were the best! So witty and loving, went out of their way to be the mother figure andi no longer had in her life.

This had so much talk of bagels, and food in general, that I found myself craving a good bagel smeared in cream cheese! Overall I liked the coming of age Ya read, but hoped for a little more romance:

Read if you love:
- Diverse characters
- Food talk
- YA reads
- Coming of age stories
- Bookstagram

It's been a while since I read a college book, and this was the perfect accompaniment for watching S2 of SLOCG! I loved the characters in this book, as I always do in Emma Lord books. I especially loved our grumpy hero, Milo, and how he balanced out and understood our sunshiney MC. There were lots of fun, unexpected turns in this book, which I appreciated! And I absolutely loved the ending.

4.5 stars.
I fully did not expect to like this book that much, the description sounded good but maybe a little cliché. However,about 3 chapters in i was hooked and really started to like all of the characters… except for Connor.
I relate a lot to Andie in the way that i would love to be able to fix everyone else’s issues, but then i am terrible at taking care of myself in the same way.
This book ended up being very warm and comforting to read. It shows that not all things need to be fixed and sometimes its okay to just let loose and enjoy time with your friends and fully learn who you are instead of trying to be someone you’re not.

Emma Lord creates the best YA. Her books never disappoint and this one was not an exception. Would recommend for those who enjoy YA romance.

When you want a book with an authentic YA voice and a focus on family and friend groups, look to Emma Lord! I've read her hit books "Tweet Cute" and "When You Get the Chance", and if you enjoyed those, you'll like "Begin Again"! I loved the cast of characters: protagonist Andie, her book lover roommate Shay, her grumpy caffeine-addicted RA Milo, and her stats tutor Valeria, an aspiring fantasy novelist. There were several interesting plot lines that explored the struggles and uncertainties that Andie and her friends experience during the semester. Some plot lines I felt were a bit lackluster (like the ribbons), and moments were a bit cheesy, but I did overall enjoy how the story progressed.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me a digital review copy via NetGalley.

I love Emma lord books because they always pack so much emotion yet witty banter and fun characters who are all navigating tough backgrounds. Andie has transferred to blue ridge in the middle of the year, chasing a dream she’s always had. She wanted to be closer to her mom’s memories and this book takes you through all those waves of grief. Andie misses her mom and her dad isn’t around because it’s too hard for him. She navigates new friendships and tries to understand new ones as she also reaches for her mom’s memory through blue ridge’s ribbon games. There's typical college aged angst mixed in with a lot of soul searching

Emma Lord knows how to write heroines you want to root for, love interests you want to melt for, and plots that are somehow both fresh and nostalgic. Begin Again is her latest novel that does everything I said above and more. THIS BOOK IS SO FUN. And charming, and witty, and adorable! Anyone who misses college should read this. Anyone who’s excited about college should read this. And anyone who likes a good coming-of-age story full of wisecracks and found family and unique bagels should most definitely read this.