I love the energy in Emma Lord’s stories. I always find creative but not overdone dialogue, and fun personalities to meet. Some of the inner monologue is a little on the nose as far as introspective thinking goes. Things also got solved pretty neatly by the end. But the journey was so fun. I adored the (real) love interest and the adventures involving him. Definitely a sweet ride.

loved this story of a romance and finding oneself. loved milo's family and loved her friends. I loved that she was alot like her mom and really wanted to help others .

I read this book in under a handful of sittings. It was an easy, fun YA contemporary! 3.5 stars.

Andie transfers to the university where her parents fell in love, her mom initiated a secret radio station on campus, and her boyfriend is currently studying. She becomes good friends with her roommate Shay, her tutor Valerie, and her RA Milo. There were definitely moments when I was gushing over their friendships. University friendships are so special and I loved being transported back to that experience.

As the main character, Andie definitely has some flaws. Although she loves to give advice, I was not convinced she was very good at it. Even still, I loved Andie's "fix-it" personality and her grit to achieve anything she sets her mind to. Overall, the characters were a highlight for me.

Milo was by far my favorite character. Who doesn't love a grumpy, coffee snob.

When it came to the story line, there were quite a few things in the plot that felt underdeveloped. Andie's plans to collect all of these ribbons, the dialogue on the radio show, and even her relationship with her boyfriend left me feeling like there could have been more to it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The relationship between Andie and her family was relatable and although it wasn't the main focus, it was very well fleshed out. The storyline that takes place between Andie and her new friend group was very heartwarming and the concept of the radio show was interesting. Overall, this book was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but in a good way. I toroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

i went into this book pretty much blind not really expecting much except for the fact that it was the same author as tweet cute which i loved so i figured i'd probably enjoy this too, and maybe it's just because i had no expectations but it really happily surprised me! i ended up loving so much about this book! the characters, the storyline, the almost kind of ~mystery~ behind what the ribbons meant. also the fact that i'm kind of in what i like to call "my bagel phase" right now its quite fun that the main hangout spot seemed to be a bagel shop, i am super jealous of all the flavours and how good those bagels seem to be! since i didn't really know much about this book, there was a point around the 38% mark that i was worried i had guessed the ending and that something one of the characters said was going to be foreshadowing and let's just say THANK GOD it wasn't, because i would have been so unsatisfied with that ending ahaha overall i am very happy i read this book and would highly recommended to anyone looking for a fun, nostalgic and cute college romance!

This book had so many of the details that I love about YA romances: an amazing love interest, strong friendships, and familial conflict. Everyone can relate to Andie and even to the rest of the cast of characters because of the intricacies of their desires and their perseverance even when everything is seemingly going wrong. Read this book if you love YA romances and if you’re intrigued by the idea of what might happen if you transferred colleges to surprise your boyfriend.

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

I’ve never read a book that reminded me of my University days more then this one. From the first moment of being unsure of where you belong to the journey of building a close knit friend group it brought me back to some of the best years of my life.

The way the relationships grow slowly over time and you get to grow with the characters was fun. I laughed and cried when the characters and once I started to read I couldn’t stop wanting to shout at the characters be missing the obvious.

There are some nice twists in the story that were easy to see coming but how they were executed was surprising to read.

I fell in love with the world and people. It’s a story I will return to just to Begin Again

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday books for this eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am a huge fan of Emma Lord and I was thrilled to read another one of her books. This was charming and adorable and I loved the two main characters. This was a story about self growth and discovery, as well as letting go of the expectations that we sometimes set for ourselves because of other people and making decisions for yourself. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute romance novel and it was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC edition of the book!

Wow! I found out how much I LOVE school/college focus books! I was hooked from the start, the moment we find out that they transferred to each other schools I knew it was going to be wild!

I feel like everyone can find themselves a little in each character, navigating the uncertainty of the future, new experiences and falling in love. Showing that even when we think we have it all planned, we never really do!

I love the grumpy and sunshine love troupe, it is so fun to watch characters fall in love (it always gives me Gilmore GIrls vibes!)

I have never read any of Emma Lord's other books but now I am obsessed and I am going to get some of the others. I absolutely will be buying this book when it comes out so I can experience it all over again with a physical copy!

The cover of this book shows everything that you need to know, and I really feel like it is a begin again. It was great to read, and I look forward to reading the next book from this author. The drama, love, everything about it was fantastic.

Begin Again....and a second chance for author Lord. After DNFing her You Have a Match, I was curious to try her again and see if the YHAM was just not my style or if Lord was just not my type of writer. Begin Again was a big improvement over YHAM. A likeable, albeit somewhat lost and grief bound, student transfers to her parents' alma mater only to find her long-term boyfriend/best friend has just transferred out. Thus starts a journey towards independence, coming to terms with the loss of a parent, and finding your way when you have a fresh start. Overall, I enjoyed the book and was happy with the growth of the heroine and the ending of this story. If you enjoy stories about coming to terms with loss, navigating new circumstances, getting outside your comfort zone, and realizing who you are meant to be...this is for you.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. #emmalord #beginagain

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This wasn't bad!

Things I liked: The setting is one that doesn't come up very often and showing Andie's journey as she starts school was lovely. I loved the portrayal of finding new friends in school, and especially loved that those friends were well-drawn and developed.

Things I didn't like so much: The relationship between Andie and her boyfriend and how that turned out. A lot about the whole scavenger hunt premise.

Thing I thought I would dislike and then ended up being like "oh wow that actually makes sense now": Andie's fixation with fixing things.

Overall, this was a pretty light and cute ride. I don't think I enjoyed this as much as Tweet Cute or When You Get the Chance, but it was still enjoyable. 3/5.

Emma Lord's newest release is another coming of age win. Our heroine Andie is a mid-year freshman transfer to her parents Alma Mater: Blue Ridge State University. Her late mother was the founder of a secret radio show The Knight's Watch that Andie has always resonated with as a journalist in her high schools paper. As soon as she arrives she's thrust into a group of friends, including Milo, her RA who is also maybe part of the Knight's Watch... Andie's high school sweetheart also goes to Blue Ridge but she sees herself maybe growing out of this relationship.

Overall this book was sweet, heartwarming and charming. The biggest downside for me was that it could've been 100 pages shorter in my opinion and (almost worse) the main character uses a substitute for curse words which made me cringe every single time.

G-rated, chick lit, college drama

Andie is an 18-year-old college freshman who has managed a highly unusual feat—being allowed to transfer in the middle of her freshman year from a local community college to a highly competitive university, Blue Ridge State. She has three main reasons for working so hard to achieve that goal. First of all, her beloved mother (who died of cancer years ago) attended this university, was a Big Woman on Campus, and Andie longs to follow in her footsteps. Second, her parents met and fell in love there. Third, her boyfriend Connor, whom she has been dating for over two years, is a freshman there.

Unfortunately, both Connor and Andie have failed to communicate with each other some huge changes in their circumstances, Andie that she has gotten into Blue Ridge, and Connor that he has dropped out of Blue Ridge and returned home. Our first introduction to Connor is when he makes it plain he expects Andie to sacrifice her collegiate dreams and come home to him. Rather than confronting Connor and telling him that’s never going to happen, Andie gently encourages him to come back to Blue Ridge next fall.

The first person that Andie meets at Blue Ridge is the Resident Assistant (RA) of her dorm, Milo, a 19-year-old sophomore, who is perpetually sleep deprived and hooked on extremely strong coffee in order to keep himself awake. The second person she meets is Shay, her beautiful, lesbian, African-American roommate. Through Shay, who has an extremely outgoing personality (and is a classic, “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”), introverted Andie begins to enjoy social experiences she never imagined having in her provincial hometown. Within the context of her growing friendship with Milo, Andie also begins a voyage of self-discovery as to who she really is and what she really wants out of life.

After reading EL’s first three books, I assumed her author “brand” would continue to be YA fiction based on popular, comedy films. Her first book, Tweet Cute (TC), is an adorable, romantic-comedy homage to You’ve Got Mail. Her second book, You Have a Match (YHAM), is a chick-lit, family drama with sporadic moments of humor, which is based on The Parent Trap. Her third book, When You Get the Chance (WYGTC), is a delightful, chick-lit comedy based on Mamma Mia! This novel, her fourth book, Begin Again (BA), unlike the previous three, is not based on a movie, and it is light drama throughout, with no humor. Similar to EL’s second and third novels, this book can also be categorized as chick lit, and kudos to the publisher for being honest by not advertising it as a romance. In chick lit, the main focus of the story is on the heroine’s coming-of-age journey across the course of the novel in search of an authentic, personal identity. She achieves this by casting off all the faulty preconceptions foisted on her by various sources, such as parental figures, close friends, her community of origin, or her religious affiliation, as to what she “should” make of herself, personally and professionally. To the degree there is a romance subplot in chick lit, an idealized romantic partner serves as a type of symbolic reward for the hard work the heroine has done to grow and mature over the course of the novel. Any romantic relationships she has had prior to that growth are with one or more narcissistically immature males (in hetero chick lit), who symbolize all that the heroine has previously settled for in her unenlightened state.

Something else that is different in this novel from EL’s first three is that it contains strong elements of the YA “problem” novel. Authors such as Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Eulberg specialize in this artistic choice, in which stylized, professional-insight-therapy-session type of internal monologue and external dialogue is substituted for the thoughts and speech of recognizable, real-world teenagers. In particular, in virtually all of the conversations between Andie and Milo, either she is “fixing” him by offering him psychological advice, or he is fixing Andie, by doing likewise to her.

Though all of the main characters in this book are college students who are 18 or 19 years old, the only PG element of this novel is the occasional F-bomb delivered by all of the other main characters besides Andie—whose expletives consist of cutesy euphemisms. There are no drunken frat parties and no promiscuity. In fact, there is no sex at all and barely any kissing. Every main character in this novel is presented as if they are asexual. The most noticeable example is Andie’s relationship with Connor. They have been dating for over two years and frequently proclaim their love to each other, but during their few on-stage scenes together, they interact in a completely platonic manner. There is not a single line of dialogue or stray thought in Andie’s head that makes any reference whatsoever to this situation as the bizarre anomaly it is for two, normal, healthy, non-religious teenagers—even though this would be a logical reason for any young couple to question whether this might be an issue for them as long-term partners who plan to eventually marry. I am not personally a fan of the typically extremely raunchy college romances of the New Adult romance genre, which abound with “manwhore” heroes and incessant, crude sex scenes. But this college-age novel goes unrealistically far in a dead-opposite, asexual direction.

As a huge fan of the romance genre, with it’s Prime Directive of, “no cheating,” I cringe uncomfortably when I run across a romance plot, such as occurs in this novel, in which the main romantic conflict keeping the two people apart is the fact that the heroine has a boyfriend. Regrettably, this is what keeps Andie and Milo from moving beyond friendship to romance for 75% of the novel. At least it is obvious in this story from the very beginning that Connor is an immature, not-too-bright, narcissistic user, who is not worthy of Andie’s devotion, and her alternative choice, Milo, is practically Mr. Perfect. However, it does bother me that the definition for “cheating” employed in this book is defined differently for Andie than it is for Connor. The fact that this word is mentioned multiple times within this story indicates that EL is clearly conscious of it as a romance-genre taboo. But given that both Andie and Connor are presented as sexual eunuchs, the only kind of cheating available to them is emotional cheating—which they both do. On the other hand, is it truly “cheating,” in the classic sense that the romance genre would define it, when the only type of romantic relationship any of the characters in this novel (even the gay ones) have with each other is taking turns acting as each other’s therapist? Or in the case of Connor, expecting any romantic partner in his life to be his surrogate Mommy?

The part of this novel that focuses on Andie’s statistics class made zero sense to me, as someone who myself majored in sociology as an undergrad and did graduate work in counseling psychology. Andie plans to major in psychology and get a masters in clinical psychology—with dual career goals of being a practicing therapist while writing a syndicated advice column. If she were planning to major in the hard sciences, yes, she might be required to take a statistics class that heavily focuses on advanced math. But for any of the social sciences, including psychology, the relevant course she would take—and it would not be her freshman year—would consist of a superficial, descriptive survey of various forms of sociological research methodology. Even if one could accept that Andie would reasonably be in a math-heavy stats class at all, it still makes no sense that any tenured professor would: (a) teach an intro class to freshmen (such classes are taught by teaching assistants, who are graduate students working on a masters or Ph.D.), or, (2) force her students to take a major test, which counts heavily toward their final grade, on the very first day of the semester. None of that would ever happen in the real world!

I also found it inconsistent that, due to the fact that we are informed in Andie’s thoughts early in the story that she is a serious student, who has worked hard to get good grades, and has a strong desire to succeed at Blue Ridge State, that the author presents her as spending virtually all her time on extracurricular activities and socializing with her new buddies. In fact, the only class we hear about at all—and in excruciating detail—is her statistics class.

Overall, the tone of this novel is most similar to YHAM. And readers who found that novel to be the most enjoyable of EL’s novels will very likely greatly enjoy this novel, too. Fans of TC (including myself, who found it a 5-star read) may find that this book does not replicate that particular type of peak experience. Fans of WYGTC (also including myself, who rated it 5 stars as well), who enjoy truly funny chick lit comedy with a dynamic heroine, may also discover that this novel does not reproduce that kind of entertainment high either.

Judging this book in comparison to YHAM, I would give it 4 stars. Judging it in comparison to TC or WYGTC, I would give it 3 stars. Judging it in comparison to most novels by Sarah Dessen or Elizabeth Eulberg, in the style described above, I would rate this book as 4 stars. Splitting the difference, I rate this novel 3.6 stars, and I’m rounding it to 4 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Another amazing book by Ms. Emma Lord! I couldnt put this book down. Andie is a riviting charactee who i found myself rooting for time and time again! This is the perfect YA book full of character growth, drama and amazing peer relationships. I know this book will be flying off of my shelf soon in my classroom. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and can’t wait to purchase multiple copies for small groups in my classroom. Thank you net galley and publisher for the advanced read.

Andie shows up at the college of her dreams as a college transfer to surprise her high school sweetheart.....only to find out that he was back at her previous college. She quickly finds out that academically, she may be in over her head, her boyfriend's family is not a supportive as they seem, and not everyone welcomes their problems being fixed (at first). Andie grows throughout the year and deals with some very real issues she never dealt with regarding her mom's legacy and her dad leaving her in the care of her grandmothers while he worked. Luckily, she realizes who has truly prioritized her and what choosing what's best for herself really means.

Loved this new book from Emma Lord. It was such a good coming of age story. Even though some of the things that happened could have been easily predicted (the RA, the high school sweetheart), I enjoyed the way that Andie Rose's story was told. She was an extremely likeable and relatable character. The secondary characters that Andie meets, her roommate, Shay (a bookstagrammer-how current), Milo's extensive family, and her statistics tutor form a little family for her and are very charming. You are rooting for Andie throughout the whole ending and happy that she realizes her happily ever after could happen, even though it wasn't exactly according to her original plan.

I adored this book. I'm now craving a bagel, and I blame Ms. Emma Lord. This story was masterfully written and the relationships in the book are immaculate. Andie is so relatable in her struggles and figuring out who she wants to be. Shay is my icon I love her, and Milo is amazingly awesome. Such a brilliant cast of characters and the premise with the university traditions was well executed. So worth the read when it comes out!

<i>Begin Again</i> is another work of pure delight from Emma Lord that contains bagels, vividly delicious cream cheese flavors, and the heartwarming bundle of joy that comes with reading anythinf written by Emma!

It's a romantic coming-of-age story that follows our dear Andie Rose as she navigates her first semester at Blue Ridge State after transferring from her community college. Blue Ridge State means a lot to Andie. It's the school where her parents met and the place where she can finally grasp onto more ribbons of her mom's past. However, it's nothing like how she planned, and we all know how harsh it is when everything you expected crumbles into pieces, and not the delicious crumble of caramel-stuff peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Andie finally learns to face her fears while trying to fix the undecided major anxiety of her roommate Shay, the fear-procrastination of writing for her tutor Valeria, the caffeine addiction of her RA Milo, her long distance relationship with Connor, and her avoidance of her dad.

If I gotta be honest though, this is the first Emma Lord book that had me dropping tears. I literally fell apart when Andie fell apart. As much as Andie wanted to help everyone else, I wanted her to help herself first and to put as much of care for herself as she does for her loved ones. She grows so much from the beginning to the end, finding herself and allowing herself to just be who she is, without anything holding her back. It's always wonderful to read something like this.

I think that everyday should be a new chance for us to begin again, and there's no better way to start that than picking up this book ;)

I love Emma Lord’s previous YA works, so I was super excited for this new book! And disappointed I was not! I loved everything about this book. The characters were lovable and relatable, and MC Andie was kinda just as much of a mess as you would expect a college freshman to be! She had a lot to overcome in this book and it was great seeing her grow into herself! I loved that she discovered her worth and her passion throughout the book! It was a perfect coming of age story. i loved that the secondary characters played such a big role in the book and weren’t just plot devices to keep the main character's story moving along. They were fleshed out and had interesting backgrounds as well. I am also in loveeee with Milo! He was such a cute love interest and I was very into the forbidden RA romance. He was so supportive of Andie and had such a soft spot for her from the beginning! I did see the big conflict at the end coming, but that didn’t make it any less impactful. I also liked that the conflict wasn’t overly drawn out. Everything was wrapped up very nicely and left me in such a giddy mood!
Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Lord, and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC edition of the book!!