Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

Emma Lord is really one of the best writers out there in that space, and excited to see her take on college-age characters. I felt the prose and the plot were emotional, complex, and enjoyable.

Definitely a recommended title for YA readers!

BEGIN AGAIN is my first Emma Lord, but I definitely get the hype around her now. There's a certain charm to the way she tells stories: with lots of heart and love and, well, messiness.

There are beautiful friendships in BEGIN AGAIN, as well as a soft romance that left me feeling warm inside. If I'd have to summarise the heart of this novel, I'd say that's Andie's amazing character arc, though. In some ways, this book felt like a love letter to overachieving girls (*cough* with parental issues *cough*), and I loved how Andie went through so much growth yet still stayed true to herself.

Emma Lord took so many things I love about the YA contemporary genre and truly made me fall in love with BEGIN AGAIN for those, but also for so much more. It's such a wonderful book, and now there's no other option from here: I NEED to check out her other books right away.

Okay, the Taylor swift reference title are you kidding me sign me up! This book was cute! It was definitely a step up from her other books and similar to tweet cute. Andie was such a cute and fun character, I especially loved how she used "snickerdoodle" and "frosted flakes" as swear words. The college setting was just so perfectly captured. Milo was just so perfect like where was he at when I was at school because I just love him so freaking much.
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overall this was such a cute read and as soon as it comes out everybody should immediately pick it up!
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thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for advanced access to the latest by Emma Lord. After reading Tweet Cute in 2020 and flying through favorites You Have a Match in 2021 and When You Get a Chance in May, I was eager to get my hands on her newest. Like the previous 3, this was a charming tale by Lord. Not unlike her previous books, she writes relationships well - romantic, friendships, family. This time, she ventured to college roommate relationships and college friendships that bring about a nostalgic feeling and had this reader picturing her own college campus as the setting for the events of this book. I instantly liked Shay (books and zebra cakes, what's not to love?) and the banter between Shay and Milo. While early plot complications surprised me, other events did not come as a surprise. Every event between connected dots both as expected and unexpectedly with a good balance to keep me engaged and wanting to read more. Beyond the surface, Lord also tackles deeper issues in her books that resonated with me: how different people handle grief and its effect on various relationships, wonderings if you're enough, and feelings of anxiety at having to do it all, summed up so well in my favorite quote: "I shrug the coat back on, at ease in its warmth, but uneasy with something else - at the feeling of being taken care of, when so often I am determined to be the one who takes care." Emma Lord's story follows multiple characters getting their chance to begin again and this reader would love nothing more than to read its sequel to see what they get up to next.

I was excited to read this after enjoying Emma Lord's When You Get The Chance, and Begin Again did not disappoint. I liked and felt like I really understood most of the characters. I loved the ribbon search for the secret society and the truth about the secret societies - it was so much fun and very clever. The romance had a very sweet build-up. The cutesy non-swearing sometimes took me out of it a bit, but everything else was fantastic.

Love this so much!!! I've read all of Emma Lord's books, and they're always full of heart, and unputdownable. This one is the same! New characters and setting but still fantastic character development, a voice that draws me in and doesn't let me go, and a fast paced story that keeps me turning pages. I loves seeing characters navigate the ups and downs of college life. The friendships formed are rich, and endearing, and the romance is so sweet and feels immensely genuine. Emma Lord once again gave us characters I was rooting for from page one, plenty of fun and games in the middle, and a truly satisfying ending. This book definitely solidifies Emma Lord as an auto-buy author for me!

Warm, sweet, compelling- I loved "Begin Again" so much. Emma Lord nails the characters every time, and I appreciated the slightly more grown up college setting.

This was my first Emma Lord book, and I really enjoyed it! The story was sweet, the characters were relatable, and the writing was great!

(4.5 stars but man I loved this one)

I’ve followed Emma Lord’s career since Tweet Cute first came out and I’ve loved every minute of it, but I certainly didn’t expect Begin Again to land at the top of the list. In a way, I think this book is a departure from Emma Lord’s previous work. It felt less comedic (though still humorous) and more grounded in the emotions of familial relationships. I don’t know where to begin with everything I loved about this book.

To start, it takes place in college, a subgenre of YA I’ve been loving recently. The detailed build-up and exploration of the MC’s relationships with her friend group and with her family were well-earned and well-executed. Emma Lord’s prose has always been something special, but this book elevated her to another level.

It’s easy to call this book a grumpy x sunshine college meet cute, and as much as I love those, I think that title wouldn’t give this book nearly enough credit. This one is about our learned behaviors when it comes to loving others, how to care for ourselves while caring for others, and how to surround ourselves with the love we deserve. With a touch of workplace shenanigans and a secret radio show. If healthy communication and a foundation of friendship make you swoon the way they make me, you will love this book.

My only grievance is that I wish Andie’s relationship with Connor had been further developed, given how important he is to her.

I can already see myself rereading this book numerous times. Thank you so so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC! I’m in love.

**I was excited to receive a complimentary copy of Begin Again by Emma Lord from NetGalley. Opinions in this review are completely my own.**

I thought this book did a great job of capturing the confusion and growth that happens during the years between high school and university. I liked how Andie was searching not only for the connection to her mother, but also who she wants to be and how she will go about reaching her dreams. I enjoyed the characters, storyline, and mystery of the ribbons and what they represented.

I was able to relate to Andie's want to fix things for everyone else in an attempt to not focus on herself sometimes. I will definitely recommend this book to my students and buy it for my classroom.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to read an earc of this book. My opinions are all my own.

This is a delightful novel about the chance college provides to "begin again" even when you're healing from grief--it's a book about realizing there are all kinds of possibilities around you, even when, like roommate Shay's major, it takes to time to find the right one. At the same time, it's a book about realizing which parts of your past are worth keeping. The novel captures that tippy, dizzy spin of starting over perfectly.

Andie manages to transfer to highly competitive Blue Ridge State as a second-semester freshman; she plans to join her high school boyfriend and long time friend Connor there, but she's also planning quietly to reconnect to her family's legacy (her parents met at Blue Ridge State, and her mother set up a pirate radio program that's still a vital part of the school's traditions). What Andie doesn't expect is that Connor has just transferred to the local community college she's just left, and that's not the only part of her careful long term plan that no longer makes sense. I was pleased to discover that the book is not really about Connor at all (although he remains a subplot), but about Andie finding her own space at Blue Ridge.

The book features delightful characters (I am especially fond of Andie's two grandmothers), places, and college-traditions. It also doesn't brush aside Andie's grief for her mom or her RA and friend Milo's grief for his dad or the real challenges of figuring out how to live right now but with the past and future still present. Balancing (and sometimes losing your balance) are central to this book's story, and it captures the speed of college where so much can happen in a week, let alone a semester.

Even though it's set in college, it feels solidly YA to me. Some conflicts work out a little too easily, and Andie is very good at stumbling into the right place to advance the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Andie Rose knows exactly what her life is going to look like, this year and beyond. First, she's transferring from community college to the competitive Blue Ridge State, where her late mother once studied. She'll major in psych and become a self-help guru, all with her long-time boyfriend, Connor, by her side. But then things start falling apart. Without discussing it, Connor had transferred from Blue Ridge to the community college Andie has left. Classes are harder than she's prepared for, and she feels compelled to fix the lives of every new person she meets. Plus, her loveable, but gloomy RA, Milo, has her rethinking her stance on love.

I've read every one of Emma Lord's books and love her humor and writing style. Her personality comes through in her main character's, who are always outgoing, fun, and a little bit chaotic. She also writes really lovely male leads--I particularly loved Jack from Tweet Cute. While I really loved Milo, I thought the romance wasn't given enough time. Andie spent a long time with Connor in this book, so the actually romance with Milo was crammed in at the end. They had scenes together before this, of course, but nothing could happen between them because of her loyalty to Connor. I also thought Andie was a bit immature compared to some of Lord's other main characters, even though she's actually the oldest one we've seen. She did a lot of things that just seemed...silly? Overall, I'm really glad I got to read this one when I did because I've been looking forward to it since it was announced. I'm looking forward to seeing the adult romance that Lord is publishing, because I think it's going to have more of what I'm looking for from her.

"'Anything worth doing starts with a mess.'"

Begin Again by Emma Lord is a contemporary romance novel that is perfect for lovers of college traditions, found family, and tall boys with shaggy brown hair.

♡ Synopsis ♡
Andie Rose finally got into Blue Ridge State University, her dream school. It’s where her parents met and it’s where her long-term boyfriend, Connor, goes. When she shows up at his campus apartment to surprise him with the news, he’s not there. In fact, he’s not on campus at all. He’s back in their hometown of Little Fells where he’s enrolled in the local community college that Andie used to attend.

"'I’m outside your psych building.'
I stop at the door. I can feel Shay’s eyes on me. 'Like, the psych building at Blue Ridge State?'
'No, Andie, your psych building.'
The keys suddenly feel so heavy and bulky in my hand that I nearly drop them on the dorm’s linoleum floor. 'Why would you be…'
'I transferred to Little Fells Community College. To be with you.'"

Her mom passed away when she was young, and she has a distant relationship with her father, but Andie is hellbent on living up to her mother’s legacy. There’s an age-old tradition at Blue Ridge State involving secret societies, ribbons, and a witty radio personality that Andie has been obsessed with since she was a kid. She knows there’s a connection between the ribbons and her mother, but she doesn’t yet know how far deep it runs.

"She presses a stack of three ribbons in my hand, one red, one yellow, and one blue, all of them stamped with a faded version of the Blue Ridge State logo of a knight. She waits to give me the fourth ribbon last—a white one with my mom’s signature 'A' in permanent ink."

Milo Flynn is Andie’s new sleepy, caffeine-addicted RA. He has 6 older siblings that work on or near the campus, so he helps Andie find a work-study position at a local bagel store, Bagelopolis. There, Andie grows closer to both Milo and her roommate Shay, a popular bookstagrammer.

"For so long, the word family has loomed over me like a threat, like something I stood to lose."

Follow Andie as she navigates her way through campus, friendships, family, and love, in this beautiful, impactful novel.

♡ My Thoughts ♡
This is my first Emma Lord book, but I can assure you it will not be my last. There’s something about the way that she writes that just scratches an itch inside my brain. Begin Again has every element that I love about books like Emily Henry’s and Mhairi McFarlane’s.

Lord so perfectly encapsulates how it feels to fear that you won’t live up to your potential. That you’ve already failed by being scared to try. That failing on purpose by refusing to try is easier than trying and failing on your own merit. College is a terrifying place, and I feel like Lord translated the realness of what lies behind the façade of parties, friendships, and freedom.

This is so much more than a romance novel. It’s a story about really figuring yourself out. About forgiving yourself for your shortcomings. About finding your passions and what to do with them once you have. It’s about learning to give yourself room to grow and the patience to nurture that progress. About being there for your friends in the way they need you and allowing them to do the same for you. But mostly, it’s about learning that it’s never too late to begin again. Plus, there’s an adorable love interest that is just to die for!

Representation: black sapphic side character, queer side character

♡ Playlist ♡
♪ Andromeda - Weyes Blood
♪ Fix You - Kacey Musgraves
♪ Vienna - Billy Joel
♪ Last Hope - Paramore
♪ $TING - The Neighbourhood
♪ Begin Again (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift
♪ Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish
♪ august - Taylor Swift
♪ A letter to my younger self - Amber Lucid
♪ Deep End - Holly Humberstone
♪ Always Forever - Cults

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC!!

This YA romance has everything I love in a cozy read and left me reminiscing on my own college experience. While this is a story about relationships and found family at its heart, the characters struggle with loss, family rifts, and uncertainty about the future. These heavier topics are so lovingly woven into the story and give more depth to the characters than I expected. Like many YA romances, this one is a slow burn but cleverly avoids going too deep into the usual tropes. If you are looking for something to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, this is the perfect read for you!

Andie Rose has done the impossible: transferring from a community college in her small hometown to the prestigious Blue Ridge State mid-semester. She knows it will be a tough adjustment, but Andie’s boyfriend Connor will be there to help. That is, until she discovers that Connor transferred to her old school to be with her! But Connor isn’t the only thing bringing Andie to Blue Ridge State. Andie has dreamed of attending Blue Ridge State and following in her mother’s footsteps since she was very little. Together with her bookish roommate Shay and grumpy RA Milo, Andie sets off to collect enough ribbons for both Connor and herself to earn her a spot in one of the school’s secret societies. She hopes the journey will bring her closer to the mother she lost, but she might find much more along the way.

From Andie’s book obsessed roommate to the pirate radio station Andie becomes part of, there is plenty to make you want to step into this reality. Oh! Did I mention there are bagels? Andie’s experiences in the college dorm and ribbon hunting brought back so many wonderful college memories for me and made it all the more enjoyable. The coziness might just touch the edge of pandering, but I honestly didn’t mind. I was waiting for something to make me smile and this book definitely delivered.

Despite all the warm vibes, it’s the characters that really make this book stand out for me. In addition to their quirky personalities, each character is also struggling with difficult personal issues that affect them in very real ways. I found myself just as invested in each character finding their way as I was in the actual romance. The chemistry between all of the characters (romantic and not) was so on point and made it possible for things to develop in ways I didn’t expect they would.

Emma Lord is back with another YA book chock full of friendships, food, and love. However, this one missed the mark for me. I liked Andie and loved Milo, but I would much rather have read a story about Shay and Val.

I didn't feel much of a connection between Andie and Milo, and don't even get me started on Connor. Lord kept talking about their connection from high school to college, but I never felt it either.

Overall, I think this book was well written, but I think I have reached the point where I can't connect with YA at all. I felt some pangs while reading this, but I felt a lot of frustration as well. Decisions that would have made a lot of sense to me in college or high school now seem trivial and I was frustrated when Andie was even considering some of them. Oh well, just a different perspective now that I'm old.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

Thanks, NetGalley! Begin Again had cute, quirky moments and some twists. The ending things tied together nicely, but at times it felt like there was unnecessary detail and fluff. Also, Andie’s version of curse words (her favorite foods) was overused and slightly annoying at times.

***I received an arc in exchange for an honest review
This book was just so feel good. The story was really cute and typical but some times that's just what you need to be happy and comfortable

I will forever read anything and everything from Emma Lord. She just gets it and I love delving into every one of her stories. They are all so unique but all have the ability to hit me right in the feels.

Can't wait to put this one on my bookshelf!

Thank you for the early copy!

Begin Again by Emma Lord is the story of Andie Rose, who has everything figured out. She will transfer to the college that her boyfriend goes to after the first semester, they'll finish college together, get married and life will be perfect. But her plans are shattered once she arrives at school and finds out that there are complications with her plans. As the "fixer" among her friends, suddenly Andie is in need of some fixing of her own.

A delightful novel about coming of age, first loves, personal growth and fantasy vs. reality, Begin Again will not let even the most jaded of readers down. Thank you to the author,St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would love to interview Emma on my podcast Raise Your Words.I had so much fun reading this book. In previous episodes I’ve interviewed authors Dr.Ausma Zehanat Khan, Intisar Khanani (HarperTeen), Annika Sharma, and Priyanka Taslim!