I really enjoyed this book! Some parts were a bit predictable, but that doesn’t really bother me. I really liked the storyline. The underground radio station is such a cool idea. All of the characters were fantastic as well. They were all very unique, but at the same time represented the type of people you’d expect to find at a college campus. They were all easy to relate to, which made it easy to escape into the story. 10/10 stars!

<strong>This is Emma Lord's best book to date! </strong> I have enjoyed almost all of her YA Contemporaries but Begin Again takes the first place. <strong>It was so much fun to read and I loved that it was set in college</strong>! I'm always looking for more stories with this setting and it was so well done here. <strong>Blue Ridge State felt very real and vivid to me as a setting</strong>. I felt like we really got to know the college community (including Andi's dorm) and were fully immersed in the location. A big part of the story is the secret radio show in which 'The Knight' discusses college life and problems that need to be tackled. <strong>Since Andi's mom created it, it's very dear to her heart and one of the reasons, she was so set on transferring to Blue Ridge.</strong> I loved the idea of the radio show and how Andi got involved with it, but also had her insecurities about being On Air!

<strong>Meet Andi: Psychology Major, also known as The Fixer! </strong>Andi Rose is a dedicated planner and has her life plan laid out already. She's invested in psychology and giving advice to others like she did with her high school column. Her end goal is to become an important personality so she can publish her self-help book and memoir when it's time. <strong>I loved that Andi had so many ambitions and was passionate about her goals, even though she'd go overboard and put too much pressure on herself</strong>. She's caring and bubbly, so I loved that she got so involved in college life. She's set on joining the secret societies that her parents used to be a part of and also helps her dormmates get closer! <strong>Andi is also a dedicated Fixer, meaning that she takes on other people's problems and tries to solve them</strong>. It explains why she loves giving advice, but there's also a deeper reason for her always trying to prove herself useful to others. <strong>Her mother's death when she was still a kid weighs on her, even after many years</strong>. I loved how the narrative examined her need to always fix things for others and the deep scars her losses have caused her.

** The <strong>only thing that annoyed me about Andi was that she uses food instead of swear words</strong>&nbsp;because one of her grandmothers hates swearing. I hate when authors do that, as it's meant to be cute, but comes across as&nbsp; annoying. I wish Andi had stuck to just one food word, but she <strong>switches it up every. single. time with one of her favorite foods</strong> 🙈

<strong>I loved the strong friendships and family dynamics we got to see here! </strong>Andi immediately hits it off with her <strong>roommate Shay, a huge bookworm and successful bookstagram creator</strong>, who struggles with finding a major that fits her. I loved their emerging friendship as they were so supportive of each other and Andi tries to help her with her major without crossing her boundaries. I personally found Shay super relatable, as she loves books and isn't too sure what her future should look like outside of that. <strong>Andi also befriends Val, a Math major who helps tutor her in statistics</strong>, a class she's really struggling with. <strong>Val is a talented writer in her free time, yet too shy to actually share her work with anyone</strong>, especially as she's stuck with writer's block. I loved the <strong>found family vibes</strong> and how the friendship dynamics were so important here. Another subplot is also Andi's complicated relationship with her father. <strong>She was raised by her grandmothers who are super cool, yet she still felt abandoned by her Dad.</strong> He moved away for work and couldn't deal with the loss of his wife, so Andi feels like she lost both her parents. Their difficult history was well explored here and I loved how they tried to reconnect!

<strong>The actual romance was very slow burn, but I couldn't help but like Milo!! </strong>I'll discuss my only problem with the book in the next point, but I couldn't help but love Milo. He's the RA (= Resident Assistant, aka a student in charge of the Dorm) of Andi's dorm. <strong>Their dynamic is pretty much grumpy and sunshine, as Milo loves his coffee and is perpetually tired and done with everything</strong>. Yet you can tell that he cares deeply about his community and friends, as he tries his best to help them. <strong>His banter and emerging friendship with Andi were super sweet</strong>, especially as they form a found family with Shay and Val. I also liked getting to know his family issues and grief, as it connected him to Andi. Their relationship is very slowburn, but I liked how it turned out!

<strong>The only thing I was apprehensive about is that Andi starts out the book with a boyfriend. </strong>I usually hate when this happens, as you know the main romance is a different one and at one point there will be emotional and actual cheating. <strong>Surprisingly, Emma Lord managed to execute this better than I've seen anyone else do</strong>! Since Andi's boyfriend Connor switched back to her community college, while she transferred to Blue Ridge, they are now still at different schools. <strong>Things have been tense between them, but Andi is set on fixing their relationship</strong>, as this is what she does best. Connor was there for her after her mother's death and continued to include her while everyone else withdrew. So I understood why she was still hung up on him, as they'd also been friends for ages. <strong>The book takes on her emerging frustration with Connor, even though she tries to play it off. Yet, it's clear that they are growing apart,</strong> no matter how much Andi tries to hold on to them. It doesn't help that Connor is very entitled and privileged, so he takes Andi for granted and doesn't understand that she doesn't have the same advantages as him.

<strong>IN CONCLUSION.</strong> ➽ <i>Begin Again&nbsp;</i>is a<strong> great contemporary set at college all about finding yourself</strong>! I loved the focus on friendships and family dynamics, especially as the secondary cast was so lovable 🥰 The romance was a grumpy and sunshine pairing with a lot of slowburn and pining!

Thank goodness for Emma Lord because this book may just have pulled me out of the reading slump I'm currently in. This story is such a funny, light read and I flew through the pages so fast, enjoying every moment of Andie's search to find her place in college.

I was reminded a little of Jane Austen's Emma, as Andie is a fixer, putting her friends first and trying to help them with their problems, even if it meant sacrificing her own goals in the process. I loved that her new friends gently showed her that it was okay to put herself first, and never demanded too much of her.

The Knights radio station aspect and the ribbon collecting events were a really interesting aspect to add, especially as Andie's mom had ran the station before her and Andie felt like she had to live up to her mother's legacy. I adored her Grandma's and their sweary throw cushions so much, and having her Dad be a complex, messy character that wanted to be in his daughter's life was something I don't see to often in YA.

I loved that we got an Eight Months Later chapter, I always like to see the story moved forward by a few months or years to see what my favourite characters are doing now. It was really cool to see Andie and her friends finally settled in at college, and knowing their plans for the future.

Emma Lord is one of my favorite authors so to get the chance to review her newest release is awesome. Her writing/story telling is always so engaging and I can’t wait to see what story she tells next.

Things I loved about Begin Again:
1) Female Friendships- loved the friendships in here. Honestly, want an entire book about Shay. Absolutely loved her.
2) Milo- I just needed more of Milo & Andie. Their banter was everything. Also, Milo’s love of coffee had me laughing so much.
3) Radio Show- loved the radio show and with that the events to collect ribbons for the different houses.

Things I didn’t like about Begin Again:
1) Connor! I honestly would’ve enjoyed this book more if his character didn’t exist. Every time Andie mentioned Connor, it took me out of the story because he expected her to drop everything for him and he didn’t do the same for her. It was a very one sided relationship and it irked me to no end. I would’ve much rather seen the main focus of the story be Andie coming into her own as a radio persona and less of her constant thought of how Connor was doing and feeling bad about the situation with Connor.

I am ashamed to admit this was my first book by Emma Lord, but I am hooked! I loved everything about this book.

Andie is a freshman mid-semester transfer to her dream school, Blue Ridge State. She's worked so hard to be there...her parents met there, they have a great psychology program, and her boyfriend already goes there. On her first day, in an attempt to surprise him, she tries to find Connor, her boyfriend, and realizes that he transferred back to her community college to be with her. Now, Andie doesn't know anybody, and quickly, the rigor and demands of Blue Ridge start to overwhelm her.

Andie loves to help people. It's how she knows she wants to be a psychologist, write her own memoir, and create her own legacy. The problem, however, is that while Andie is great at helping others, she doesn't do a great job solving her own problems.

This is a book about self-discovery, ultimately, and forging your own legacy. All of the characters experienced some real growth throughout the novel, and I fell in love with all of them. Andie wanted to do well at Blue Ridge because she has lived in the shadow of her mother who passed away, and her mother loved Blue Ridge and formed her own legacy there. Andie finds real friends for the first time, she discovers what there is to love about herself, and she accepts the help of others. This book felt like a big beautiful group hug and I'm so glad I read it. One of my 2023 faves, for sure.

Another wonderful book by Emma Lord. I really enjoyed how it is a slow-burn story and takes a while to get started. That kept me wanting more. The storyline was really good.

How can I begin to express my love for Emma Lord? I fell for her writing in Tweet Cute, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Her characters jump off the page with personality I adore and backstories that are so complex and realistic. I loved Begin Again. I would recommend this to any YA reader.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute enough story but I don’t think this author is for me. The writing feels too juvenile and I don’t get anything out of reading the stories

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am not usually a YA reader so the vibe of this book was so different to what I usually read but this was SUCH a fun book. This was the perfect YA book to help guide young people into making mistakes and growing. There was a romance in this book but this book wasn't a romance- this book was a coming of age story about going to college and the way that young people have to grow when taking that step.

Annie was a sweet relatable character and all her relationships were so charming. Annie bonded with her roommate, made a new friend via academics, and Milo who was charming af as well.

This is a sweet book YA read!

It’s the perfect sunshine/grump romance read about Andie. She’s a college student and perfectionist. She’s always trying to find ways to help others and throws her own problems on the back burner. In this book she shows tremendous growth and finally starts doing want she wants for herself. It’s a slow burn romance filled with some sweet scenes, and Andie’s roommate is a bookstagrammer! I’ve read all of Emma Lord’s book and this one might be my favorite. If you enjoy YA reads then you should check this one out.

I have read and really liked all of Emma Lord's books. However, I just could not connect with this one. The young adults seemed so whiny and self-absorbed and I just could not read this, despite trying off and on for month.
Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

This is my third book I've read by Emma Lord and she has proven herself as a reliable "comfort" YA author. This story centers around the very real feelings of life after high school- finding yourself, changing your mind about things you used to believe, confusion about what you want to do and who you want to be, and finding new things to learn and love. I love the witty and realistic dialogue between characters. Something about her characters just drawn you in and make you root for them. This was such a fun YA novel and I look forward to many more by Lord.

I enjoyed this story, but the characters fell a bit flat for me. I also feel that it was a little predictable. I wanted to love this, but I believe there is more room to grow for this story. 3/5 stars

I don’t read many YA/NAs anymore but I will always pick up something Emma Lord has written. Her way with words and understanding our current generation without making it cringe to read about is so unique.

2.75 ⭐️

This is a generous rounding up to 3 ⭐️. It took me so long to get through this book and it felt tedious many times. This story follows Andie, a transfer to a university that her parents attended and her mother left quite a legacy at. As soon as she arrives she quickly discovers that her boyfriend Connor has actually transferred to the university she just came from. Andie now has to navigate this, make friends, succeed in her difficult classes, get a job and try to collect ribbons for a secret campus club.

What I didn’t like:
-This is a well written story, it’s by no means a “bad book”, I think the author has just never captured the sweetness and fun of Tweet Cute in another story. This is not a lighthearted read, most of it is Andie’s internal dialogue of dealing with grief, rekindling her relationship with her father, questioning her relationship with Connor and hiding her feelings for Milo, while also dealing with her need to constantly solve problems and be pretty much perfect.
-This could’ve been 100 pages shorter. There was honestly just way too much happening in this story that each element was lacking. I needed more friendship with Shay and Val and way more of Andie and Milo and way less of everything else. It felt like all the other topics were brought up here and there but never flushed out enough to be seamless. Andie never mentions any other classes, she’s barely at work, so I don’t know how she has the time for the Knight Watch, her friends and the ribbons.
-I absolutely hated the cheesy food curses. It made an already juvenile feeling story feel so silly and cheesy and drove me nuts
-I didn’t mind Andie as a character but she was my least favourite out of her, Milo, Shay and Val. Her internal dialogue was fine but so repetitive and I think the author wrote a lot of lines, especially about Milo comparing him and the feelings towards him as really deep things that just didn’t match anything.
-Andie’s feelings for Milo at the end were nice but just don’t add up. Milo conveniently popped up allllll the time. But there wasn’t enough of them just hanging out and chatting for feelings to be that strong at the end.
-This put me into a slump and felt so tedious to read, by the end I was so happy it was over. It was just too cheesy and too long.

What I liked:
-The side characters, as mentioned, were well written with good storylines of their own. Milo was a complete sweetheart.
-I liked the little twist at the end with the relationship, didn’t see that coming.
-I liked Andie’s growth, the relationship with her Dad developing, but really she just needed to go to therapy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Emma Lord and have loved all her previous books, and was really looking forward to her first college-set YA. And by and large, I did enjoy this book. It has all of Lord's signature charm and sharp writing, and a romance that made me smile. However, this is probably my least favorite of Lord's books, even if I still liked a lot of it. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly I didn't like, but I think ultimately the book is a bit overstuffed with the more serious plotlines, which doesn't allow the great characters to shine as much as I'd like. Lord's books also always veer sweet but this is the first time I found things to be a bit saccharine (I hated the way the main character subbed in her favorite foods instead using swear words, for instance). All in all, I'd say the balance of things I'd previously enjoyed in Lord's books was just slightly off here. That said, this was still a 4-star read, and I still think Lord is one of the best YA authors out there.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

I truly love YA novels and I have loved Emma's work in the past. I had a hard time getting into this novel though. The concept is great, and it may have been poor timing on my part. I just found the MC was not connecting with me personally, so the story just seemed to drag the first half of the book which I feel affected my overall feelings for the book. The ending was cute and I loved the found family vibe.

I really enjoyed this sweet coming of age/romcom. The characters had depth and I didn't see the twist with Connor coming! Milo was dreamy and I loved his and Andie's grumpy/sunshine chemistry. And the Taylor Swift references? Perfection!

Thanks to Wednesday books and NetGalley for the copy to review.

This is just the kind of light, low-stakes YA romance I was looking for. I enjoyed the slow burn friends-to-lovers and all of Andie’s friends. I got Veronica Mars vibes for the ribbon hunt for some reason, even though this wasn’t a mystery. I’m not sure why but there we are. I did find some of it a bit too twee and cutesy, but this is a nice choice if you’re looking for a breezy read.

Andie Rose, has always known her path in life. She will attend the college her parents met and fell in love, graduate with a degree in psychology, marry her high school sweetheart, and publish an autobiography. However, Andie’s inability to put her needs above others, leaves her struggling to make it through one semester. With the help of some new friends she begins to acclimate to a demanding academic and extracurricular schedule. Will everything Andie thought she wanted come to fruition or is it ultimately what is holding her back?

This was a true four star read. The following are things I loved and/or stood out to me:

Andie is a community college transfer student. As someone who attended community college before going to a university, I loved the representation. Community college is often overlooked or portrayed in a negative light.

Andie lost her mother to cancer at a young age. This book illustrates the importance of found family. When her father’s grief was too much for him, Andie’s grandmothers stepped in to help raise her. In the same way, living on campus extended Andie’s family with the addition of new friends and mentors.

While this is a book that features love, it focuses primarily on friendship. During this time in a young person’s life, their friendships are instrumental in helping them discover who they are as an individual. It was wonderful to watch Andie find her way in the world while still honoring her mother’s legacy.

This was such a sweet story! With graduations around the corner I would highly recommend gifting this to a high school or community college graduate. It would make for the perfect gift as they embark on their journey to adulthood.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.