Emma Lord is such a great writer! I always disappear into her stories, and this one was no exception. Loved it!

I received this book as an ARC. While I enjoyed Emma Lord’s book “Tweet Cute,” I have to say “Begin Again” was pretty underwhelming for me. I had a hard time relating to the characters. (I graduated a year ago from university, so I’m not completely removed from college life.) I would still recommend this book to others because it wasn’t bad in the case of content or writing. It just didn’t resonate with me.

What a well-rounded book! Begin Again really has a bit of everything - friendship, personal growth, romance, hijinx, and lots of bagels. This is my first time reading an Emma Lord book, and based on how much I enjoyed Andie's story, it won't be my last.

I adore anything Emma Lord writes, and this is easily her best. I'm a sucker for campus novels, and Begin Again is no exception. Lord does a great job building up the characters as well as their desires for their campus adventures. The moment I finished the book, I wanted to grab a large flavorfilled latte an listen to campus radio stations to continue the comforting feeling of Begin Again.

Begin Again 🎶

Emma Lord is a favourite YA author and this did not disappoint!! I usually really enjoy YA set in college which this one was. This was just so enjoyable to read, and listen to the audiobook. The romance in here was adorable, but watching Andie grow and figure out what she wants with her life, and not just what she thinks she should do, was such a great reading experience. I’m so glad to be picking up such great YA contemporaries this year, since it’s a genre I’m slowing reading less and less of (sadly). But I highly recommend this one! 🤩

Okay, I should definitely read all of Emma Lord's books. This was my second one and it was again so good. I listened to the audio for this, and while I sometimes struggle paying attention to audiobooks, I found this one to be really engaging. That's mainly because the characters are all so distinctive, and it's such a charming, heartfelt story. I think this would make for a great movie as well!

BEGIN AGAIN perfectly captured the feelings and emotions freshman have the first time they're away from home. The main character’s motives were easy to understand, and I enjoyed her sweet personality. While there are underlying themes of grief, Lord did an excellent job of portraying the way it impacted Andie both short- and long-term. Her growth while trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps was satisfying (especially when she realized she could forge her own path), and I enjoyed the friendships she made along the way. Even though she was a psychology major and had more than likely gone through therapy after her mother’s death (it was never discussed), I did feel like Andie was far more insightful and self-aware than most 18-year-olds, which at times, made the story somewhat unbelievable. As the novel progressed, I found myself wanting to skim over sections because the introspection started to bog down the story due to its repetitiveness, and I would have loved to see more of a balance between the plot itself and Andie's internal journey. Overall, BEGIN AGAIN was a cute, enjoyable read—one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to the intended audience and to those who appreciate the genre.

Note: the audiobook's narrator had the perfect voice for Andie, making the reading experience even more enjoyable. If you're planning to pick this one up, consider the audiobook!

Absolutely adored this book! It brought me right back to starting college, making new friends and finding out about new passions I could unearth by shaking up my surroundings.

Andie was such a relatable FMC, after not getting into her dream school on the first go, she was able to transfer in her second semester, just in time for the ribbon collecting which allows you to join secret societies if you earn enough. After her mother passed, living up to her legacy was all Andie ever wanted. But she'll realize that maybe she needs to create a legacy of her own instead of trying to be just like her mom.

Milo was such a cute MMC/love interest! I wished I had found such a gem in college, he was equal parts responsible/reckless and had a heart of gold and a very relatable caffeine addiction.

Highly recommend reading this one!

Begin Again is a Coming-of-Age, swoony YA read that will make you smile. I loved how it was more than a romance, and was about finding yourself and starting over. Very true to the title. Andie and Milo are very cute, you are rooting for them the whole time.

I do have a small complaint that is was a tad too much of a slow burn. But that is just a personal preference type of thing.

This was a good book and I enjoyed the story, but I did find it to be a bit slow at parts. I liked the college setting absolutely loved the bagel shop everyone worked at. This book had me craving bagels every time I picked it up!! I found this to be more of a story about college and friendship with a little young love slow burning in the background. Overall it was an enjoyable read!
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

I almost put Begin Again down after reading the first few chapters simply because I thought the main character was going to drive me nuts, but I'm glad I didn't and kept reading. This book ended up charming me and was a quick, warm read. I was genuinely surprised by a twist part way through and enjoyed the way it wrapped up. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Once again Emma Lord knocked it out of the park. While this was a bit of a wild ride, i thoroughly enjoyed it and it might be my favorite of her books. Def recommend reading it!

Begin Again was a very cute and sweet coming of age story with some romance. I loved the dynamic between the main character Andie and the new friends she makes along the way. This definitely brought back memories of my own first year in college, not so much in that the situation was similar, but more in a general sense of what that first year felt like. I loved how the relationship with Milo and Andie evolved. I also loved that the whole book was not just about the romance. There was so much more to it, with Andie trying to find herself, work on her relationship with her dad, figure out how her relationship with Connor fit into everything (or didn't) and how to balance everything into a life of her own. There is depth to the characters in this book, and they all had their own struggles and worries. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes good coming of age stories, grumpy sunshine tropes, and just very sweet stories in general.

This book was so sweet! I loved Andie and her journey made me feel so many emotions. I love found family stories, and the found family in this story was such a nice connection to read about. I also really enjoyed the Night’s Watch radio station/secret society angle; such a cool way to weave in college life with family history.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

A coming-of-age story that was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at times. Andie Rose has transferred from her small-town community college to Blue Ridge State, where both of her parents attended university. Her boyfriend, Connor, also attends and she hopes that the transfer can repair their relationship. Until she gets there and finds out that Connor has transferred to the small-town community college to surprise her.

Emma Lord’s books never fail to be just so cute. This one was no exception and I loved the characters, Bagelopolis and the Knight’s Watch.

Truthfully, I forgot about Connor most of this book, which I wasn’t sad about. I was rooting so hard for Andie and Milo! I also fell totally in love with this story and Andie’s grandmas who raised her. They were amazing! I also learned that thundersnow is a real thing that happens.

Emma Lord is an excellent author, who has made me believe in YA again. I've thoroughly enjoyed her previous books, but this one was almost a miss for me. I read the first 15% or so and put it down for a while, because it really wasn't working for me and I was struggling to care about the characters and what was happening. I switched to the audio and ended up really enjoying it.

I will say that the first maybe 40% was a little slow and boring, but the rest of the book was some really sweet messages and storylines. I loved the discovering and the understanding a lot of the characters went through.

“I want to love and be loved without ever having to wonder if it’s conditional.” This is probably the most beautiful quote I've read in a really long time. It resonated with me so deeply and really made me fall in love with this book, the characters and the story.

Did this remind anyone else of a college-aged Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks? No? Just me?

Frankie—sorry—Andie is an expert at a few things: school, bagels, breaking caffeine addictions, and giving advice.

That’s the only place the book derails for me. I don’t understand advice columnists? Skepticism aside (just tell me WHY I should trust you. WHAT ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS??), this was a cute read.

Think Fangirl, but with a radio station instead of fanfiction. If the book had been set in the ‘90s (or anytime pre-iPods, honestly) the premise of a famous college radio show could have been more believable, but still. Very cute for a typical YA romance.

Tropey. Filled with Unrealistic Weather Occurrences©️, Unacknowledged Pining, Unrealistic College Experiences a la Gilmore Girls, and Anti-Coffee Propaganda.

3.5/5 stars. Cute. Would recommend to my teen students who are itching for a new romance read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read (and listen!) to this one early. Genuinely a fun time 💜

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get into it. I have a weird thing with Emma's book where I've liked every other one by her. This one just so happens to be the one that I didn't like.

After working hard, Andie Rose finally transfers into the competitive Blue Ridge State. As she pulls up to surprise her boyfriend, she discovers that he has transferred out of Blue Ridge and to her community college, to be with her. Suddenly, Andie Rose, the fix it all girl, the planner, is stumped. Now she has to navigate through new experiences and balance new responsibilities.

This book was adorable. Andie Rose is the perfect college student. She transfers to her dream college to live out her parent's legacy. It is very rare to see an extrovert as a main character in a contemporary romance, at least with the books I read. Andie's fix it all personality really carries the book and drives the plot. You can see how she hyper focuses on everyone else's problems and uses it to put off hers.
Her love interest, her RA, Milo is a caffeine addicted realist. He delivered the perfect "man written by women" personality. From the get-go, he was absolutely loveable, and it was great to see the romance build-up between him and Andie.
This was such a fun and light read. Loved the story-weaving and the development that Andie went through the entirety of the book.

Andie has a plan. Attend the school her parent's did, join the same society as her mother, and continue her relationship with her high school boyfriend, Connor. But most of those are derailed. First of all, she arrives to find out her boyfriend transferred out of the school. But Andie is a problem-solver and she will make it work. She decides to help her roommate find a major, collect enough society "ribbons" for herself and Connor, and assist her RA, Milo in bringing down the caffeine levels.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are quirky and so likeable. I really enjoyed following this journey. The twists and turns were fairly predictable, but I didn't mind one bit, as it was such a fun ride.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.