REVIEW: Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg

Alison Rose Greenberg's Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a sweet story about love, loss, and second chances. It follows Maggie Vine, a 35-year-old singer-songwriter, as she finds herself stuck in a love triangle with her childhood crush, Asher, and her longtime friend, Garrett.

The writing is super engaging, and the dual timeline adds depth to Maggie's journey. You can feel her struggles with her music dreams and personal growth, which makes her relatable. That said, the pacing can be all over the place—some parts drag on while others fly by too fast.

The characters are likable, but their motivations sometimes feel shaky. The love triangle is interesting, but it gets predictable. Plus, the ending might leave some readers wanting a bit more.

Overall, Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is an excellent read for anyone who loves romantic comedies with a sprinkle of nostalgia. It's a heartwarming tale about love and second chances!

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

This was a great concept, and I wanted to like this book more. HOwever, I had issues with the writing at times. The scenes when the characters were 14 had dialogue that was very unrelalistic for teenagers, regardless of artistic talent. It was difficult to get into the story at these points.

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I was going to. Watching Maggie navigate the love she had for her bestfriend and finding her love from when she was a teenager was like having my heartbroken just for it to be glued back together. I loved seeing Maggie come to terms with whom she loved the most and understanding that love can change and evolve for those in her life.

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

This book was one of the cutest summer camp romances I have read. Specially since I read it while camping and could definitely picture myself at summer camp following the dual timelines

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg
Publication date: October 3, 2023

Date read: July 12, 2023



Maggie Vine’s life is going extra-medium. At 35 she’s pursuing her dreams of being a singer and being a mother―though neither is successfully panning out. So when Garrett Scholl―stifled hedge fund manager by day but electrifying aspiring rock singer by night―comes to her 35th birthday party with the intention to kiss Maggie senseless, it feels like one piece might click into place. Except he’s engaged to someone else, and Maggie knows she won’t fit into the cookie-cutter life he’s building for himself. Enter Asher Reyes. Her first boyfriend from summer camp, turned into heartthrob actor, he’s lived a successful yet private life ever since he got famous. When a career-changing opportunity is presented to Maggie after her reconnection with Asher, it feels like everything―music, love, family―will fall into place. But her past won’t let her move on without a fight.

Romance books seem to be pretty hit or miss for me, although even the worst ones mostly have at least some redeeming parts to them. I'm not saying that this book was one of the worst ones, but while there was a good amount that I did enjoy about this one, there was just also a lot that I did not like. I'm sure that there are some readers who love the trope of the protagonist who is just in love with the absolute worst person and makes bad decisions along the way, and if that's you it's okay! And in that case, you might love this book. But the main character pining after the horrible douchebag who treats her like crap just doesn't do it for me.

In addition, this book was just too long. It came in at 336 (which isn't horrible for a romance novel), but it really should have been cut down to about 250 pages. There is a drawn out reveal of a past mistake that was compelling at first, but then just became annoying.

And I'm not saying the book is irredeemable, because most of the plot actually flows pretty well and is interesting. I liked the romance between Maggie and her childhood boyfriend, Asher. I also, at first, was not on board with the way that the book was ending, but it turned in a way that I ended up liking. I think that Maggie had some serious soul-searching to do after all of her life choices, and I liked the way it played out.

Overall, an okay romance, but there were too many bad decisions and drawn-out plot points for my taste. Fans of the trope of the girl falling for the wrong guy and having to find herself might like this one more than I did, but it really just wasn't for me.

Content warning: suicide, absent parent, consensual sex between teenagers, sexual assault

Rating: (a weak) 3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

I really loved this book even though I did not always feel this way while reading it. I often questioned how quickly she could jump from one person to the other. But I really loved the timing jumps and how it felt a little disjointed at times. I loved her relationship with Summer and I was so happy with the ending!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a bittersweet and emotional rom-com. Maggie Vine is a songwriter, and the book follows her as she navigates love and life over two decades. Torn between two men, Maggie’s journey touches on how relationships and feelings shift over time.

While the story has plenty of heart and humor, the pacing is a bit slow, and it took a while for me to really get into it. However, once it picks up, the depth of the characters and the exploration of timing, love, and second chances make it worth the read. If you enjoy romances that feel realistic and layered, with a touch of nostalgia and bittersweet moments, this one is worth checking out.

If you’re looking for an escape save this for a different day. Worth reading, but you have to be in the right mood!

The continual back and forth between past and present was confusing - especially in the beginning. I had no interest in the main character and was not invested at all in her story. I also grew impatient with the repetitive nature of the story.

Well, I’m going to have to be honest here. After all that is the point of this right? I found the main character came across very childish, almost in an unrealistic way. I did not appreciate the back and forth between her love interests. She felt she was with the wrong guy everytime she was with each of them. Throw in there the desperation for having a baby in there, I’m sorry, nope.

I had a difficult time getting into this book; the writing was very much back and forth between past and present time. The characters could be relatable but I had a difficult time relating to them myself.

Also a DNF but from what I read it was a miss for me. The FMC was both self centered and self deprecating? I just didn’t like her and didn’t get far into the book before deciding it wasn’t for me

This was a fun read! Maggie’s life at 35 is nothing what she thought it would be. Twice in her younger years she makes a marriage pact with two different guys. And they both appear when she turns 35. I’m usually not a fan of love triangles but this one was fun and well written. I like how Maggie really grew up throughout the story and the ending brought it all together. Great ending!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is the story of Maggie Vine and the love she experienced over two decades of her life. Maggie is a hopeless romantic that loves easily and falls fast. Maggie is an amazing musician who has always loved music and wants to use her songs to help tell beautiful stories.
Garrett Sholl, Maggie’s “first love” who she can never let go of, is now a hedge fund manager and rockstar. When they were younger, Maggie admitted her true feelings for Garrett and said if they were still single at 35, they should get married. On Maggie’s 35 birthday, she thought life might start happening the way she always planned but Garrett shocked her by telling her that he is engaged. Heartbroken and confused, Maggie must try to let the one man she always thought she would end up with go.
Asher Reyes is Maggie’s first boyfriend from summer camp who she fell fast and hard for. Asher is now an Oscar winning actor and getting ready to produce his next big movie when Maggie shows up and wants to earn the opportunity to create the music for the movie. Maggie lands the job and she and Asher fall in love again- big time.
The story goes backwards and forwards in time a lot but it helps to tell the story overall. Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a beautiful story about second chances and true love.

Who doesn’t love a good love triangle?! Maggie has promised two different men that if they are u married by 35 then she would marry them. What are the chances that all three of them end up unmarried still at 35? Maggie finds herself in the position where she must now chose how she wants the rest of her life to look. It’s so hard because I found myself rooting for both men at different times but overall I enjoyed the ending quite a bit!

Thank you to the author Alison Rose Greenberg, publishers Kensington Books, and thank you as always to NetGalley, for a digital review copy of MAYBE ONCE, MAYBE TWICE. All views are mine.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. Summer is so amazing. Like the *best* best friend. Mostly nameless narrator needs to marry her!

2. This is really such a great concept! Making two deadswitch deals with two different men, both of which come for their due at the same time. In the shape of her story, Bass creates a sort of time travel, which can work very well with love stories. But the shape of this story gets lost in the details, maybe?

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I really feel bombarded with details. The narrator tells me her dad died very early in the book, but doesn't even give me a second sentence to process it before she goes pon to another topic.

2. The narrator doesn't spend long enough periods of time in the present moment. Ever two sentences, the narrator is flitting off into another burst of back story. It's a really exhausting read.

3. This book is just stuffed with auxiliary information. That's probably one of the reasons the book is so long.

4. The time jumps can be really really hard to follow. 5 seconds ago, these two were having sex for the first time. A page later, they're sick of each other and fighting and seeing other people with mutual blessing. I'm like, how did this happen in 2 seconds?

Rating: 🐈‍⬛🎈🪵 /5 extraneous details
Recommend? Maybe
Finished: Dec 13 '23
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
⏳️ time travel stories
🧪 STEM romances
👭🏽 great book besties
🐷 fat book!

DNF at 56%. Garrett is an intolerable character and I cannot condone his constant cheating. I hope she ended up with Asher, but I am not wasting my time to find out.

This is a heartfelt romance that will feel like a warm hug. This story also contains some hard-hitting topics.

The atmosphere of living in NYC was vividly described. I loved following the MC on her character arc and seeing her struggles. She wa often very relatable. There is a love triangle, but don't le that discourage you from reading this one. It was done very well and I found myself turning the page along into the night.

I also loved the MC's journey of paving her own way in life and fighting for what she wanted. This was a fun yet deep romance.

I loved the angst and tension that built in this book! It has everything - friends to lovers, second chance romance, famous-regular person - and is set in the fun world of aspiring musicians and actors. Highly recommend if you loved Funny You Should Ask.

Beach read alert! Beach read alert! I love a good rom com in the sun and this is my recommendation for this summer!

There's a lot of good and bad here and I'm not sure this book will be for everyone.

Listen, I'm a massive Swiftie but there are a LOT of Taylor Swift references in this book. It was a little distracting. Also -- cheating/infidelity is yikes in this book.

The characters were well-written though and this book had a lot of emotional depth, which redeemed it for me.