I would give this second chance/pinning/love triangle TEN STARS. I wasn’t expecting the book to be emotional but it was and I loved it!

Singer songwriter Maggie Vine is a woman who is still looking for her big break and at the same time trying to figure out her future in terms of love and more. Her 35th birthday is where the two great loves of her life show up because of a marriage pact that Maggie has made with them at two very different times. Now she has a lot of things to figure out.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is such an empowering story of love and loss. It’s filled with relationships, friendships, and along the way some heartbreaking disappointments. It’s a story about taking chances, not giving up on yourself, and not settling for less or what makes sense to others.

This is my first Alison Rose Greenberg book and it will not be my last. I loved everything about her writing in this book. All of the past and present brought together created a story that really made you wonder who she would end up with in the end.

Asher: childhood sweetheart and first love from summer camp

Garrett: the boy with unquestionable chemistry and love but with the worst timing ever

Also, let’s not forget about Summer, Maggie’s best friend. I loved everything about her and would want her as my best friend in real life!

You need to check out Maybe Once, Maybe Twice or add it to your TBR list! 🩷

This one is a goodie! We watch Maggie grow up and fall in love. And yet, she's not where she expects to be at 35.

It's a love triangle, so it's messy and sometimes sad, but such a great story and I highly recommend it. This one is pretty special and will stay with me for a while.

“‘Find one person in the audience who loves you no matter what. No matter if you’re great or good or just okay.’ He pointed to himself. ‘Sing to the person that feels like home. Everyone else will disappear.’” 🥹

“The only promise is that nothing is promised to us.”

Filled with the romance and angst that defines the years you come to know yourself, Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a novel of second chances and finding your own way.

I feel seen. I am Summer. Summer is me. It’s a crazy feeling to read a story and find a character so very like yourself…it’s like watching yourself through someone else’s eyes. So thank you, Alison, for making me feel ok to be unapologetically myself despite my often perceived prickly demeanor. But I digress.

When I started this book I thought it was going to be a funny and lighthearted read. And while it was funny, it actually had quite a bit of depth for a second chance romance. I got very invested in the characters and I loved how there were multiple timelines based on Maggie’s age, allowing the reader to see her at many different stages of her life.

I just loved these characters! Strong female friendships are a theme throughout and I found them refreshingly honest and real. I loved the open communication between Maggie and her love interests and I loved how well these characters did the hard things. Because sometimes, you have to break your own heart to make someone else happy.

The audiobook was great! With so much heart and emotion in her narration, @littrelly.speaking made it that much easier to fall in love with these characters. A fabulous read! Add this to your tbr today.

Thank you to @mbc_books, @stmartinspress, @smpromance, and @alison.greenberg for the #gifted copy, and also @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for the ALC.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

If you like an angsty, complicated, emotional and layered romance, then this is for you! This dual timeline love story explores what happens when you make a “if we’re not married by 35 then let’s marry each other” pact with two guys. You will find yourself rooting for a guy and be on the edge of your seat to see if he’s the choice by the end.

There are some heavy topics discussed in this book so if you have sensitive issues you stay away from, I’d suggest looking at TWs.

This is not your usual romance book. I typically don't read romances with a true love triangle but this one carried it through to the end. It was a very angst filled book, but I really enjoyed it.

Maggie makes a marriage pact with two different guys at two different points in her life. If she's not married by 35, they would find each other again. Garrett has been her closest friend for years, but their timing was never right to take the relationship to the next level. Asher was her teenage love who hasn't been in her life for years after parting ways during college. When her music career also takes off, Maggie is left with a lot of choices to make.

This book really was beautiful. I had to open my mind to letting the story take me wherever it was supposed to go, and it worked out. The author made you feel Maggie's heartache and angst as she is dealing with circumstances surrounding both of these guys and her career. I liked the unique premise of this book, although I'm not going to be signing up to read love triangles frequently. They stress me out! Finally, I loved the inclusion of music and lyrics to heighten the scenes.

Read this if you are in the mood for a heart-wrenching, yet hopeful love story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

5/5 - I could not put this book down! It gave me so many big feels - I was excited, anxious, devastated, enthralled, empowered and joyful - I laughed, I cried. What. a. ride.

Maggie Vine is 35, living in NYC and pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer and a mother. Unfortunately, neither dream is happening as she hoped. But Maggie made marriage pacts with her two big loves at two very different times in her life and whaddya know, both guys show up. Sort of.

I can’t describe any more of the plot because you simply have to go on this journey yourself. The story is told from Maggie’s perspective but in alternating timelines, and paints such an incredibly thorough picture and history. You get to grow up with her and experience so many pivotal coming of age moments right by her side. The camp scenes (I was a camp kid), and city scenes (love an NYC story!) were beautifully, dreamily nostalgic. Greenberg is an outstanding writer - her language is full of heart, passion, angst, vulnerability and joy. The song lyrics throughout the story were such a unique twist, too!

This story is hopeful but man, it is devastating. One big love is one thing, but two? My heart almost couldn’t take it. And while I loved Garret and Asher, I was ultimately rooting for Maggie. At its core, this story is about finding yourself, loving yourself, and CHOOSING yourself.

Maggie’s motherhood journey especially hit home for me - the fertility component was so thoughtfully explored, and the way Maggie doggedly pursues her future both broke and bandaged my heart. It is so important to me to see fertility journeys represented holistically, sensitively, and realistically. So thank you, Alison, for that.

My only struggle with this story was that the ending felt abrupt. THAT BEING SAID, I didn’t guess the twist (twists!?) and just desperately and selfishly wanted more time with the characters I grew to love so much!

This book is out today and you seriously need to snag it ASAP! In the meantime I’ll be over here waiting for Greenberg’s next masterpiece! Thank you to Alison, Griffin and @netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was super cute. It was my first ARC/book by this author and I’m looking forward to reading more by her. I’ve always thought the pact of marrying someone you care about in the future is such a cute idea and I think everyone loves hen you hope she “picks” a certain person is always a fun aspect. Definitely a fun read, highly recommend.

Maggie Vines is thirty-five single, childless and still a struggling musician. On the bright side, she made two separate packs with former love interests that if they were both 35 and single at the same time, they would get married. Both men show up for her thirty-fifth birthday in unexpected ways.

I believe that everyone can have more than one great love during their lifetimes. Even if they aren’t the “great” ones, every relationship shapes you in some way. With the structure of this novel, being that we follow Maggie as young as 16 to her present, and then stop all over the place in between it’s really hard to see the difference between how these relationships impacted her. It all felt very repetitive and similar, which may be the case in real life, people have a type and that’s great. If I had been watching Maggie’s life unfold over 35 years perhaps I wouldn’t have minded as much but over the course of 300 pages it didn’t really work for me. She makes the same mistakes and ones that are understandable yet infuriating.

The story veers more towards women’s fiction exploring self-discovery and growth as opposed to romance. There are some lovely romantic moments and banter but it’s not really what the story is about.

Greenberg creates extremely loveable and strong female characters. I thought the author was going to give us an unconventional happy ending and instead it veered back to the expected, which made what happened in the end feel disingenuous.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Short synopsis: Maggie has worked her whole life to make it big in music, at the age of 35 she starts to worry about her biological clock and having babies. When she runs into two previous boyfriends, she remembers a pact she made to each to get married at 35.

My thoughts: This is a second chance romance with some teenage love and a love triangle. Each of the love stories between Maggie and Garrett and Asher were unique and special. I had a fun time picking who I thought she should end up with. I liked how she worked hard for her dreams even when life got in the way.

There is also some heavy topics including infertility, sexual abuse, death if family members, and trauma. I really liked how therapy was a big part of the healing journey Maggie went through, very positively done.

The ending did feel a little bit forced, but overall I loved how the author wrote the prospect of finding the best solution for yourself.

Read if you love:
- Second chance romance
- Celebrity romance
- Following your dreams
- Love triangle
- Mental health and therapy
- Emotional reads
- 35 or older
- Alternating timelines

Thank you to St Martins for an early copy of this book and audio book. I’d recommend the physical over the audio of this, solely due to the fact that it’s somewhat difficult to follow the timeline through audio. That being said the narrator did a fabulous job.

I am a fan of second-chance romances and love triangle stories. Maybe Once, Maybe Twice falls into these two categories, so this could be the book for you if you're a fan. Maggie Vine has made a marriage pact with not one but two people at different times in her life. Asher Reyes is her first boyfriend from summer camp. She proposes that if she is still single when she turns thirty-five, they will get married. Fast forward to Maggie’s thirtieth birthday celebration with friends, including Garrett Scholl. Their timing has always been off, but again, she proposes that if she is still single when she turns thirty-five, they will marry. Who will she end up with?

While I generally like this type of romance trope, and I liked the plot of this story, I had a challenging time reading it. The book flitted back and forth between different points in the past and the present. I found it very distracting from the overall story and was frustrated with how it unfolded. I don’t mind time jumps, but there was just too much here, and it felt messy. If this is something you don’t mind, then I encourage you to pick this one up.

**Posted to Instagram (@read.rest.recharge) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxa9WEXOmJe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

i’m gonna keep this short and sweet — i absolutely loved this. i couldn’t put it down and finished it in a day. i’m thankful that i had an ebook and the audiobook so i could switch back and forth. i literally dropped everything else i was reading so that i could finish this book.

it’s such a well done love triangle. i loved both men and i would have been okay with whoever maggie ended up with. one did edge out the other just a bit more for me so i was pleased that’s who maggie ended up with. it was a hard won battle. i loved the time jumps and seeing how everything unfolded. i also loved maggie’s character growth! i’ll be thinking about this one for a while!

thank you to st. martin’s press and dreamscape media for the advanced copies. my thoughts are my own.

When I started the book, I wasn't sure if it was for me. I kept on and found myself wanting to know more about all the characters. I found Maggie to be an intriguing character. She seemed a little flaky to me at first, but she developed into such a strong character that I loved her in the end. The rest of the characters were complicated, and I enjoyed this about them. The story is told in an out of order manner with flashbacks to various points in the past. I found this a little hard to follow some of the time. I had to be aware of this since a lot of the characters were around in all of the points of time. The book is unique, and I enjoyed it. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

As you know by now, love triangles usually aren’t our jam, but Maybe Once, Maybe Twice did it perfectly (in our humble opinion)! This book really surprised us as it gave us all the feels (happy & sad).

At two very different times in her life, Maggie makes a marriage pact with two guys (Asher & Garrett) to ensure she won’t end up alone at 35. Now they are both back in her life and she’s not sure what to do.

Maybe Once Maybe Twice is told through flashbacks and present day, taking us on a journey as Maggie struggles at love and her career. She comes close in both cases to have it all ripped away. We really felt for Maggie and her ups and downs. In the end, we were really rooting for her and we were happy with her ultimate choices, because she remained true to herself, even if we did shed some tears along the way.

We fell for both MMCs and it was hard for us to choose a favourite when there’s usually a clear winner when it comes to this trope! Asher was her first love, Garrett was her right guy wrong time guy. Although they were part of the story, they weren’t the whole story and Maggie’s best friend Summer kept her grounded.

Read if you like:
▪️Second chance romance
▪️Love triangles
▪️Marriage pacts
▪️Slow burn + angst
▪️Multiple timelines

4.5 stars [Loved it]

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. Chapter one completely gutted me (that wound is still fresh for me). Thankfully infertility wasn’t at the forefront of the story and I was able to really loose myself in this book. I loved the writing, narration of the audiobook and the characters. All 3 main characters were amazing and I had a hard time choosing who to root for. Absolutely recommend checking this book out.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not okay 😭

Maybe Once,Maybe Twice will hit you hard in the heart. A slow burn romance with all the angst and feelings. This novel has a little of everything: friends to lovers, second chance romance, love triangle. I fell in love with all the characters and can't decide if I'm Team Garrett or Team Asher, but I'm most definitely Team Maggie Vine. And everyone needs a friend like Summer. At 35 years old, Maggie's life isn't going as planned.. but shortly after her 35th birthday, new and old love interests make it known that they have come to fulfill promises previously made.
I stayed up way too late finishing this book. It made me laugh, made me cry, and most of all made me wish it didn't have to end. I was immersed in the story, from the nostalgia of 90's song lyrics to Monday nights at Trader Joe's. The chapters alternate from past to present, giving the reader flashbacks to young Maggie and how she got to the point at her 35th birthday. It all worked, the plot, the writing, the characters, the spice, the conflict, and the love. I did think the ending was a touch rushed, but that might have been just my desire to continue living in Maggie's world. There are some heavy topics touched upon in the story, such as suicide and sexual assault and infertility, so if you struggle with reading about those things, you may want to take caution. I can't recommend this novel enough, though, to everyone. If you couldn't tell, I give this novel 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy for my honest review.

4.5 stars!

I just finished this one yesterday and loved it! It follows Maggie Vine, a 35 year old woman trying to pursue her dreams of being a singer. Enter two men she's loved in the past.

Now I'm not a huge love triangle fan and hated that she seemed to bounce back and forth between the two men, however, I couldn't decide who I wanted her to end up with! I did feel that the one story line and closure felt a little rushed by the end and didn't really feel "closed" in a way.

Not only is there romance, but there's also great plot lines of Maggie finding her way and growing and friendship, which I loved! The book also flips back and forth between different years of Maggie's life. While I did enjoy this as I felt it allowed a glimpse and better understanding of her relationships and growth, sometimes it felt like a lot and was hard to follow.

Overall, this book was both a heartwarming and heartbreaking story.

Greenberg knows how to write the best stories and her writing never fails to amaze me.
Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg was a delight and she has written an absolutely lovely novel.
This book is well written and the characters are described well.
The lacing was spot on and when I say I did nothing for one full day…. I mean it.
I was completely hooked onto every word that was written in this story. And the characters I couldn’t have loved more. I adored Maggie’s character and their journey was such a engaging experience. The realism of our main character’s is so relatable.
The development of her character throughout the book made me care for her more and more.
A phenomenal and heartfelt story. If I could give this book a 100 star rating I most definitely would.

Oh, and if you haven’t read her previous title Bad Luck Bridesmaid…. It’s also a cute, sweet and funny read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Title: Maybe Once, Maybe Twice, a standalone

Author: Alison Rose Greenberg, 1st time read author

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: 10/3/23, read 10/2/23.

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Rom-Com

Tropes: love triangle; marriage pacts; shifting timelines; 2nd chance romance

Format: e-ARC, Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC🩷! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Page Count: 320

Setting: NY

Summary: Maggie Vine is 35 years old and at a point in her life she wants to settle down, have children, and a satisfying career. She made a pact with 2 men to marry her if she's still single at 35. It's 2nd chances, healing the past, and finding your "person."

Heroes: Garrett Scholl and Asher Reyes

Heroes descriptions: Garrett was an aspiring rock singer turned hedge fund manager now engaged to Cecily. Asher was Maggie's first boyfriend from summer camp who becomes a famous actor with a job opportunity for Maggie to do what she loves.

Heroine: Maggie Vine

Heroine description: 35, aspiring singer/songwriter who wants children but is single, still in love with old flames.

Other characters: Summer Groves-Maggie's bff; Valeria-Summer's wife; Maggie's mother; Maggie's father-deceased and Maggie still grieving him. 

Highlights: Very nostalgic with 90's and 00's music and LOVED the Felicity reference. The angst is the best, especially with Maggie fighting for her HEA. 

Rating: 4 ⭐

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a fun second chance romance. Maggie Vine has made a marriage pact with two men and now she is in a messy situation with some major chemistry. This story had me hoping my marriage pact guy shows up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.