It’s not impossible for me to enjoy a romance that is either a second chance romance, or features a love triangle, but it has to be pretty much perfectly executed. So I knew [b:Maybe Once, Maybe Twice|65212083] by [a:Alison Rose Greenberg|21373435] was starting off needing to climb a steep hill. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite make it over the top for me.

In particular, it’s bad news if I think the MC ends up with the wrong person, and while I’m not 100% against the choice Maggie makes (in fact, it probably was the right choice), I wasn’t sold. For one, it’s not clear until almost the very end who Maggie will choose, between her first teenage love, Asher, now an Oscar-winning actor, and the Garrett, the guy she’s been pining for (who has also been pining for her) for the last 12 years.

Part of my struggle, I think, is that I have a hard time adjusting when the MC switches from one love interest to another, and I’m not convinced by the ostensible reasons they choose one over the other. I never stopped seeing a path for Maggie to decide in favor of the man she ultimately didn’t choose. We’re just told she picked one over the other, but it’s sudden and not shown with genuine development on the page. After months of going back and forth between the two men, the suddenness with which she chose felt unearned, and even more so with the sudden (and equally quickly resolved) final twist.

The stakes also just felt lower to me with <spoiler>Asher, who re-emerges in her life after more than 15 years. Things are just easy for them. And that’s great! (It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s wildly rich and has the power to open doors for Maggie’s career and is so successful that he never really needs to compromise on what he wants, as opposed to Garrett who feels forced into a box following his dad into finance, because he hasn’t made it big as a singer.) But it’s not like she and Garrett made a go of it and it didn’t work out – they were never both single at the same time! Like, it would have been fine for her to decide Garrett was just too much drama. But BFF Summer was right – a lot of the drama and bad timing was on her. What if she and Garrett actually took the chance?</spoiler> And so it felt like a missed opportunity that she decided to give up on him the minute they might have finally been able to see if what they had was for real.

I wanted to like this so much more. I really enjoyed how important Maggie’s music was to her. There were some pretty weighty issues, and they managed to feel organic to the story rather than tossed in for extra drama. I especially loved the weekly not-dates at Trader Joe’s and one rather wild mini-pony chase. So while I think Maggie picked the wrong guy, ultimately, this book’s biggest sin was that it failed to convince me of her choice.

CW: Attempted rape (described, in flashback); parental death (off page, in the past).

2.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Some words and expressions were used too much. Example : pound or pounding (chest)

Pacing of the story is strange. Meeting Asher about halfway? Weird. Timeline between 35-39 was way too short. This could have been fleshed out.

The back and forth of time made sense some of the time. Kinda drove me nuts.

In the space room : Asher told her to bring her lyrics notebook but she types in her Notes app?

I did enjoy the characters. They were flawed and real and human.
I wish had a bit more of Summer. And Asher’s parents’ reaction to a mental health article.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is the story of a musician, Maggie, whose life keeps intertwining with certain loves during a two decade period and she needs to figure how where her heart lies. I loved this book so much. The timeline jumped all over the place, spanning 20 years, from a first love at sleepaway camp to present day. It was the story of second chances, true love, chasing your dreams and growing into yourself. It was so relatable in its heartache and raw emotions of second guessing yourself and just such realistic characters. I mean, one entire chapter is dedicated to weekly meet ups at Trader Joe’s. Need I say more? It was witty and clever and I loved watching Maggie grow up and mature. And I loved the song lyrics peppered throughout.

Maggie made a marriage pact with two dudes, and both showed up on her 35th birthday. Her childhood lover or the guy she has been pining for for 12 years...
If you love Emily Henry's Happy Place, you will love this book. My heart was in pain for Maggie while reading this book. You're going to be in pain, but you're going to enjoy it.
4 stars!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice
By Alison Rose Greenberg
Format: eARC
Pub. date: October 3/23
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved everything about this book! We have all read stories about the Marry Me pacts; when we are both 35 and not married, then let’s marry each other. But have you read one where someone makes two such pacts? Me neither.

Maggie Vine, a struggling musician, has been unlucky in love. From the first moment she heard his voice she has been in love with Garrett. He too has loved her but they have never managed to be available to the other at the same time. Still, at her 30th birthday, she asked if Garrett would marry her when she turned 35.

However, there is another man in Maggie’s past. Asher Rayes, her teenage love, also has a marriage pact with Maggie and he plans on following through. What follows are many ups and downs and difficult decisions for Maggie.

Filled with love, humour, and ups and downs, Once, Maybe Twice had me rooting for love. For a bit it reminded me of Rory Gilmore’s Dean vs Jess dilemma. At times I rooted for Garrett then changes to wishing for Asher. This book kept me reading, laughing, crying, and feeling hopeful love would happen for Maggie. Such a good story I didn’t want it to end. Available soon, go read it!

I am so thankful to @NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review.

I mostly really loved this book. I could not put it down. It was a one session read for me, until 3am. Warning, DO NOT start this book late at night, not if sleep is important to you.

This is the story of Maggie, a 35 year old singer/songwriter who has just learned that having a baby may not be as easy as she thinks it should be. This almost stopped me from reading any more. Some days my fertility journey is in the past, the long ago past, and some days it's bubbling to the surface, ready to boil over.

I'm glad I continued because the baby making process is hardly the point of this book, at all. This is the story of Maggie, who has been pining for her best friend, Garrett, for 12 years. They just can not get their timing to work with each other, ever, and how can she get off this merry-go-round?

This is the story of Maggie, who lost her father during her freshman year of college, which helped her forge a lifelong friendship with Summer, her horrible, cold roommate. They are best friends forever, ride or dies, call me in the middle of the night and I'll help you bury the body kind of friends.

This is the story of Maggie and Asher, her first boyfriend, her overnight art camp boyfriend, her boyfriend summer after summer, until college. Her first love. Her first everything.

Anyway, read this book. It's got tension, friendship, music, and New York City as a backdrop. You won't be disappointed.

Read if you like:
♥️ Soulmates
💋 Friends to Lovers
🔺 Love Triangles
🥈Second Chance Romances
1️⃣ Single POV

Read this book if you like messy! This one has all the messiness from our MC making two pacts for marriage at 35 with two different men at two different points in her life; one with her teenage first love and first everything, and the other with another musician that the timing just never seemed to work out.

When our FMC is feeling her biological clock start to tic, it truly makes all the messiness amp up. The past and present timelines really added to this story.

Which man will she pick? The one that was her first love as a teenager or the man that they have so much in common and has always been the one that timing never was working out.

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC of this one!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice was such a cute second chance romance. That being said, I hated the frequent time jumps and repetitiveness of it all. It got a little confusing because of that, but otherwise really enjoyed Maggie and Asher's story!

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for the copy of this book!

Maggie Vine watched her mother go through life avoiding a lasting love, so she did her best to make sure it wouldn't happen to her by making the "if we're 35 and still not married, we'll get married" pact with two men, Garrett and Asher. Now she's 35 and they're both back in her life, so she's left with some choices to make.

Alison Rose Greenberg is so good at writing books that are really addictive and hard to put down. Maybe Once, Maybe Twice was a fun read wondering who Maggie would end up with and definitely going on a team for one of the guys over the other. But - Alison also explores some more emotional themes that are very real for women today, like not wanting kids when your partner does, sexual assault, and the reality of having kids when you're over 35. I loved the dual timeline aspect of this to really add into the "both guys could work" concept. While I liked the ending, it was a little rough... but I expected it to not be a straightforward HEA after reading Alison's first book, Bad Luck Bridesmaid.

Read this if you:
- enjoy celebrity romance
- think someone can love two people
- have had a conversation about having kids with a partner
- are 35 years old
- like plot and lots of emotions with your romances

I adored this book. I have a soft spot for books told in multiple timelines and books where the MC pines after a best friend or keeps running into an old lover. Maybe Once Maybe Twice had all of that and it was written flawlessly. Fans of Same Time Next Summer, One Day in December, Every Summer After, Or Forever is the Worst Long Time will enjoy this.

Maggie is relatable. Asher and Garrett are dreamy in their own ways and I found myself rooting for both at times. The ending was unexpected but wonderful.

*Thank you to Alison Rose Greenberg, St. Martin’s Griffin, & NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The overall concept of this book hooked me immediately. Choosing between two incredible men our FMC made marriage pacts with at different points in her life sounded like something right up my alley. However, the execution was lacking for me. The timeline got a little tiring and I could never quite get into the flow of the story with how quickly it changed. Plus, the infidelity right off the bat really soured it for me. It CAN be done in a way that doesn’t make me hate it but when it’s based on neither person just owning their own thoughts and feelings, I couldn’t justify it. I also may have not picked up this book just based on some of the trigger warnings I wasn’t aware of going in (suicide, sexual assault, child death) so it’s possible this book just isn’t for me.

However, I loved Summer and her entire character was a huge bright spot for me. I would take an entire book just about Summer. The writing was wonderful, the concept superb, but the execution fell short for me personally.

I’d recommend the book on writing style alone if you don’t mind infidelity or the content warnings and if you like love triangles and staggered timelines. I think my issues with those things are what did this story in for me and I recognize that has a lot more to do with me and my preferences than the writer. She handled all the content warning stuff beautifully and I think it’s important to have stories that include real issues, I just am not in a mental place to handle them right now.

CW: child loss, suicide, sexual assault/harassment, infertility, infidelity

[3.5 stars]

Finding your “person” only happens once, right? For Maggie Vine, she has found her person twice - with two different people. For years, Maggie has loved her best friend Garrett Scholl but the timing has never been right. At the same time, she can’t stop thinking about her high school love, Asher Reyes. When Maggie finds out Asher is adapting their favorite book into a movie, she knows she has to find him to not only reconnect, but also write the music for the movie. Maggie’s feelings for Asher come rushing back and she must make a tough decision. Should she rekindle her relationship with Asher despite the possibility it could ruin her blossoming music career? Or will the stars finally align for Garrett and Maggie?

I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down. Many elements of the plot mirrored my own life and made me feel better about the chaos of my early 20s. However, as the story progressed, I started to feel disconnected and confused. I enjoyed the non-linear storyline but at times it felt clunky. The relationship between Maggie and her two “loves” kept me hooked though. I didn’t know who she would end up with, if anyone, and how it would shape her career. Overall, the story was heartwarming and makes you believe in the power of love. This easily could have been a 4.5 star book if I didn’t feel disconnected multiple times.

I absolutely loved this book! This is my first book by the author, and I was more than pleased with the ARC. The angst throughout the book made my chest hurt. This book jumps time frames for the main character with the two love interests in her lifetime, it is a messy love story. I did not expect the ending!

📸SNAPSHOT:
Maggie is a musician who is trying to make it as a singer/songwriter in NYC. She made a pact with Garrett, her best friend/crush, when she was 30 that they would get married if they were unattached at 35. However, she also made a similar pact with Asher, her teenage first love, who is now a reclusive A list actor. This book follows Maggie’s past/current love stories with each man while we get to see Maggie’s growth/changes as a woman and as a musician.

💭 MY THOUGHTS:
I absolutely loved Maybe Once, Maybe Twice! I read it all in one sitting because I couldn’t make myself put the book down. I even silenced by phone because I didn’t want to leave the book even for a few minutes. I will 100% be buying a copy for myself when it is published.

As an avid romance reader, I can admit that most romances are somewhat formulaic, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I love romance tropes and knowing that there’s going to be a happy ending. However, it’s always a bit magical when you find a romance novel that truly surprises you. I can honestly say that I have never read a book or have seen a movie quite like Maybe Once, Maybe Twice. It of course used tropes, but it was executed in such a unique manner. Kudos to the author!

I will admit that I wasn’t sure if I would love this book based on the blurb. I am not always a fan of love triangles because of the angst and because of there is usually a clear front-runner for the end. Maggie’s relationships with Garrett and Asher didn’t even feel like a love triangle. She had feelings for both of them, but there wasn’t the competition and back-and-forth usually associated with love triangles. Her love for both of them was authentic, so I had trouble deciding who I wanted her to end up with at first. I eventually figured out who was the right person for Maggie as she figured it out for herself.

💞Read this if you enjoy:
-Song writing
-Time hops
-NYC setting
-3 dimensional main/side characters

📚 Tropes: marriage pact, love triangle, friends to lovers, second chance romance/first love

🚨 CW: sexual assault

⭐ Overall Rating: 5 / 5 stars | 🌶️ Spicy Rating: 1 / 5

Recommended: eh sure if..
you like music as a theme in a romance, you like a choosing-between-two-loves kind of story, you can handle an extremely nonlinear timeline

Thoughts:
This is a book that I guess I generally did enjoy, yeah. But most of my thoughts about it after a week or so of finishing it is about all the little things that annoyed me about it and kept it from being a five-star read for me. So even though that's a lot of what I'm going to focus on in here, it is still a decent book. It's fine. But there were just some things I had to deal with to get to that, and if they're things that -you- can't deal with, then you might be better of passing on this one.

In a somewhat chronological order, one of the first things that killed me was that the main character apparently has synesthesia, where one sense merges with another in an uncommon way. For her, she can taste music. However... this was barely addressed? Except to make some really over the top imagery descriptions? I feel like this could really fuck a person up and would interact in their life a lot more than was given in here. For example hearing music in the grocery store, wouldn't that be super annoying if the songs they played tasted terrible and you were just bombarded with it everywhere? It felt cheap to give the main character a condition and then only use it as a lazy plot point, sometimes. Just don't bother. It didn't add anything and it kind of pissed me off right from the start and then was solidified as it continued to have not mattered to the story.

The story is also -- what's the opposite of linear? Scattered? It was that. The "main" current story is her at age 35, but every other chapter or two you jump to a different age and what was going on then. It's usually an age that was referenced in the age-35 chapter, but BOY did it get kind of tiring. I felt like I had a hard time getting invested in the story because the story kept changing.

Maggie's whole thing through this book is how strongly she feels everything. She and Asher connected as kids because they both felt everything so strongly, and continue to as adults. This is reflected in the writing and the way Maggie describes this. On the one hand, kudos for really sticking to that character element. On the other hand, I hated having to read things like "the moment I saw you in fell into stars" because that to me is just mega stupid. If someone said that to me I'd probably leave soon after. SO the writing can be very... flowery and over the top (to me) in places.

Alright, now for the actual plot and not just the feel of it. The crux of a lot of these issues was just the tired old issue of them not talking, or not talking honestly / fully. Like instead of saying "no I can't" maybe elaborate or at least add the word YET? There was meant to be this push-and-pull timing of tension but it just annoyed me because they were both idiots about it. Our other romance interest -- well it was a good thing that they had history because otherwise I would have felt that it was a bit of the Harlequin style where he's a rich and famous guy with the power to make your dreams come true and take you places on a private jet and rent out a whole fancy club just for you. That's a fine story angle, but it wouldn't/didn't fit the vibe that this story had. So I was side-eyeing some of that path, too.

Ugh.

Anyway, like I said -- this book really is fine. It's not TERRIBLE by any stretch. But it was kind of tiring, and I needed to take breaks from it. So if you're fine with the stuff I mentioned above and still interested then go for it! But if any of those sound like they would also tire you, just... be aware of what this is before deciding.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.

This moves back in forth in time to tell the story of Maggie's love life with Garrett and Asher, two fairly different men who have meant a lot to her over time. At 35, she's a singer songwriter bumping up against her desire to have children and a career that's never quite taken off. She's known Garrett since she was 21 but Asher for since they were kids. One thing she's been lucky with is her BFF, Summer, who she met in college and who is behind her all the way (honestly, I almost liked her more than Maggie). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This sags a bit in the middle and fans of the genre might be able to guess what happens but it's a good read for a rainy day.

3.75 stars.

I liked this read about a 30-something year old woman, Maggie, and her relationships with two different men - Asher, her childhood sweetheart, and Garrett, a man she meets in her twenties. The writing of the relationships was very believable and the chemistry between the characters - in particular Maggie and Asher - just oozed off the page. The author really knows how to tug on the heartstrings and make you care about the characters and their relationships. The female friendship between Maggie and Summer was also very believable and Summer was a great secondary character.

I would say though that I think there was too much going on in the story - misogyny, fertility, infidelity, difficult parent-child relationships, grief and trauma - making the novel feel longer than it should have been. I also found the going back and forth in several timelines took me out of the story at times. That being said, this was an emotionally satisfying read that kept me involved in the story and I am glad I read it. I will for sure be waiting for this author’s next novel.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. It was too much and yet not enough all at the same time. The premise is great, the writing is good quality. But I do desperately wish this was two separate books. I think each story would have much more weight and the time they deserve if each love interest was its own thing. Also speaking of love interests, this doesn’t just have the two in the blurb, there’s another one that felt prominent and confusing, with on page intimacy as well which I am all for spice but it really didn’t serve a purpose or show anything about their dynamic.

I felt so frustrated with this main character. She’s a bit of a catch all, she acts different at different times without ever calling herself out for acting like that so I don’t think it was purposeful. She is a confident singer yet stays silent through so many of her earlier miscommunications (not talking about the TW of this book, actual SA trauma that is on page). This is big on the miscommunication trope with one of the love interests. With the other he’s just a perfect caricature with no flaws so I didn’t really buy the hesitation.

The prose jumps around in timeline a lot which I found very fun. But it also used flashbacks. If you already have an established narrative that can jump why are there pages on pages of a detailed flashback when you could just do a short chapter of that age? Really ruined the purpose of jumping timelines.

Overall, this left me feeling confused and dissatisfied. And don’t get me started on the ending, there is a very weird 3rd act breakup that I also just simply don’t get. There’s also a certain overarching topic that impacted her best friend’s relationship so I don’t see why she wouldn’t also bring that up early on in her relationship since it was so important to her (and conversely her friend). This book was unfortunately not for me.

Some things I liked: the main character’s relationship with her steadfast best friend Summer. I loved the camaraderie of women in this story. I also felt like the chapters when she’s a teenager really had that teen voice and they did act their age. I also liked a lot of the plot points and topics that were tackled I just wish they had more room to breathe and process.

Thank you to NetGalley and st martins press for this ARC.

Wow what a journey this book took me on. We follow our heroine Maggie from when she is a teenager to when she is in her thirties. Each chapter bounces back and forth between different stages in her life. On her pathway to becoming a singer songwriter, she falls in love with two different men.

The love triangle created so much angst. I was totally here for it! I couldn't decide who I wanted Maggie to end up with. Both relationships felt so right to me. I could feel the chemistry and pining. I'd read one chapter and say "choose Garrett." Then I'd read the next chapter and say "choose Asher."

This book consumed me while I was reading it. The author was such an incredible storyteller. I absolutely loved the musical aspect. I felt so many different emotions throughout. As the ending drew near I was nervous as to what would happen. I cried at one point too. I have to mention Maggie's best friend Summer because she was a standout side character and the book would have been missing something without her.

I wanted a little bit more from the ending. But beyond that this book is one that I still can't stop thinking about even though I read it a couple weeks ago. It's one that will stay with me for a while.

Maggie made a pact with 2 different men that she will marry them if she is still single by 35 yrs old. Will she end up with Asher - her first bf from camp and now actor or will she be with Garrett, hedge fund manager/aspiring rock singer?

I love the romance in this book. The humour is terrific too. Love the friendship part especially. The music part is great. Really enjoy it. Love how Maggie grows into herself. A wonderful book!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.