The format of this book was very different in terms of chapters in the past and present and it took me a while to get used to it but I found myself so drawn into the love triangle! The pop culture references seem to come straight of my brain - I loved them! I was also so impressed with the song lyrics and the way the author was able to add so much depth without losing any of the humor and romance.

THIS PREMISE!!! I've never read a book like that that had TWO "if we aren't married" pacts that intersect.

I absolutely adored Greenberg's writing and cannot wait for more from her.

I found the story to be wonderful, challenging and oh so well written!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is such a lovely and refreshing story. I really adored the premise of Maggie, who finds herself making a marriage pact with her two great loves in her life; her first love and her best friend. This story is so multilayered between the romance, growing up and showing it's never too late to pursue your dreams, family drama, and even tackles #MeToo topics.

Sometimes, when stories bounce from one era to another in a non-linear fashion, I find myself getting a bit confused and having to look back, but Greenberg did a wonderful job of keeping the story straight while jumping back and forth in the plot to really set up a strong story. I loved Maggie's character and witnessing her growth. There were plenty of times when I laughed out loud.

Honestly, this is a fabulous read and I highly recommend checking it out.
Thank you, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC!
4.5/5 stars

Taking a line straight from Gypsy... Maybe Once, Maybe Twice FEELS like a Fleetwood Mac song. I was immediately hooked at the first chapter, and completely obsessed with it about 15% of the way through. I have no many words to describe this book, but most of them non-coherent. Devastating. Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. It's a very messy love story about a love triangle - Maggie Vine is turning 35 and after making two "if we're not married by the time we're 35, let's get married" pacts with two different men at two very different times in her life, she's caught between her feelings for two completely different people who show up for her. As we jump around year by year in her life, going all the way back to her teen years when she met Asher at summer camp - her first true love - and through her twenties when she met Garrett, the man she thought was her soulmate, we follow Maggie through her years of yearning and angst (so much yearning and soooo much angst) not just for love but also for her passion of songwriting and singing. We see the summers spent with Asher at camp and how the way she sees her parents has shaped her outlook on life and love, and how their young love felt so big and all-consuming, and yet failed to survive outside the bubble of camp. We come to understand her messy, complicated relationship (or non-relationship) to Garrett, the man who embodies "love at first sight" and "right person, wrong time" and yet they can't break their ties to one another for the next 12 years. While it all sounds a bit chaotic, it's all so well-written that it didn't matter to me if the details got a little fuzzy, because it was like reliving all of Maggie's flashbacks and memories along with her, including all her feelings. It was about the big picture - reflecting on paths not taken, regrets, being true to yourself and your passion, living you authentic life and not giving up on your dreams. And also fierce female friendships, because Summer might be just be the hero in all of this. In the end, it didn't matter which man she picked, or for what reasons either of them showed up for her - obligation or love or desire - it was about not giving up on yourself and settling, and realizing your dreams for fame, fortune, family, or love.

This book might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're like me and have a soft spot for messy love stories with simmering tension, heart-wrenching moments, and a healthy dose of angst, then this one's a real gem! Right from the get-go, it had me utterly engrossed, and I absolutely relished following Maggie's journey as she chased her musical dreams, navigated complex relationships, and held onto her aspirations of motherhood.

Maggie Vine finds herself in a rather unique predicament, striking marriage pacts with two different men at vastly different stages of her life. Now, at the ripe age of 35, both Garrett and Asher resurface in her world simultaneously, throwing her—and us—into a whirlwind of uncertainty. The narrative masterfully intertwines multiple timelines and clever flashbacks, keeping us guessing right up until the very, very end.

I'll confess, my preferred guy didn't end up with Maggie, but you know me, I'm a sucker for a well-executed love triangle in the romance genre, and this one absolutely delivered. It's an emotional rollercoaster, drenched in heartache and trauma, yet punctuated with moments of laughter and hopefulness that had me thoroughly hooked.

“Men under fifty stroll through dark parking garages the same way they approach birthdays: without a second thought. They don’t lose sleep over their place in the world-not until they find themselves inside a midlife crisis. Women don’t have midlife crises, because we’ve spent our lives constantly in crisis.”

Maggie’s life is ok. She is 35, happy playing the local gigs, and has great friends. Unfortunately her doctor just told her she basically has little to no eggs left. she is madly in love with her best friend, but their timing always seems off, which should be fixed by their “if not married by 35” pact, but when he shows to her birthday engaged, that plan falls flat. Lucky for her…she also made that pact with her very first boyfriend Asher, who has suddenly reappeared in her life…

OK so while I really loved this book, I found myself getting a little annoyed with Maggie at times. I totally understood her reasoning for pushing Garrett away, but dang girl, you have two men falling head over heels for you and you still can’t figure it out? Again, her past was horrible and I can totally see how it made an impact on how she lives her life, but every once in a while I just wanted to scream KISS HIM! Overall I really loved both of her suitors, and wanted Maggie to succeed in life and in love throughout the book!

DNF at 65%

I so badly wanted to like this one more - I'm all about a dual timeline second chance situation, but the jumping around between different ages wasn't very linear, and it couldn't keep my attention. This book is about so much more than her romantic life, it dives into some pretty serious conversations too.

Alison Rose Greenberg is an EXCELLENT writer, don't get me wrong, this book is filled with tension and witty lines. The writing is great, which is why I'm giving it 3 stars. It just wasn't for me. Maybe it's a title I'll consider coming back to another time, but for now I'm skipping this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg

If we are still single when we are 35, we should get married. X2. Maggie makes this pact with 2 different men at two very different points in her life, and they both show up.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, I loved the characters and really related to Maggie. I liked how she really dug deep into how different points of her life shaped her as a person, and how different people fit in your life over the years. I specifically loved her best friend Summer. Maggie is a singer and I loved the addition of her song lyrics throughout the book.

My complaint with this one was the setup. It felt really jumbled and jumped around between stories so much that I often got confused about which guy she was talking about and what age she was. Almost like it was two different disjointed books. So I would definitely recommend the physical rather than the audio.

Still, since I loved Bad Luck Bridesmaid, and the storyline of this one, I definitely think this author is an auto buy from now on. Her writing is unexpected and heartfelt and incredibly witty.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @dreamscape_media for my copies! This is out on October 3rd.

#netgalley #stmartinspress #dreamscapemedia #audiobookreview #ebook #bookreview #bookrecommendations #booksbooksbooks #bookworm #books #reading #lovetoread #canadianbookstagrammer #booksta

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest review! I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. There were some aspects I really liked and them some I'm just not sure about. First off, the timeline had me confused af. It wasn't just past and present; it was Maggie at all ages of life in varying order, which made it hard for me to remember what was going on when. It also felt like a lot was going on, and I think this played into the whole timeline aspect but it had me putting in effort to remember what was happening when. One thing I looooved about the book was Asher! What a gem. Overall I think this book had a cute premise and covered good topics! Not one of my favorites but still a cute read!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is story of realizing that years fly by, a women's biological clock is ticking, and that dreams (or promises) can come true at any age. Also.... that having a plan B with multiple people can get a little messy.
The beginning chapters are a time hop back and forth as Maggie Vine gives us a peek at past birthdays and why they are memorable. At about chapter 7, I stopped to take a break for a few days, as I found the back/forth confusing at times. By chapter 9, I finally got a good hand at all the characters and what in the past was relevant for the present.
The last 15 chapters I was on board for and got more invested in the storyline. There were some areas and conversations that were a bit too long and felt like fluff in the book. I think I may have an unpopular opinion on who Maggie ends up with. I thought the ending was wonderful in that not everything was perfect, but worked out as it was supposed to.
While this book was not completely for me, I will highly recommend to anyone that enjoys the topics listed below.

👉🏻This book has:
•Musicians Dreams •Friendship •Love Triangle •Friends to Lovers •Second Chance Love •Celebrity Romance •Multiple Timelines •Biological Clock

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley, for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review! 💕

**Since my rating is under 4 stars, I will be waiting to review on Goodreads & Amazon until later in October. I will post a publishing day reminder on 10/3 on my Instagram account.

This was a cute rom com! I really connected with the female main character. At times I thought the transitions in time were a tad choppy and I truly loathed the ending. Still a fun and easy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is about a girl, Maggie navigating through life of love and heartbreak along with trying to make it as singer/songwriter. She meets Garrett in her twenties and over 12 years she falls in love with him but their timing is never quite right. When she’s 35 she reconnects with her first love, Asher who is now a famous movie star/producer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It pulled on my heartstrings and kept my stomach in knots with suspense as the story unfolded. It was an emotional roller coaster and heartbreaking at times. Great read, 5 stars!

Thank you @dreamscape_media @netgalley for a copy of this book. I love how real Maggie's journey felt and how relatable it is. I love all the music references and that Maggie never wavered from her dream to make music. I am not a fan of love triangle and this was done so well and not really a triangle but more Maggie's relationship with Garrett and Asher. Katherine Littrell did a great job with all the voices and bringing the story to life.

Maggie Vine thought she would have landed her big break by thirty-five but her career seems to be stagnating. Not to mention the guy she’s been in love with for years just got engaged and her fertility journey is not going so well. After Garrett’s engagement Maggie decides to do her best to move on both in her career and personal life. When she meets her first love Asher who happens to need a singer/songwriter for his upcoming film Maggie relishes in the opportunity to establish herself as an artist and to reconnect with her ex. When a high profile producer from Maggie’s past stirs up drama Maggie must finally come to terms with her traumatic past to move on and create the life she’s always dreamt of.

This book immediately hooked me in with the love triangle which was so well done with the flashbacks. I connected with Maggie a lot not only by name but feeling like she is not in the place she expects or wants to be at this point in her life either personally or professionally. I thought Maggie’s past experience with sexual assault was relevant to her story as it is unfortunately happens to people working in the entertainment industry and was beautifully and respectfully written. This book gave me a lot of A Star is Born vibes and I very much enjoyed being taken along on Maggie’s journey.

DNF at 28%.

After reading a sentence, "My eyes were pointed together in confusion," I gave it another couple of pages before accepting that I didn't really care about this character or this story. The writing style doesn't feel natural although some of the descriptive language is well done.

Overall, I thought the main character and at least the first love interest introduced made some pretty questionable choices with pretty obvious red flags. While the premise of this sounded interesting, once I actually got into the story, I wasn't a fan of the way things were shaking out. I'm sure someone else will enjoy this one, but it just wasn't for me.

Maggie Vine made a marriage pact for age 35 with two different men at two very different stages of her life... and they both showed up. Told in alternating chapters at different ages, we see her love stories unfold with Asher and Garrett, leaving you guessing who is the right choice until the very end.

I am not usually a fan of a love triangle so I don't think this book will be for everyone, but I really enjoyed this messy love story. Maggie feels like she still hasn't 'made it' in life (~relatable~), and the flashback chapters show us her years of pursuing a music career, evolution of her romantic relationships, and her desire to become a mother. I loved different elements of her two love interests which made it easy to root for Maggie in the story since she'd come out a winner either way.

While the romance is an element to the story, it's not your average romcom and instead is more of an adult coming of age story about coming to terms with where you are in life and not giving up on your dreams. There are some deep conversations and trauma, but also lighter moments and nostalgia.

This first bit of this book was so interesting and fun but unfortunately the rest fell flat for me.
I really liked the idea of the time jumps but it got clunky and confusing as the book went on trying to keep up with all the different storylines. I ended up giving up 25% in and skimming the rest.
I wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't for me unfortunately.

I'm honestly not sure I could be any more in love with a book than I am with this one!

Maggie made a marriage pact with two men. If when they reach the age of 35, they would come together, find each other wherever they are in their lives in that moment. Now, as she turned 35, struggling with her career and the desire to start a family, Maggie is faced with both men.

This book was everything. The formatting was amazing. The jumps back and forth in time weren't confusing at all and were needed to help tell Maggie's story. I honestly was soooooo incredibly torn between the two men in Maggie's life. Asher was positive and so in touch with himself. Garrett was just as lost as Maggie at times but still connected to that rocker side of her. I at times wanted to shut the book and not know who she ended up with, solely because I would have had to let one go.

But overall, this story is about Maggie. She is a passionate musician who found life through music. And it's through music that she truly loved and lived. There are so many amazing music and pop culture moments in this as well. The writing was perfection.

Please, read this book. There is so much to love.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

I loved this book! The main character, Maggie Vine, made the "if we're not married when we're 35, we will will marry each other" deal with two different guys and they both show up. She has amazing chemistry and sparks with both of them. Maggie is an aspiring musician who writes incredible lyrics. Additionally the book references lots of 90s music and song lyrics - totally my vibe! I'd recommend this to fans of Colleen Hoover or Christina Lauren.

Sweet entertaining story. I loved how so many different things were represented in this romance with a women in her 30’s still trying to find love, and the life she wants for herself.