It has been a hot minute since I have read a really good romantic book. I liked the cover for Maybe Once, Maybe Twice which is why I requested it.
I am so GLAD I did!
This was not one of those cheesy rom coms that were along of the line of "Will they, won';t they"
This book dealt with a lot. A lot of almost taboo topics like infertility, death, etc.

I know some people refer to this as a rom com, but I just can't because it was so much more. I loved the theme of finding the one, etc. Although there were some topics that I just didn't like how they were handled, most importantly, the cheating.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to receive this ARC.

I couldn't get into this one. I made it to 15% and dropped it. Here are some of the things I disliked (caveat it could change if I got further)

- It aggravated me how they talked about fertility in an older age. I appreciated that it was evident but it made me feel awful and that shouldn't be the case.
- It was hard to follow the chapters with the back and forth.
- The chapters were short and they didn't get into any real meat.

Okay sooooo I can’t honestly review this without kind of spoiling it so if you don’t want spoilers don’t read it!!!

This could easily have been a 5-star for me, but I CANNOT get over the cheating. The fact that the protagonist is deeply flawed and it’s a complex relationship, sure, but I can’t get past how nonchalant she was about it and how sick to my stomach it made me feel even if things worked out in the end. The complexity of their relationship could have been just as painful without that (at the engagement party no less) and it made me hate both of them just enough that even when I was rooting for her I was still mad.

And then the like half plot twist at the end??? Ruined my entire life but then reconstructed it so it’s fine I guess. I actually sobbed and then was happy 2 pages later so.

Literally would probably be a 5-star read to anyone else but I can’t handle it. I felt violent.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this ARC!

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a cute rom-com/second chance romance. I don't generally enjoy love triangles, but I felt that it worked in this story. I did not find myself loving the alternating timelines but this is more of a personal preference and not a commentary on the writing. The main characters are all in their 30s which I so appreciate; this made the story much more relatable. Overall this is a great read if you are looking for a solid rom-com!

A raw and real story of how hard relationships can be and how they can sometimes just be a learning experience that shapes you to recognize "your person".

I loved EVERYTHING about this book. I felt like this author and I have the same sense of humor. I laughed out loud so many times reading this. I loved the romance, even though a few times I thought Maggie was going to end up with the wrong guy and that would have really upset me. Thankfully she ended up with the right one in my opinion. I loved the duel timelines so you got a full story of how events played out. I loved the friendship between Maggie and Summer and how it showed that you can make a lifelong friend in the most random times in life. I loved how it showed you can deal with heavy things, and it's ok to talk about mental health struggles.
I will definitely be reading more by this author.
wish this story didn't have to end.

I need books to match my energy level and helloooo this girl is EXTRA

I’m feeling less murderous and wanted to dip my toes in some romance . I mean how else do you defrost a cold heart around the 4th of July?

“Aren’t you a cute little book cover” I exclaimed as I stared at my shiny new ARC…

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice

Then I jumped right in and got lost within the pages! This book right here is everything I never knew I needed slammed in between these two book ends.

Allison Rose Greenberg, did an exceptional job bringing these characters to life and having me fall deeper and deeper in love with even the smallest quirks.

I loved every last word of it!

Teaser :

Filled with the romance and angst that defines the years you come to know yourself, with a shifting timeline covering two decades and ratcheting up the tension, Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a novel of second chances and finding your own way.

You know that old saying, “if we are still single when we’re 35, we should get married?” Well, Maggie Vine made that vow with two different people, at two very different stages of her life.

And they both showed up.

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.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.


I thought it was great, would recommend.

Much like Maggie, I’m a music nerd (although I'm nowhere near as talented as her!). I LOVED the scene with Garrett in Trader Joe’s trading barbs over Fall Out Boy and Blink-182. My kind of music references! The music in this book was haunting but heartfelt- I could hear it in my mind as I read the lyrics.

I fell in love with Garrett and thought he should be The One for Maggie. Then I fell in love with Asher. I just couldn’t choose! Both men had a huge impact on both Maggie’s life and her heart. But, eventually, my heart led me in the direction of Maggie’s destiny and I was enraptured till the end.

This book hit close to home in terms of the main character's age and her desire to do more with her life in the here and now. I loved the flashbacks through her teenage years and 20s so we could learn more about not only her background story, but her interactions with both male leads. Her best friend Summer is a force of nature and a wonderful character in the book, as well as Raina is. Beautifully written and so easy to get lost in reading for hours because you're so wrapped up in the characters' lives that you need to know what happens next!

My Thoughts


Maggie Vine is the kind of character who finds herself always never quite able to achieve exactly everything she had once hoped to.

The kind of character you want to succeed in fulfilling her dreams but also cannot help thinking may be someone whose efforts feel a little bit like wanting too much of one thing and not enough of another.

Torn between dreams and reality she is now 35, still plugging, still struggling, still single and still torn between a man whose love would come with strings and a man who wants nothing more than to love her for who she is just the way she is.

What is shocking at times is how low points in her life are worked out so beautifully through the use of music lyrics and finally dealt with through professional therapy healing a lot of the wounded parts from earlier events in Maggies life.

I could not, would not stop until late evening when my eyes made me give up only to devour the remainder of the story in one sitting today.

A new-to-me author has penned a story of 1 fictional persons life in all its stages from the good to the bad and back full circle to a lovely outcome that spans years condensed into a little over 300 pages.

Very much recommend for those who like underdog stories with many bumps in their path to a Happy Ever After.

The last major bump before the books story ended almost tore my brain apart.

It might yours too.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Love triangles are not my jam. Authors typically write them in over exaggerated ways and pin characters against one another, clearly showing one as evil and one as good. Only an exceptionally talented author could write a story where the reader had a hard time picking which lead male the lead female should end up with. My heart was with both Garrett and Asher because they were perfectly flawed characters. Each had their own personal challenges that felt authentic not only to their characters but also to their story.

I didn’t expect to love how messy this book was. Love isn’t simply black and white, but a multitude of colors, both bright and dim. This author captured the truth behind the unobtainable “happily ever after” and showed the reader the realities of growing, evolving, and how love changes that.

This is one of the best love stories I have read in a long time that not only challenged my heart, but engrossed my mind. It’s the kind of story that you still think about well after it’s done because of how emotionally attached you get to it. There was just one aspect of the story that just felt a smidge “preachy” which kept me from giving this a full five stars, but I truly loved this story overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC

unfortunately am not the target market on this one - I liked the writing, I just didn’t match with the book content! the “35 year old who really wants to have a baby but her chances are gone” just wasn’t interesting to me. out of respect for the author I will not be posting my review publicly!

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Publishing Company. This book will keeping you guessing what is going to happen until the very end. The ending is what is needs to be. Life is unpredictable and also the people in it. Some people come to a life for a season while others could be in your life for the journey. Maggie has had lots of different things happen in her life good or bad. Summer, Garrett and Asher all play a part in Maggie life in very different ways. This book is for a mature reader and can be read anywhere. This book has drama, romance, suspense. Love comes in many different forms. Sometimes love is a short term and other times is present and then goes dormant. You have to be true to yourself and your person.

I don’t know what else to say other than I really, truly LOVED this book. I tried so hard to savor it because I didn’t want it to end, but eventually I just couldn’t put it down and needed to devour it!

Maggie is such a likable and relatable character and I loved that we didn’t get just one second chance romance, but two! The entire time I was rooting for both love stories and honestly couldn’t decide who I wanted her to pick, but I think she made the right choice ultimately 😉

Every single character in this book was amazing as well (well, except one who I think you can guess) and I enjoyed all the banter, vulnerability and real life issues that were handled delicately and explicitly at the same time.

When I first picked up this book I had no idea I would love it so much, but it’s truly one of my favorite romance novels of all time. It’s breathtaking and heartbreaking, will make you laugh and cry and wrap you in a warm hug at the end that puts you back together again 💕

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Alison Rose Greenberg and St. Martin's Press for the advance readers copy! I absolutely CANNOT wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Highly recommend!

I enjoyed this one so much! It's raw, unique and balances emotional moments and funny ones seamlessly. I'm excited to read more from the author in the near future! I'll be grabbing a copy of this when it releases because I know it belongs on my shelves.

Oh, Maggie. One love shows up at her 35th birthday engaged and the other shows up in the biggest way with the best opportunity. She has a lot of options for the rest of her life, but mistakes will be made along the way. Fun, easy read

This was a whiplash of a read with all the love complexities it offered. I previously read Greenberg's Bad Luck Bridesmaid and was impressed with her untraditional and modern take on love so I was ready to be taken for a ride again.

I loved the character's navigation of her career and the realistic setbacks and the mess that is her life (relatable!) and how it portrayed love can be the stuff of fairytales but also not the endgame. I had a bit of a hard time with the flashbacks and present days as they were all over and involved multiple people.

It was special to have the song lyrics included to enhance the reading experience and I hope to hear them one day played out if she does a screen adaptation! The ending was a tiny bit of a miss for me as I had hoped she stayed the course but after all, this is a romance.

Unfortunately, this book fell quite short for me. The story was fun, however it lacked a hook to keep me hanging on. The plot climax was resolved too easily without suspense or tension.

This definitely had potential to be a great read for someone like me, who loves second-chance romance. The premise of Maggie basically asking two guys to find her on her 35th birthday if they were all still single was great. Because she reconnects with both of them! Which second-chance romance wins out?

Unfortunately the setup of this book is what caused the book to not get all five stars. The timeline jumps all around, from present day to Maggie's 20s... then to the teens... and five years ago... all mixed in. It was tough to follow and the way the story was told gives an unfair advantage: we meet Garrett first and learn about their chemistry. We get glimpses of their relationship but not enough to really be invested.

Then all of a sudden, Asher is introduced as Maggie's first love back when she was a teenager. Who are we supposed to root for? Maybe that was the point, but instead of introducing the reader to both guys right away and letting us make a decision, it was confusing and hard to keep track of what was going on in the present vs. which guy was involved in the past. The jumping around really made this tough to really follow.

Also... the whole Asher and Maggie drifted apart and then didn't ever connect for decades? Really? This bothers me when authors do this. Two people so clearly in love, even if they broke up, likely would have followed each other's lives.

Overall, I liked the second chance romance storyline and I liked seeing the characters develop. However, the ending was rushed and I didn't love how it just came together in the span of about three pages.

I adored this second chance rom-com! Singer-songwriter Maggie has made a marriage pact with two very different guys. And to her surprise, both come calling on her thirty-fifth birthday.

Alternating between past and present timelines, Greenberg shows us how Maggie fell in love with both Garrett and Asher at different stages of her life, and the impact each man had on her. Music lovers will be delighted by the way Greenberg expertly captures both the creative and practical aspects of the industry, while admiring lyrics so gorgeous you'll wish they were real songs. There is also a *very* funny scene involving a pony that left me cackling. Most of all, this book evokes a sense of nostalgia. Between her references to puka shell necklaces and LimeWire and the way she deftly captures the magic of childhood love, you'll be longing to check up on your own camp boyfriend.