Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg is a contemporary women's fiction novel with romantic and humor elements.

Shout out to my local library, where I was able to pick up the audiobook version. The narrator Katherine Littrell does a pretty good job, including one point where she sings a little bit.

It took me a minute to get into this book, but it eventually hit its stride for me. It's told in a very non-linear narrative with multiple flashbacks between our main character and the two main guys she made a marriage pact with at very different points in her life. This got a tad confusing to me even though each chapter header tells you what age Maggie is at that point.

The book leans more into chick lit than rom-com, because the focus is on our main character's growth throughout her life (and especially in her 35th year) and how she processes trauma, while the many romances she finds herself part of are solidly present but not in the forefront. There are a LOT of heavy topics in this book, please check the CWs at the bottom of this review if you need them.

One of the strengths in this book is the diversity. Maggie is Jewish and has synesthesia (which is mentioned a few times and then mostly dropped), one of the main love interests was born in the Philippines, her best friend Summer (probably my favorite character) is a lesbian, and there's tons more casual queerness throughout. I also laughed out loud several times, and I cried once, so it easily evoked tons of different emotions in me while I was reading.

As a very musical person, I appreciated all of the references in here. I have had Deanna Carter's "Strawberry Wine" stuck in my head since I read that particular mention. If you were listening to music in the 90s and aughts, there will be a ton of callbacks here for you.

Overall, I think this needed another editing pass to tighten the story up a bit, but I still enjoyed the read. It was a little long and meandering at points, but you can see the strength and depth in many of the relationships here, including between Maggie and her best friend Summer. It sticks the landing pretty well, but I would have loved an epilogue.

Tropes in this book include: love triangle, second chance, friends to lovers, found family, angst, main characters in their mid-30s

CW: infertility, fertility treatments, rejection sensitive dysphoria, suicide (off-page, mentioned), infidelity, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, sexual assault, survivor's guilt, depression, grief, absentee parent

I guess I didn't really understand this book... it starts strong with a love interest that we are made to believe is Maggie's soulmate and then 1/3 of the way through the book quickly pivots to another guy while the first guy is still in the picture. There were alternate timelines but there were two separate sets of them so it felt like the story was just jumping all over the place. This was way too messy for me and I was too invested in the first guy to get invested in the second guy. Also there were too many plot devices- on top of the love triangle there was infertility, best friend marital problems, parental issues, fame, music careers, song lyrics, death of a loved one and assault. This book took up ALL the lanes when, in my opinion, it should have just stuck to just one. I was really enjoying the primary second-chance like romance story line until the plot tornado hit.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a romantic comedy that will stick with me for a while. Instead of the cookie cutter greeting card romance, this novel shows real life in all its messy, complicated glory. The love triangle between Maggie, Asher and Garrett is beautifully written and emotion filled. I laughed, cried and got angry and enjoyed every minute of it!

This book was all the feels. I usually know who I want a mc to end up with but I felt so conflicted. I laughed I cried and I felt all the feels.

Thank you to NetGalley and st martins press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This book has a great premise and interesting story ideas. However this book didn’t follow up on the great premise. Maggie vine is an inspiring singer song writer who fell in love twice in her lifetime. She made a pact with both of those men to marry at 35 if she isn’t already married. Alec and Garrett are both amazing men. Throw in Maggie’s biological clock and her best friends marriage falling apart and it is a lot happening. I think it might have been better to have just a couple storylines instead of so many occurring it made it hard to get fully invested in a character or storyline before the next storyline was there. I think the premises of choosing yourself or a baby or a guy is very interesting and really like it to see more of it in the future. I know others really like this book so it could be me. I had fertility issues myself so maybe that impacted my enjoyment of the book.

Maybe Once, Maybe Twice

Maggie’s true love is music, and has been since she was younger and influenced heavily by her music appreciating father. However she’s also had other chances with love, with two different men, and made marriage pacts with both. This book jumps around a few timelines, but it’s pretty clear as it happens, so the confusion is minimal.

I absolutely loved this book. I laughed, I cried, I double checked there weren’t any other books by the author that I could read immediately. The best way to describe the experience is fulfilling. It’s rounded out, and there aren’t a ton of left over questions. The journey was incredible and I soaked it all up, sad to have it end so soon.

Definitely earned a spot on my top reads this year, and I look forward to seeing what rich experience Ms. Greenberg will grace us with next.

i struggled with the alternating timelines, especially because there were multiple and not just one past and the current present. maggie was extremely unlikeable and can't believe she was 35 with the way she acts and responds emotionally

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg.

Today I was watching an old rerun of Friends and it was the one where they were forming marriage pacts for if they weren’t married by a certain age.
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In this book Maggie made a pact with two separate people. When she turns 35 they both show up. Two very different options and two very different lives. Maggie must choose which direction to go. This was such an enjoyable one!

Huge thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

There are marriage pacts, but does anyone ever follow through on them? Maggie Vine, who just turned 35, is about to find out. Except for one little problem--she made one with two very important boyfriends from her past.

Greenberg did a really great job making complex, nuanced characters. The tension between the three main characters was delicious, and there were times I was so torn over who I wanted to root for!

I especially loved the music that was woven throughout the book. It's hard to write convincing lyrics for books, but Greenberg pulled it off beautifully. Recommend for fans of second-chance romances (and there are more than enough to go around in this book!)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of the cutest book. This is my 1st Alison Rose Greenberg book but it won't be my last. I couldn't put it down! This is Sliding Doors for second chances at love!

Thank you to NetGalley & St Martins Press for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

First off, I’d like to say that I think this will be made into a movie in the future, and I am so here for it! The story did remind me of “Something Borrowed” and also “Meet me at the Lake”. Also as a Swiftie, I screamed every time I noticed a Taylor Swift Easter egg, they were all over the entire story!! The original songs, the NYC backdrop, the old unrequited love versus the one who got away, I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book. The only reason I took one star away is because I felt like the ending had the potential to be bigger than it was.

If you’re looking for a new romcom that comes to life with each page you read, pick this one up!

Maggie Vine is turning 35, and her life is nothing like she thought it would be. Her music career hasn’t really taken off, and not to mention she made two marriage pacts. One with her childhood sweetheart Asher, and also the man who got away in early adulthood, Garrett. The story is told in alternating timelines so you can learn about her relationship with Asher and Garrett.

While Garrett is about to begin his new life he proposes to his girlfriend; at the same time Asher enters back into Maggie’s life with a proposal to bring her music career back to life. Maggie is faced with difficult choices about who she loves, what she wants for herself, and what her future will look like. Some of the reviews mention finding Maggie an extremely unlikeable character, I felt the opposite. I felt like Maggie was a very realistic character who was so easy to commiserate with.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book!

I’m not going to lie but the love triangle trope is one of my absolute least favorites so I was really hesitant to read Maybe Once, Maybe Twice. I loved her debut so I knew I needed to give this one a try and go in with an open mind. This book is so much more than a love triangle story; it’s about finding yourself, growing and finding the person you love for the right reasons.

Maggie’s life has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, and by the time she was 35 she thought she’d have a marriage proposal or two by now. She’s got two options- her unrequited love with Garrett and her first love Asher. She’s been in a holding pattern with Garrett for forever and she thought theres was time but it never lined up for them and his recent engagement really puts the kibosh on things but he’s still stringing her along. Then there’s Asher and the intensity they had a such a young age and he’s now about to produce her favorite book into a movie and she wants to do the music for it.

I know I was already biased not to like Garrett just because he kept stringing Maggie along and while I don’t think he’s a bad guy he’s just the wrong guy for Maggie and it took her way to long to see that. I instantly liked Asher and loved the ease that came with them but I don’t think they needed to have that big conversation way earlier but it all worked out in the end.

Does this mean I’m a fan of the love triangle trope now? No but I might be more inclined to pick it up if it’s by an author I really enjoy.


Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was more than a second chance romance. Torn between two men, Maggie struggles to fully embrace her path forward, knowing the love that she hangs onto from years past.

I thought it was really clever to name the chapters with her age, as the timeline jumped between past and present. It was gut wrenching at times, as timing played the enemy at every turn, with every opportunity for happiness.

With the threat of infertility looming in the background, you could feel the anxiousness of the biological clock ticking down. This was a great example of fate only being able to take you so far, from there you have to make some tough decisions. Good book.

Appreciated the early copy from St. Martin’s and NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my god this book! Alison has a way of writing something that feels frothy but is so substantive and thought-provoking. It's bittersweet and heartwarming all at the same time.

This is one of those books that, I just can't decide! I was curious based on the premise how the story would end up and was excited to dive right in, but there was SO much going on. Maggie had marriage pacts with two guys (Asher, her first love, and Garrett, someone she connected with post college). Both were perfect for her when she needed them (this could have easily turned into a team Logan or team Jess situation). And not going to lie, the Monday nights in her 20s with Garrett (did not know that falling in love in trader Joe's was an aspiration of mine, but here we are). But when both guys reappear on her 35th per the pact, things got messssy. Garrett's engaged, she's still in love with both guys and each are still in love with her. The love triangle was crossing the emotional and physical cheating line in a way that didn't sit right with me, for any of the three MCs. And then, there were some pretty heavy aspects that felt a little too glossed over (fertility, SA, death of a sibling) for how major of a factor they were in the plot. As Maggie wrestles with her growing music career and figuring her heart out through the course of the book, I can honestly say I couldn't decide who to root for, literally until the very end, and even then I still don't know if I think she made the right decison. There was lots of pining, lots of will they won't they and then an incredibly rushed reconciliation and ending in the epilogue that left me wanting waaaay more of a rresolution.

I truly loved all of the feels that this book brought out but at the end of the day, I don't think this is for everyone. Will I read this author's other books? Absolutely, the story was engaging and thought provoking and had some fun tropes, but this one just missed a mark for me.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I absolutely love Maggie and Asher! But Maggie most of all. This book tackled so many heavy topics and did it very well. As someone who's also trying to conceive I could definitely empathize with that part most. I loved the song lyrics interspersed with the novel and at the end. I listened to this on audio and would highly recommend this narrator as well!

Let me just start by saying: I listened to this entire book in a day and I don't regret a thing. I am absolutely in love with Greenberg and she may have made the auto-buy list for me.

rating: 5 STARS
genre: romance
steam: open door
release date: 10.03.2023 (OUT NOW)

As I was listening, I made a list of things that I loved, so that's my review:
I liked that the two romantic storylines happened in two different timelines. So you never really felt like Maggie was "torn" or that she was stringing anyone along. You felt her love and raw emotion for both men...but at different times in her life. And I appreciated that - because it made me like her more as a person.
I love reading about MCs that are closer to my own age. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good YA novel. But I'm kind of over the books about 26-year-olds who are just fumbling. Give me more early 30s and 35 year olds.
I really liked the dynamic between Maggie and Summer. And Summer and Garrett. It was very interesting to watch everything unfold.
I enjoyed that, while there was some "Hollywood Romance" aspects to this book - it wasn't a main focus.
The narration was really well done! I thought she captured the emotion and uncertainty of Maggie as she was in different periods of her life super well. I mean, we follow her from age 14 to age 40, so it's important that a narrator can capture that range.

My only REAL complaint about this book is this: what the hell is with age 35? Is my life going to be over in 3 years when I turn 35? Why does that seem to be the age that Maggie is fixated on as she considers her future?

Personally, if I was going to make a marriage pact, I would have gone for a younger age. Like...27 or 28. Especially if kids were something I wanted in life.

Just go read this book.

If you’re a sucker for a good love story, this is a great one for you! But be sure to have tissues handy because although it’s a love story, it takes its time getting there; through heartbreak and pain. Well, sounds like a normal life love story which is probably why I cried so much! 😅 This story was one that I think a lot of us can relate to from young love to adult love.

Greenberg takes us through the years of Maggie Vine’s life. From 17-39 we are taken on a roller coaster of emotions and relatable events in Maggie's life. At two very different points in Maggie's life, she made a marriage pact with two different people, for when she turns 35. In one way or another, both of these men show up on her 35th birthday, but one of them is engaged! Maggie has some internal struggle as she tries to decide what is best for her.

The story was crafted in a way that we as readers were given all the information we needed, at the time. As the story progresses, we learn more and more about the in between with details. I was HUNGRY for the details, which is why I read it so fast towards the end!

I wanted to love this one but it just fell flat. The back and forth between Garrett and Asher felt juvenile. I mean I get Maggie was conflicted but I just didn’t like the way she floated between the two of them. I was also not a fan of the time changes. It felt choppy and at times it was hard to follow. All in all this was a miss for me.