Years after Katee Rose blew up her pop star career, Kathleen Rosenberg is starring in a musical - directed by her former love Cal Quirby.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! I loved the second chance romance between Kathleen and Cal, and I definitely think you should read this!

This was cute!

It was a second chance romance. I loved being able to see what went down in the past between the characters and then watching them slowly grow back into one another.

I REALLY loved the Broadway aspect of things. I found that super interesting.

I read this right after I read Funny You Should Ask. I was so excited to find out this book was set up in the same format! I find it so interesting and it’s always keeping me intrigued and wanting to read more! I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to share with my followers all my thoughts!

Ugh this book’s main character and I did not get along. She was so insufferable to me.
There were so many tropes going on in this book but none of them hit the way they intended to. I think if I liked the main character a bit more, it would’ve stuck with me a lot better. I have heard such mixed reviews about this book, so I wasn’t surprised that it just wasn’t for me. I loved the pop culture references and the band stuff but overall it just didn’t pay off.

What a great romance read! I really enjoyed the pacing of both the current day plot line and also the tid bits from the past that we were given throughout the story. I think both of these elements made this story very engaging and easy to want to keep reading.

The relationships were a bit messy and the main character seemed a tad immature at times, but I think that it was necessary to show her in this light to progress the story at certain points. The spice was well done while not being overly done. I could've used more from the supporting characters (particularly Harriet), but overall it was a very enjoyable book!

This was okay at best. Could’ve been persuaded to give it less than 3 stars. I felt like the characters fell flat, Kathleen was unlikable for majority of the time, and I didn’t really care how it would end for Kathleen and Cal. Despite being friends for so long, I had a hard time seeing how they fit together. I also struggled with Kathleen's behavior in the beginning with working with Cal. I can't imagine being so blatantly rude to your boss and getting away with it so Cal was absolutely right - Kathleen seemed like a diva which made it hard for me to root for her. It was a quick read at least and the aspect of being in the theater was fun/different from any other book I've read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

(Posting on Instagram @pairswellwithread on 8/6/2023, Paired with Hibiscus Cherry Vodka Spritz)

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING by Elissa Sussman Cocktail Pairing + Review:

Hibiscus Cherry Vodka Spritz from @halfbakedharvest

After loving Elisa Sussman’s FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK earlier this year, this was at the top of my reading list for this summer!

Adding onto recent popularity of second chance celebrity romances, ONCE MORE WITH FEELING follows the dual timeline of Kathleen Rosenburg, formerly known as Katee Rose when she was a younger, famous pop star dating the lead member of America’s favorite boy band. After that relationship declines, and her career following as a result, present day Kathleen has the chance to reboot her career while starring on Broadway and mend her relationship with another member of the past boy band, who is now her new director.

Feels like second chance celebrity romances are all the rage this summer, and this one sits near the top of my list! While it doesn’t exceed FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK (that book is hard to beat!), this book is a must for all Elissa Sussman fans.

Thank you to Elissa Sussman, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for kindly providing this advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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I had read Funny You Should Ask by this author and wasn't the biggest fan. I wanted to give Elissa Sussman another shot so I was excited to see that she was releasing this book. Unfortunately, I just don't think Sussman and I are a good match. I enjoy her writing but I was not captivated by the story. I did not bond with the characters which left me not caring how the story went. I definitely think others will LOVE this book but it was not for me.

I wasn't a big fan of Funny You Should Ask, but I wanted to give this one a chance because the plot sounded really intriguing and is right up my alley (boyband/pop princess nostalgia? Yes please. That era was my entire middle school to high school experience. #TeamBritney).

But, ugh. Another disappointment.

Alternating timelines have to be done really well to work, and like her other novel, this just didn't work for me. They felt random and not meaningful, almost like they were done only to make the book more interesting so it wouldn't be another tropey romance (but tbh, we're here for tropey romance, so it would've been fine and arguably better to tell the backstory through the present characters, rather than force us back in time without really giving anything meaningful). It almost feels more like a series of random vignettes. There was a lot of jumping around between camp days, their pop star days, and present day, but I never became emotionally or even cognitively invested in any of them. It felt shallow to me. I finished it not because I cared to see how it ends, but only because I was far enough into it that my OCD wouldn't let me DNF it.

Rounding up because I think the underlying idea is clever, but it's probably more of a 2.5 star rating for me.

I know a lot of people really like her books, so I think it's just not for me.

Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

This book was not my favorite and I attribute that partially to the fact that it’s centered around musical theatre, which I don’t know a lot about. I enjoyed Kathleen’s development in this story, but I also felt like I didn’t connect as much as I wanted to with her love story. I think the switching between the past and present in the way it was done made it hard for me to be invested in the Kathleen of now. I thought the story layout was unique and interesting, going back to when the two had first met at theatre camp, and also to when they had first been romantically involved in their early adult years, but again I just didn’t connect with their story as much as I wanted to. This just wasn’t my favorite romance, but it also had some elements I did really enjoy.

A second chance/enemies slash friends-to-lovers romance about former pop stars who are actually musical theatre kids trying to put a show up on Broadway? Thank you so much to Elissa Sussman for writing this book specifically for me. Truly, what an absolute delight. If you’re a theatre lover, you’ll adore this book and love the jokes and references. If you’re not a theatre lover, you’ll still adore this book but may need to have google handy. What fantastic characters, a funny and lighthearted story, realistic conversations and conflict, and just an all-around wonderful afternoon. Five easy stars.

👌🏻what i liked:
I was rooting for Kathleen and Cal the entire time. They were extremely likable and relatable characters. This was a beautifully written second chance romance for childhood lovers. I felt like there was more emotion to this one than there was in Funny You Should Ask. I’m also a sucker for the then and now parallels.

🙃 what i didn’t like:
There wasn’t as much romance as I thought there was going to be. It all seemed to be in the past and was few and far between. The romance in the present seemed to be lacking on the emotional connection that the past had. The present felt like all lust.

🥰 special thanks
Thank you to NetGalley, Elissa Sussman, and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for granting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Once More With Feeling is a romantic comedy that checks both the friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-loves boxes.

Kathleen and Cal first meet at theater camp when they are both selected to preform solos, They become involved in a love triangle that both of them blames the other for. Now that time has passed they are bitter towards one another.

When they both become involved in the production of a play, aiming to make it to broadway, they have to face their sour feelings for one another. Kathleen's resentment of Cal still lingers, though she must work to move past this to ensure the success of their project. As time goes on their old feelings resurface, and Cal and Kathleen must determine whether or not a relationship is worth the success of their careers.

Overall, I found that this book fell a bit flat. I enjoyed the story and characters, however, I was not invested in Cal and Kathleen's relationship. Sometimes the fights or kisses felt out of place, and in the end, I felt like I did not really care if they ended up together. I still enjoyed Elissa Sussman's writing, though I enjoyed her first release more than this one.

Don't ask me how I read this in one sitting.
I think when a formula works, just like the saying goes don't fix anything that isn't broken.

This gives such nostalgia especially if you are a kpop fan, a pop fan or even an artist fan from various decades.

Totally recommend to read, heck even the audiobook version is also great as well.

Thank you to netgalley for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this one, I think I prefer her other book, Funny You Should Ask though. I like how she writes the tension between people. I also liked the then and now timelines, I think that format really lends itself well to the story. I love a good friends to lovers and second chance romance.
I just didn't like that Kathleen cheated on Ryan, even though he was not good for her and she was young, I just don't like cheating in books.

Once More with Feeling was my FAVORITE read of the summer and I wish I could unread it so I could read it again for the first time.

OMwT was my first Sussman read and her writing is nothing short of whimsical. She weaves together an enchanting blend of emotions, music, and the transformative power of second chances by introducing us to Kathleen and Cal, two teenagers at a broadway summer camp who, after performing two solos, share a sweet moment that ended as soon as the summer did. When they meet some-odd years later, Kathleen has transformed into international pop star Katee Rose who just so happens to be dating Cal's boyband mate, Ryan. Their lingering summer feelings for each other turn into a disastrous love triangle that leaves only Katee ruined: no boyfriend, no agent, no career.

When now-Kathleen and Cal meet for the third time while working with the former's best friend and playwright Harriett (who has written a show whose main character is inspired by Kathleen. While the duo try to bury the hatchet, their banter is both witty and real - the dialogue was one of the best parts of the story. I inhaled this book, eager to uncover the flawed history behind Kathleen and Cal.

Ultimately, Sussman does a fabulous job creating both a genuine story and cast of characters, full of emotion that weaves together second chance romance, enemies to lovers AND childhood sweethearts.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it as much as Funny You Should Ask. As a huge boyband, pop star and broadway/theatre geek, I love that aspect of the plot so much! Definitely very nostalgic for us millennials haha.

As a famous childhood singer, Katee cheats on her boyfriend who is a member of a famous boy band and gets cancelled.. She loses everything, including a relationship with Cal who is also part of the boy band... In present day, Harriet, Katees's best friend, has written a Broadway show. Katee gets the star role and Cal is the director.

When I began reading the book, the alternation between past and present moments was a lot to take in. The chapters were only a few pages long, and it was hard to even remember the names and keep the characters straight in my head. As I read on, that did lessen so that it was not a change in the timeline every other chapter. Once you read main highlights of their history, it becomes much easier to follow and to stay engaged with the story.

When the story begins, you know that Kathleen is no longer in the spotlight making music - because of her own actions. It makes rooting for her not easy to do. Once you learn more about her backstory, Cal, their relationship, and their friend group, it's not a challenge to want her to live out her dreams.

On paper, Kathleen is the bad guy and Cal is the disloyal friend. Yet Elissa Sussman makes you only want the best things for the two of them. You want the them to have their happy ending.

If you're looking for a good slow-burn, second-chance, friends to lovers and now enemies to lovers book, *Once More With Feeling* is for you.

This book didn't blow me away but it did keep me entertained throughout the entire story. I found the beginning to be a little bit of confusing. The characters seemed a little one note and didn't really develop as the story went on. It felt more contemporary rather than a romance fully. There were heartwarming elements and I really enjoy a story about second chance romances.