I came to love Elissa Sussman’s writing after reading “Funny You Should Ask”. So, it wasn’t a super big surprise to me that this book would be another winner. Elissa does a brilliant job at creating characters who are relatable and who you want to root for, even if their worlds are somewhat unrelatable (like being a pop star). The relationship between Cal and Kathleen is so raw and authentic, and I felt like their story is very healing for anyone who understands second chances. The friendship between Harriet and Kathleen is also wonderful and very real. Basically, I loved this book!

I thought the premise of this story was promising and I usually love dual timelines, but the execution of this did not work. The characters fell a little flat. It was just not for me.

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

Any book that has Jewish representation -- down to my exact last name as well as americanized nickname "rose" -- and has a cover designed/art directed by Cassie Gonzalez is already starting off on the right foot!

I was nervous about this book and there are parts that were less believable than others but I enjoyed Kathleen's relationship journeys -- both romantic relationship and platonic relationship. I love any book that puts friendship as a key plot point.

This story trope is second chance romance between childhood friends. You were able to see how much love they had for each other even with being enemies. They just couldn’t admit it to themselves. The way the characters flaws are written gave the dual timeline more effect in my opinion. I really did enjoy this book and it was super easy to read and get into.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ability to read this book for my honest review.

This was unfortunately a difficult read for me. Though I like Sussman's prior novel, the character behavior and storytelling (a lot of telling without showing) in Once More with Feeling took me out of the story because it felt poorly executed. I thought the themes of this book, like exploring a pop star's comeback via Broadway and Hollywood's tendency to side with men in he said/she said situations, were fascinating but the execution just wasn't there for me.

This was a cute and fun rom com. I always love a celebrity adjacent story and this was well done. Kathleen really mirrored Britney Spears and it’s still such a shame how the insured chews up young women. There was some great tension between Kathleen and her best friend that was well done and very realistic. I’ll be checking out Sussman’s other novel, Funny You Should Ask, soon!

As someone who grew up in the 90s with lots of boy bands, I enjoyed this fast easy read. Didn't feel a lot of connection with the characters, but good fluff.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, for this delightful arc! I thought Once More with Feeling was a fun, nostalgic, funny read. The pacing was superb. True to its title, the pacing kept a theatrical beat, making it fun to consume. The washed-up boyband and pop singer celebrity arc was something I was nervous about going in, but as a theater kid who loved both of the aforementioned types of celebrities, I ate it up! I loved the dynamic of Kathleen and her best friend Harriett within the industry and the exploration of how tensions within friendships run high when in the same business. Elissa Sussman did a great job sticking with a familiar formula to Funny You Should Ask while making something completely new. I highly recommend this book.

I loved the idea that this book was being marketed as "enemies to lovers meets friends to lovers" and that's what immediately drew me to it. I love angst and this book had that in droves. There was so much pining and yearning, it made me squeal throughout most of the book. Throw in a second chance romance...and I'm sold.

The only reason this wasn't a 5 star read for me was because of Kathleen. She is fine. But that's just it. She was fine. I didn't connect with her the way I thought I would and the way I wanted to. She just kept me wanting more and I kept waiting for a moment when it would happen, but it never really came.

Overall though, this was a great read. If you like angst and pining as well as the best tropes out there, this one is for you.

A special thank you for the ARC Net Galley and Random House/Dell.

Something about the Sussman's writing is so very addictive to me, that like a moth to a flame I’m so drawn in by the chemistry and quite the complex storyline!!

This read similarly to Romantic Comedy which I really loved. I enjoy more of a realistic snarky 😅 romcom I think- where characters seem more real and relatable and the sarcasm or banter feels like more of something an actual funny person would say rather than perfectly scripted- does that make sense?

**Katee Rose a famous pop star who’s dating lead CrushZone member Ryan LaNeve has a pretty spectacular life until she realizes stardom isn’t really what she wants- she just enjoys performing. Cal Kirby also a CrushZone member feels similarly and their friendship quickly grows with all they have in common. A whirlwind of a night between the two completely ruins Katee’s career and relationship with both Cal and Ryan. Years later she finds herself working with Cal again and both of them blame each other for the destruction of their careers which makes things pretty tense.**

This was a fast read/listen. Audio was pretty good- there were a few characters voices that fluctuated weirdly when she spoke for them- sometimes that threw me. The first half of the book was fun and fast paced but I just didn’t enjoy the second half as much. Had to skip an entire chapter toward the end with a scene I didn’t want to partake in 😬 but I’ve decided I really like Now & Then chapters. It helps the 3rd act breakup not feel so frustrating. Thank you @NetGalley!!

this is such a heartfelt and entertaining romance book! i loved how realistic this book was and even though i don’t like the cheating trope i did like how kathleen always took accountability for the situation! i also felt like the flaws the characters had added so much depth which made it very engaging to read. i really loved getting the see the 2 of them work out there issues together as well!

overall, i really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend!

Once More with Feeling was such an easy, perfect summer read. I loved the theater aspect and the friendship in this book, as well as the dual time-line. I also adored how the characters felt so messy and realistic. Cal and Kathleen’s friendship and romantic relationship felt realistic as it developed over time, and I loved the scenes in the past where their friendship bloomed. The only thing I disliked was the cheating, but I knew it was essential to the plot. Overall, I’m excited to read what this author comes out with next after enjoying this one and Funny You Should Ask!

This isn’t my typical genre but I had read this author’s other book, funny you should ask, and enjoyed the characters so I gave it a shot! I kept picturing Britney if she wouldn’t have had that turn for the worse in 2007. It’s like the comeback I wish she’d had if that makes sense. The characters in this book, like her last, are flawed but you love them anyway and maybe more because of them. There is the usual miscommunication, forced proximity, and enemy to lovers tropes. Although you know all along they are not enemies! Thank you Net Galley for letting me review this ARC! I look forward to another one from this author!

Elissa Sussman said "Once more, with Feeling!" with this second chance romance, featuring two former young pop-stars caught in a romance scandal now trying to come together 10 years later to make their dream Broadway play. It features three timelines: summer camp where Kathleen (FMC), Cal (MMC), and Hariette (best friend) meet, the pop-star years, and present time. The way that past events are slowly revealed brings a unique depth to this story that made me want to keep going. I read 75% of this in one sitting!
The tension of Kathleen and Cal's relationship, both past and present, is so delicious and precious. It's written so well I can just feel it off the pages. Their situation is so just so relatable. Being in a relationship you hate, but you can't leave it because the timing isn't right.
I think Kathleen was such a relatable character, too. How she accepted her flaws and imperfections now that she's older, rather than striving for perfection and starving herself when she was a pop star. Even though she still found it hard sometimes to come to terms with getting older, gaining weight, having some grey in the hair.

I give this book a 4.5, but I'll round it up to a 5. Check it out if you love:

*second chance romance
*broadway musical
*past pop stars
*triple timeline
*cheating scandal
*forced proximity

Thanks to Ballentine, Random House, and Netgalley for this copy.

I'll keep this short and sweet since this wasn't an advance copy, but this book was better than Sussman's first and fantastic to read. I loved the characters, I can't believe their stupidity sometimes but the story was fun and heartwarming in the end and I hope all people who went to theater camp have happy endings like this.

Unfortunately, this book did not do it for me - the entire time, I felt like Sussman was TELLING us about the tension between these two than actually SHOWING me anything. The story felt like it had forced chemistry that truly wasn’t there at all.

I think as a result, as a reader you’re not invested enough in the first half of their “present” relationship because you’re not clear on what even happened between them in the past. I get that it’s supposed to be like that, but it wasn’t written compelling enough for me to CARE to find out. Because Cal is painted in the present day as a douchebag who somehow wronged Katee, it’s subsequently very hard to root for them as a couple, emotionally and logically. The present timeline also presents them as… oddly horny for one another LOL, and their relationship evolves completely out of the blue! Does not feel like tension building or progression at all.

I also did not feel like I could root for Katee as a main character - she consistently acted against her own personal train of thought, and then questions what when wrong or why she is perceived the way she is. **SPOILER AHEAD** Like Katee girl, you’re going to jeopardize your best friend’s literal lifelong dream because of an old flame, blatantly lie to her (since you admitted to US AS READERS THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS), and instead of reassure her or explain your side, you just lie and then get upset with HER? Please GROW UP. Similarly to her other novel Funny You Should Ask, I feel like Sussman’s characters are too caught up in the past and it reflects as weaknesses in the present timeline.

I finished this book 24 days and I'm not sure I could tell you what the plot was. I remember having a good time and enjoying it though. I don't think it's better than Funny You Should Ask.

I think the "then" chapters were more interesting than the "present" chapters and I found myself rushing through them just to get back to the past.

Katie is bitter and annoying, assumes too much, is headstrong and vindictive and the audiobook narrator really brings that out, which I mean as a good thing! It was a really enjoyable listen.

Elissa Sussman, author of the bestselling novel "Funny You Should Ask", has released a new novel, which excited me! Her newest book, "Once More With Feeling", centers around Kathleen and Cal, who have a long and storied history. The two met as kids at a drama/music camp, and then their careers took off -- Kathleen as pop star "Katee Rose" and Cal as a member of boyband CrushZone. Their lives become entwined until one night, everything is blown up. But now, as adults, they're working together again in a Broadway show that Cal is directing. The two keep being drawn together and discover that past feelings didn't stay in the past.

I enjoy books where the man is the one who has been pining over the woman for years, and this one did not disappoint. This was a good book and an enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! The characters were so unique and showed such growth. The female MC felt slightly immature at times, but overall was a very well rounded character. I didn’t feel as though there was closure with the Ryan storyline and I also just wanted more from the ending.

Overall positive experience reading this though!!