My heart is so full after reading this book. Once More With Feeling is Elissa Sussman’s second adult romance book, and the perfect follow up to Funny You Should Ask.

Our main character is Kathleen Rosenberg, a former pop star who’s now attempting to make a comeback in her performing career after it crashed and burned years ago. Earning her dream role in a Broadway-bound show should be the second chance she needs- plus the opportunity to wow the world and perform in ways she was never able to in her pop star days. The only catch? The show is being directed by her “ex” of sorts, the man who had a hand in imploding her career the first time around. Throughout the book, the two juggle keeping their careers afloat with their storied past and deepening feelings for each other in a friends to lovers to enemies to lovers rom-com set against the NYC theatre scene. Once again, Elissa Sussman delivers a five-star, entertaining read!


Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing group - Ballantine, and dell for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. I really enjoyed this read! I was skeptical because although I enjoyed Funny You Should Ask, I don’t think I liked it as much as everyone else. To my surprise I loved Once More Than a Feeling even more! The characters were fun, witty, and relatable. Who doesn’t love a good second chance romance? I have been recommending this read to all of my friends and have to keep talking myself out of buying a physical copy because the cover art is AMAZING!!!!!

I was afraid this wouldn't stand up to "Funny You Should Ask," but Elissa Sussman did it again! We spent FYSA in Hollywood, but now we're getting a peek into pop stardom and Broadway. As a theater nerd, this was made for me. Sussman is amazing at realistic, witty dialogue, and knows how to keep a story moving. No spoilers but I found the end very satisfying :) Perfect summer read!

Katee Rose was a successful pop star, who was dating Ryan Nave, a member of the boy band CrushZone. Although she likes her boyfriend, she also has her eye on another CrushZone band member: Cal Kirby. Cal and Katee have been friends since they were children, and have always shared an undeniable connection. After a scandalous night, Katee loses Cal, her career, and Ryan. Fast forward to many years later and Katee is now Kathleen Rose living a quiet life outside of the spotlight. Everything was going fine until she gets the opportunity to star in a Broadway Show that is being directed by Cal. Despite Kathleen's best efforts to ignore her connection to Cal, she just can't get him out of her head.


I was really excited to get the opportunity to read this book after I absolutely loved "Funny You Should Ask." I think this is an excellent follow-up. Kathleen and Cal had amazing chemistry that had me squealing at times. I enjoyed all the references to musical theater! I enjoyed the friendship between Kathleen and Harriett, which demonstrated that friendships have ebbs and flows just like relationship. Overall, I would highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to read it again soon.

Once more with lukewarm feeling.

This book was just okay with me. Celebrity stories can be kind of hit or miss for me and this one was no different. The story was really easy to read and get into, but I didn't feel the connection between the two main characters and wasn't excited to pick up the book.

Free e-ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher!
Okay, I'm about a month late to this one and that's fine because it was... just fine. I really enjoyed Elissa Sussman's first book more- this one didn't work as well with the split timeline (flashbacks to Katee/Kathleen's time at theater camp and as a popstar vs the present day Broadway production). The writing is good and the first 75% of the book flew by, once I was able to get myself into it, but the ending was tough to get through for me- I got the ick with the cheating stuff, and then kind of a rushed wrap-up to the friendship and relationship storylines. Overall, not a bad second chance romance, but it didn't hold up to Funny You Should Ask.

Oh no!!! Listen...I wanted to love this...so much...Funny You Should Ask was one of my favorite reads last year and I was so looking forward to this. I'm not sure if it's the theater aspect (musicals are not my thing other than Moulin Rouge), but it just fell so flat for me :( No one is more devasted about this than me. I think my main problem is the believeability of the relationship between Kathleen and Cal. The past and present wasn't working all that great with me, and the hatred between them in the present tense felt so..weak? I also didn't feel much of their chemistry for one another. It felt like there was a lot missing in between the lines. I kind of kept thinking...is this it? But even them arguing just felt like...people yelling at each other on paper. I couldn't envision it in my mind like I normally can. For a story about a musical, it felt like I couldn't grasp any of the passion coming from the page.

I will say, this still had all of the quirks and makings of an Elissa Sussman novel and I'm still a die hard fan. While I'm not overly sold on this one, I can't imagine not reading her in the future. I think this WAS fun and lively for the right reader. But it truly didn't feel like it was for me? It's like me, the story, and the characters didn't have the same interests and I didn't particularly see myself in any of them, so I think the connection to the story was just lost.

I'm so sorry, Once More with Feeling, it's not you. IT"S ME!!

Elissa Sussman, pls still love me. I still love you.

I loved Sussman's last book so I eagerly awaited her new book with batted breath. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed this newest story even more than I thought possible. Kathleen and Cal for life!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This is a fun romance novel that follows two people that were famous in the 90s as a Britney Spears-like pop star and a boy band member. It goes back and forth between three timelines. In the present they reconnect to make a Broadway musical. Another timeline follows their pop career in the 90s. And the third timeline shows how they met at theater camp as teens. I loved all the theater references and 90s pop stuff. It was a fun super quick read. Elissa Sussman's books are so addicting because I always can wait to see what happens in each timeline in order to put the pieces together of the other story.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.)

I loved Elissa Sussman’s first book, but Once More With Feeling fell flat for me. The dual timeline didn’t work, and I didn’t believe in the character’s chemistry. I think the characters themselves needed more feeling and depth.

Thank you Random House Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC!

I was so excited to be able to read Elissa Sussman's sophomore romance a bit early and even more excited when I and my millennial heart ended up loving it! Knowing Britney & Justin's breakup inspired this really sold it for me. I thought the dual timeline was cute, the dialogue was funny, and the cheating trope was handled pretty well compared to other romances I've read. Elissa Sussman just does light-hearted, fast-paced romance so well I just know I'll read whatever she writes.

Once More with Feeling is out now!

DNF at 89%

I can't remember ever DNF-ing a book when I was this far into it, but I just don't care about these characters or the story at all. I kept trying, but I just can't.

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING reads like a Disney Channel tween camp drama, but with adults. This includes a one-dimensional mean girl (she's so jealous!), a boy-band member with a heart of gold, a vapid and fame-seeking popular guy, a tortured heroine who is there on scholarship ("I have to get the lead or my parents sacrifices will be in vain!'), and a token gay best friend.

This book felt immature in story, characters, and writing style.

Once More with Feeling is Elissa Sussman's follow up to Funny You Should Ask and she really nails the celebrity world once again. Kathleen (aka Katee Rose) was a teen pop sensation a la Brittany Spears whose career imploded after an affair with Cal Kirby, a member of a boy band her boyfriend was also a part of. Ten years later, her best friend writes a Broadway musical Cal is directing and her role in the show forces them to spend time together and deal with their past. This is a fun, quick read with a great main character and an enjoyable "second chance" romance. Grab a copy for the beach this weekend!

4 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars.

A very big thank you to @netgalley and #dellpublishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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First of all this cover had a cat so I had to read it. Kathleen’s cat is naked Fish which was so cute.

I love a celebrity romance and I loved this one! The FMC was a former pop star named Katee Rose (Kathleen) and the MMC, Cal, used to be in a boyband which is so fun.

The story follows Kathleen’s POV and a then and now format. We alternate between what happened in the past and the present many years later. It also interweaves some scenes from when Kathleen and Cal were in musical summer camp together. The camp reminded me of Camp Rock. Did you ever watch Disney challenge original movies back in the day?!

I really liked Kathleen and she just felt so real and honest to me. I can’t relate to being a former pop star but I still connected with her.

And Cal didn’t make the best choices when he was younger but I loved him too. He was a great dancer and it made me smile imagining him.

Overall enjoyed and recommended if you like celebrity romance or second chance romance!

If you love
Second chance
friends to enemies to lovers
Dual timeline
Celebrity MC

Then this might be just for you. Kathleen had been adored by her fans once. Now she was getting the chance of a life time. Shed be the leading lady to her best friends Broadway production.

What she wasn't expecting was to come face to face with her past. The kind that had destroyed her career and broken her heart.

I loved Elissa Sussman's previous book. There were a lot of things I loved about this book but there was also something I didn't like but I'm keeping this spoiler free. Other than that the story was good there was tension and forced proximity. Hope you enjoy this book.

Meh, this one and this author just isn't for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the dual timeline only because it didn't build the emotional connection that I needed. It explained the past but, didn't build or support the current timeline like I was looking for. Kathleen also wasn't connecting with me which may really be my issue.

It was a nice story but, wasn't really what I was hoping for.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

(3.5ish stars)
I don't know if my feelings on this book are such because of my attachment to musical theater, love of popstars, or overall indifference to second-chance romances. When a book combines two things you love and one thing you somewhat like it should at the very least have some type of positive impact on you but it just didn't. There were so many things that I just couldn't get past whether it be the lack of clarifying details or simply the way "said" is used as a crutch after almost every piece of dialogue. There was no real variety just "... he said... she said...he said...she said" over and over and over again. I think at one point it was used a dozen times in one page. I understood it importance but there were times I wish it was replaced with any other word. Declared, stated, uttered, explained, etc., or just have said paired with some extra descriptor to just cut down on its repetitiveness.

When it came to the characters WOW. I wish there was something more to them beyond surface level qualities, honestly even that was lacking. In the THEN timeline they're in their 20s maybe and in the NOW timeline they're either in their 30s or 40s but genuinely I could not tell you and trust me I tried to keep track. I learned more about their physical traits from the cover than I did in the actual novel. I could tell you Cal smelled like oranges and had dimples but that's about it. Oh and Kathleen was brunette because only Katee Rose was blonde. I think this really stuck out because ultimately this is a romance novel and usually that means the reader knows the characters on every level. I kind of expect some insane metaphors comparing their features to something poetic. I want their love to transcend just those three words on a page. I want to crave their intimacy and their understanding of each other. I just couldn't with Kathleen and Cal.

The romance itself is something. I don't know what it was but by the end I really didn't care. There was genuinely no type of growth. Their live story had to have spanned literal decades and yet there was nothing substantial. Honestly there at least needed to be some more groveling because the level of hostility they had for each other felt solved too quickly. They were just selfish at their core and it was exhausting. Did she deserve how she was treated? No. Did he ever actually try to make it up to her? Not really. Did either of them ever actually consider the consequences of anything they did? NO. It was like they were divorced parents who got joint custody over Harriet yet they were always trying to one up each other instead of every actually talking to her or each other.

All in all, I gave this novel 3.5 ish stars because it was entertaining and can be a quick easy read. I will probably never think of Kathleen and Cal's romance again but oh will I miss whatever Riveted! the musical could have become in real life.

I thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest opinion. Trust me this review was brutally honesty.

This story is about Kathleen, a former pop star named Katy Rose who is returning to the spotlight after a big scandal. The POV goes from past to present so that is something to pay attention to. I couldn't really connect with the characters and didn’t really care if they got together.

This was so fun! I love anything celebrity related- add in musical theater and pop culture references and I’m hooked. I typically don’t love dual timelines but this book did a nice job of connecting why the flashbacks were important to the context of the story. It was a cute romance with a great amount of tension. I recommend this for a fun romcom with lots of music influence!

Katee is a pop star who blows up her whole career by cheating on her boyband member boyfriend with his bandmate Cal. She was abandoned and thrown under the bus (very much a la Britney and Justin minus the mental breakdowns and conservatorship). She is offered the opportunity to star in a new Broadway musical sure to be a hit but being directed by none other than Cal and must decide if she can put the past behind her.
I don’t always love tropes, but Sussman does such a good job with the second shot romance trope that I endorse it. This was a fun, easy read where it was easy to root for the characters and love and the writing is smart and fun.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author and publisher for this ARC!