This book is described as being a “friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers story,” and that is the perfect way to define the relationship between Kathleen and Cal. The spark from when they were kids has since dissolved, and now the two can’t even stand to be in the same room. When their mutual friend writes a Broadway play, the two find themselves in forced proximity.

What would I say to the author after finishing this book? Why, once more with feeling, of course. The characters were extremely flat, and I did not notice a lot of development or growth in their relationships overall. While I wasn’t necessarily bored and it turned out to be a quick read, there was nothing to this story. Fights and kisses popped up out of nowhere, and I didn’t really care if Kathleen and Cal ended up together or not. In short, I would compare this book to trying to make tacos without any seasoning. Huh? Who wants that?

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this eARC!

First off I really like the cover. The pictures and colors are really eye catching. I loved that this book went from childhood friends to lovers to enemies to lovers. I also liked the dual timeline from then and now.

I really liked Cal was a dancer. I know there are a lot of men dancers but it was nice seeing it in the book. There were some points where a conversation could have solved the main issue but I think like in real life, things like that happens. Katee was a fun character, even with how some things played out.

I also like there was some forced proximity in the book as well!

Overall, I really enjoyed Once More With Feeling, and would recommend and would read more from Elissa!

This is a very enjoyable second chance and enemies to lover story. The dual timeline added to the tension between Kathleen and Cal’s relationship in the present time.

I loved this 🥹🥹

What I liked:
Mental health rep- fmc deals with anxiety/panic attacks
Addresses sexism in the entertainment industry (and can literally be seen everywhere but I digress) Britney/Justin anyone?!
Has cheating trope which can be 😬 but I think it was done well
Has THREE timelines! Okay one was super small but it was snippets into their time together at summer camp eons ago, but it was cute/sweet and into their conversations in then/now so well
One POV but I liked how you can tell when the mmc is thinking sometimes with his expressions/mannerisms. The ANGST.

What I did not like:
🤔

This is my first from Elissa sussman but you can bet im running to read the other book asap!

This book was fine. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it, but I also don't remember anything about it 5 seconds after finishing it.

I just wasn't invested in any of the characters or this story. There were enough entertaining parts of the story to keep me reading, but nothing so exciting to make me reach for the book. The book is only told from the FMC's perspective, and I think that made the story feel stale compared to other romance novels where you get multiple POVs.

Overall, I just wasn't very impressed with this one.

Susanna does it again - I love her storytelling ability, and how she can capture us at different time periods in a characters life. I’ll look forward to reading whatever she writes next!

This delivered exactly what I was looking for. The "then and now" format was giving Camp Rock meets Britney Spears and NSYNC. This is a great romcom read for musical theater fans and lovers of performing arts. The MC Kathleen/Katee was spunky and funny. Normally I don't like stubborn characters, but the MC was very self-aware of her stubbornness which made it comical instead of annoying. We know nearly every romance has a third act conflict, but they can be annoying when it feels contrived. I liked this third act conflict because it made sense given the nature of the industry and the characters' past. I also don't typically care for the second chance trope but for some reason it just works for this story. I couldn't get enough. This book had me enjoying all the things I typically don't enjoy. 4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I am frickin' obsessed.

Give me this kind of story every single time in my second chance romances. Elissa, you win, sis, you win. "Once More with Feeling" gives readers this unique mix of friends to lovers, enemies to lover with a dose of celebrity romance. Oh, and we can't forget workplace romance with childhood sweethearts. Seems like a lot, right? It could be, but Sussman writes it all flawlessly.

For those of you who are in your late 30s, early 40s, you may get a bit of Britney Justin romance, circa 1999. The boy band, female pop star storyline has a bit of a throwback vibe to when Britney dated the frontman of *NYSNC and the rumors of what ended their romance.

Kathleen and Cal are completely perfect in this book. I love their journey, their faults, their weaknesses, their ability to love themselves enough to know what's worth walking away from, what's worth staying for.

I'm not sure what Sussman is going to give her readers next but whatever it is, I'm reading it. Please and thank you.

Katee Rose was the biggest pop star of her time. She was dating a member of the hottest boy band, CrushZone. She was on top of the world until she blew it all up by cheating on her boyfriend with another member of the band. Now it's ten years later and Katee Rose has gone back to being Kathleen Rosenberg. She's living a quiet life out of the spotlight until the opportunity of a lifetime comes along to star on Broadway. This is everything she's ever dreamed of. The catch is that the director of the show is the boy band member she cheated with years ago. Can they get along enough to make both of their dreams come true? Will their reunion destroy the show?

Elissa Sussman is becoming one of my must-read authors. I loved this book! Pop princess, boy band, theater camp, and Broadway all in one book is a dream come true for me. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, tender, dramatic, and emotional. I felt all the emotions reading through this. I just wanted to hug Kathleen and tell her it would all be okay. Highly recommend this one as an easy summer read with a lot of feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine for the ARC of this book.

I really don’t know how it’s possible, but I loved this book even more than the first! It was perfectly paced with well developed characters and the plot kept me interested (and up past my bedtime), I will for sure pick up a trophy paperback!

As a musical lover, I truly enjoyed this story! It has most everything, from boy/girls bands of the millennial era to Broadway processes! I loved how we were brought through dual timelines in a way that wasn't difficult to track and that the issues were slowly but surely all revealed. I was completely captivated by the story, just like the author's debut Funny You Should Ask, could NOT put it down. Friends to enemies to lovers, like does it get any better?? It felt like I was reading all of the magazine articles surrounding BP and (douchey) JT back in the day, but more in-depth! Cal is just my fave kind of MMC, despite younger mistakes. Kate is such a fully-realized character, down to her emotional issues! Even her relationship with Harriet was developed in a real way.

I loved Elissa Sussman's other book Funny You Should Ask and really enjoyed this one! I love time hop books and read this one quickly! The characters and plot are well developed. Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Elissa Sussman!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random Hourse for the earc of Once More With Feeling

Just like Funny You Should Ask, I am left with not only happiness but such sadness for the characters and the experiences that happened that made these characters who have been in love with each other for their whole entire lives apart for so long.

Kathleen and Cal are just characters that I love so dearly that have been hurt by each other over many years. Kathleen is not only hurt by Cal, but by society as a whole. She was practically banished after her ex blasted the fact that she cheated on him on every platform he could. He was a jerk. Completely. Reading about how he treated her and how she put up with constantly being made to be less than him throughout her entire career it’s no wonder their relationship ended as it did. Kathleen is so strong and I just felt so bad for everything that had happened to her and am so proud of how far she has come since that happened.

As for Cal, man I love him but I too would be so resentful of him given Kathleen’s situation. However he is truly such a kind soul and cares so much about not only the people around him but the musical too. He is just a really thoughtful person and I really loved seeing that side of him.

I loved how this book played out. I was rooting for everything. I adored the characters. I loved the backstory. I loved the redemption of dreams. It was such a well written book and I’m so happy I got to read this.

Published 5/30/23
Read 6/22/23
Setting NYC
Genre Contemporary Romance, Adult Fic, Women's Fic
Page Count 240
Source **Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily give my honest review. All opinions are my own. **


Elissa Sussman does it again with another second chance romance told in flashbacks.

MAIN CHARACTERS
Katee Rose/Kathleen Rosenberg | Cal Kirby/Calvin Tyler Kirby

MINOR CHARACTERS
Harriet-a songwriter/playwright who met Katee @14 years old, her BFF

FEATURES
∘ teenage romance
∘ enemies to lovers
∘ forced proximity
∘ love triangle
∘ musical theater
∘ celebrity romance

REVIEW
I love a good redemption story. This seemed very Britney/Justin, or better yet Janet/Justin's infamous Superbowl halftime show. Scandals, breakdowns, and career revival. Because of Kathleen and Cal bad breakup back then, they play the blame game with each other. They second guess if they "still got it" when Cal recruits Kathleen for a new play. I enjoyed the pop star and boy band fall from grace (per the tabloids and public opinion). They come back to perform on their own terms. Loved the shoutouts to Funny You Should Ask. Cal choregraphed a dance in the James Bond movie Gabe starred in.

OW/OM DRAMA yes Katee dated Ryan LaNeve (another member of CrushZone)
CHEATING yes
BREAKUP yes
ENDING HEA — epilogue w/ their first kiss and success
POV alternating then and now
SPICE LEVEL 3 / 5
RATING 4 / 5

I had high hopes for Sussman’s sophomore novel. Funny You Should Ask was a great debut and I was so excited to get my hands on this one. The dual timeline was well done, I loved seeing so many aspects of their past and how they knew each other.

Things I loved: great banter, perfect for theater nerds. boy band/pop star dynamic. the dual timelines. Kathleen, while frustrating at times, was also super relatable. Cal was a great hero and balanced Kathleen out well.

Things I didn’t love: Kathleen had a lot of growing up to do, and we did not get to see true character development. wish I would have gotten Cal’s pov. Cheating…and the justification

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this one so much more than the author’s first book- Funny You Should Ask! As a musical loving person, this pulled on my heart strings and was a fun read! Was it my favorite? No. But it was a good summer read! I think this author has really creative premises for her books and it’s a fun twist on some popular tropes.

It was always Kathleen Rosenberg’s dream to be a star: and she did it. She became Katee Rose, America’s number one pop star, playing sold-out concerts and dating Ryan LaNeve, the hottest member of adored boy band CrushZone. But fame isn’t exactly what she thought it would be, and Kathleen finds herself spending more and more time with CrushZone’s quiet, serious Cal Kirby. One night is all it takes to blow up her relationship with Ryan, her career, and her whole life. Now, Kathleen Rosenberg has a chance at fame again, a starring role in the Broadway show written by her best friend and directed by none other than Cal. Kathleen and Cal must move beyond their past in order to put on a good show, but will they be able to stop themselves from reigniting an old flame?

Expertly weaving between multiple timelines, Once More With Feeling reveals Kathleen and Cal’s history, every friendship-filled scene from the past only making you root for them more in every tension-filled scene in the present.

Elissa rocked her sophomore novel Once More with Feeling!! I fell in LOVE with Kathleen and Cal’s story so much!! The friends/enemies to lovers trope gets me every time! With a past as special and bittersweet as Kathleen and Cal’s, it made an interesting story with the flashbacks when they first met to him being her enemy/director! I have yet to read Elissa’s debut novel “Funny You Should Ask” but after this 5 star read I quickly ordered her debut and its next on my TBR!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Elissa Sussman is an auto buy author for me after her debut blew me away.

This novel is different from her debut, a little more playful, but I still enjoyed it.

It was hard to separate Katee from Britney Spears, but I loved the musical theater side of this story.

All in all, a great sophomore novel and I look forward to the next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and Elissa Sussman for the eARC.

I really enjoyed this second novel by Elissa Sussman. It gave me real 1990/early 2000s Brittney Spears vibes in the best way. The Broadway component of this book was newer to me, and I enjoyed learning about it. A great second chance romance.