Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this book! I was a huge fan of Funny You Should Ask, so I was VERY excited to take Elissa’s next book for a spin!

Once More With Feeling chronicles the relationship between Cal and Kathleen - from being two mega pop stars, to now working together on their broadway debut 10 years later. I absolutely ADORE fictional celebrity plots, and love a good alternating timeline.

I don’t often find myself wishing that books were longer - but I found myself wishing this story had more “meat” to it. I found it difficult to root for/connect with the characters at times, and I wish it dug more into the therapy that was often mentioned, family backstories, etc. I also found the pacing to be a bit choppy at times (at least when the story would jump back to the present day.)

That being said, I was still quite entertained and found myself literally saying “oh shit!!!!” out loud at some points.
Overall a 3.5 star read for me - I would recommend this story to anyone who loves a fictional celeb comeback and a quick + fun summer read!

Thank you to the PRH Bellantine, Dell and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

Quick Synopsis: Katee was a famous popstar until her ex-boy-band boy-friend told the world she cheated on him with his bandmate. A decade later, Katee is afforded an opportunity to reenter the spotlight and audition for the lead role in a play her best friend, Harriet, wrote. The director, however, is the very bandmate her ex accused her of cheating on him with. This is based off Britney Spears’s relationship with Justin Timberlake back in the day!

Trigger warnings: Cheating; emotional abuse; negative press coverage;

What I liked:
-You can tell the inspiration very clearly, but it still stood on its own. I couldn’t help but picturing Britney Spears (of course) though.
-I just love the backstory we get between Cal and Katee and how it demonstrates so clearly that their history is a huge part of their relationship even though it has dwindled over the years.
-Harriet, the musical’s writer, is Katee’s best friend but I love how we get so much character development with her. She is far from a one-dimensional side-character. I would read a whole book just about her for sure.
-The ending is replaying in my brain over and over again and I love that. It was silly and goofy but adorable.

What I struggled with:
-Look, it has the cheating trope. It does. Did I love that? No. But the characters take accountability.
-The back and forth between Then and Now got tricky sometimes because I couldn’t remember where I was. That’s a minor thing though. Super minor.
-Kathleen frustrated me so much sometimes. She couldn’t just tell Ryan? Really?

Altogether, just another hit from Sussman. I loved it. I can’t wait to read it again.

I had already fallen in love with Elissa Sussman's debut, Funny You Should Ask, so reading her sophomore novel, Once More with Feeling, was a no brainer. Did I think it was going to be good? Yes. Did I think I was going to be absolutely blown away? It was possible, but I was truly encapsulated with this book.
This book has my dream premise: the 2 main characters are former friends-turned-enemies when the main character, Kathleen, is slated to star in her best friend's newest musical, with her former flame, Cal, as the Director. This book has theatre camp vibes, flashbacks, and all the angst. It was so much fun and I absolutely loved it.

This book was very mediocre. I loved Elissa Sussman’s previous novel Funny You Should Ask so much - it was one of my summer favorites. This was one of my most anticipated reads this year.

This book is about two former pop stars who after a dramatic end to their “relationship” must put aside their differences and create the next Hamilton musical á la Rosie the Riveter. The female main character, Kathleen, was almost unbearable in her self pity. I was waiting for her to grow but it just seemed like she stayed the same, which was disappointing. Cal was a confusing male lead for me. I wanted to like him so much, but his development was very confusing. We were basically just told that he loved her so much, but it never really felt like he actually did.

This book was very nostalgic if you love musical theater or loved Britney Spears/Justin Timberlake/90s pop star drama. But if you, like me, are not huge fans of musicals or know broadway life, a lot of this book may go over your head. I am sure other people will absolutely love this book and I am so glad for them. I just was probably the correct audience for this book.

I really enjoyed FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK and I loved ONCE MORE WITH FEELING even more. A great ROM COM and especially enjoyable for those of us who lived through the Britney/Justin era. I can't wait to see what Sussman writes next

I loved the authors first book so I was excited for this one! While the cover looks similar, it’s a totally different book and not connected to the other. I really enjoyed this one. The flashbacks kept up the suspense of “what could have happened??”, while making the reader root for the MC in the present. The only frustrating part was that the book is basically one giant miscommunication trope. Come on people- you’re adults, just talk! But I still loved it and walked away really wanted to get the soundtrack for this imaginary musical which I think says something!

This light-hearted second-chance romance brims with personality and is the perfect summer read for anyone who needs a dash of frothy escapism. With a dual timeline, the reader flits back and forth between the (past) pop star Katee Rose and the (current) “has been” Kathleen Rosenberg. Kathleen suffered a frenzied media bashing when she, as Katee, broke up with her boyfriend, the star of an adored boy band. She’s willing to settle for the ordinary life of a former star, but her past isn’t finished with her.

Kathleen’s offered the chance to star in a Broadway musical, her lifelong dream, but it comes with a hitch. Cal, who was central to her very public fall from grace, is the director. Kathleen and Cal set off enough sparks to burn the whole project down, but Kathleen’s best friend begs Kathleen to keep her distance from the sexy director.

Second chances, relationships—both between lovers and friends, overcoming past identities, and plenty of observations of how our society massages fame team up for a romping good time. You’ll feel like you’ve gotten a backstage pass to not only a famous pop rocker’s story but also to a deliciously romantic and fun Broadway musical.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read Once More with Feeling.

Another really enjoyable second-chance romance from Elissa Sussman! I absolutely live for this trope and when it's paired with a now/then timeline, I'm hooked!

I loved following the story of Cal and Kathleen. How they met, how their relationship evolved, how it fell apart, and what brought them back together. I was much more drawn to them than I was to Chani and Gabe in Funny You Should Ask and truly felt the emotions between them.

The reasons this is getting 4 Stars from me is I wish Cal's apology and their reconciliation was more thought out, more emotional. As other reviewers have said, I wanted it "once more with feeling." I also didn't LOVE the characters like I do in some books. That said, it was still a beautiful story and I was rooting for Kathleen and Cal from the beginning.

Read If You Like:
-Childhood Friends to Lovers
-Enemies to Lovers
-Second-Chance Romance
-Celebrity Trope
-Now/Then Timeline
-Musicals

Thank you to Random House Publishing, Dell, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Elisa Sussman book and overall I found it a fun, zippy romance that would be a perfect beach read this summer particularly if you are a fan of Hollywood or celebrity adjacent romances.

This is billed as a second chance romance but it almost feels like a third chance romance because there are three timelines in which the main couple seemingly falls for each other and we get to see all three of them - or at least a glimpse. We get to see Katherine and Cal at summer camp as teens, then as famous singers then finally as adults when Cal is directing the Broadway musical Katherine is starring in for a second chance.

If anything, I just wanted more from this book. My favorite part of second chance romances is that we get to watch our characters fall in love twice. Here, I feel like I only got a taste of why the characters liked/loved each other and I just wanted a little bit more. It felt rushed in some ways and slow in others. Similarly, I wanted more of Katee/Katherine's story when she was younger, older, her relationship with her friend Harriot who writes her songs for her and who is the writer of the musical. I don't know if it was the pacing or what, but I felt a lot of this book was just surface level. Because of that, the book is zippy and easily consumable but it just never crossed over from 'book I'm enjoying' to 'book I am feral over'.

I'll definitely check out Sussman's other book and it's fun how her books seem to tangentially relate to events in our world (this book being Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For anyone who loved Funny You Should Ask and is nervous this won't measure up (it's me, hi) I have some good news. Once More With Feeling might beat out its cover twin.

Sussman takes us back to the world of entertainment, but this time, we only make a pitstop in Hollywood before ending up on Broadway with Kathleen, Harriet and Cal. They met at theater camp as kids, and over the following decade, their paths intersected in different ways, ultimately bringing them together to work on a new Broadway production.

The flashback format, if somewhat tired, sets a quick pace and keeps you guessing til the end, taking the main character from unbearable to understandable to likable. The writing is brisk and bright, making it easy to fly through the pages.

So why four stars? The story stumbles a bit at the end while rapidly tying up loose ends. Plus, there are not, and I cannot emphasize this enough, suitable physical descriptions of our main characters. Kathleen has brown hair I think? Harriet is black, and Cal is tall. Not enough to work with, my dudes. How am I supposed to cast this movie in my head?

That said, I read it one sitting, and I'm not even a big theater fan.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Dell for this read! Loved the first book by this author and this one did not disappoint either. Definitely should be added go every TBR. While reading, I really felt that I could understand how both characters were feeling throughout the whole book. You won’t go wrong with this one!

When I tell you I was SO excited to get approved to read ‘Once More With Feeling,’ Elissa Sussman’s newest release, I truly mean it. I loved her last novel, ‘Funny You Should Ask’ (and the covers for both books are some of my most favorites), so I reasonably freaked out when I started to read.

The story centers around Kathleen Rosenberg aka Katee Rose. She was a teen pop star who rose to fame for auto-tuned tracks, crazy costumes, and elaborate dance moves. Her relationship with a fellow teen idol, Ryan, from the legendary boy band CrushZone also helped pave her way to insane fame when she was super young. However, everything changed when she and Ryan broke up and rumors stirred about her and his bandmate, Cal. Now, decades later, still trying to stay separated from their former personas, Kathleen and Cal are forced to team up to pursue their true passion: musical theater. They have the opportunity of a lifetime, but can they put their issues aside to make it big (again)?

Honestly, I went into this book completely blind. When I saw that Elissa Sussman was coming out with a new romance, I requested it immediately. That said, the early 2000s, Britney/Justin vibes were super easy to pick up on and made the read so much fun. I adore a second-chance romance and seeing Kathleen and Cal get to have another shot with each other but also another shot at success was adorable and moving. The only part I would change is my knowledge of musicals, because some references went totally over my head. Overall, though, this was a perfect read to start summer and anyone who enjoyed ‘Funny You Should Ask’ would also love ‘Once More With Feeling.’

Pub day is TODAY 5/30, so everyone go get your copies now!! Special thanks to NetGalley, Dell, and Elissa Sussman for this ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this second chance romance! Once More With Feeling explores the comeback of a former Britney Spears-esque character and her former love. The book alternates timelines between the past and the present and even includes some news articles. I liked the story and found myself unable to put this one down. I found some of the characters choices very frustrating at times. I didn't appreciate Harriot asking Kathleen to not date Cal and found that their fight brought out some of the two's worst character traits. I also found Kathleen's inability to breakup with Ryan to be frustrating. That being said, I think these conflicts made the characters more realistic because they were flawed in some ways. I overall enjoyed the pining between Kathleen and Cal. The story was a sweet second-chance romance that I would recommend to others but doesn't quite make it to 5 stars. I will be posting my review on Goodreads today and will post about this book on my Instagram handle, @treatyoshelfbooks. Thank you Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!

As a quintessential ‘theater kid’ this book was practically made for me! I absolutely love Elisa Sussman’s writing and her characters, and this book did not disappoint after such an amazing book with ‘Funny You Should Ask’. She created such real characters that you can’t help but root for! I loved Kathleen and Harriet’s friendship as well as the true friendship that Kathleen and Cal’s relationship was built upon.
If you ever watched Smash on TV, you will love this book and reading about their Rosie the Riveter musical going from workshops, to out of town tryouts, and finally, Broadway.
Such a good book and I can’t wait to see what else Sussman puts out in the future!

Thank you to #Netgalley and #RandomHouse #Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Does anyone else remember the tv show Smash? With Katherine McPhee? I can’t help but draw parallels here. If you liked that show, you’ll like this book 🎭

It’s a 2nd chance romance. Two summer camp theatre kids who both “make it” but they can never get on the same page when it comes to their relationship. Fast forward years later, and Cal is directing a new Broadway play about Rosie the Riveter in which Kathleen is staring 💪🏻

They hate each other (but do they?)😉

The Now and then timeline was entertaining. We get glimpses of theatre camp, play workshops, and touring🎤

I’m typically a huge fan of 2nd chance romance but this one had a love triangle that I didn’t love. I wish the 3rd act up break up was different. But overall, I loved it and recommend it for an easy contemporary romance summer read 💜🩵

Read if you like:
💕2nd chance romance
🎤Pop culture
⏳Now&then timeline
🧠Anxiety rep
🎶Musical theatre
🔼Love triangle
🎹Boy bands
😤Enemies to lovers

This was a very charming love story. I enjoyed all the musical theater and rom com references. I really loved the dual timelines, and I think they worked really well within the structure of this book. And I adored the deep discussions of loss, regret, and nostalgia, because who hasn’t stayed up late at night wondering “what if?”

But at the end of the day, I wanted more from this. It lacked something that I can’t quite put my finger on. I’m not sure if it was that the present day conflict seemed a bit manufactured (I’m sorry, I don’t buy that people would still care about this boy band drama 15 years later), or that none of these characters feel like they grow at all during the course of the story, or that Cal really doesn’t apologize for his role in the past events and Kathleen overlooks that way too easily. So while I enjoyed this book quite a bit while reading it, as soon as I put it down I knew it wasn’t one that would stay with me that long.

That being said, if you’re a big theater nerd and want a quick, bingeable romance to read, definitely check this out because I FLEW through it! It’s simple and enjoyable, and sometimes that exactly what you need.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for this ARC.

3.5/4

I am always intrigued by romance novels where the main character or characters aren't completely likeable. I think we get so many romance books where the female main character may be dealing with some stuff or going through a hard time but is ultimately a pretty perfect person. But having characters we are actually flawed makes for a more nuanced and layered read, and I think Elissa Sussman has continued to achieve that with Once More with Feeling. I would give this 4.25 stars!

Synopsis: Through dual timelines, Once More with Feeling follows Kathleen, who rises to pop stardom in her early twenties under the stage name Katee Rose and in Kathleen's "now" as a bit of a has-been who is in her 30s and wants to launch her Broadway career (and there are some flashbacks to when Kathleen is 14 and at a performance arts summer camp). In the "then" timeline, Katee Rose has hit it big as a popstar and is on tour with boy band CrushZone, which her boyfriend Ryan is a member of. But as they spend time on the road together, Katee starts getting close to another member of the band, Cal, who was her duet partner at theater camp when they were teenagers.

At the end of the tour, Katee and Cal give in, and one night together is all that it takes for Katee to blow up her relationships with both Ryan and Cal, and destroy her career and image.

Now in her 30s, Kathleen has left her pop star dreams in the past and is living a mostly ordinary life, but she still dreams of making it to Broadway. Her best friend since camp writes a musical with a major part written specifically for Kathleen, but there's one problem - Cal is going to be the director for the play. They haven't spoken since everything imploded and both harbor resentment toward each other, but neither wants to give up on this opportunity. As they work through the long process of rehearsals, they both realize that there is still an attraction between them, but also still a lot of hurt that needs to be addressed.

Review: There is a lot of history between Kathleen and Cal, starting back when they were at the performing arts camp, when they were on tour together, and now working together on this musical. It makes for a very layered and rich story. I think that Kathleen isn't super likeable but I'm ok with that - in the "then" storyline when she is a popstar in her early 20s, she is so afraid of upsetting her boyfriend that she keeps dating him even though she is falling for Cal and eventually sleeps with him, and it ends up blowing up both relationships and her whole career.

Now in her 30s, she is still acting selfishly, worrying more about herself and how she is going to deal with Cal than being there for her friend who wrote the musical and is very stressed about trying to get it onto Broadway. I felt like this book was almost a character study into Kathleen and I really enjoyed it.

Because the story was so deeply about Kathleen and her trying to figure her life out, I did feel like Cal could have used some more depth. He is still into Kathleen but definitely exasperated by her behavior, but I wanted to know more about WHY he liked her still in the first place. Maybe it was due to their history, maybe just some undeniable attraction, but I wish the book had explored his motivations a bit more.

I thought that focusing the storyline around their pop careers and now theater careers was a fun element but because we were so in Kathleen's head, I felt like we missed out on some of the fun parts of the Broadway show that could have been included. But that is just a small nitpick, overall I did really enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

Katee Rose was one of the biggest pop stars and dating one of the hottest members of CrushZone, one of the most adored boy bands at the time. Katee and Ryan seemingly had the perfect lives but the stardom was taking its toll on Katee. When she found herself in the arms of another CrushZone member, Cal Kirby, her whole life started to implode.

In the present day, Kathleen Rosenberg is just trying to live a semi-normal life. She's doing just fine until Cal comes back into her life asking her to star in a Broadway show that he's directing. Neither of them had spoken since their lives completely flipped upside down but Kathleen couldn't resist the amazing opportunity so she agrees to star in the show. Will that old chemistry come flying back and can they ignore those feelings they felt so long ago?

This is a second-chance love story with the fun environment of a Broadway musical. The chemistry and tension were undeniable between Kathleen and Cal. While they had a lot of baggage and hurt to work through, the characters felt real and you could see how they had grown through their past struggles. I will say that I enjoyed Elissa Sussman's novel, Funny You Should Ask, a bit more than this one but this was a solid good read.

Listen. Second-chance romance written by Elissa Sussman?? That’s becoming my love language.

Two former pop stars, Kathleen and Cal are brought back together a decade or so after a “cheating scandal” that halted both of their blooming careers. Cal approaches Kathleen and her playwright best friend, Harriet, to bring their musical Riveted! to the big stage—Broadway. Will they be able to overcome the past they never talked about? Three timelines will give the reader a look into the past, present and future of their loss, their love, and their triumph in the musical theater world.

When I read Funny You Should Ask by Miss Sussman last year, I wasn’t a huge fan but I could see the foundation for something great was in there—and I am so glad that I was right! Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. The three timelines allow for the reader to get the full picture in installments, letting Elissa tell the story the way she wants and not all in one swoop. I was enthralled to watch Cal and Kathleen’s love blossom and intertwine in their lives for over a decade. The will-they-won’t-they left me literally on the edge of my seat. I just loved every minute of them.

My only gripe with this novel is the third-act breakup/conflict. While such conflict made sense when they were teenagers attempting to navigate the celebrity scene, it did not make sense for adults who were reasonably mature in all other aspects. It’s the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars, so I can’t wait to see what Elissa writes next!

Unfortunately, this fell a bit flat for me. When you add the nonexistent chemistry between our main characters, who are supposed to be romantically interested in each other, to the very, very boring plot of this book….it feels more like a chore to read instead of something enjoyable that you look forward to. Very disappointing because this was a very anticipated read for me as Funny You Should Ask was high on my favorites list last year!

You can’t love ‘em all though and I will continue to look forward to the authors future releases!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGally for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!