I was blown away by how much I loved FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK earlier this year so I could not wait to get started with Elissa Sussman's sophomore novel. It did not disappoint and I loved every second of this book! ONCE MORE WITH FEELING is another second chance romance with famous person tropes except each person is a celebrity here. I think the celebrity trope is becoming one of my favorite types of romance novels because its a life I don't know anything about and I find myself immersed in the world as much as the romance (similarly to how I feel about hockey romances I guess?). Plus add Broadway and I was SOLD! I love Elissa Sussman so much and she is now an auto-buy author to me. I am captivated and entranced in her books while reading and what else could you ask for in a book?

Huge thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced copy. This is out TODAY and I would highly recommend for a beach/pool/general summer evening book as it is such a quick and compulsive read.

I am a sucker for a good celebrity romance, but this one was better than I could have imagined. Second chance romances can be done so well, and this one was so incredible. The characters and their struggles the first time around made me root for a reconciliation, not think that they broke up for a reason (which is a problem I think second chances sometimes fall prey to).

Kathleen and Caleb had amazing chemistry, and their lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers arc was so enjoyable to watch. I especially loved Kathleen's growth, from her time as a pop star to also still finding herself as an adult. One of my favorite moments was her no longer accepting that she made mistakes so it meant she wasn't allowed good things in her life. I think this is a life lessons many of us would benefit from learning.

Sussman has become an instant read for me, I can't wait for more!

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 30, 2023

Formulaically similar to Sussman’s last hit, this one swept me away just as fast. A solid dual timeline second chance romance with MCs in their 30s—the flashbacks in this slowly reveal answers to many questions we have. I enjoyed this, but the pining for decades seemed a bit of a stretch.

CW: There is quite a bit of text regarding her weight, dieting, body image, and abusive behavior toward her from when she was a teen pop star (from management, instructors, her ex, etc. Yes, all these things happened regularly in the 90s/00s but I wish more time was spent addressing the issues of that narrative instead of perpetuating them.

Ugh, I *want* to like Elissa Sussman’s books so much more than I actually do. This is the second book of hers I’ve read, and the complaints I had previously only got worse for me this time around. She writes books with really interesting pop culture-inspired premises that seem like they should be right up my alley but they end up just feeling derivative rather than a fresh take. This is a pretty obvious “Britney cheated on Justin” redux, with a theater camp first love thrown in, and the Britney stand-in returning to both her theater roots and that relationship later in life. I enjoyed the NYC theater nerd references (like a group outing to Marie’s Crisis one night), but the writing just fell completely flat for me. Sussman does a lot of telling and very little showing, from the way she describes the allegedly undeniable chemistry between the leads to just minor moments that could have been fleshed out into fun details but just never are (like the embarrassing college stories the love interest’s friend threatens to divulge and then we just fast forward past anything potentially interesting).

I was really excited to get this book after recently just finishing Funny You Should Ask. At the beginning of this one, I got major Britney/NSYNC vibes, and I kind of loved it. I haven’t caught up on all the drama between JT and Britney, so this nostalgia wasn’t tainted for me.

I liked all of the theater parts of this story, it makes me want to go and see a show. Especially learning about all of the effort that goes into it. I know they are huge productions, but I’ve never looked into what the process is like from beginning to end, so this was a nice lesson on that.

I liked all the characters in this story ~enough~ I just thought they were all kind of flawed and mean to each other. I accepted their flaws because I imagine the things they went through in life shaped them into the humans they are, and I can imagine it being an accurate reflection of how celebrities are. I liked the different flashbacks throughout the story and seeing the same characters at different stages of their life.

I absolutely loved this book!

The story follows Kathleen Rosenberg also known as Katee Rose. She once was one of the biggest pop singers in the world. During this time she was touring the world with a boy band called CrushZone. She started dating Ryan from the band but she fell hard for another band member, Cal. She knew Cal already from camp when they were younger.

In the present time, Kathleen’s best friend asks her to be the lead role in her Broadway debut play. Turns out That Cal is also helping choreograph the play. You will notice the chemistry that Cal and Kathleen have grow throughout the book. Both characters have made such growth from the past to the present.

It goes back and forth between the past and present timelines. It does a great job of that.

This was such a fun book. I could not put it down. You will get easily invested in the play and the lives of Cal and Kathleen. This is a perfect second-chance love story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m realizing that I’m very into the “second chance romance” trope, and this book fits the bill to a T. Cal and Kathleen’s story felt so genuine and real (yes, despite the glam and broadway production). Sussman does such a good job comparing and contrasting the past to the present, while still keeping the present at the forefront. This was such a fun, quick, and easy read! I’d definitely add it to your list of summer beach reads.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending me an ARC!

I enjoyed Funny You Should Ask so I was super excited to jump into Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman.

This book was so creative and highly engaging.
I was completely absorbed by the characters.
The storyline for each character flowed so naturally.
I loved the writing style and the voices of the two main characters. Cal and Kathleen were fun, engaging and so entertaining.
Elissa Sussman’s writing is crisp and fun, the characters are fully engaging, and the story is delightful.
A phenomenal second chance romance with friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers trope you can’t help but root for these two the entire time.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Dell for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Friends to lovers...enemies to lovers...second chance...forced proximity. Need I say more?

I love Elissa Sussman and loved Funny You Should Ask so I had pretty high expectations going in and I was not disappointed. The characters in this book were lovable, had great banter and great chemistry.

The plot was great and the story kept me entertained the entire time. Overall I loved it!!

I dropped everything I was reading to start Once More with Feeling. The first reviews/marketing for this book that I saw was “for the ones who always believed in Britney” and I knew it was a must read.

It was entertaining, fast-paced, and an overall easy read.

Kathleen felt like your favorite hot mess friend who you wanted the best for no matter what and you hoped they finally found their footing. I can also see how the comparison to Britney Spears was made.

The one critique that I truly have is that the novel felt unrealistic at times. The novel focuses solely on Kathleen so I felt like I, as a reader, missed out on so much of the story because Kathleen is such an unreliable narrator. It creates a small disconnect between the reader and the world we’re trying to immerse ourselves in.

Despite that, I really did enjoy this novel. I think it was a great follow-up to Funny You Should Ask. Sussman created characters you wanted to root for and a world where I could have loved Katee Rose as a teen. I would highly recommend this to people who love Britney Spears, boy bands, and celebrity relationships.

Thank you so much to Elissa Sussman, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an ARC for me to review.

Celebs! “Washed up” celebs. Truth about what women in the industry face. (Millennials will very quickly think about Britney.)

Kathleen is a great character. I really liked how Sussman flushed our her experience and her growth.

The MCs have several second chances, careers, reputations, forgiveness, sex, love, it’s all at stake.

Strictly Ballroom appreciation! Love this movie. Loved that Kathleen, Cal, and Harriet appreciate it too. 🤣

Such a fun read! Watching these two figure each other out again and fitting together again was funny, sexy, and honest. 👏👏

This was such an enjoyable second chance romance that is perfect for your summer reading list!

Kathleen ("Katee Rose") was a world famous popstar ten years ago. Following a huge scandal involving her boyband boyfriend and his bandmate, Kathleen's career implodes and soon everyone who loved her ends up hating her. In the present day, Kathleen reluctantly reunites with Cal, the bandmate and her former friend, to star in a Broadway play written by her best friend. Cal and Kathleen have a lot of unresolved feelings and it's not long before they realize it's impossible to leave the past in the past.

As someone who grew up in the peak boyband era (Team JC), I loved all of the throwback nostalgia we got to see in the "Then" sections of the story when Kathleen was known to the world as Katee Rose. I definitely felt transported back to my youth and I immediately thought back to the Britney/Justin Cry Me a River days.

If you enjoy celebrity romances/friends to lovers/second chance romances then I would recommend checking out Once More with Feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for a review copy.

I'm so grateful to have received this ARC 💕

Did I almost cry for Kathleen? Yes. Did I want to smack her when she was Katee Rose? Also yes, but I understand she was young and everything was happening around her, and she's human, so I wanted to hug her too.

Katee Rose was a young popstar, lost in the whirlwind of concerts, fans, fame, a relationship with one of the guys in the boyband CrushZone, Ryan, and loses everything in a single night when she acts out on her feelings towards Cal, another member of CrushZone. What happens when she has a chance at Broadway years later, but Cal is the director? Will the past come to hurt her, or will they have a second chance?

This book is released tomorrow, May 30th! Make sure to grab it if you like:

📚 Workplace Romance
📚 Second Chance Romance
📚 Friends to Lovers
📚 Broadway Setting
📚 Slowburn Romance

This was a fun, fast paced “friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers second-chance romance" set in a Broadway show. Kathleen, Cal and Harriet met at theater camp as kids. Years after a very public cheating scandal between Kathleen and Cal, she is making a comeback in a show that Harriet wrote and Cal is directing. No problem.

It has drama. It has a catchy plot. It has characters with big personalities that were not always charming. It has a then/now timeline that builds angst. It has snarky and whip smart banter. It has best friend complications. It has romance.

FWIW- I had lukewarm feelings about the author's adult debut 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘴𝘬 but I enjoyed this one much more.

Thank you Elissa & Netgalley for an ARC of Once More With Feelings!

I loved Funny You Should Ask by Elissa and I loved Once More With Feelings even more!!! Cal and Kathleen had such a true and adorable relationship and it was so nice to be able to be apart of their story.

For the first time in romance book history, the ending wasn’t rushed… but i needed like 3 more chapters because I needed more ending!!!! I loved that it didn’t end in a predictable and fast paced way but it ended so short and I need another book or chapter.

It was such a feel good, happy and easy read! I’d rate it 4.5 rounded up and would recommend if you want a easy summer read!

Loved it. So much.

I loved Funny You Should Ask so my expectations were high. Elissa Sussman more than delivered!

Kathleen Rosenberg was a teenage pop star. Everything about her was packaged and promoted, from her voice, to her image, to the constant request for a nose job. And when it all imploded she was left to her own devices, left to pick up the pieces.

This novel is a love letter to the theatre. It’s a love letter to women who have been passed over, made the scapegoat, told they were less, yet still persevered. It’s a tangled web of the cost of fame, the complications of friendship, and the price of love.

Couldn’t put it down.

In celebration of release day tomorrow (5/30), I'm gonna talk about how much I enjoyed Once More With Feeling by @elissa_sussman 🥳💖🥹

🎤Once More With Feeling follows the dual timeline of Kathleen Rosenberg, formerly pop sensation Katee Rose! Katee Rose's career crashed and burned after the her cheating scandel, where it was revealed she had cheated on her boyfriend, Ryan LaNeve, with his bandmate Cal Kirby. Kathleen Rosenburg's career has a chance to make a resurgence when her best friend Harriet teams up with Cal Kirby to make a musical, which they hope will make it to Broadway (a dream which they all share), and they want Kathleen to have a main role! But will Kathleen be able to deal with being with Cal again? Will the show make it to Broadway? Why didn't Cal stand up for her all those years ago? All of these questions get answered through the rollercoaster of emotions that is Once More With Feeling.🎤

💓I thought that this book was a VERY fun read! As someone who LOVES fast-paced books, I was super happy because I felt like the book was the perfect pace and didn't dwell on things for too long and slow down! The bounce back and forth between Now, Then, and some in-betweens kept my attention and made me read this book super fast! I was so curious if Riveted!, the musical, would make it to Broadway, how would they do it, would Kathleen and Cal get together, what was all the tension between Kathleen and Harriet, could Kathleen ever forgive Cal and herself for what happened in the past? I felt like there were so many questions that I had and they started to pop up, there would be a flashback chapter to "Then" that would explain some things or reveal more information! It really just kept me on my toes! 🩰

I really enjoyed this fun read and hope that it gets all the love it deserves tomorrow on release day!🥳

Once More With Feeling
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once More With Feeling alternates between Kathleen Rosenberg growing up and attending a theater summer camp which ultimately led to her becoming a famous pop star to the current timeline of finding herself after no longer being in fame. After finding herself again, she meets her goal of performing on Broadway. I have a feeling anyone who loves theater and Broadway will love this story!

This was for sure an entertaining read. I found myself wishing I could hear the songs they were singing and could see the choreography they were describing. I did feel conflicted in how I felt about Kathleen. I was rooting for her and her success, but also didn’t agree with a lot of her actions. While I know there’s reasons behind all behaviors, I just am not a fan of a book where cheating is involved. I also wish Kathleen had better communication with her best friend. I felt Kathleen did a lot of things with only her best interests in mind. There was a ton of history behind Kathleen and Cal’s romance. You’ll see both enemies to lovers to second chance romance. Because of the dynamics of Cal being Kathleen’s boss, this one was also a slow burn. I wasn’t crazy about the event that led to Kathleen and Cal finally succumbing to their feelings. I felt like because of their chemistry, there were so many other opportunities where they could have reconnected.

I still really enjoyed this book! If you’re a theater and Broadway lover, I think you will really appreciate the different references of plays throughout the book. Treat your shelves to this one as it pub date is tomorrow, May 30th!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am definitely in my second-chance romance phase and Once More with Feeling was a delightful read! I'm also one who was the teenager who loved the pop music era while also loving The Phantom of the Opera. This book was a perfect blend of nastalgia while rooting for the second chance that Cal and Kathleen so clearly both need. Their story has been entertwined with each other since they were kids at a theater summer camp. Now, they have the opportunity of a lifetime to make it on Broadway - but they'll have to work together to make that happen. Not an easy task as first since they last time they spoke was full of heated words and hurt hearts.

I can't wait to read more from Elissa Sussman in the future!

Another cute one by Sussman. Her stories are fun and cute, the relationships are frustrating and amazing all at once. The main character in this book is so annoying. I really disliked her, but it did not make me dislike the book. In fact, the opposite. I spent half the book wanting to yell at her to wake up and grow up... all at once! Switching back and forth between then and now, we get to understand the why behind some decisions and also gives us a glimpse into what the future will hold. A great summer romance read!

Katee Rose was one of America's top pop stars, dating Ryan, a famous member of a boy band, until she found herself in the arms of another band member, Cal Kirby. Not only did she destroy her relationship, but her career too. Years pass and Cal reaches out to Kathleen (Katee) to perform in a Broadway show written by her best friend. Will the two be able to move past the hurt from their past? Will they reignite the flame? Will their "relationship" impact the success of the show?

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.