I love elissa sussman, she gets jewish women like only a jewish woman could and it makes me so genuinely happy, like the line about cal liking kathleen's nose, every jewish woman is primed to hate that about herself so it feels so meaningful to have someone say they love it, I could read only elissa's books for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy, another home run! :)

thank you netgalley for an arc of this title in exchange for my honest review

As someone that loved Funny You Should Ask, I am so happy that I loved Once More With Feeling just as much, if not more. I went into this book completely blind and it was the best decision. This book ended up being about the fmc, Kathleen, who was once a famous pop star and is now on her way to broadway and it filled me with so much joy that I finally was able to read a book and understand all of the references and where they were from. This book was so much fun and Kathleen and Cal are soulmates that deserve the absolute world and more <3333

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc!

Do you ever just start reading a book and go “this isn’t going to work for me”? That is what happened to me here. I really wanted to like this one, the premise sounded great – but it just wasn’t for me. I never connected or cared about the characters. I found Kate to be annoying and grating, not something that entices me to read a book. I also couldn’t get past that she cheated on him and that was the reason for the second chance. Its not a hard no from me, but it just didn’t work in this case. I did really enjoy the past and present timelines. That always helps a story along, but ultimately I did DNF this one as I couldn’t get into it no matter how hard I tried.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for this honest review. I will not be posting outside netgalley for this one.

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read this book. Honestly the beginning was a little slow for me but wow did it get good fast!!! This was probably the most passionate enemies to lovers book I’ve read! The tension was crazy and I was squealing when it came to Cal and Kathleen confessing their feelings for each other. This book was filled with heart wrenching love and that is just the best kind of feeling when reading a romance book. I really enjoyed how the book went back and forth between past and present because I felt like it really connects you to the characters on a deeper level. I loved how realistic the characters emotions and struggles were. This book was amazing! I loved the emotional journey it put me through and the ending was so beautiful!

Thanks @netgalley @elissa_sussman for the chance to read Once More with Feeling. It releases on May 30, 2023.

I devoured this book on a cross country flight. It was so fun and engaging.

Former teen pop star Kathleen Rosenberg has the chance to realize a lifelong dream of starring in a Broadway show. The only problem is that the director, Cal Kirby, is one of the reasons she fell from grace.

Told in dual timelines, Sussman deftly weaves their past and present. The story had many twists and turns and more than a sprinkle of commentary about how we treated female pop stars like Britney Spears. It’s one of my favorite rom-coms of 2023.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 🔥
Tropes: celebrity, second-chance, summer camp

I read Elissa Sussman’s last book, Funny You Should Ask, and thought it was such a cute story and she handled the famous trope well. I was looking forward to her next book which seemed like it would have a similar vibe, Once More With Feeling.

This book follows multiple timelines—one in the past with Katee Rose who is a famous pop star until she blows it all up one day and loses it all. Now, Kathleen Rosenberg is okay with her ordinary life until Cal Kirby comes back into her life as well as an opportunity to star in an up-and-coming broadway show. Kathleen & Cal haven’t spoken to each other since their mistake blew up Kathleen’s career and now they have to figure out how to work together again.

I love second chance romances, so I was really enjoying the alternating timelines to see how this hostility came between Cal & Kathleen. However, this book was missing some things for me. It started out strong and I was really excited about where this was going to go but then the romance fell a little flat. I think that’s because Cal’s character felt underdeveloped. I wanted to be obsessed with them but I just wasn’t. Also one of my favorite things about second chance is reading the backstory to see how they ended up estranged. In this book, it was very clear early on what had happened but the author treated it like this big secret.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this but I wished there could have been more development of the backstory.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly don't know which one I prefer more! they are both so good. I love the continuation of this story line and I will continue to read this authors work. the characters are intoxicating and I loved every second of it.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was so excited for this book since I loved FYSA. I was so disappointed that this one fell short for me. I didn’t connect to the characters and I felt like there was no chemistry. I’m not a fan of the typical “third act breakup” plot point and unfortunately this book had one.

I also hate the cheating trope under pretty much any circumstance and I just couldn’t get past it. 😩

This was such a fun read!! As a girl named Kate Rose, I was nervous! Our main character went by Katee Rose as a pop star and I needed to love her to be okay with her having my name. Luckily, I did. She’s flawed. She makes mistakes. Her lack of assertiveness gets her into trouble. But, she’s also a very good person and you root for her. This book hinges on Kathleen’s character and if she deserves a redemption story, both in love and career. Happy to say I loved her, flaws and all. I also loved that even though her relationships with Cal and Ryan are our primary focuses, her relationship with Harriet remains centered. Harriet is the character that she says she can’t live without, not either man. I really loved this focus on female friendship.

oh, i loved this. i think i loved this more than ‘funny you should ask’ like. the friends to lovers to enemies with second chance just so good. plus the cheating made it even better. i just couldn’t stop reading this one. i love a good celebrity romance and this just hit all the right spots. i also loved kathleen and cal a lot. the cover is also just so pretty, i loved the art style. elissa sussman has a good thing going.

thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

In the beginning these characters are so clearly based on Britney and Justin in the early 2000s and I was here for it!

This book has dual timelines (that in this instance are particularly confusing)
that jump around from then and now to show what happened in the past vs. what is going on now in the lives of former pop sensation Katee Rose and member of the boy band CrushZone, Cal. Who first met many years ago at a summer camp for theatre kids. You know in the beginning that 15 years ago in the height of their careers there was a scandal that alleged Katee cheated on Cal and it tarnished her reputation and they haven’t really talked in years.

Present day Katee is now auditioning for a role in an off Broadway show that her best friend Harriet and Cal are both heavily involved with. This is where Katee and Cal begin to know each other again as adults, at the same time she is still dating fellow member of CrushZone Ryan.

This book had so much potential to be great but it just fell flat. The timelines were jumbled and confusing and the reasoning for the characters behavior when “twists” were revealed was unsatisfying at best. I felt like all the relationships were surface level with no real emotional investment.

There are some really cute moments and I was definitely interested in what was going on but so much was happening and the timelines aren’t always clear that made the reading experience both frustrating and confusing, including why Harriet felt so worried about telling Katee her secret I just didn’t fully understand her reasoning.

I really liked Funny You Should Ask so I’m excited to see what else Sussman puts out in the future!

3 stars

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okayyyyyyy this is literally one of the cutest books ive ever read!!! as a self proclaimed y2k boy band aficionado, i knew i would be obsessed. luckily this turned out a little less britney and justin and consumed me for HOURS. i literally could not stop reading this book and since its the first by elissa sussman, i will not be reading her back log lol!!

Elissa Sussman is so good at unfurling a story full of complicated feelings and personal history between characters. While there is of course the fictional high fantasy of former child stars as the storyline, there are very real complex lifelong friendships and love full of a lifetime of hurt along with it. It was a great slow-burn angsty read. This was my second from the author and I would auto-buy anything she publishes!

Thank you to NetGalley/Random House/Ballantine/Dell for the opportunity to review an ARC.

After her career as an international pop sensation came to a screeching halt, Kathleen Rosenberg (once known as Katee Rose) is ready to reinvent herself as a Broadway performer. And with her best friend workshopping a new musical with a starring role she wrote specifically for Kathleen, her dream is within reach. But when Kathleen’s childhood crush — and the man secretly at the center of the scandal that ruined her music career — is tapped as the musical’s director, can they keep their messy history in the past?

Once More with Feeling puts romantic tension and juicy celebrity drama centerstage. Elissa Sussman expertly crafts the love story of two artists set across three timelines, building to a powerful finish worthy of a standing ovation. This stellar romance has all the passion, energy, and showstopping moments of a real Broadway musical.

Once More With Feeling

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once More With Feeling was a love letter to musicals, and I totally loved that. It brought me right back to my days rehearsing in the pit orchestral during high school. If you have ever loved musicals, definitely check out this romcom centered around one.

Dual time lines can be tricky, but I thought Elissa Sussman did so well with it. Kathleen and Cal had so much chemistry and it was done well with the slow build. I also really enjoyed Harriet throughout the story. Kathleen was almost too much at times but I thought she redeemed herself in the end.

Thanks to @netgalley for this eARC. Check out this book when it comes out at the end of May!

A second chance romance was just what I needed to get me out of my reading funk. Katherine Rosenthall (Katee Rose) has made her fair share of mistakes in life, and it seems as though she’s paid the price. This story of second chances was heartwarming. The characters were all well developed. If I had any complaints, it would be the back and forth with present and past.

She's done it again. I love Elissa Sussman's writing, and the way that she lets you see the behind the scenes of celebrities. This book is about a former pop star, Kathleen, who has to work with a former flame that really blew up. Kathleen and Cal have been meant for each other ever since they did theater camp together, but now that they are adults, and they have one big scandal caused by the two of them hooking up and destroying Kathleen's career, they can barely stand each other. Lots of anger and miscommunication. AND he's the director of the broadway show she's starring in as her comeback. Kathleen has a lot of trauma from the way the world rejected her after she made her mistake, and it takes a while for her to clear the air with Cal. Meanwhile, it's really interesting to follow along as the play goes from rehearsals to previews to Broadway. Kathleen does a lot of growing up in this book, and the final ending feels well-earned.

I definitely recommend this book, and if you love musical theater, I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Book Review✨
Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUB DATE: May 30, 2023

First, thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for my eARC copy of this read for an honest review!

I absolutely adored this book! A round of applause for @elissa_sussman

I’m always here for an enemies to lovers troupe and second chance love! 🥰

I couldn’t get enough of the banter between Kathleen and Cal! An all in the feels slow burn but I love the flashbacks between past and present to tie it altogether sweetly.

I am a fan! Can’t wait to read Funny You Should Ask soon as it’s also been on my TBR and I was able to snag it on a kindle deal! 🤓

Get it if you can! That is all! As always, happy reading! 💕

Once More with Feeling, indeed! Elissa Sussman's second book was just as good as her first (Funny You Should Ask). She's definitely found a formula that works, but this second-chance romance did not feel like a repeat. I loved the theater setting! The author creates great chemistry on the page. I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Cal and Kathleen play out now vs. then. I also enjoyed the BFF relationship between Harriett and Kathleen, and seeing it grow and evolve, as they both have some a-ha moments.

Another binge-able read from Elissa Sussman.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for this honest review.

I had my reservations going into this one after how much I loved the author’s debut, Funny You Should Ask. How could any novel bet that one?? Well I was proven wrong! Some how, some way, I loved this book even more than her first! Once More With Feeling is an amazing romance about second chances both in love and in life! I’m a bit of a theater nerd myself so the setting was 100% up my alley! The banter and relationship between the two MCs was golden and I couldn’t have wished for a better ending for these two! If you were a fan of her debut novel you definitely need to check out this new release! And even so I’d suggest giving this one a read, I enjoyed every single second!