Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!

I adored 'Funny You Should Ask' and had high hopes for Once More With Feeling. Pop star who wants to be a Broadway actress - this has my name all over it as a wannabe theatre kid. Lots of different romance tropes in this one - friend to lovers, enemies to lovers, celebrity romance, 2nd chance romance, etc.

Though parts were a slog to get through, overall i loved the story line and will be recommending to everyone as a good easy romance, take on vacation with you type of book!

⭐⭐⭐.5/5- Even though there are characters worthy of being loathed entirely (see The Grinch meme lol..)... somehow, Once More With Feeling became one of the best stories of resiliency in the face of public opinion I've ever read. Part second chance romance with adult characters entering middle age, I loved Sussman's tale of fighting to be seen for who you really are.

In the age of social media and celebrities being stalked at EVERY. SINGLE. INTRUSIVE. TURN... it's easy to forget that famous people are *people* too. Beyond the mega fame and body glitter, somewhere is a soul needing forgiveness for their mistakes. I found so much of this story to be cringy for me to read... I just kept thinking... 'Lord.. here is another spoiled pop princess crying on TikTok (or whatever the equivalent was' at the time.. MTV?)... and then the second time I thought that... I sort of felt.. bad for the main character? Let me tell you.. that emotion is wild for me to feel about any famous person? It caught me so off guard!

So much of this story is double edge sword and forces you to reconsider your perceptions of the film & music industry. In the wake of celebrity breakups, Billboard No.1 artists, etc... lives are still being lived and hearts are still being broken.

As a person who literally cannot stand to watch anything about the lives of the rich and the famous *because they all seem like a bunch of spoiled brats* this was an interesting read for me, to say the least. I'm not often forced to confront my biases because I work very hard not to have them. But when you're biased against a group of humans that seem above reproach... it's super easy to feel self-righteous in your disdain. Lol... I may not have enjoyed the characters and their supercilious problems, but I definitely enjoyed the surprise of being made to *think*.

NOTES:
- Alternating timeline --> This is one of my favorite writing styles! I love those little pieces of flashbacks
- I made a new GoodReads shelf for books that talk about musicians called 'magic in the music'. Somehow I always end up loving these stories because the artists are so passionately themselves through their mistakes, how they love etc. Something about that just speaks to me!
- HEA ending but a few light content warnings: Some cheating referenced but not described, and sexism in the media

****Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

Elissa Sussman does it again! This was such a warm and heartfelt novel that had me rooting for Kathleen and Cal immediately. Told through a series of flashbacks, you see how the two leads navigate their love lives while also in the spotlight.

Kathleen and Cal initially meet at a theater camp during a summer in high school. They are later reunited when they tour together, with Kathleen transformed as the sensational pop star Katee Rose and Cal as part of the boy band CrushZone. While on tour, Kathleen dates the head singer of CrushZone, Ryan, but finds herself spending more and more time with Cal. At the end of the tour, Kathleen finds herself at the center of the love triangle, which ends in heartbreak and her ruined pop career.

Fast forward to the present, Kathleen’s best friend, Harriett, wrote a musical with a lead intended for only Kathleen. Coming out of her forced retirement, she takes on the role with the hopes that it’ll make it to Broadway. The one hitch: her former flame and current nemesis, Cal, is the one selected to direct it. As they prepare to debut the show, they constantly clash and butt heads, still blaming each other for the past. However, there’s more simmering under the surface of animosity.

I adored Cal and Kathleen’s story; it felt genuine and realistic. The characters were so thoughtfully well written. Their witty banter and charm really had me on the edge of my seat, excited to read more. Would highly recommend for anyone who wants a heartfelt take on the enemies to lovers and second chance romance tropes.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine/Dell imprint for the advanced reader copy!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC!4 stars! This multi-trope, dual time period romance is a fun, fast paced read. The love interests, Cal and Kathleen, have gone from friends to lovers to enemies and now are slow burning (or maybe I just couldn’t handle the tension 😂) their way back to lovers. The broadway setting and references are so fun and will be enjoyed by any musical theatre fan. I also loved the little shout outs to some of my favorite Ru girls. Additionally, the boy band and pop star references/time period are giving Britney and *NSYNC vibes. One criticism: I do think that characters aside from Cal and Kathleen felt a tad one-dimensional and I would’ve liked to see them fleshed out more so that they didn’t feel like plot devices as opposed to full-fledged characters.

I read Funny You Should Ask last year and while it was certainly an entertaining read, I felt like the relationship between the two characters wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to buy into it. Sussman definitely fixed those issues in this book. The details she added to cement their relationship were sweet and believable. I was fully engrossed and read this in a day. I do wish Kathleen and Harriet’s fight/resolution was given a bit more space and time. I honestly wish Harriet had been fleshed out a bit more in general.
Aside from that, a fun read! Loved all the musical theater touches. Will definitely recommend this to my students!

The Britney/Justin era was MY TIME in the early to mid aughts, so the semi-ripped from the headlines backdrop of this story was very much up my alley. I enjoyed the flip flopping timelines: teenybopper concerts were my JAM and I was immediately taken right back to all those memories and it was fun to imagine the many things going on behind the scenes. And in the NOW timeline, the broadway angle was also really enjoyable, though I never did quite understand the musical at all. Now the Kathleen/Cal bits were also great, but I couldn't quite fall in love with either of them the way I want to while reading a rom com in order to really root for them. I also really appreciated the conversations about the treatment of female pop stars in the early 2000's and the effects they continue to feel from that. I wish the book had spent a little more time taking that part seriously, I think that would have made Kathleen even more interesting. While I did enjoy the book, I struggled in places to feel the feels I felt with Sussman's other book, Funny You Should Ask. It's still definitely worth reading, especially if you are of the pop star/boyband era like me! :)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

This was my first book by Elissa Sussman- and I loved it! Second chance romance is my favorite troupe to read, and this story hit it out of the park! I thought the story was incredibly sweet and I enjoyed the plot.

Kathleen is pursuing a broadway career in the midst of a comeback, having her pop star career ruined after a scandal. What’s the problem? The director of the show is ‘the one who got away’ and when he did, it didn’t end well.

I started and finished the story in a day, a May revisit it down the road I enjoyed it so much!

dare i say this is my favorite celebrity romance I’ve ever read?

I loved everything about this book. I don’t think I’ve ever read dual timelines as well written as in Once More With Feeling. While I’m old enough to remember all of the pop star and boyband drama of the early 2000s, the sections about Katee Rose and CrushZone felt so beautiful and nostalgic.

I really enjoyed Kathleen’s journey throughout the novel, and I thought Cal was so charming and supportive. Kathleen does come off as unlikeable at times, but that’s the point: she’s a has-been pop star with a grudge.

The theater/Broadway setting was just the icing on the cake for me. As Sussman mentioned in her acknowledgements, she loved theater but wasn’t great at it. That was me in middle school; I loved it, and I was okay, but I was often in the background. I loved going back into that world.

All of this to say, go and preorder this book right now! you are missing out if you don’t read it as soon as it comes out. thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and Elissa Sussman for an advanced copy.

I’m such a fan of enemies to lovers, but this book took it a step further with friends to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies to lovers. It was well written, the characters were developed so well, and the inclusion of the multiple timelines helped the book flow so uniquely. I think the focus on friendships as well as romantic relationships made this book feel so much fuller. Plus let’s not forget to mention the beautiful cover art!

4.5/5⭐️

I love the way this author does second chance romances. It’s usually not my favorite romance trope but she does it very well and I love how they aren’t based on minuscule miscommunication. Additionally, I find it rare for romance books to center on older main characters. Overall, I just really enjoyed how this novel played out and I think it’s safe to say that Sussman is going to be an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The romance was super cute. I also really enjoyed the news articles throughout. It felt like I was there with the characters. Definitely recommend! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the E-ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book. I stumbled across this author’s first book purely by chance and bought the book despite the not so great reviews. I have shoved that book at everyone and will be doing the same with Once More With Feeling.
Sussman has the ability and gift of transforming a normal romantic story into a life journey. While I enjoyed the development of Kathleen and Cal’s relationship over the course of many years, what will bring me back to this author is he main FC ‘s journey. Again, we walk with Kathleen and see how she has reached where she is and then stand hand in hand with her in her current journey. We see her battle through friendship and disappointment and growing up.
Also unrequited love from childhood to adulthood *chef’s kiss*. 4 1/2 stars

This earns a rare five stars from me. For five stars, a book has to be perfection. Everything has to come together perfectly, and this does. Cal and Kathleen are perfectly imperfect, and their story is lush, dramatic, and sweet.

This book captured the original feeling I had when I read Sussman’s first novel and I was immediately drawn into the story. The back and forth between timelines kept the pace perfect. The main character become a little too unlikable at some points but I found her endearing by the end. However I wish we had more time with side characters and the other characters in the musical. Without this the musical itself did not have as much emotional weight throughout the book. But in the end it was a enjoyable read!

I read this author's other book, Funny You Should Ask, and instantly knew I wanted to read everything from this author. This book did not disappoint. It was a quick read, as was the other one and the dual timelines was one of my favorite parts. I also loved the second chance trope and the MC's were pretty cool as well. The one thing I hate in romance books or any books is the cheating trope. I will never support those who cheat, even if I ultimately want the couple to get together at the end. It takes away from the story and didn't feel like it was necessary. This is just a personal opinion though and I get it's a trope in this genre.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Funny You Should Ask was one of my favorite books from last year, so I was very excited to see what Elissa was gonna write next. Once I read the summary for it, I was dying to read it.

Basically the story is if Britney Spears cheated on Justin Timberlake with JC Chasez and ruined her career at the same time. It’s told in two timelines of past and present like her previous book, and I really enjoy the format. The pairing of Kathleen and Cal had great chemistry and I couldn’t get enough of them.

If you’re a 90’s/00’s girl like me, you will eat this book up. Definitely recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I find the premise slightly hard to believe but besides that - this was funny, sweet, sexy, fun, and endearing. I was rooting for all of the characters, and I really loved that it all started at summer camp. This was so much better than her first book, and honestly I would love to see a book on HArriet finding love too

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

Thank you Random House and Net Galley for this ARC. This was a cute and fast paced 2nd chance at love book and I enjoyed the two timelines.

Thank you NetGalley & Dell for the eARC. I really enjoyed this book! I loved the alternating timelines, the second chance romance, and the celebrity / Broadway aspect. I loved the MMC, Cal and thought he was so charming. This book was fast paced and had plenty of drama to keep you entertained. My ONLY thing is that I don’t love cheating in books, ever. Cheating playing a significant role in the couple’s backstory took away from this book for me, and that’s the only reason it’s 4 stars and not 5.

It has been a good while since a romance captivated me so quickly. The style presented within this book is magnificent -- I love the unique way Sussman glimpses back at the characters' expansive past, while giving us a juicy look at their current situation. Once More with Feeling was incredibly fun, fast-paced, and straight up unputdownable.