another gem from Elissa Sussman! Enemies to Lovers & Teen Celebrity past life are some of my favorite tropes. Thanks Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC!

I loved this book so much.
I read the first one as well but it didn't lived up to my expectations as this one unfortunately. I always loved reading second chance romance stories and this book ticks lots of the marks that I am looking foreword in them.
Music, camera action and a spotlight that bring them together again.
Kathleen and Carl are so good together. Yes he wasn't the perfect boyfriend years ago but they are both older and more mature and taking responsibility for their actions .
It's an enjoyable read with great characters and their interactions made me laugh out loud at times as well shout at one or the other for their actions.
A romance that will keep you entertained and fill your romantic heart.

I received this ARC from NetGalley.
Second change romances are usually hard for me to get into, but “Once More with Feeling” hit all the right notes! (Pun intended.) This was a quick and easy read and I couldn’t put it down! Sometimes it’s nice to read a story where the ending is pretty obvious and you just get to enjoy the ride getting there.
As a theater kid who also has no musical or acting talent (like the author claims) I enjoyed this immensely! This book is packed with old movie and stage musical references that I thoroughly enjoying nerding out on.
I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun easy rom-com type read. I could easily see this book playing out on my screen (Reese Witherspoon, you up?) And that last scene - so cute!

ARC REVIEW (THANKS NETGALLEY)

I really enjoyed Funny you Should Ask and I was excited to receive the arc for Once More with Feeling. Books are set up almost in the same identical style- media articles, flashbacks, and present time. But it didn’t come off the same in OMWF. Maybe because Katee was a celebrity I couldnt empathize with her more? Or maybe it was the style in which book was written. I just didn’t care about characters and what happened to them. Book just felt choppy and disconnected, bummer for me!

4.5⭐️ This book made the untalented theater kid in me so happy. Second chance is not a favorite trope of mine but Sussman has knocked it out of the park, not once, but twice. The writing drew me in so quickly and I couldn’t put it down. The dual timelines were woven together so well and I loved when there was also a flashback to when they were kids. The ending was a bit too rushed for me and I wish it was dual pov.

I enjoyed this one but I just didn’t love it. It felt like it jumped from one thing to the next without providing any context in between. Both Kathleen and Cals characters were very likeable but I just didn’t really feel the chemistry between them. I definitely think if there would’ve been more details given of their relationship I would've felt their chemistry and been more interested.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed Once More with Feeling. I’m a sucker for romance books about celebs and it was just what I needed. The tension and chemistry had me rooting for Kathleen and Cal. Give me more Elissa Sussman books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the plot progression and how the characters interacted I also loved the three timelines that were going on. I loved the musical element and the relationships between people. Also the ending was AMAZING!

Overall, I liked this one more than Funny You Should Ask because I am not a movie girlie but I am a musical girlie.

Loved it!! Such a cute quick and easy read. Some of the musical theater references went over my head but I didn’t mind. The writing was great and I liked the characters. Kathleen, Cal, and Harriet have been friends since they were teens and met at theater camp. Kathleen and Cal were pop sensations that had a falling out and the three of them find each other later in life for the second chance and getting it all right. Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC!

I read Elissa’s first book and while this one was pretty similar I still really enjoyed it. I like the flashback to Kathleen and Cals pop star days and I loved the broadway setting.

Completely fell in love with this story. Kathleen's life didn't go as planned due to an unforgettable event in her past
Now as an adult she has a new chance. The only problem it's with someone who was involved in hurting her all those years ago.
I can't say enough how great this story was. I fell in love with all characters. I really enjoyed the time jumps from then to now. I felt like they were well written that I was able to fully grasp the full story of the past and present time. Can't reccomend this book enough.
Absolutely, team Cal! Nuff said!

This book tells the story of Kathleen Rosenberg, former pop star Katee Rose who had a tumultuous career that ended when she cheated on her boy band star boyfriend, with another member of the boy band, Cal. Cal and her are reuniting after a decade for another opportunity to work together on a broadway musical.

It has a few of my favorite romance tropes- childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and second chance romance. It goes back and forth between three various times - theatre camp, the height of their fame/downfall, and present— and does so seamlessly.

I gave it 4 stars, because I wanted there to a bit more character development, and deeper knowledge of who Kathleen and Cal are as people beyond their careers. I wish there was more clarity around their ages, as the present takes place a decade later but I’m unsure if they’re 28, 30, 35? I feel like there was also a missed opportunity to speak to the misogyny of placing the blame of the cheating scandal on Katee.

Overall, this was a great, fun romance with an unusual plot that I really enjoyed! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was SUCH a fan of funny you should ask so my hopes going into this one were high & WOWOWO Elissa came though.

Nobody writes the back and forth timeline as well for me as Elissa does. It leads to a much more organic story telling & these characters deserved that.

My only thing I didn't love was how she was ridiculed for cheating and he just let her be?? seems like a red flag to me.

but overall, i loved it.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

Thankfully, this was much better than Funny You Should Ask, but, it fell flat for me. I'm not the biggest fan of second chance romance and the whole cheating thing just gave me the ick and I could mot root for this couple. Also. It got a little hard to keep up with the different timelines. That being said, it was a quick and interesting read, it just isn't for me.

As much as I want to root for the Kathleen and Cal, I just feel like the whole cheating aspect couldn't over power the second-chance and missed opportunity romance the novel pushes for. It rang a little flat toward the end since after that initial sex scene, there really was no conflict left except the show's reviews. Likewise, I felt that I would have preferred to see Ryan becoming a bigger conflicting character in the present rather than in the past time frame. Regardless, I think the chemistry between the two was very solid and made for a cute second-chance.

Amazing.
I will truly never understand how this author manages to tie so many emotions and feeling into a book. She truly has the ability to make it feel like you are the main character. After ready FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK I did not think it could get any better but it did. Defiantly going to be one of by top five of 2023!

Elissa Sussman has done it again! Celebrity second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes because the characters just feel so life like with all their struggles and obstacles which Elissa did such a great job with. I was rooting for Katee and Cal the entire time especially when all they did was bicker. THE TENSION AND ANGST!!! Since they had known each other for so long they understood each others negative sides and yet their love didn’t lessen. They were both trying so hard to grow as people and learn from their past mistakes. Katee’s struggle with who she used to be as the world famous pop star to who she was now as the ordinary Kathleen was so perfectly done. I could tell how their love stayed the same from the flashbacks to present day. The then and now was so well done that I didn’t know which one I was more excited to read which isn’t easy to do! I could not put it down! Read this if you want something fast-paced, heartfelt, and sincere.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!!! :)

This story follows 3 periods of time when Kathleen/Katee Rose and Cal were in each others lives. We see the two at theater camp, on tour together as pop sensations, and during preparations for a new musical. The connection between Kathleen and Cal during all points of time was fantastic. I appreciated the process they took to resolve decades old hurt and reconcile their feelings feelings.

I was super excited for Once More with Feeling because I loved Funny You Should Ask. Once More follows the story of Kathleen Rosenberg, formerly known as pop megastar Katee Rose, as she makes her return to the stage after years of hiding out following a scandal that ushered in her fall from grace. This time, Kathleen is older and wiser and re-emerging on broadway as herself, alongside her longtime best friend and writer Harriet as well as her former friend and director Cal. The dynamics are complicated as are Kathleen’s relationship with her own fame and her identity.

This book started out so strong for me. It was quick and engaging, switching between present day and her years as a pop star. But it lost me in the second half. Kathleen, to me, was not super likable and showed little growth. There is a romance storyline that I could have done without (which is shocking for me!). I was more interested in Kathleen as an individual and as a performer. In short, this just wasn’t for me.

All that being said, this book has lots of great reviews so I don’t want to dissuade anyone from giving it a try, particularly if you are a musical theater fan! (Controversial opinion: I do not like musical theater 😬). This wasn’t for me but I could definitely understand how others could get into it.

If you liked Funny You Should Ask, you would love this book. Elissa does a great job with the second chance romance stories with a slow burn. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys both of those things. The ending was perfect!