I’m definitely in the minority on this one, but I did not love Sussman’s previous book, Funny You Should Ask. While I really enjoyed her plot development and writing style, the characters in that book felt flat, underdeveloped, and mismatched. Well, she’s fixed all of that in this book. What a fun book! Once More With Feeling features Sussman’s trademark witty and sharp writing style while also giving the reader a very immersive plot and likeable, well developed characters.

The alternating “then” and “now” storylines (which Sussman also used in Funny You Should Ask) were so well done here. Both storylines were equally engrossing, fun to read, and both propelled the book/plot forward - which isn’t always the case when books jump back and forward in time.

The characters were also very well written. Kathleen specifically was well developed and a big improvement over Chani from Funny You Should Ask. By even just 1/4 of the way through the book I felt connected to her. I also thought the chemistry between Cal and Kathleen and the evolution of their relationship was very well done.

I also really loved the attention to detail in this book. The musical references were fun and I loved the little tie ins to Sussman’s prior book.

Overall, this book was a fun, engrossing read. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Second chance romances aren’t my favorite, but Elissa Sussman writes them really well. I really enjoyed this book.

I love musical theater, so the setting of the present timeline of this book revolving around the development of a new Broadway show was great. I liked the flashback scenes to the earliest timeline at theater camp too, though I don’t think they really added a ton to the story.

The middle timeline of the pop star/boy band days gave me nostalgic late 90s/early 2000s vibes, and I felt shades of Britney and Justin while reading about ‘Katee’ and Ryan’s relationship. That said, I don’t feel like those flashbacks did much to build the relationship between Kathleen and Cal. A couple of them did, but I would’ve been fine wrapping up the flashbacks about halfway through the book and spending the rest of the time with them in the present.

I loved the interactions between them in the present timeline. I could feel the tension and that it was only a matter of time before it snapped. I wanted more time in their current situation, watching them try to move past the old hurts and navigate life and a relationship as the people they’d grown into, all while trying to open a Broadway show. I liked the balance and growth of Cal and Kathleen as adults learning how to leverage their pasts to fuel the attention for the show, so they were giving people something to talk about on their terms.

One other part of the story I wish there was more development of was the character of Harriett. As the creator and writer of the show she was an important piece of the puzzle, and it felt like we didn’t get much from her other than as a catalyst for drama in Kathleen’s life, whether it was between the two of them or with Cal. I would’ve liked to have seen her more involved in the scenes where the show was being rehearsed, notes were being given, etc. Maybe writers don’t have the much input on a show once it’s in the hands of the director, but it seems like she should’ve been featured more there.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book, and I liked the culmination of Kathleen and Cal’s journey to each other.

This book was a refreshing take on a second chance romance with characters that were flawed but likeable. Kathleen and Cal were former teen pop stars who meet again later in life when Cal is directing a broadway musical that Kathleen is starring in. They both made mistakes in the past, and this book sees them come to terms with them through the process of bringing a musical to the stage. I thought the insight into producing a Broadway show was very interesting, and I would recommend this book to any needing a quick fun read.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my ARC!

It's official: Elissa Sussman is an autobuy author for me. I devoured and adored her adult debut, Funny You Should Ask and her YA Drawn that Way last year and loved the humor and heart in both. She excels as a writer at capturing imperfect people and making the reader root for them, and that's no different here with Once More With Feeling. I am the least theatre kid person, but I felt like I was on that stage with Kathleen. The setting is so richly drawn, and the characters even more so. The timelines weave in and out of each other seamlessly to build an iron-clad picture of Cal and Kathleen's relationship, and I loved getting to unravel their past to better understand their future. This book had the perfect level of angst for me and it really delivered on both the disgraced former celebrity and second chance romance tropes. Cal and Kathleen have fantastic chemistry, and she even managed to make me swoon over a man named CALVIN. 10/10, would recommend. This is going on a favorites shelf for sure.

It is offically, I will read anything and everything that Elissa Sussman writes. I adored this book. I enjoyed the storyline from start to finish. I appreciated the musical theater aspect of this book and I could have kept reading for another 100 pages. I was pulling for Kathleen and Cal the whole way through. I am a sucker for a second chance romance and this book did not disappoint.

Funny You Should Ask was one of my favorite books of 2022. So I was really looking forward to this one and it totally exceeded my expectations. The angst, the banter, the flashbacks! I loved it and can’t wait to read it again! Cal and Kathleen had such great chemistry. Couldn’t put it down! I loved it so much thank you for the arc copy !!

Once More with Feeling was more than I was expecting. I loved loved loved Funny You Should Ask, so I figured I would love this one as well. And I did! I was a little hesitant on the theatre premise, but I ended up really enjoying that aspect of it.
The reason this is a 4 star read for me and not a 5 was the main character, Kathleen. She was so self deprecating, ultimately to the point she started to heavily annoy me during parts of this book. Had that been toned down a notch this would've been a 5 star read for me.
I think anyone who loved Funny You Should Ask should absolutely pick this one up, and anyone that's a fan of second chance romances, friends/enemies to lovers would enjoy this one.
Once More with Feeling is out May 30th, 2023. Thank you to NetGalley, Elissa Sussman, and Random House for this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Funny You Should Ask and so I came into this book expecting something similar. I really enjoy the way that Elissa writes about Hollywood and celebrities. I connected with our main group of characters and actually cared about their second chance romance (a rarity for me). What I didn’t enjoy was the third act break up, as well as the fight with Harriet. I felt like it was unnecessary and only there to cause Kathleen to end things with Cal for no reason. Please can we ban the third act break up arcs !! It took this book from a 4 star to a 3.5 for me. Still enjoyed overall, definitely a good book for a plane ride or weekend!

Stunning! Captivating! Entertaining! Hot! This book blew me away in every imaginable way.

Fans of Funny You Should Ask, I am SO excited for you to read this book. It has everything you know and love from Sussman’s writing. And I think the plot of this book is more realistic and easy to follow than her last (although I loved that too).

I just keep wanting to call this book entertaining. I wasn’t bored for a single. page. Instead, I was giggling, kicking my feet, gasping, swooning, and having every emotion that I read a romance novel hoping to have.

I’ve fallen in love this this diverse cast of characters. The dialogue was hilarious and addictive in nature. The banter both tense, and hilarious. And Cal. Oml I can’t express how much I love Cal, and how excited I was to read about a man that can dance!

I’m telling any potential reader now, Go. Read. This. Book.

I was a huge fan of Funny You Should Ask and I really enjoy this author’s writing style. I love to read books about actors, singers, etc so this book was right up my alley! I found it entertaining and I was rooting for Katee/Kathleen to find her way back to Cal. It was inevitable there would be a HEA, but it’s the journey that I love! The story moves along at a good clip; part of it it told in the past and part of it is now. While entertaining, it wasn’t a particularly moving story with super memorable characters. If you’re looking for something that will entertain you, pick this one up! I enjoyed reading it! Thanks to Netgalley for the arc!

4 ⭐️ I thought this book was an excellent story, with great characters and depth. The characters aren’t perfect, and they try throughout the story to work on that. The flashback chapters really help the reader see the characters whole self and how they got to where they are. They were very well written.

This was an emotional story that I believe anyone who loves the celebrity trope will love. This is my first read by this author, and now I can’t wait to read her other book, Funny You Should Ask. Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this eARC.

I have never even seen a Broadway show and my knowledge of musicals consists of Zac Efron's golf course scene in High School Musical 2, so honestly, I went into this hoping that "once more with feeling" was actually a Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode reference (reader, it's just the musical part, devastatingly, BUT the main character's last name is Rosenberg, so maybe?). So I was curious but skeptical about 400 pages of theater kid energy, especially after I wasn't obsessed with the author's first romance novel, Funny You Should Ask.

I'm still probably not big into musicals, but maybe I do understand them more, and despite my usual complaints — cheesy dialogue, bones to pick with characters who just can't learn, random pop culture references dropped in without further context so that it feels like the author just trying to prove they're Online — I did actually enjoy this book. The side plot of these characters being ex-pop stars from the 90s-early aughts boy band/solo female artist era was also fun, and that nostalgia and celebrity of it all countered the theater kid-ness enough for me that I didn't hate it, even if some of the Broadway stuff was a little lost on me.

The writing wasn't my particular favorite style: lots of sentence fragments and periods. For. Emphasis. It just got old fast and I got bored of the repetition. Maybe it was meant to be dramatic theater monologuing, I don't know! But it took up so much space that it felt like filler where I wanted more explanation and backstory.

Also, this makes 2 for 2 on Sussman's books with women who get the sense knocked into them by self-actualized men who are light years ahead of them in terms of Doing Therapy, which I don't love. It's fine that they're annoying (we all are) but why is it that they can't see the light themselves? I hope that if a third book comes, it won't follow this trope.

All that being said, I'm very certain that ex-theater kids and fans of musicals are going to love this, but it's pretty entertaining either way.

Lots of familiar romance tropes here - second chances and enemies to lovers. I was here for them all! This is the second Sussman book I read and enjoyed how she tells a story and develops characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Four stars!

I was so excited to be able to read and review an ARC (thanks NetGalley!) of Once More with Feeling. I loved Sussman's previous novel and couldn't wait to delve into her next book.

This was a quick read, and I was able to finish it in less than a day. While I enjoyed it, it didn't live up to her previous novel, and I was a bit disappointed. I love a good second-chance, enemies to lovers trope, but I found it difficult to really connect with the characters. I did like comparing the various characters to Britney Spears, NSYNC, etc., so that was an extremely fun aspect. Overall, I think this book is worth the read, and I will continue to keep my eyes out for Sussman's future works.

I'm realizing I'm a big fan of celeb romance books. Why should I even be surprised though? I love pop culture. Once More With Feeling was another gem from Elissa Sussman. I'm so pleased to have read the advanced copy thanks to @netgalley.

First, thanks to netgalley for the ARC.
I was nicely sent a copy of this book by netgalley for an honest review!

From popstar to extinguished star. Katee Rose or Kathleen Rosenberg as she prefers to go by now, was living every little kid's dream as she traveled the world singing and dancing as a teen sensation with the perfect boyfriend, Ryan LaNeve. When cheating rumors and Ryan putting on the act of down trodden jilted boyfriend, her career was over before the age of 25. Now, Katee was once again Kathleen and after more than decade out of the spotlight, her best friend wants to take her first play to the stage with Kathleen starring and her then boyband crush, Cal, as the director. Did I mention that Cal was the guy she supposedly cheated on Ryan with?

The present: I liked the present parts in this book very much. Kathleen was such a good character even though sometimes her stubbornness got the best of her. I liked that now in her life and career she knew what she wanted and deserved.

The past: I wish we'd gotten more consecutive scenes in the past and not dragged out.
Also, the ages were a bit confusing in the past. I'm assuming camp was when they were under the age of 18 and then when they were touring maybe over the age of 21?
I adored Cal and Katee as friends and could certainly see the chemistry but we didn't get much of that. They were friends but we didn't see any pining, just friends then feelings. and not even many of those.
But i loved the scenes in the past one on one.

This was my second Elissa Sussman book that I've read. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. I was not the biggest fan of Funny you should ask, but this to me was way better in my eyes. I enjoyed the plot, but my biggest gripe was that I don't think it screamed Romance to me. I saw it more as redemption, self love/ self forgiveness story for Kathleen with a small romance side plot. It focused more on Kathleen as a character and it wasn't dual POV so I didn't get Cal's side of the story which I wanted and thought would help the story out. It showed Kathleen's journey from child star wannabe, to pop star idol, to slut shamed has been, to Broadway star.

Overall a 3/5 for me. I read it and enjoyed it, but was fine putting it down for a while too. The main character was a bit hard to like for me, and the now/then storyline didn’t flow as well as I would’ve liked. I was well over 50% before we were even close to finding out the issue the 2 main characters had with each other, which was a bit annoying. Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read and review via an arc!

Man oh man did I enjoy Once More With Feeling--it hit lots of my favorite things: Broadway, musicals, and lots of angsty history between our two main characters: Kathleen (Katee) and Cal. We get to know why they're so antagonistic towards each other through the flashbacks woven throughout their present day narrative. We learn that they were young, touring popstars that had incredible chemistry, which was problematic since Kathleen was dating Cal's bandmate, Ryan. One night blows up all of their relationships and Kathleen's career, explaining why she's so suspicious and angry with Cal when he shows up years later to offer her a shot at Broadway; he walked away from that disaster fairly unscathed and she was the pariah of the popstar community, ruining any chances she had to move from popstar princess to a more mature performer.

Since this is more than a short story, obviously she takes him up his offer and over a series of months their run ins with each other are pretty ugly and show us a side of Kathleen that isn't great. She comes off as snarky and stubborn and sometimes just ridiculous--all things that I actually really appreciated. She's far from perfect and I found her reactions and actions to be really relatable in that many of us would feel and do the same things she did, even when it seemed to be so self-sabotaging. I felt like her pain and hurt and suspicions were accurate and anyone would've felt the way she did--so her acting out seemed right and made her transition into someone a little softer and more open to being vulnerable with Cal that much more rewarding. All of that being said, even though Cal didn't always stoop to her level of shenanigans, he also came off as arrogant and smug which doesn't exactly make him a shining star. Getting to understand him a little more through his dialogue and the flashbacks helped make their getting together make more sense, as well as made him seem less like the dick I originally thought he was.

This was such a fun novel to read--the slow burn, the intensity of their feelings, the evolution of their characters from young adulthood to adulthood, and the behind the scenes look at a Broadway show coming to life made this an entertaining and very quick read. I'm looking forward to reading more of Elissa Sussman and can't wait to see what she does next.

To say I loved this story would be an understatement. It is easily one of my favorites I’ve read this year. This a second chance romance done right! I loved the history between Cal and Kathleen and reading about them in different stages of their careers. This was such a wonderful unputdownable romance! All the stars for this one!

This one was made for the theater girlies and I ate it UP. Every reference felt like an inside joke that I loved being in on (Grease 2 doesn’t deserve the hate it gets, there I said it). I enjoyed Funny You Should Ask, so I had high hopes for this one, and it delivered and then some.

Kathleen’s rise and fall from fame and her anxiety surrounding her past was treated with dignity and care, and I appreciated that she acknowledged where she messed up in the past and where she needed to give herself some grace. Cal had gone through his own internal battles, but they made it easy to root for their happiness together.

The second chance, friends-something-something else-enemies-friends-lovers being told through the then and now timelines was done so well! I loved learning about the past through the future and vice versa. I was so hungry to learn everything about the fall out, I didn’t stop reading for 5 hours straight. (The flashback scene after the candy in her dressing room made me squeal with delight!)

I will gladly be recommending to every one I know that has any association to theater, 90s boybands, celebrity gossip, etc. Thank you NetGalley for an early copy!