I enjoyed this book as it was a quick read and the pace was steady. It was fun and lighthearted as Elissa Sussman does well.

I personally would have liked to see even more of Harriet, as she was underutilized in my opinion.

I also would have enjoyed seeing the progression from camp to fame, it was a piece of the past we didn't fully see connect.

While I think there were areas that needed improvement, I still enjoyed this book and am excited to see whatelse Sussman will do.

I’m so torn about this one! It’s one of my fav types of reads right now: an easy reading romance with a showbiz setting. This one just didn’t do it for me though 😔

Part of that is Kathleen is one of the more unlikable protagonists I’ve read recently. She supposed to be a little bit of diva, but her self absorption was too much for me.

I enjoyed last year Funny You Should Ask so much that I’ll keep reading from this author, but this one is just…fine.

Thank you NetGalley, Elissa Sussman, and Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once More with Feeling is a major triumph. Every issue I had with Funny You Should Ask (pacing, too many flashbacks, too many mixed media elements) felt resolved. This book was near perfection.

I loved Kathleen and Cal. They were messy and real and the way they were drawn to each other was addictive to read. Sussman's writing in general is addictive. I read this book in a day and my musical theater heart is so happy.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you to Dell & Netgalley for the ARC. I am a huge Elissa Sussman fan and this book did not disappoint. If you enjoyed "Funny You Should Ask", this has a very similar vibe. I love the warmth throughout the book and felt myself rooting for the Kathleen and Cal. Love the behind the scenes feel of theater kids, pop stars, and boy band drama. Here for all of it. Fast paced and fun to read. You don't want to miss it.

I adored this book. I love an angsty enemies to lovers trope and throw in pop culture references and I am sold forever on this author. Really enjoyed the characters and their dynamics, and even as the complete opposite of a theatre nerd, this book made the ins and outs of creating a play interesting and compulsively readable.. Thank you for the eARC!!

Sometimes the premise seemed too hard to believe - that someone as supposedly famous as the main character could just disappear, but then I thought about the treatment of some starlets in Hollywood and it was more plausible. The chemistry between the characters was electric, and I appreciated that the best friend was a character with actual depth too.

Once More With Feeling was fun to read. Kathleen’s rise and fall from fame mirrors Britney’s and I ate that shit up.
I loved the past/present timeline, that’s one of my favorite ways to piece together a story like this. The friends to lovers to enemies and then back to lovers was done really well, especially the tension when Cal and Kathleen are enemies.
I can’t claim to be the biggest musical theatre person, but I loved following the progression of Harriet’s musical and seeing Kathleen and Cal navigate theatre both as adults and as teens.
I loved the pop star/boy band drama of it all the most. The way Kathleen and Harriet’s friendship is portrayed in a really realistic and believable way, I appreciated showing how even decade long friendships aren’t always solid 100% of the time.
I do feel a little let down by Cal. Maybe I just like when men grovel at the feet of a woman but I just feel like he should have groveled a bit for how he acted at the big past conflict.
Overall, I enjoyed this one even more than Funny You Should Ask.

4.5⭐️

This book spoke to my pop music loving theatre kid heart. If you grew up with Britney Spears you’re going to see a lot of her in our main character back in her height of fame. I really really loved how this book shined a spotlight on how women are treated in the entertainment industry & how they especially sexualize young women. Going through “the past” and seeing everything that was being done to Kathleen made me really understand why she would make certain decisions in the present day parts of the book.

I absolutely loved the present day parts and getting to see a glimpse into all it takes to get a musical off the ground and onto broadway. It warmed my musical loving heart ♥️ I didn’t always like the characters during this part of the book but I understand why they all acted the way they did and I felt like I understood them on some sort of level.

The romance was really good, I liked Cal and may have said “awww” out loud a few times but for me personally it wasn’t my favorite part of the story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me a copy for review!

Another amazing second chance romance from Elissa Sussman. This read really gets you right in the feelings. As a young woman, Katee makes a split second choice to act on her long time feelings for someone other than her up and coming superstar boyfriend Ryan. In doing so she effectively ends her career and expects that is that when it comes to her fame and the man she cheated with Cal, Ryans band mate and Katee's former long time friend comes out unscathed. Fast forward to the present, and she is faced with meeting up with none other than Cal (said former flame) to work together on Broadway in a show set to blow up her best friends talent for song writing. What Kathleen doesn't expect is that its not so easy to ignore all those old feelings when working with Cal again and sparks start flying.

Overall it was such a great read for me. I ended up hating Ryan, feeling for Kathleen, and being invested in both the past and the present storyline. I cannot wait until I can purchase a physical copy to annotate the heck out of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for my review copy of Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman.

Much like when I read Funny You Should Ask last year I devoured this book and read it start to finish in under 48 hours. Something about Elissa Sussman’s writing and characters just stands out to me apart from most other romances I’ve read recently and I instantly fall in love with the world each time. Not only was Once More With Feeling a fun and heartwarming story about musical theater and never giving up on your dreams but it was also a beautiful depiction of growing, learning from your mistakes, and allowing yourself to be forgiven. Kathleen is a former pop star that had big dreams and was just getting her start at stardom when the whole world turned on her after her boyband member ex revealed that she had cheated on him and bashed her in the press. The book jumps around the timeline of then, her first world tour with her boyfriend (Ryan) and her first love (Cal), and now, over a decade later when Cal resurfaces in her life and gives her an offer she can’t refuse, to play the leading lady in a Broadway production of a show written for her by her longtime best friend. Full of ups and downs and complex emotions this is in my mind a near perfectly done second chance romance that has me rooting for Cal and Kathleen’s happy ending from the beginning.

4.5 stars

This was a fun and lighthearted read. I loved Kathleen and Call’s chemistry. I thought the dialogue is better then Funny You Should Ask.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book!

TLDR: 15 years after the cheating scandal that rocked the pop world Kathleen is looking to make a fresh start in the world of theatre. Starring in her best friend's new Broadway play; the future looks bright. That is, until she meet the director who is none other than Cal - the man she cheated with all those years ago. That incident led to the collapse of her career, destruction of her reputation, and the loss of Cal's friendship. Can Kathleen and Cal forgive the sins of the past and move forward, or are they doomed to repeat them?

Spoiler-Free Review:
I am so torn on this book. I was unbelievably excited to read it since I loved it predecessor (Funny You Should Ask) so much. For the most part I really enjoyed this one as well. The characters had depth and intricacies that made them tangible. The plot was engaging and fun - I was really rooting for their show to be successful. I liked the time jumps and I felt like they did a good job moving the story along similar to the way they did in FYSA. However, the pacing felt ..off. I felt like the final third of the book flew by and not just because I'm a fast reader. There were plot points thrown in for seemingly no reason (Ryan coming to the show?) and everything wrapped up was too quickly and smoothly for my liking. It just felt very rushed at the end which was in such sharp contrast to the slow burn and great pacing of the other 2/3 of the book. Did it ruin it for Me? No. Did it detract from the rest of the experience? Yes.

Nit-Picks:
-I would have enjoyed seeing more about how Ryan used the break up. I liked all the magazine articles and gossip site posts in Funny You Should Ask and thought they could have used more of that.
-I understand that the camp storyline was important for bringing Cal, Kathleen, and Harriet together, but I didn't need any of the Rachel drama. Just felt unnecessary.
-Cal forgave Kathleen way too easily- more groveling was needed.
-I would've liked more exploration into the media that was talking about how bad Katee was treated in the past. Felt like a good opportunity for Kathleen to get some much-needed clarity and get that weight off her shoulders.

A book about second chances, (former) pop stars, and musical theater…what’s not to love?

“Once More with Feeling” is such a fun read. From the very beginning, she’s open with the reader about her past as a disgraced singer embroiled in a cheating scandal. Throughout the book, more and more glimpses into the specifics of what happened are revealed as parallels with what’s currently happening in her life: she’s been tapped to star in a musical that her best friend wrote and her former romantic interest Cal (AKA the other half of her affair) is directing.

What I loved about this book was the chemistry between Kathleen and Cal. Their interactions alternate between the unresolved anger from what happened in the past and the very apparent fixation they still have on one another. I liked that they seemed like equals throughout the story, even when Kathleen didn’t realize so herself.

Some of the pacing felt a bit uneven at times for me, and there’s a few dialogue-heavy sections that might have benefited from more description; however, I have to admit that the braided narrative structure helped me overlook some of this, especially with the particular selection of the final scene. I do love a strong romantic sentiment, and this one delivered.

When it’s published at the end of May, I’ll probably pick up a physical copy to add to my bookshelf—I enjoyed it that much (and the cover’s aesthetic tbh). I already have a copy of the earlier “Funny You Should Ask” which I have yet to read, but I’ll definitely be moving it up on my TBR list now.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review!

*ARC REVIEW - Actual rating 4.25/5 stars

Pop stars?! Musicals?! Romance?! Count me in!!
“Once More with Feeling” is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and boy did it deliver!

Kathleen Rosenberg is messy, flawed, and disgraced former pop-star looking to re-enter the spotlight with a chance to fulfill a childhood dream of being a lead actress on Broadway. Despite the reputation of her past, Kathleen is determined to prove to the world that she is a true star and worthy.

Elissa Sussman’s writing is raw, real, and messy. Her stories, although obviously fictional, show that real life isn’t black and white, and as humans we’re always bound to stumble and fall. Kathleen’s resilience and tenacity kept me cheering throughout the whole book!

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

I really liked this book. I enjoyed many aspects of the novel including the romance, side characters backstories, and learning more about the life of fame (which I'm starting to realize is a good sign of when i will like a book). For a more in-depth review of this wonderful book, check out my blog https://redheadreadsalot.blogspot.com/2023/02/once-more-with-feeling-by-elissa-sussman.html

Release Date May 23, 2023!!!!
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing and Elissa Sussman for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!.

I enjoyed this friends to lovers to enemies to not really friends but no longer enemies to lovers book.
While I did find this to be a little bit too slow of a slow burn, it made sense that it built up all this tension between Cal and Kathleen. I liked the multiple timelines(which often times I don’t, as I find the majority of the “in the past” timeline unnecessary) and felt they wove really well together.

Overall I enjoyed this book and will be checking out other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

I really loved Funny You Should Ask, but thought it was missing some depth. But this book??? IT HAD EVERYTHING I was looking for in the first book. If you love pop culture references, you need this in your life.

• single POV
• then and now chapters
• second chance
• celebrities
• one open door sex scene, not too descriptive

Synopsis
Kathleen and Cal meet as teenagers in camp and she’s immediately drawn to him. But they’re so young and spend such a small amount of time together that nothing of substance really happens. Fast forward and Kathleen is now Katee, international pop star who is dating Ryan, the lead singer in an up and coming boy band. But things just aren’t right with Ryan. And when Kathleen meets the rest of his boy band and realizes that Cal from camp is a member, it’s hard for them to stay away from each other and not grow closer.

But the closer they get, the more complicated Katees relationship with Ryan becomes, until it all blows up and her career goes down in flames.

In the present, Harriet, a best friend from camp has convinced both Cal and Kathleen to be a part of a musical that she has written all of the music for. Cal will direct, and Kathleen will play a leading role. Can they put aside their feelings and animosity towards each other to make the show work?

My thoughts
• I absolutely loved that this was basically a retelling of what happened to Britney Spears and JT.
• I loved that it was a female perspective that focused on how she’d been villainized while Cal had gotten off scot free.
• I loved Kathleen and Harriet’s friendship and how it played so effortlessly into the story
• Cal is perfect and I’m so glad they found each other again
• the small dash of spice was a pleasant surprise
• the writing reminds me of Emily Henry
• the pace was perfection

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“I’m not going to argue with you,” he said “I’m not going to try to convince your that you’re wrong, but I don’t think I’m the one who need to forgive you.”

Thank you to @netgalley and @elissa_sussman for the arc

A perfect combination of the “enemies to lovers” and “second chance”. It goes between what happened years ago and how that effects what is going on between Kathleen “Katee” and Cal. This is beautifully written. I highly recommend.

Summary: Then. Katee Rose is living the dream as America’s number one pop star, caught in a whirlwind of sold-out concerts, screaming fans, and constant tabloid coverage. Everyone wants to know everything about her and her boyfriend, Ryan LaNeve, the hottest member of adored boy band CrushZone. Katee loves to perform but hates the impossible demands of stardom. Maybe that’s why she finds herself in the arms of another CrushZone member, Cal Kirby. Quiet, serious Cal, who’s always been a good friend to Katee, is suddenly Cal with the smoldering eyes and very good hands. One unforgettable night is all it takes to blow up Katee’s relationship with Ryan, her career, her whole life.

Now. Kathleen Rosenberg is okay with her ordinary existence and leaving her pop star image in the past. That is, until Cal Kirby shows up with the opportunity of her dreams—a starring role in the Broadway show he’s directing and a chance to perform, the way she’s always wanted. The two haven’t spoken since the joint destruction of their careers, and each of them blames the other, making their reunion a tense battle of wits and egos. Kathleen reluctantly agrees to the musical, as long as she keeps her guard up around Cal. But rehearsals are long, those eyes still smolder, and those hands are still very good. Despite everything, Kathleen can’t deny the chemistry between them. Is it ever a good idea to reignite old flames? Especially if you’ve been burned in the past?

I am loving that ES is becoming a ‘second chance’ romance author. It's one of my favourite tropes and she is 2 for 2 so far on delivering a story that brings all the pining and pent up emotions. Adding in a slight ‘childhood sweethearts’ past just seals the deal for me. I really enjoyed the connection and history between Kathleen and Cal and was totally rooting for them.

And the only reason this isn't getting rated higher is because Kathleen herself isn't really likeable. She's not terrible, but there's nothing that draws me to her character or makes me want to care about her.

But the plot, tropes, and writing do make up for that. Because this is a very charming story that easily entertains.

Thank you to Random House Publishing for our copy of Once More with Feeling

Rating: 4.5 star
Genre: Romance

Thoughts: I just LOVED Elissa Sussman's first book, Funny You Should Ask, so I have been waiting impatiently for her to write again!

I think she is my new favorite author for celebrity romance. I loved this book just like I did the first one!

Her books keep me entertained, I love her writing style, and I just cannot stop reading them once I start!

Definitely pick this one up if you love romance books, especially celebrity trope ones!