* Big thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *

I sit here with tears in my eyes after finishing this book. I absolutely ADORED it! It reminded me a bit of Emily Henry's "People We Meet On Vacation" because it has similar tropes that I yearn for: slow-burn, second chance, close proximity, friends to enemies to lovers. This book had it all! I love how the author was able to switch between three timelines so seamlessly. Even though I expected the ending I was still riddled with anxiety whenever we got a glimpse into Kathleen's pop-star past. What an absolute treat this was to read! Everyone, mark your calendars for when this book publishes because you don't want to miss out!

Easy 5 stars. I’m going to start by saying I ADORED THIS BOOK! It was so addicting I could not put it down.

Famous washed up pop star and ex-boybander are reunited after a… dramatic - headline making - falling out that destroyed her career. Now she has been cast as the lead in his directorial Broadway debut, and they have to figure out, how to play nice. But wait, Kathleen and Cal are also childhood friends, who bonded at acting camp, and they might not hate each other after all. SIGN ME UP.

Once again Elisa Sussman, I owe you my life. The storytelling is so good, it’s un-putdownable. I love the way Sussman switches timelines to tell these stories and I will now read anything and everything she writes, give me the grocery list.

Kathleen and Cal were some of my favorite characters to read about. The way they interacted and the way their relationship developed throughout, made me feel what they were feeling so honestly. Through the ups and downs, I felt their characters grow and realize where they might have gone wrong, and imperfect characters are always my fav. I just trusted these characters and believed everything they said and did SO MUCH.

I will be forcing everyone to read this book when it comes out. If you like hollywood roamances or were a fan of Sussman’s previous “Funny you Should ask” you need to read this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine - Random House Publishing for the arc, this review reflects my honest opinion.

A love letter to musical theatre, and every theatre kid.

Once More With Feeling follows the relationship of Kathleen and Cal beginning in their childhood theatre camp days. Told in past and present timelines, we see Kathleen and Cal’s rise to fame, their public embarrassment and fall from fame, and their eventual reconnection in adulthood. The novel features the frequently used childhood friends to lovers trope, and enemies to lovers trope, but tells the story in a flawless and more beautiful way than what I expected.

I loved Kathleen’s personality, wit, and strength. She values friendship more than fame, and while she is an imperfect character, I rooted for her success professionally and personally the entire time.

I adored Cal as a teenager and as an adult! He is so kind, considerate, charming, and he learned to be this way because he has four sisters. His character is incredibly humble given that he was a famous boy band member.

Harriet (Kathleen’s best friend) reminded me of my childhood best friend. While we weren’t theatre kids, we did have musical movie marathons most every weekend as teenagers. I enjoyed following their friendship as they navigated life, and saw them more as sisters than friends.

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level 🌶🌶

Read this is you love
🖤 Enemies to lovers
💕Childhood friends to lovers
🎶Performing Arts
👸🏻Female friendship
🎤Popstars/boybands

Thanks to @netgalley and Random House Publishing.

Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Here’s the highlights:
💫Jewish Rep
🧠Normalizes Therapy (we love)
🎶Theatre and Broadway Vibes
💘 Then and Now timelines
🥊Enemies to Lovers & Second Chance
💗Fame

A lot of the book I was remembering that show SMASH with Katherine McPhee, from like 2012, in the best possible way. Anyone here remember or watch that show?

The one issue I had with it was Kathleen was just a little too stubborn, jaded, and bitter at times in the start of the book. I love some good character growth and you do see her soften some while remaining her strong and independent self but her attitude often affected her best friend who seemed to always be there for her.

Overall loved this book and found the characters more genuine and endearing than those from Funny (although I enjoyed that novel as well)

I will be posting a similar review on the instagram of Jensatt.shelves in the next couple days and it will remain up.

I was pretty desperate to get my hands on a copy of Once More with Feeling after LOVING Funny You Should Ask, so thank you to NetGalley! The combination of romance and musical theatre was so fun for me. I also love a second chance story that has a Hollywood element, so this ticked a lot of boxes.

The only oddity I found in this book was trying to figure out the ages of Kathleen and Cal—it felt to me like a lot of the information about them didn’t really add up. But I loved being swept into this story nonetheless.

4⭐️Once More with Feeling is Elissa Sussman's new novel coming out May 30, 2023! It follows the characters, Kathleen and Cal’s story following a major change in their life and the consequences of it. One of the first things that I loved about this story was the then-and-now timeline it follows. It was easy to keep up with and allowed us to better understand the character’s past. The storyline is so unique as I have never read a story before that followed a pop singer and ex-boyband member doing a show on Broadway. As a musical enthusiast, I absolutely loved the attention to detail. In many aspects, I related to Kathleen in some aspects which made me enjoy her character. My only issue with the story was that I felt it was a bit rushed and I feel like the character’s issues weren't actually resolved. The character’s needed a little bit more depth to them as I felt that sometimes they seemed a bit bland. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I can’t wait for Susssman’s future work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eARC.

I screamed with joy when I got the email that I had been approved!

Funny You Should Ask was one of my favorite books from last year, so I was enthralled when I saw Elissa was writing another book.

Once More With Feeling reminded me a lot of Merry Little Meet Cute + All I Want for Christmas without the holiday elements. Friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers featuring pop stars that grew up to be Broadway adults.

I'm not a theater person, but i appreciated the passion 3 of the characters had for it. I loved the character development, the suspension, and of course, the steamy romance scenes!

Highly recommend picking this one up if you love love!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

As a huge fan of Elissa Sussman’s FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK, I went into her newest, ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, with high expectations and, I’m happy to say, it far exceeded them.

As with FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK, ONCE MORE WITH FEELING follows characters in the entertainment business (a trope I am absolutely obsessed with!). Kathleen is a former pop star who went from best-selling albums and sold-out tours alongside her then boyfriend’s boy band (the same band her adolescent crush, Cal, happens to be a part of) to having no career to speak of after an indiscretion that was made public knowledge and exacerbated further by constant attention in the media. Years later she’s being given a second chance when her best friend writes a Broadway musical with a part written specifically for Kathleen, directed by none other than Cal who stood by while her career went up in flames.

While the story was certainly entertaining—it flashes between the past, before the incident that ruins Kathleen’s career, and the present—and definitely kept my attention (I got major Britney Spears/*NSYNC vibes), I was struck most by how Sussman shows just how cruel the world can be towards women. Kathleen makes a mistake (you later find out that the circumstances aren’t necessarily so black and white, as per usual), but the reader gets to see just how easily a narrative can be manipulated to highlight and emphasize the mistakes of a woman, especially famous women, while completely ignoring the reciprocal actions of her male counterpart.

Though, as always, I wanted more time spent with these characters, Elissa Sussman, with ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, has been cemented as a must-buy author for me.

I was SO excited to be able to receive this ARC! I loved 'Funny You Should Ask' by this author! All of the pieces of her other novel that I loved where still there plus some fun additions. I loved learning more about Kathleen and Cal over the years of their relationship. And the famous people trope is just so much fun! If you loved, Funny you should Ask, definitely pick this up too!

I can't say enough wonderful things about this book! Loved the storyline and the characters. Kathleen and Cal were adorable!

this book ended up being so so cute. I felt so much for both cal and kathleen, their love was so painful and raw and wrong place, wrong time. I felt so awful for kathleen and all that she had to endure with fame and being in love. her journey and self discovery through the show was so amazing to read about. cal and kathleen served such good childhood to lovers, friends to lovers to enemies to lovers excellence! I definitely recommend. Read it when it comes out on May 30th! A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

I loved this, perfect for any pop culture fans especially if you have an interest in Broadway. The balance of plot, relationship dynamics and behind the scenes of how broadway shows are made was perfect. The single POV added a layer of suspense wondering how all the other characters were feeling that made it impossible to put down. When Kathleen has a second chance at her career she realizes she'd do anything for it, including working with the man who helped ruin her reputation all those years ago. This time Kathleen wants to work on her own terms, sharing her real talent, and help her best friend find the spotlight she deserves. The relationship dynamics of both friendship and romantically portray raw emotions of decades of unresolved feelings and will take you on a rollercoaster and feeling for all of them.

Once More With Feeling - Elissa Sussman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publish date: May 30, 2023 💙

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Elissa Sussman for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Once More With Feeling. I have been wanting to read Elissa’s Funny You Should Ask Novel for a while and once I saw this one being released I knew I’d wanted to read it as well! I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the book mainly because pop stars and Broadway aren’t my forte- but, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved it and how interesting it was. This book ended up keeping my attention throughout and made it nearly impossible to put down. I loved Harriett, Kathleen, and Cal, and I loved seeing their growth while reading. The book did a good job of going between past and present tense to give more backstory to Kathleen and Cal’s relationship as well as life as a celebrity pop star/boy band member. Overall, I loved it- and I am excited to see what Elissa Sussman writes in the future. Thank you again ☺️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC!

Once More with Feeling is a book about an old boy band and former pop star, their pasts with each other, and their futures moving forward.

First things first, I LOVE the title. It perfectly fits the book, from performing on Broadway to the second-chance romance. Second, this book has multiple timelines, two in the past and one in the present, which I really enjoyed. The two main characters, Kathleen and Cal, had amazing chemistry, which speaks to Elissa Sussman's incredible writing. However, I wish we got to see more of them together in the first timeline when they were young. I also wish we got more background on Kathleen’s relationship with her best friend, Harriet. Basically, I wish we had more of the first timeline overall. It would’ve helped us understand the characters and their relationships to each other even better (plus that whole timeline was giving Camp Rock which I was obsessed with!!)

Other than that, I loved this book. I actually liked this better than Funny You Should Ask, her other novel that I really enjoyed, because I feel like the characters had better chemistry. I really liked the pop star/Broadway star aspect as well — especially the boy band dynamics (as a former fangirl myself). There were very few parts that I cringed at, which is huge because I have a bad habit of cringing A LOT when I read romance. Overall, it was a really, really cute book — it's definitely one of the best romances that I’ve read recently. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for Elissa Sussman :)

After reading and loving Funny You Should Ask, I just had to dive into Once More With Feeling as soon as I got my hands on it. In Sussman's second novel--completely independent from her first, despite the strikingly similar (and gorgeous) covers--we meet former pop princess Katee Rose living in Manhattan under her birth name, Kathleen Rosenberg, occasionally teaching dance when funds run low. Her BFF writer, Harriet approaches her about starring in her new musical, but the director is none other than former boyband member, Cal Kirby. Once upon a time, the two were friends, perhaps more, when Katee's entire life and career blew up in one fell swoop. Can she work with Cal and stage a comeback?

I love a good celebrity romance, and this book is no exception. Told in alternating timelines, from when Cal, Kathleen, and Harriet all met at theater camp, through Cal and Kathleen's rise to fame, through Katee's downfall, and the present day, as the three work to make the musical the success. One aspect of Sussman's first book that this book lacked was the interspersion of news articles and other tidbits between the chapters. I think that really added an outsider's perspective and made things a bit more interesting; I wish we had had that here. I also wish we had gotten to see more of Kathleen's comeback. The book ends (mini spoiler alert) on the precipice of Kathleen's return to fame, but I would have loved to have seen her sign a book deal for a memoir or something that really cemented her turn for the better. She's not a perfect character and is well aware she erred and punished herself for it, but it takes two to tango and Katee definitely got the Janet Jackson treatment--I want justice! But overall, I still loved the book and the characters and the arc overall. Another smash hit for celebrity romance fans.

Thanks to Ballantine Books for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eARC! After absolutely loving Funny You Should Ask, I may have freaked out a little when I was approved to read Once More With Feeling before its release date. After finishing this wonderful book, Elissa Sussman has officially become one of my favorite authors. I’ve always found myself so drawn to the characters she creates. I couldn’t get enough of Kathleen and Cal in this story. I was so engrossed with the history between the two of these characters and never wanted to put this book down. I’ve had a slower reading pace lately, but somehow flew through this book in a day in a half. I loved this book so much and urge everyone out there to read it!

I can see it going over well with readers. It’s a slow build with charm.

I didn’t personally find it interesting. I stopped at 9%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Once More with Feeling is a second chance romance that follows to former pop stars as they embark on musical theater. Kathleen Rosenberg (also known as the once superstar Katee Rose) was living the popstar life. She had a bazillion fans, a famous boy group boyfriend, and plenty of opportunities. That was until it came out that she cheated on her boyfriend...with his bandmate and broke his heart. She lost everything when they took his side.

We get to see both the story of the past and the present where Kathleen tries to rekindle her love of performing while having to work with Cal, the man she cheated on her boyfriend with. At first it is very tense, but over time they start to fall for each other all over again.

I personally thought the plot was a cute idea but it was boring to read. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters and didn't care who Kathleen ended up with. I thought the ending drama wasn't exciting either. It was just "meh", which made me sad because the cover is beautiful.

Not a difficult read, but needed more pizazz.

Finished this in a day because I couldn’t put it down! I was a big fan of Funny You Should Ask, so I went in with high expectations, and I’m so glad they were met. In the way it was with its predecessor, the book is a back and forth of before and after. The main drawl for me is the angst between the two main characters. Their chemistry flies off the page and it’s so addicting. And out fmc can hold the book on her own. I will be buying this when it comes out. Sussman is now 2 for 2 in my book!

One of my to-read books for this year, it fell a little flat for me, but I think it's partly because I'm of a different generation than the intended audience. Summer camp, theater camp, those are things I can relate to, but things sure have changed a lot over the years. Kathleen and Cal have history, a lot of history, and much of it is public knowledge since they are both famous musicians. They have to work through their past, offer forgiveness, make lots of mistakes, and finally find their way into a satisfying future.