DNF at 30%. Will an author one day write a bisexual woman who has her shit together and isn’t some quirky, sex-obsessed, hot mess manic pixie dream girl at the mature age of late 20’s/early 30’s? Please? I had to put the book down when this adult woman was running around a drug store pretending a spatula was an impact toy drunk at 2am. Grow up.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an arc of You, Again. Josh and Ari meet once and don't really care for each other, but over years their paths keep crossing. I love that this book takes place in NYC and you really feel like you are there watching it unfold. It is almost written like a romcom movie and I hope it is turned in to one.

I loved this book! It was fresh and exactly what I needed in a romance. I don't normally gravitate towards fluffy, and this was the perfect mix of everything. I love grumpyxsunshine, enemies to lovers. it was messy but i love messy!

You, Again was a compelling read, whenever I had a chance to read it, I couldn’t put it down. I simultaneously rooted for and was incredibly frustrated with Ari and Josh for the entire book. I loved the journey they both went on and laughed and cried as I made my way through it. The only thing I wish was that I had had more time to devote to it, so it hadn’t taken me so long to read! Definitely pick this one up for the cozy enemies to friends to lovers vibes that’s a great When Harry Met Sally reimagining.

I wasn’t able to finish this! I found the writing quite scattered and hard to follow, and found myself not wanting to read every time I picked it up.

This has become one of my favorite romances that I’ve ever read and I will forever be recommending it. It was so beautifully written. It had just the right amount of laughs and banter, paired with our characters being vulnerable and real with each other. Our main characters, Ari and Josh, both grow so much throughout the story and that growth feels so organic and not forced. They felt real and flawed and their relationship wasn’t perfect, but they knew that, and you could see both sides really try to make their friendship (and later their romantic relationship) work.

I immediately purchased a finished copy when I was done reading the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House/Dial Press Trade Paperback, and Kate Goldbeck for an e-arc of You, Again in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect fall romance book. From the cover art to the sense of dread of will they or won’t they for nearly the entirety of the book, I pictured this perfectly in my head. For fans of witty banter between love interests, You, Again is exactly what fans of When Harry Met Sally, the Before trilogy, and dirty chai lattes have been looking for.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (3)⁠
Scroll vortex: 🌀 (1)⁠
Jaw-clench: 😬😬 (2)⁠
Format read: 📱 (ebook - NetGalley)⁠
Days read: 🗓🗓 (2) ⁠
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When her roommate-with-benefits invites a boyfriend over to cook dinner, Ari meets Josh for the first time. In a city of millions, Ari and Josh’s paths continue to cross several times over the course of years. Years in, a friendship forms as they bond over the recent losses of their long-term relationships. But is frenemies all they want to be?
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👍 Thumbs up:⁠
- grand gesture at the end on a holiday
- these characters deal with grief and depression but the story wasn’t too heavy
- bisexual main character
- ties up all the loose ends, characters land on their feet
- main character is a chef!!! we love chef books!
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👎 Thumbs down: ⁠
- less “New York in the fall” and more “cringey lonely big city” vibes
- this is a new year / spring book, not a fall book
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I fell for the cover of this book. The cover leads you to believe this is a lighthearted, cozy romance. And it is a romance! But I’d put it on my “romance that gives you a twinge of anxiety while exploring other big topics (ie grief)” shelf. Don’t get me wrong, this book was super enjoyable and I read it so quick. I just think there was a disconnect between what I was expecting vs. what it was.

Bisexual version of When Harry Met Sally and I absolutely ate this up. This book is exceedingly romantic with a heavy dose of wit. This is the ultimate enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine novel; Nora Ephron would be proud.

5/5 stars

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, The Dial Press and Penguin Random House for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was not a fan of this book. I thought it was poorly written and felt like fan-fiction. I would not recommend to other readers.

I loved this book so much. The banter is top notch. Josh and Ari as good for each other as they are at being their own worst enemies, which is to say perfect. It was emotional being in their heads, especially in their immediate heartbreak but it never felt overbearing or annoying. I could see this so easily bring a Netflix rom com, and I would eat it up with a spoon.

"You, Again" is a surprisingly realistic romance that almost borders more on the contemporary fiction genre. Relatively entertaining, funny, nuanced, deep, real and raw with characters that are so genuine they're kind of unlikeable at times.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this advance copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

This one isn’t for me.
I’m not into a romance where you hear about both MCs attraction to other people. As I read this one it quickly became clear that I was going to have a hard time rooting for these two.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This book was a lot more than I expected it to be to be completely honest, but I definitely don't mean that in a bad way! I saw this being marketed as a reimagining of "When Harry Met Sally," and while that's true and technically correct, I went into this read thinking it would be pretty standard romcom-fare (again, not necessarily a bad thing, but there are things I have grown to expect ha). Overall, I loved how much angst was in this book, and how real the story felt. Things were undeniably quite messy at some points, other parts laugh-out-loud funny, and just— there was so much more heart (and sass) here, I enjoyed every bit of it and would definitely rec this one out to others!

Is this as good as everyone says? Yes. Did my “when Harry met Sally” heart enjoy this? Absolutely. It took me a while to get through (a 400 page romance novel? I’m dying; it’s a bit too long in my opinion) but it was worth it. I’m glad that they both managed to see the light. And I am proud of the characters for growing.

This was a classic case of falling prey to Internet hype and I nearly instantly regretted it. 2.5-ish ⭐️, simply because of the multiple Taylor Swift references.

It was an easy read, but it was longer than it needed to be and I didn’t love the writing style. I felt little to no connection with any of the characters and I found the FMC, Ari, especially insufferable. The more I think about it, the less I like it. I’m sure this will be for plenty of people, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

I liked this book; I didn't love this book. Mostly because I didn't like the character of Ari. Even throughout all the years, she didn't seem to mature or grow up. I didn't like how she was so wrapped up in herself all of the time that she pushed people away and then wanted them back on her terms. It came across as really selfish and I'm shocked that her friends - and Josh - put up with it.

Josh seemed too... pathetic? I don't know the right word. He seemed like the perfect guy on paper, and he went out with these perfect girls, but it wasn't ever right. Until he met Ari and he loved her on and off for years? I don't know... I just didn't see the draw for him to be so hung up on her based on the way she treated him.

I get the When Harry Met Sally nod, and I did appreciate it... but this didn't do justice to the movie. I loved both Harry and Sally and was just waiting for them to both realize they'd be perfect together. Ari and Josh? I don't see it. Still.

This was a pretty good book. I can see the "When Harry Met Sally" references included in the storyline. The cover is one to fall in love with for sure.

My feelings about You, Again are mixed. I enjoyed the first third, felt indifferent to the middle third, and then cried my way through the final third. I even set it down around 60% because I just wasn’t into it. After reading a few other books in a different genre, I came back to it and am glad I did.

I must admit, I have never watched When Harry Met Sally. I’m not quite sure how that happened since it is a classic and I love Meg Ryan, but I never got around to it. I don’t know if that impacted how I felt about the first parts of the book. Might be time to actually watch it and see!

I had a really hard time connecting with either main character. Their decisions, while maybe ‘real’, were frustrating and made me want to shake them both repeatedly. I don’t mind bad choices, interactions, etc, as long as there is learning, but they went ages in the same patterns. Neither one treated people very well and didn’t try to take any responsibility for it. Josh at least started to grow while their friendship grew, but Ari didn’t seem to until the very end, which then made it feel rushed.

While the growth felt a little hurried, it was still very impactful. Their vulnerability was heartbreaking and raw, especially when the other wasn’t in a place to hear it yet. It finally helped me to connect with the characters and instead of wanting to shake them, I just wanted to hold them.

An absolutely heart-wrenchingly wonderful modern day retelling of When Harry Met Sally.

This book firmly encompasses all of the amazing feelings of watching a Nora Ephron movie. (I rewatched a few of her movies between episodes of reading this book and it honestly compared so well).

These flawed, beautiful characters fly off the page. You want to both shake them by the shoulders while simultaneously holding them together a La Mike Tyson saying “now kiss”. I actually had to message the author to tell her she was an evil genius for all of the emotional edging she put me through.

This will be one I revisit. Absolutely perfect fall in New York vibes. Perfectly encompasses the nostalgic feeling while bringing it into the modern world without making it feel disruptive. Brava!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.