So, the initial premise in the description for Kate Goldbeck’s upcoming novel, You, Again, was want caught my eye and made me want to read it. Though that initial premise might have been a little bit of a misrepresentation (it was not as prominent or significant a dynamic as the description led me to believe), the characters, the dynamic, and the execution were more than enough to keep me invested. While You, Again was lighter in tone than some of what I’ve read lately, it didn’t swing too far in the other direction either, striking a poignant balance as it explores issues where it can be tricky to find the right combination of solemnity and humor (grieving failed relationships, facing professional failures, navigating friendships through delicate patches, etc.). There is a lot of humor to the situation and there are moments where it can get downright silly, but Goldbeck knows where and how to hit those notes so that they resonate and don’t completely take over.

The first time Ari and Josh meet… it’s awkward. They’re both sort of seeing the same person, Ari’s roommate. Each makes an impression, neither caring what the other thinks since they’ll never see each other again. Except, a few years later, they do meet again when Josh (unjustifiably) fires Ari’s new roommate and one of her closest friends. Their poor first impressions become decidedly bad and they hope they never have to see one another again. A few more years pass before they run into one another again, this time at a New Year’s Eve party where Josh learns Ari is now married to his sister’s favorite professor and Ari catches him sneaking off to place a risqué call to his out-of-town girlfriend. It’s the next time they meet when Ari is dealing with her stalled career and devastating divorce as Josh copes with his own career implosion and breakup that they decide they can bond over their mutual misery. But is it a friendship that can last once they start putting their lives back together? Or will their past differences drive them apart in the end or bring them even closer together?

A few chapters in, I realized that what You, Again reminded me of was an updated version of When Harry Met Sally (which was then explicitly referenced as an inspiration in the Acknowledgments section). But where the movie focuses so heavily on the relationship between Harry and Sally, I feel like You, Again goes further beyond their immediate interactions and relationship. In the first third of the book, it is those encounters that serve as an anchor point, but the real attention is on the characters themselves and generally on their professional aspirations and family relationships (in Ari’s case, her relationships with her found family). And when they decide to bond over their misery, a lot of the focus is the way that their romantic implosions relate to the state of their professional careers. Additionally, there is as much time and focus spent on their family/found family and the tensions there (a number of times I found myself more invested in the state of those relationships than in Ari and Josh’s friendship/relationship).

Though the humor of the novel is often at the forefront, I think one of the elements it deals with best is grief. It particularly focuses on the grief of shattered dreams – sometimes a romantic relationship but more often just the vision the characters had for what their lives and careers would look like. And it doesn’t push the idea of replacing one dream with a new dream either. You, Again drives home the process to becoming okay with life following a new path that may not be as glamorous or grand as your original dreams. And yes, that’s sometimes because dreams change, but sometimes it’s because the dream didn’t actually fit right in the first place. Sometimes dreams need to be put on hold or postponed. Of course, failure is also an option and it sucks but it also isn’t the end. So, what comes next? How do you move on to something else?

You, Again will be available September 12, 2023.

Gaaaaaahl this book felt like a sucker punch to the throat. It made me so dang emotional over the whole thing. 🥹 I finished in less than 24 hours.

Here’s the thing, this book was filled with so many of my favorite things. New York. Enemies to fiends to lovers. Manhattan food scene. Chance encounters over the span of years. BANTER. The best dang banter. But raunchy banter. 😂 Harry/Sally vibes. NYC during the holidays. Characters that just feel your heart to the brim!!!

And while I loved this. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t parts that were hard to swallow. The characters were so messy and so broken at times, that I forced myself to just keep going. I’m so glad it did because it was such a good redemption story for both main characters. But there were parts that I had a hard time stomaching, but I’m not sure if others felt the same or if it was just triggering to me for personal reasons?

Bottom line, I would 100% recommend this book. The writing was phenomenal. I can’t believe it’s Kate’s debut novel?! Like WHAT. She’s so talented and I’m excited to see what else she comes out with. Ari and Josh came alive in her words. They are the perfect embodiment of our flaws and how we can overcome them. 🫶🏼😭💕

I will be posting my review on 9/11/23 on Instagram. Link below.

Goldbeck’s debut is a work of art, just like the film it plays homage to.

“You, Again” follows Josh, a hopeless romantic, and Ari, a commitment-phobe, who first meet after learning that they are both sleeping with the same woman. The wrong kind of sparks fly and the two are not eager to cross paths again. But years later, as they’re both nursing breakups and heartache, a chance encounter leads to friendship. Before they know it the lines of their platonic relationship begin to blur.

It is no secret that this novel is a “When Harry Met Sally” retelling and I am totally here for it! Like the film, Goldbeck’s timeline jumps forward, capturing the pair’s chance encounters and most pivotal moments. I like how these moments are not only comprised of their highest points in life, but also their lowest points. Goldbeck is also intentional in leaving out any mundane details that will overwhelm the reader as she guides them through a large span of time, which I appreciated.

Just as we are able to get glimpses of both Harry and Sally’s thoughts and feelings in the film, each chapter of the book alternates between Josh and Ari’s perspectives. I loved reading from both points-of-view because they exposed me to their raw emotions, making me emotional in turn when they came to the realization that they were right for each other at the wrong time. It hit me so hard because I became fully invested in their development from enemies to friends to lovers and only wanted them to get their happily ever after.

Goldbeck is certainly one to watch in the romance space! I look forward to reading what she puts out next!

4-4.5 stars. When Josh first meets Ari, it’s immediately apparent how little they share in common. Josh is a chef, living in a very orderly world and has a life plan. Ari is a comedian and trying to find her big break, with little luck so far. Josh likes structure and intends to make his mark in the culinary world by taking cuisine to the next level. As for Ari, she is living day to day like a free spirit but otherwise a commitment phobe. These two do not hit it off as friends, but their dialogue is gold.

And as such, they antagonize each other and bump into one another over the years, always witnessing the other in a poignant moment. I loved the friendship development. By the time this happens, they have both received a hard dose of reality and their individual hopes and dreams have taken a turn for the worse. What better way to bond than commiserating at rock bottom. The fact that they are not seeing each other at their best is what makes the relationship flourish into a solid connection.

Watching these two grow over the years and witnessing each other’s personal failures yet cheer the other one on, it then becomes obvious how much they truly do have in common compared to the first encounter. It’s a recipe for a love match. I adored the journey to get there because Ari and Josh have separate hang ups, so becoming a couple isn’t as easy as it would seem without some self growth and obstacles. Great story and dialogue with a fantastic cast of secondary characters.

review from goodreads:

dnf at 32%

to start, i want to thank netgalley and random house publishing group for this ARC.

overall this book was such a drag for me. i just could not get through it and did not find the plot interesting. the characters were unlikeable, annoying, and blander than a piece of white bread. up until i stopped reading, the conversations among the characters consisted of four things in total: sex, cooking, weed, and alcohol. every other page was something along the lines of those topics, and there was no way i was going to read 400+ pages of adults acting like they’re still in high school.

i’m disappointed as this was a very anticipated read for me :(

Wow, this book was an absolute treat. Goldbeck’s characters are so fully realized, it feels like I know this entire crew IRL. Can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy for a re-read (maybe in the lead up to NYE?).

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

In a gender bent When Harry Meets Sally, Ari and Josh meet again and again, until they finally get the timing right.

As someone who has never actually seen the movie- gasp, I know!- I was interested to see if I would still get anything out of this one or if it all would be based on knowledge of the movie.

The verdict? I really enjoyed the writing itself in this book- it was extremely engaging and fast paced! The cast of characters were fun and just the right side of messy. I know there were probably a lot of references I didn’t get, but I do think it’s important for retellings to stand on their own!

While I thoroughly enjoyed most of the book, my issue comes down to Ari and Josh. I just don’t believe in them as a healthy couple. Never have I rooted so hard for the romance book to NOT end in a relationship! I think that in my eyes, neither of them groveled enough for the mutual hurt they caused each other.

Despite that, I did have a good reading experience and I will check out the author again!

Thank you for letting me read this arc!!!


I don’t even know where to start. The first meeting —AMAZING. This gave me all the feels of watching old romance movies. The friendship building and tension between Ari and Josh is amazing.

I love the time gap between each encounter—shows how much their relationship impact each other. I definitely love this story.

Enemies to Lovers and grumpy x sunshine? Yes, please!
This was funny and angsty and smart and sassy. I loved it so much!

This wasn't exactly how I expected my first read in ten days to go but wow this certainly is not encouraging me to try harder to get out of this slump. And no, I don't blame my slump for these feelings. This was just not it.

And I'll admit, the only thing that had me requesting this was some early buzzed about hype so maybe that's not me. Often times, the hype is a monster and it cannot be trusted.

I just wasn't interested, or sympathetic, or amused, by either character. Supporting cast didn't delight, either. I was constantly being frustrated by Ari and cringing over Josh's desperation and that is not a recipe for a good time.

Normally I might have more to say about a book I disliked and had to actively push through (mostly because I couldn't let this drag on and put me in a whole different kid of slump) but honestly I just have nothing else to contribute. Would I read Goldbeck again? This was their debut so while I'm not going to definitively say no.. I'm also not saying yes.

I was so excited about this book, everything about this book, I never saw the movie, when Harry Met, Sally, due to the fact that I am not a huge movie person, but one thing is for sure, these main characters have so much going on, so this book is packed with a lot. And I am a lover of enemies to lovers troops, but one thing is for sure, these are the most exhausting characters I have ever read…… after getting past the slow burn, Ari’s immaturity, and the amazing supporting characters between the two, because they were funny as hell, I will say that even though I was not a huge fan completely I know other who will enjoy this book. One thing I liked about the author when I finished this book is the ability to extensively created character build ups, to get to know what they have gone and are going through, this book felt so realistic, and that’s also one of the things I enjoyed as well.

Overall this books now makes me want to go see the movie it’s been referred to, lol. Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

You, Again is the story of Ari and Josh. They meet in brief moments over the course of years and HATE each other. They are both complete jerks in their own way and clash hard. It takes heartbreak and disappointment for both of them to find their way to friendship and then more. It's an enemies to friends to lovers book that makes you not like them and then love them all over the course of 400 pages. Their journey to growth and to each other was so page turningly addicting that I couldn't stop. I put the book down and picked up the audio. I put the audio down and picked up the ebook. I needed to know what happened next and when I fell asleep with two chapters left, I devoured the end as I got ready the next morning. It's a love story that you will keep thinking about for days.

Thank you to Dial Press and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck is a love story that spans almost a decade, staring the meet-disaster of the ages and a couple that really shouldn’t work… but totally do.

I think my favorite part of this book was the way Goldbeck flipped these tropes we’ve seen a million times on their heads and gave us something totally different. Our MCs first meeting because they’re sleeping with the same woman is not what you would expect out of a meet cute, but it really was the perfect way for these two to meet. The Bi/Poly rep was so well done, and I truly enjoy the way all of the queer rep in the book was written! As for Ari and Josh together, man I just wanted to shake both of them! Just force them to properly communicate their feelings and realize they were in love with each other!! I love the way their relationship unfolded though, the hate to friends to “oh crap I think I want to be more than friends” was PERFECT.

If I had two critiques to give it would be the time jumps at the beginning not fully allowing me to really get to know either character well enough to connect with them. And the time jumps at the end giving me a little bit of a headache trying to keep track of time. Something I think that could have easily been fixed by putting a specific month instead of a “Two months Later” ect at the beginning of each time jump.

I also have to say, some of this book was a little harder to get through emotionally, and I don’t think I would classify this as a RomCom. Yes there were plenty of funny moments, but these characters and especially Ari go through some very deep depression, which could be triggering to people not in the right headspace. I do wish there had been a trigger warning at the beginning for that aspect.

Other than those two things though I really did enjoy my read!

Goodness this is going to be a hard one to review.

On the one hand, I know my opinon isn't going to be like the norm, which is always fun. I didn't ...love the writing style. I wasn't a huge fan of the characters. I struggled with the impending romance.

In fact, I was at 47% and was about to DNF the book, and when I got halfway through, enjoyed the way it was going enough to continue.

I think by the end, I did like the romance and what it took for them to get to. It felt like a true relationship - with two people in very, very bad places. I liked the way that the story went through multiple years (although I was not a huge fan of the pacing), and I loved some of the side characters. The best friend was truly a gem and I wish she was in the book more, but I understood why she wasn't. I didn't like the other side characters but that's fine!!!

I'm so stuck!!! I do think I will have to give it a 3.5 because at some points, I lean towards a 4 and some points I lean towards a 3. I wish I liked the characters more but it was probably just a me thing.

I think if you're looking for something to vibe with that gives you a touch of Harry Met Sally vibes in terms of their friendship, this is a good read. Perfect in release timing, in that it's a great fall read.

But I don't think in terms of the actual ~vibe~ of When Harry Met Sally came through this book. Which, again! How I'm super torn.

I mean, all I can say is, check it out for yourself.

Also I wouldn't call them enemies. He's a dick, definitely, and ruins something for her best friend. But he's not an enemy. Or maybe I forgot the first half of the book entirely.

AUGH

Anyway, thank you to Dial Press and NetGalley for a chance to read and review.

Ah.
A deep dive into the darker, never seen before backstory of When Harry Met Sally. While it has plenty of funny moments, Josh and Ari are shown with all their broken parts and nothing is glossed over.
Did I get annoyed with Ari and her self sabotaging behavior? OMG so many times. I actually tossed the book across the room more times that I can remember. But I knew to trust the process and I would pick it up again.

While a book has the freedom for more in-depth character development, glimpses of Harry and Sally, the movie characters, are noticeable. I love their texting conversations over the course of a day and all their sweet moments. There is a lot of steam and talk of sex, just to let you know.

The author explains more in her notes how she came to write this one. I am so glad she did.

It was so good. If you love When Harry Met Sally, you need to read this book. New York City takes center stage and so does NYE

The second that I saw that this book was inspired by When Harry Met Sally, I knew that I had to read this. And it lived up to my extremely high expectations!

First, it reminded me of fellow-When Harry Met Sally-inspired romcom (also my favorite romance book) People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry, if that book had a lot more sex jokes! I really love the friends-to-lovers trope and this book did it very well, even with Ari and Josh’s rough start in their friendship. Watching them grump around New York together in the wake of their breakups was weirdly delightful. I had loved the absurdity of their first interactions, but something about them becoming friends over shopping at IKEA was so much fun to read about. They basically trauma-bond as they both heal from their career and personal mishaps, which felt realistic to me, as a twenty-something, in a way that I haven’t experienced with a romance book in a long time. Despite their less than ideal circumstances, Josh and Ari were adorable as they stumbled their way through their lives and found love with each other. This book was witty, charming, and gave me an equal amount of opportunity to laugh out loud and to swoon over the characters’ adorableness (especially Josh)!

4.5 ⭐️

This book is perfect for anyone interested in the enemies-to-lovers trope. There was a lot of emotion throughout the book, a mixture of hatred and love, and the sassiness and sarcasm was just PERFECT! Also, the sex was SOOOOOOO HOT 🥵. I laughed a lot, and cried a little bit too, ngl lol. Everyone in this book was just so messy and complicated, and so HUMAN, and I definitely ate that up!! The writing was fantastic too! I can’t believe this is a debut novel! I’m so happy that NetGalley and Random House gave me an ARC for this wonderful book!

P.S. it was awesome to see a little bit of Gujarati representation going on in here too!

I finished this book a week ago and haven't stopped thinking about it since. I didn't expect to fall so hard for Ari and Josh as individuals, let alone as a couple... but by the 75% percent mark, I was on the edge of my seat with heart palpitations, severely invested in their HEA. And by the final chapter, I was grinning from ear to ear and pumping my fist in the air. This is a testament to Goldbeck's craft as a storyteller, and how she's developed the central characters across their many seasons in this complicated love story. They are both, struggling, flawed and at times frustrating- but always deeply human and relatable. And even though I found myself questioning if these two were right for each other along the way, by the end, I was a full on believer. I must add that there is a particular scene at a restaurant (which I won't spoil) where I was outright cackling until my sides hurt- so the com part of the romcom is definitely realized here. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who's a fan of off-beat romances, New York City, dry, witty humor, queer love stories, hot mess characters, and romances that demonstrate how you don't have to "have it all together" to find love.

Thank to The Dial Press for my copy of YOU, AGAIN. All Thoughts are my own!

When I first saw the cover for Kate Goldbeck’s debut novel, You, Again, I immediately added it to my TBR because the cover screams Fall. I knew it was an enemies to lovers, but I really didn’t know much more about it. And it immediately swept me up in the story. I LOVED this book. My initial thoughts were, “I LOVEDDDDD this book. oh my gosh so many thoughts but it is witty and fresh and HEARTBREAKING and woony and profound. incredible.”

After sitting with those thoughts for a day, I have to agree with them. If you enjoy Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation but wanted a little more “oomf” to the story, I think you’ll really like this book. It made my chest ache and break but it also is SO funny. Ari, one of our main characters, reminded me a lot of Hazel from Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren. Her character works in comedy so it makes sense, but I loved how funny she was. The dialogue reads kind of like Gilmore Girls with how fast it goes.

All in all, I think this book perfectly balances everything people are looking for in Romances. It’s fun and sweet, but the connection between the characters is so deep and real. There’s spice that delivers but there’s also so much heart. It’s a winner for me, through and through.

Synopsis:

What I Liked:

The Premise—It’s a take on the classic film, When Harry Met Sally! But it leans into the enemies to friends to lovers trope more heavily in my opinion. It also really raises the stakes are to what is keeping the main characters apart.

The Dialogue + Writing—I think this was my favorite part of the whole book (which is a good thing since it’s something you read lol) but it was SO GOOD. Everything flowed and it felt like every single word mattered.

The Feels—This book made me experience the entire ocean worth of feelings, from happy to sad to heartbroken to elated.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

The Third Person POV—I didn’t think this would ever come to bother me In Romance, but it is! I’m willing to look past it since I loved the book so much but I really prefer 1st POV lately!

Character Authenticity: 5/5 Spice Rating: 1.5/5 Overall Rating: 5/5

Content Warnings:

drug use, mental illness, toxic relationship, divorce, death of a parent

I’m DNFing this one at 22%.

I feel like it had so much potential but I hate Josh which is really pulling me out of the book. Up to this point he has had the most pretentious, smug attitude and I honestly don’t want Ari to even consider being friends with him nonetheless romantically involved.

I do love Ari though. She’s really quirky and it’s clear that while she struggles with commitment romantically she’s a really loyal friend and I hope she finds happiness.