"You, Again" is a fresh take on the classic romcom, When Harry Met Sally. The enemies who keep having run-ins turn into allies who turn into friends who turn into lovers. But in the typical fashion, it will only work between these two if they can get out of their own way & get the timing right. "You, Again" was a delightful New York love story, complete with the NYE thematic loop & the mad dash "when you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to begin right now" moment. It felt comfortingly familiar yet new and modern. I couldn't put it down and I think Ari and Josh will be beloved by romcom readers everywhere. I already cannot wait to read it again.

Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

I adored this. I had to read following all of the praise I’ve seen, and this hasn’t let me down. Incredible banter, a beautiful story, and deep, evocative relationships—this book is a gem.

When Harry Met Sally if Harry was Adam Driver…and I mean that in the best way possible. Such a sweet fall rom-com with so many meet cute or meet not so cutes but also really poignant discussions about failure and grief.

This book has every ingredient that you need for a good romcom. Meet cute, friendship, iconic restaurant scene, falling in love(?), big argument, meddling friends/family, airport run, holidays, funny jokes/nicknames- it has it all.

This is perfect for people who loved Emily Henry’s Happy Place and are looking for a fall read with similar vibes.

I really enjoyed this story. Ari and Josh had a special relationship that was fun to be a part of. They were complete opposites that should not have worked yet something about them balanced the other one out. Being part of their journey with it's ups and downs was a rollercoaster of emotions and I was here for it. I also really loved how the last 18% or so went. It wasn't how I expected it to go but it worked. I definitely recommend picking up this romance. It is not to be missed.

Ari and Josh are two people who couldn't be more different. Ari is a free-spirited, struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual, while Josh is a born-and-bred Manhattanite with ambitious plans to take the culinary world by storm and find The One. They have absolutely nothing in common, except for the fact that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman. Which causes the wrong kind of sparks to fly and an instant mutual dislike to settle in.

But years later, as they're both reeling from ego-bruising breakups, a chance encounter leads to a surprising connection: friendship. Turns out, spending time with your former nemesis is fun when you're too sad to hate each other - and too sad for hate sex.

As friends-without-benefits, they find comfort in late-night Netflix binges, swiping through each other's online dating profiles, and bickering across boroughs. It's better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur...

"Can we try that again? I feel like I wasn't ready for that."
"That could be the pull quote for our entire relationship.”

Kate Goldbeck has written the most real-feeling love stories that I have ever read in my entire time of being a reader. This book felt more like a real-life series of scenes playing out right in front of me featuring two imperfect people at various stages of their life tackling all that life throws their way in the exact way that a flawed human being with trauma would handle this particular play on the way that life finds a way of making sure you find your people even if it takes a few meetings.

Ari felt like a breath of fresh air in regard to the fem leads of romance novels go. I loved her chaotic energy and really enjoyed the fact that there was no holding back when it comes to who she is at her core. I love how open and unrestrained she is regarding her sexuality and her outwardness regarding getting hot and heavy leads to some really great dialogue with various characters throughout.

Josh I loved him for different reasons, and I'd be lying if I said that one of them wasn't because he's hot. Because he is hot. So hot. But I really loved that we got to see into his head, and how relatable his thought process felt to me. The anchoring. The thinking things through. The overthinking. The spiraling. He's definitely won a special place in my heart.

Both of these characters go through so much growth and I think that the pacing in this book does a really great job of moving along with the story with time jumps without it feeling rushed or awkward. And that the character's growth throughout feels just as real as the rest of the story.

This book is definitely one of my top reads for the year! Thank you Dial Press for sending me an e-arc of this book!

- New York Setting
- Time Jumps
- Female Rake
- Slow Burn
- Second Chance
- Independent FMC
- Chef MMC
- Enemies to Friends to Lovers
- When Harry Met Sally Vibes
- Reylo Coded
- Meet Cutes
- Angsty but Worth It
- Banter Galore
- Jewish Rep
- Bi Rep

this review is coming from a fantasy reader: i'm not the biggest fan of coming of age, a deep look in the lives of childish adults type stories but this one was fresh and sassy. the characters were both charming, albeit at times immature, but nonetheless a good time. if you like frustrating characters, messy relationships, angst, mental health and a modern dive into the oh-so-very tantalizing dilemma that is adulthood, then this one would be ideal.

You, Again is billed as "A When Harry Met Sally Novel" and it is, in fact, an inventive but true-hearted reinterpretation of that iconic rom-com. I enjoyed spotting parallels between the two stories, some of which were charmingly indirect.

Of course, You Again is set thirty years later than the source material, and while many of the updates are obvious and rather superficial (there's texting, and Netflix, and dating apps) others are deeper cultural evolutions. The most significant of these is the psychological age of the characters.

In When Harry Met Sally, the principals become friends in their early thirties, at which point they both seem like "real adults". They have stable jobs and apartments with real furniture and rugs and wall art; they eat at restaurants rather than drinking at bars; you get the sense that they pay their bills on time.

In You Again, the characters are about the same age but their lives are far less organized. Both of their careers are in a state of unproductive flux, their romantic misery has prevented them from settling into permanent homes, and they spend much of their time sulking or drunk. This difference is partly reflective of real changes in what life looks like for younger urban adults - but it's also partly reflective of these two specific characters, both of whom are kind of... awful. Sometimes in an endearing way and sometimes in a funny way, and sometimes in a really frustrating and annoying way.

So, this book gets four stars. for the first 4/5 of it, I loved watching Ari and Josh fight and joke and experience New York. For the final 1/5, as these two unsubtle and self-centered characters with very different ideas of romance solidified their love, I was skeptical. Harry and Sally, I could believe, might have gotten married and had a coconut cake with rich chocolate sauce on the side. Josh and Ari would never have been able to agree on such a compromise.

Wow, I absolutely loved this book.

YOU, AGAIN is an enemies-to-lovers romance where the characters keep running into each other over the course of eight years. Ari (an aspiring comedian) and Josh (a fine dining chef) initially meet because they’re both sleeping with the same woman — Ari’s roommate. After several run-ins, they finally connect when they’re both at their lowest points. They find themselves falling into a friendship, first over the phone and then in person.

When that friendship turns into a romance, it feels like the most natural thing in the world — although it isn’t without its emotional difficulties. Both of these characters, Ari in particular, have some baggage. (I feel like it might be a spoiler to say what it is, given that it’s not mentioned in the blurb.) Ari and Josh are sometimes terrible and usually messy, but they also feel like real people in all their complexity and imperfections.

This book is fresh and funny, with an edge to it that I haven’t read before in a contemporary romance. Goldbeck’s prose is sharp and wry. Sometimes she had a single short sentence that just knocked me out because it was so good.

This is such a promising debut. I can’t wait to pick up whatever Kate Goldbeck writes next.

Thank you Random House for giving me the chance to read an early copy of this book. Unfortunately, I don't think this one is going to be for me. I have been struggling to get into it. The first part has been a bit slow and repetitive, with only a single encounter once every 3 years for the main characters. I'm not sure where this one is going, but I am going to set it aside for now, and maybe pick it back up at a later date.

Ok let’s start with the cover: gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. I also hadn’t realized this was an LGTBQ novel! So I was definitely not expecting what the main plot is about but I mean this is what happens when I go into books blind.

This novel was chock full of verbal vomit. I just couldn’t. It’s a romance, and I am reading words like ostensibly, schadenfreude, tacit, and mumblecore. Just no. The FMC is so crude, it is just not at all fun to read and I am so sad. The premise sounded like a fun novel.

A rewarding journey filled with wonderful writing and a perfect encapsulation of New York City. Not every reader will find Ari and Josh appealing; they aren't particularly likable at first and took a while to grow on me, yet I found their personalities to be fascinatingly messy and layered. In a genre where so many stories are mislabeled as enemies-to-lovers, I appreciated how Goldbeck leaned into the trope and made these two genuinely feel like they despised each other upon their first couple of encounters. It felt like kismet how Ari and Josh reconnect and become friends at their lowest points, her personally and him professionally, and their humorous banter sparkles as their bond deepens. Although the story is littered with angst and missed opportunities, this has the result of making the final act feel incredibly earned. Highly entertaining and I look forward to reading what Goldbeck writes next.

DNF @ 30%. The writing style and such heavy focus on the characters' sex lives were not for me. I like both the main characters and think their romance has a lot of great potential, but I don't find myself wanting to pick it back up.

This book ended up being significantly more complicated than I expected and I absolutely fell in love.

For the first chapter-and-a-half, I was concerned that You, Again wasn't going to click with me even though I am a huge fan of frenemies to lovers and When Harry Met Sally. Josh was rude and Ari was downright insufferable and I thought I was in for a rough time. Oh, I was wrong.

Just like the classic rom-com this book takes inspiration from, you travel with Josh and Ari through several touchstones in their lives as fate keeps throwing them back in each other's path. Sometimes months have gone by, sometimes years, and they are not stagnant characters. The rich texture of their individual lives forms a colorful backdrop even if the reader only sees bits and pieces. Both Josh and Ari grow and change and make mistakes, and while they slowly fall in love, so so you.

Don't go in to this one expecting your typical romance novel formula. It's rather unique. Both leads are very much incredibly flawed human beings at the beginning of the book, and their growth is realistic and not miraculous. But there's nothing I love much more than watching two broken puzzle pieces finding their match in each other. This isn't for everyone (particularly if you aren't a fan of time skips) but I think it was wonderfully done.

I don't really have complaints. If you made Josh and Ari less frustrating at the beginning, you lose a big part of why I find You, Again very special.

I eagerly look forward for more out of Kate Goldbeck. My thanks to the publisher and NetGally for this eArc. My views are my own.

This is the kind of contemporary romance that actually feels real. The story bleeds off the page and into your mind. No one is a Mary Sue. The romantic leads are fully formed people with pasts, experiences and feelings that are authentic.

I can't really fault it. Ari does bug the absolute heck out of me - just because she is a flawed person who I find totally frustrating. But it isn't due to bad writing. In fact it's due to excellent writing!

With nostalgic inspiration from the classic friends-to-lovers romance When Harry Met Sally, You, Again is a warm, funny story about soulmates, accepting the love you deserve, and finding your place in the world again after failure.

Over the years, Josh and Ari have met again and again, each time causing more of an unfortunate impression and mutual dislike of the other. But after a difficult couple of months for them both, they find themselves forming an unexpected friendship and discovering that they may have more in common than they thought.

I loved how this story spanned multiple years and built up the relationship between the two. From enemies to friends to eventually a romantic spark, it was a wild ride seeing them grow so in tune together. (I also loved the nods back to When Harry Met Sally, especially the focus around New Year’s.)

Overall, this was a fun, heartfelt read with a lot of laughs and tackled a couple of deeper topics, such as depression and divorce—with the main couple’s banter and relatable journeys as its star. At times, the pacing was a little slower, but I found myself absorbed in their love story and rooting them on! (Ah, that ending!! All the feels!)

If you’re in the mood for a read with a good balance of real-world feelings, humor, and romance, definitely keep this new book in mind.

3.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I can not wait to buy this book! I’m so glad I received a digital arc but I must own a physical copy,
This book is absolutely hilarious and the steamy parts are so good, The banter and the MMC is top tier. Certain moments and lines live in my head rent free, This book gets all my stars.

Kate Goldbeck I think has written one of my favorite romance novels of the year! you, again follows Ari and Josh in what first starts as enemies, then friendship, and then you can’t help but fall in love with all the delicious banter and quick wit between the two. This novel is a delight!

**Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Josh and Ari have very different views on relationships. Josh believes in true love, and he is looking for “the one.” Ari on the other hand only looks at sex as an outlet and would not be caught dead staying the night. Their worlds collide for the first time when they find out they’re both sleeping with the same woman.

They meet a few more times in the years that follow until eventually, they are both in an emotionally burnt out place. Josh is reeling from failure in his relationships and professional life as a chef. Ari is going through a tough divorce and still hasn’t found a path as a comedian. This brings them both together into an unlikely friendship. Until one night, the line blurs - will they move forward or backward?

The “enemies” portion of the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers didn’t work for me. There was nothing substantial there to work from, and I wanted more tension. The “friends” part worked really well, but the “lovers” part went from 0 to i love you to fighting back to i love you very quickly. This could be due to the time hops (see below), but I also didn’t feel like I saw any character growth.

In addition, there were MANY time hops in this book, some where we lost multiple years. In these time hops were some pivotal moments for our characters that we never got to see; we only got to see the aftermath. I felt like this was a lost opportunity to get a deeper sense of WHY Josh and Ari were the way they were.

All in all, I liked the idea of this book, but some things just missed the mark for me.

You, Again
Kate Goldbeck

Josh and Ari meet for the first time through the connection of Ari’s roommate, Nat, who Ari is sleeping with and Josh is dating. They continue to run into each other over the years but continue to get off on the wrong foot, until one meeting seems to be their “meet cute”. Both of their lives are in disarray, and they begin to lean on each other and become best friends. But as they continue to get closer, they have to navigate the lines of friendship and the tension they both feel.

I loved Josh and Ari, and I felt that their personalities to be relatable as someone who’s in their mid-late 20’s. They deal with insecurities, failures in personal and professional lives, and having to start over. Both Josh and Ari are loveable and frustrating in all different ways. Ari is a snarky commitment phobe who uses casual sex to avoid the hurt she’s experienced in the past from love. Josh is unable to find the connection he so desperately craves until spending time with Ari.

I felt that the characters, story, setting and struggles exhibited a relatable and realistic plot. Ari and Josh demonstrate the flawed reality of hurt people hurting other people, which can be hard to experience but it’s so real in friendships and relationships. Friends to lovers is a trope I don’t gravitate towards but the extensive friendship and building tension you watch them experience over many years had me hooked.

The writing was beautiful, and I felt connected and invested in all aspects of the story. The ending was everything I wanted, and I felt the closure of the characters to be well done. The character development of Josh and Ari were some of the best I’ve read and show the complexity of human feelings and lives in everyday life with a great rom-com feel. Kate Goldback is now an auto buy author for me.
4.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Dial Press for providing me with an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.