I don't even know how to write a review of You Again! It was everything I didn't expect and more. The modern day Nora Ephron romcom of my dreams. The characters and the dialog felt so real. I love a book that gives me ALL of the feels - exactly like your favorite romcom of decades past. You'll reluctantly fall in love with Ari and Josh. They will drive you crazy, make you laugh, make you cry, make you cringe. Just like your favorite romcom.

Definitely read the author's note and the author's conversation with Kate Robb. I did not know about Kate Goldbeck's inspiration for this book from When Harry Met Sally and Reylo (Rey and Kylo Ren from Star Wars) but it made a lot of things make sense for me as a reader - including the cover art which features Josh as a Kylo Ren/Adam Driver LOOK-ALIKE! It was hard to erase that picture from my mind as a reader.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

THIS IS THE BOOK FOR ME!!!!!! I love rom coms, specifically Meg Ryan rom coms! Also this is spicy, deep, believable, and oh so enjoyable! The characters feel real and so does the setting. This is the most real New York romance I have ever read in my life. This book has the heartbreak, the real friendships, the real issues that happen in life, the family stuff, and an amazing friends to lovers will they won;t they relationship to boot. I cried ! I giggled! I blushed! Thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the ARC

3.5 stars rounded up.

I wanted to love this book because the character development was so rich (I especially liked Ari in the earlier years), and the dialogue was witty and sharp. I found the love story pretty tedious. It stretched on and on, with the male lead being mostly insufferable. The author likely dragged out the story to make it feel realistic that their appreciation for each other would grow over time… but I kept putting down the book. That never happens with rom-coms!

Overall, I liked the writing style enough to pick up whatever the author was writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback (Random House) for the early review copy!

This book was a rollercoaster in the sence that I started liking it, then hating it, then taking turns between the two emotions until the end. I loved some aspects of this book, such as the bi rep, the funny jokes, and the description of New York City. What I didn't like were the fast forward chapters near the end, and the fact that Josh and Radhya forgave Ari so easily. The amount of times I wanted to shake and yell at her to go to therapy is insane.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an earc in exchange for my honest review!

What a fantastic debut novel!!! This book made me feel so many different emotions. I wanted to shake some sense into our main characters and simultaneously give them the biggest hug. A few words to describe them: swoony, angsty, aggravating, witty, MESSY, grumpy, queer. Killer combo.

This is the definition of a perfectly executed slow burn romance. The tension was off the charts and the author was truly able to portray the complexities of modern dating.

Thank you NetGalley and Diall Press/Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

THIS. BOOK. 👏🏻

You, Again pays homage to When Harry Met Sally and boy did it deliver! It follows Ari, an aspiring comedian and Josh, the wound tight chef. They couldn’t be more opposite— Ari is chaotic, witty, hilarious, and unapologetically herself. She is vehemently against commitment, but she’s so secure in who she is and that was so refreshing. She is also completely against commitment. Josh is the complete opposite— pretentious, a perfectionist, grumpy, and on the hunt for his soulmate.

These two are an unlikely pair that fate kept throwing at each other over and over again. This novel gave such a realistic look into how two very different lives can still come together— even after years of wrongly timed meetings, painful breakups, and career failures. Ari and Josh’s newfound friendship is tentative and tumultuous at best, as they hung out with each other because they were both depressed and they did not have anyone else in their lives who understood their pain and sadness. Through dual POV we get to learn what makes Ari and Josh who they are and as they go, their chemistry literally jumps off the pages. The will they/won’t they was quite the adventure and had me hanging on to every single word.

Now for my fave part— the BANTER. Oh my goodness, it was top tier! You never knew what would come out of Ari’s mouth and Josh’s one liners were 10/10. I found myself laughing and giggling out loud so many times through this book! I love a good romcom and You, Again may be one of the funniest I’ve ever read.

The way the MCs felt so REAL & human was incredible. What they felt, I felt. My heart shattered and healed over and over. I’ve never cheered for fictional characters so hard! Every character felt like someone you would want to know IRL! I just love how this didn’t have the typical meet cute and it wasn’t the usual HEA. It shows the realities of a relationship (friendships, too) and how much work and sacrifice it takes from both parties. I truly appreciated the honesty and angst in this novel. I read so many romcoms but this was so different in all the best ways!

You, Again put me through every emotion under the sun so buckle up friends! Kate knocked it out of the park with this debut. I can’t wait to dive into the next world she creates!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this incredible ARC!

This book is enemies to lovers, with a dose of “I don’t know what I’m doing with my life”, wrapped up in a spicy package.

Ari is a free-spirited struggling comedian who is just not into serious relationships. Josh, an ambitious chef, most definitely is. So when they cross paths initially, they immediately hate one another. But then, they just keep running into one another over the years. Then finally, years after their first meeting, they are both recovering from heartache and run into one another yet again - and this time they’re determined to help the other get back on their feet as they mend their own broken hearts. They become friends, helping out on dating apps, watching movies together, and doing couple-y things, without being a couple. But of course, lines begin to blur a bit and suddenly their friendship might be more than they expected.

At over 350 pages, I wasn’t sure that this romance could hold my attention - but it never felt too long. I really loved the Ari character, her humor and free spirit really made me smile even if sometimes I wanted to smack her upside her head for her choices. And Josh, though initially I was turned off by him, grew on me by the end of the book.

But I think what I liked best was the idea of trying to find your place in the world. Both Ari and Josh are feeling stuck in their lives, they’re not going in the direction they wanted, and I think that’s such a relatable feeling for readers.

This was romance with more - a romance that wasn’t just the fluffy, happy love parts. It gave you pause even as you were rooting for these two to figure out that they were actually perfect for one another.

This book will be featured on an upcoming episode of Reading Through Life podcast.

Rife with Jewish representation, Kate Goldbeck's debut was unique and an enemies to friends to lovers story unlike any I've read before. Inspired by When Harry Met Sally (I guess I should finally watch that...), Ari and Josh are a couple that will stay with me long after finishing this book. Beyond the Jewish representation, there is also bisexual representation (ahem, Josh and Ari meet when they are both sleeping with the same woman...) and Goldbeck handles this in such a way as to avoid tokenization of any sort. My only qualm with this one was that it felt about 100 pages too long.

I say with confidence that I look forward to reading more from Goldbeck in the future.

Thank you to The Dial Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This book is a masterpiece and Kate Goldbeck is a rare talent. Funny and heartwarming and angsty with some of the best banter and dialogue I've ever read. This is a book that feels REAL. Every character is so lived in and I felt like I was watching the lives of people I knew. Just genius and I'm very excited to see what Goldbeck does next.

When Harry Met Sally is my favorite movie of all time, so I was really excited to read this one and I'm sad I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

All in all, this one fell flat for me and I really think it all boils down to the characters. I found them unlikeable and not in a "oh I cant wait to see their character grow" way where I’m excited to keep reading, but there were so many moments with each of them where I actually said "yikes" out loud. There was just a certain charm that was lacking in this and I wasn’t honestly sure I wanted the main characters to end up together (not something you want to happen when reading a romance).

This book had so much going for it and I really enjoyed the writing style of this author and I will definitely be checking out her future books. This particular one just wasn’t working for me.

You, Again by @kategoldbeck is a witty and unconventional love story! 🧡

Blurb: Ari, a free-spirited struggling comedian, likes to keep things casual, and never sleeps over after hooking up. Josh, born-and-bred Manhattanite, has ambitious plans to take the culinary world by storm, to find The One and live happily-ever-after.

After a confrontational first meeting (at the apartment of the woman they are both sleeping with), Ari and Josh never expect their paths to cross again, 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 can be fun when you're both too sad and miserable to hate each other.

And as odd as it seems, they become friends-without-benefits, finding comfort in late night Netflix binges, swiping through each other's online dating profiles, and bickering endlessly on their phones across boroughs. It's better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur...

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book gave off “When Harry Met Sally” vibes and I am HERE FOR IT!!! I love the relationship between Ari and Josh because it was honest and real. The queer representation was super amazing and done in a respectful way. I cannot tell you how many times I laughed and cried throughout the book, it was that great!!! Overall, please pick up You, Again when it releases on September 12th, 2023. Thank you @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC!!! 😊🍂✨

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It’s been a long time since I have read a book that I needed to finish in one day! I couldn’t wait to read each chapter just knowing it was going to be even better then the one I just read. The witty banter between Ari and Josh was just perfect. I can’t even count how many times I laughed out loud. Don’t get me started on the many smiles that would make anyone think I was getting a text from someone special. I can’t believe this is Kate’s debut book. Absolutely perfect❤️

The main characters are unlikable, Josh is insufferable and pretentions and Ari is unprofessionnnal and flighty. The timeline is messy, jumping for three years at a time from one chapter to the next. I wanted to like this, but the characters are so unlikable that I just can't.

Thank you to Random House for allowing me to read an ARC!

So, there's been a recent trend in romcoms of new releases that feel much more ADULT than your average romcom. I'd cite Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld and Sammy Espinoza's Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia as examples of some other favorites amidst that specific vibe. You, Again by Kate Goldbeck fits RIGHT in with that group, and I could not be more grateful to add to the list!

This is a romcom that IS very funny and very romantic, but the characters are viscerally human. This means that they do many things that you're going to find frustrating, and you might not even particularly LIKE the main character at times, but it's so incredibly worth it. Our female lead, Ari, is a quick-witted, enneagram 7 (this is not canon, I just know it in my heart) who juggles a variety of gig-economy odd jobs to scrape together New York City rent. Josh is a chef whose father was the owner of a longstanding deli in the East Village, Brodsky. Throughout the story, we see Josh desperately trying to carve his own path and find a place for himself, as well as the space formerly known as the Brodsky, that fulfills him. The Bear enjoyers lemme hear y'all make some noise!!!!

Perhaps the best thing about this story is that we see both main characters fail...brutally. On professional levels, on personal levels, on emotional levels, and most definitely on relationship levels. We see our fair share of knee-jerk trauma reactions from both of them that will have you cringing, but Kate Goldbeck does a great job of providing so much color from their respective backgrounds that I really felt like I understood. Even in her worst moments, Ari felt like when you have a friend who does something objectively crazy, but you just kind of shrug and say, "Sorry, she's going through something!"

The timeline of this story jumps around a ton, as we speed through the first 8 years or so that the main characters orbit each other. Generally speaking, I don't typically enjoy this format, but found myself really buying into it here! Something about seeing the slices of life from different eras of each person's life added so much to their characters in a way that felt truly worth it. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that Ari is queer, and queer in such a way that we actually get to SEE! Not that it makes it less valid if we don't, but I loved that we got to see glimpses at her relationships with women, and consistent commentary on how it colors her relationship to Josh, rather than the usual label mention without much involvement otherwise.

If it wasn't painfully clear, I really, really enjoyed this, and I'm excited for it to officially release!

Overall, I thought this book was written really well and the author’s voice was unique and present throughout.
There’s a lot of fun banter and hilarious moments that were memorable. I enjoyed the inclusivity of the characters.
I found the female main character to be lacking in any real depth. Her entire personality revolves around sex, to the point that she was almost a caricature. Ari wants to have sex with everyone that she sees. Ari DOES have sex with almost everyone she sees. And when she isn’t having sex, she’s thinking about or talking about sex.
The reader is meant to understand that Ari is emotionally unavailable and pushes people away to avoid getting hurt. However, there’s not a lot of back story as to why this is. There’s a paragraph about her mother abandoning her as a child, but I would have liked a little more background info to understand this aspect of Ari’s character.
The male main character, Josh, also had some concerning actions. He’s described in many scenes as the typical cis white man who is on top of the world and gets whatever he wants, while writing off the viewpoints of a female person of color. Josh seemed to romanticize all of his relationships, desperate to settle down. He was very pushy with Ari about moving their relationship from platonic to romantic, even after her telling him that she didn’t want this multiple times.
The pacing of this story felt a little off to me. The angst and relationship struggles lasted for about 90% of the book, and we finally get our happy ending in the last chapter or two. I did enjoy reading this book, but the questionable likeability of both main characters made me care less about their outcome in the end.

You, Again is being marketed as a romcom, gender swapped When Harry Met Sally but in my opinion this is way more of a contemporary fiction with a romantic subplot than a romance novel.

The two main characters, Ari and Josh we VERY hard to root for until probably the 65% mark and in my opinion it should not take that long to like the main couple of a romance book over half-way through the story. Ari and Josh were both very insufferable and really did not have any form of character growth besides them finally getting together at the end. Ari almost felt like a caricature of a bisexual female comedian and Josh was such an asshole at some parts of the story it was infuriating.

I'm giving this 3 stars because while I definitely had problems with the characters, the banter and funny quotes were some of the funniest I've read and the author was able to win me over at the end. I think if this was being pushed as a fiction novel I would've had better expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook review copy. All opinions are my own.

I LOVE this book so much! The cover is dreamy fall goodness. The words are funny and sad and witty from start to finish.

I absolutely love how the two MC’s meet, make things weird, then don’t speak again until.. repeat!

Josh is a very grumpy chef. Ari is.. sarcastic and sassy.. with a dash of all the talents just working her way through life.. the perfect match right?! For some reason I kept relating to Josh and his attitude. It felt real and raw, I respected him more for it. Sometimes, life just makes you *that* way.

Enemies to lovers.. meet cute.. broken lovers.. gosh this one hurt but felt so good too!

How is this a debut?! I want more Kate immediately!!

I can see why so many readers love this book! I'm going to be honest it took me a couple tries of reading and putting it down and then picking it back up again weeks later to get through it, but I'm really glad I did end up finishing it! The beginning was a little slow, very angsty and the two MC's don't see each other a lot at first, which was probably the reason it took me while to get into it. I pushed through though because it took place in New York and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity of the perfect subway read.

While the slowest of slow burns was quite frustrating in the beginning it ends up paying off so well in the end! The build up of them being rivals to friends to lovers is just *chefs kiss*. As you can see I did end up rating it 4 stars in the end because it is a beautifully written love story and is probably the prefect fall read if you're in your angsty indie rom-com era.

"You, Again" is a zippy & dazzling modern love story, with all the heart of a timeless romcom! I adore Ari & Josh: two people who are a complete and utter MESS, and I root for both of them the whole way through. Kate Goldbeck creates lively characters with such real hangups & flaws, making real mistakes, that kept me so deeply invested in their journey. Bravo!!
There's a deliberate magic in how Ari & Josh's interactions are so frequently (hilariously!) lewd right from the very beginning, so there's an incredible payoff by the time we're shown a love scene! I was literally kicking my feet in giddy excitement! I was hooked from Ari & Josh's very first "meet-ugly" (meet un-cute?) and their quirks & oddities continued to grow on me. When the angsty rollercoaster ride came to a head, I had to read through the end in one breathless sitting. The romantic ending had me crying in a heap on my kitchen floor! Such a moving and rewarding book, sweet as black & white cookies, and just as heart-nourishing as Josh's matzo ball soup.
I loved You, Again. I can't wait to read it again!

"Maybe being in love is knowing that you’d live it all over again—every part, suffering included—to get right back to the place where you’re standing." Hi its me... a person obsessed with this book. I am serious this is one of the best books I have ever read that perfectly encapsulates the emotions behind grief and love and also healing. This is the first book that I have read by Kate Goldbeck and I would do anything to read it again for the first time. I absolutely need a physical copy of this book on my shelf because as someone with depression and who has lost a lot of people in their life, I found this book to be so healing. In my eyes this book is everything I could have wanted and is absolutely perfect.