I received an advanced copy of You, Again by Kate Goldbeck from Random House Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Ari and Josh, first meet, they instantly hate each other. They couldn’t be more different. Ari is free-spirited and struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual; she sublets and never sleeps over after a hook-up. Josh is a born and bred Manhattanite who is the heir to a famous New York deli, but is desperate to take the culinary world by storm and all along seeking the love of his life. These two have nothing in common…except, they happen to be sleeping with the same woman. Every few years, Ari and Josh continue to be pulled back to each other until after one period as they are both dealing with devastating break-ups, they find friendship. Their friendship is totally better than romance, except it seems the line starts to blur.

What I Loved: Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Sally Rooney wrote When Harry Met Sally? This is that book. I honestly really felt that this book delivered 150% on this front, if you look at this as a study of two twenty somethings facing life while also holding onto their preconceptions of love and heartbreak, it is a masterpiece in that regard. If you love reading angsty twenty somethings fall in love and not just have their fears disappear in the process, this is your book. Seriously, if you love Sally Rooney and When Harry Met Sally and romance books, this is your book!

What I Didn’t Like: The thing that I didn’t like is probably similar to what I loved. I felt like this book perhaps wasn’t the most original but also it really worked? So, it’s okay! But at the same time sometimes I was hoping for a bit more.

Who Should Read It: People who love Sally Rooney. People who love characters who are unlikable but who we slowly learn to love.

Summary: Two people keep meeting first with hatred, then become friends, then more?

This was such a fun romance book! I loved that it was inspired by When Harry Met Sally. I loved the slow burn of Ari and Josh’s relationship and how they learned to be friends first and then lovers. Another thing I really enjoyed was their banter. It made this book so much fun to read. I also liked that Ari had to face her fear of commitment and question some of her beliefs to be in the relationship. The New York setting was also a fun element in this book.

A romance novel that was quick to read. I enjoyed reading the humor and tension between the Ari and Josh, and could not put the book down. Definitely recommended it to those who enjoy romance and witty banter between the characters.

"You, Again" took me by surprise in the best of ways. Fans of "When Harry Met Sally" will love this fun spin on the classic movie. Full disclosure: I have never seen the movie.

"You, Again" starts off with a disastrous met cute that feels very rom com like, but as the story continues, readers are treated to a book with characters on a journey of self-discovery, moments that pack a punch of emotions, and the experience is completely binge-worthy. Josh and Ari couldn't be more different yet complement each other well.

One of my favorite quotes is from Josh, when he tells Ari "I will buy whatever fucking grapes you want." When you read this scene, I hope you get the butterflies, too.

A When Harry Met Sally retelling?! Count me in! Plus, the cover is so picture perfect fall I was ready to read the perfect seasonal book. Unfortunately at about 50% through I had to put it down, and I know I'm in the minority. The characters were highly annoying, the story went nowhere, and I was just bored. Slow burns can be fun, but this one was just torture, and they had no chemistry. As much as I wanted to like this one, it just wasn't for me.

I think that When Harry Met Sally is a great comparison! Loved Kate's voice and look forward to her next book. It was fresh and funny but also built to such a great degree of tension and angst. Love, LOVEd this one.

I hated this. I didn't like the characters, both were very annoying. I didn't like the time jumping between scenes.

I I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

3.5/5 stars. This book was just okay for me. I found myself getting bored frequently. I didn’t like how they kept magically seeing each other and then finally ended up together. It seemed like a stretch and unbelievable. There were parts of the story I did enjoy like the last 50 pages and their coming back together.

I really liked this! It was a fresh offering in a genre often bogged down by cheesy and/or silly stories that are far from memorable. The characters felt real and I enjoyed the pacing and how the story moved along the various time periods.

Always fun when there's tension between the main pairing! Enemies to lovers is such a staple, and this is a great addition to the trope!

Romance readers who especially enjoy some #fanficinspo will enjoy!

I really really loved this book. It was modern and had a broad cast of diverse and realistic characters that seemed like genuinely real people that you could encounter in a large city. I liked how both the female and male characters were flawed, because so often the male love interest is just perfect, and I liked that this wasn't the case. Both characters actually benefitted from being with one another and had a good partnership. It also was so so painful at times and I hate the decisions that they'd make, but honestly like that's life isn't it. Really great complex characters and fun writing.

Thank you so much Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I picked up You, Again for its cover and the rave reviews online, but unfortunately, the only aspect I enjoyed about this book was the redeemingly adorable ending. I haven't seen When Harry Met Sally so maybe that would've changed my opinion, but I found some of the jokes to be problematic, the love-bombing frustrating, and the character arcs to be quite stagnant. I think this was trying too hard to be a lot of things and instead fumbled through them in a way that left me disappointed and uncomfortable.

That all said, I think I'm in the minority for feeling this way about this book, so I would still recommend it to my customers who are looking for a fall romance. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Everyone knows this book, even if you’ve never read it, the cover is THAT beautiful and memorable. Then you find out it’s a When Harry Met Sally retelling, and if the foliage wasn’t enough to draw you in, the second tidbit was enough for me. While nothing can live up to the movie, this came pretty damn close! I already can’t wait to reread it, I was immediately immersed in Ari and Josh, and felt like I was watching a television show, or was captivating and held me the whole time. Can’t wait to reread the finished copy eventually!

You, Again was the perfect fall read. I fell in love with both main characters and was so happy to see their love story unfold. They were both so relatable and messy. I can't wait to read more from Kate Goldbeck.

Okay if I had known this was When Harry Met Sally meets The Bear vibes, I would’ve read this sooner. Not to mention all the Taylor Swift references…”This is your reputation phase” was my favorite line. I loved this so much - the sarcasm, NYC Setting, dual POV, great side characters, slow burn, emotional punches. And just look at that cover with the perfect fall vibes - while I listened to and loved the audiobook, I just had to pick up a physical copy from BOTM!

Love this perfect Fall book cover!

When Harry Met Sally is a classic and one of my all time favorite rom coms!

I love that this debut novel started as a WHMS fan fiction project for the author. It is essentially a modern retelling of WHMS with gender roles reversed (female MC is the one who has commitment issues), Jewish and queer rep (female MC is bisexual and gets involved in polyamorous relationships).

I highly recommend this romance novel if you are a fan of WHMS, enjoy the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope and books set in NYC!

I stayed up till 1am on a Sun night to finish it because it was unputdownable!

A commitment-phobe and a hopeless romantic clash over and over again--until heartbreak and unexpected chemistry bring them together in this clever enemies-to-friends-to-lovers debut romance.

The plot was interesting, but it didn't give enough "When Harry Met Sally" vibes (as was promised).

Also, for a romance novel - a lot of turmoil and heavy material. It would be okay if it was more well-woven into the plot. It felt stagnant at times and I wondered why Ari didn't get the character growth she deserved.

This may very well be my best romance of the year! I LOVED these two hostile jerks, and I loved that the only conflict between them was themselves. Brilliant.

It was okay, but definitely not a memorable book. I didn’t connect to many characters and I felt like it was awkward at times especially with how sex forward it is. This book just wasn’t for me, I’ll admit it.

Love this book! The characters were unlikeable and complicated but that's what made it great! I didn't know where the story was going and I loved it! One of my favorite books of the year so far.