A cute enemies to lovers with some spice!

When Ari and Josh meet, it isn't love at first sight. It isn't even love at third sight. It is more like... "ugh, you again?" But when the two get to know one another, they become fast friends. As the months and years go by, readers are taken on a emotional rollercoaster of Josh and Ari's relationship, or lackthereof. Contains chef/cooking details that made me SO hungry while reading. And honestly, now I just want a chai black and white cookie.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for the eARC!

I came here for the When Harry Met Sally and I guess that's what I got - I mean the story beats are all there and you can see certain scenes from the movie being re-told here. But those are big shoes to fill and, ultimately, this just didn't click.

I like retellings, especially of movies that I love. I think it is a fun hook to a story. This could have worked but I think what made it fall short is the characters.

Ari and Josh are pretty insufferable for 80% of the book. Sure, characters do not have to be likable - but I struggled to root for them. And in a romance book, I want to root for my characters. Ari felt very performative - like the author was just trying really hard. Her character did not feel effortless or even real. She was over the top and hypersexual (I don't have a problem with someone in real life or fictional life being hypersexual, but Ari's character felt like a caricature. We are constantly reminded about how she has threesomes and is actively seeking out only married couples to sleep with in a way to keep herself removed and away from commitment). We get zero backstory on her - at least with Josh we get a glimpse into his family life. All we know about Ari is that she moved to NYC by herself. Why is she so afraid of commitment? Why is she so closed off? There has to be some sort of motivation there, but we get nothing except her divorce, which really only solidifies these thoughts and feelings in her, not create them.

And Josh. I get the brooding, angry, grumpy love interest. It does work. But normally it works because you do eventually see a fun, caring side from them. I didn't feel or see that with Josh. He is even rude to his mom and sister who do nothing but try to help him. He is closed off the entire story, but we are supposed to believe that he opened up with Ari because we get maybe a handle of scenes where he makes a joke?

The pacing is also weird. Ari and Josh meet a few times and hate each other, then they meet when they are both going through breakups and they bond. The bonding/friendship is so quick and then suddenly they are making out and then having sex and then they are separated for several chapters with several time jumps. Okay, they had to work on themselves before they could be together. Sure, that's fine. But I didn't feel like either actually improved. We needed to see more of their connection and more of them actually growing.

There was potential here and that is what made it more aggravating to not enjoy this story.

And I'm so annoyed I was duped again into reading another former Reylo fanfiction.

This is some solid enemies to lovers for your fall season. Granted Ari was a little much for me at times, but otherwise I really loved this.

This was a really well-written, witty book!

I was obsessed with how the setting, characterization, and even the characters pasts came alive. These characters felt like real people, and I though there love story was s well developed.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was how much of a slow burn it was? I was getting frustrated with the characters and their reasons for not being together.

This is a story of two very different people meeting, becoming instant antagonists, only to meet up again years later and becoming such close friends that it leads to something more. I read the afterword that it's an homage to a classic New York film and it clicked why I enjoyed it so much. It expertly takes the spirit of the original and makes a perfect, modern spin on complicated relationships.
Free-spirited, but full-of-baggage comedian Ari lives a very unorganized life in hopes of achieving her dream of being a comedian. She's completely against relationships or anything permanent, or so she tells herself and anyone who will listen. Josh is a chef, the son of the owner of a New York staple deli, and the only thing bigger than the chip on his shoulder is his desire for a relationship. Both have awful experiences in love and careers behind them from the moment they first clash to the moment they discover that being miserable together is better than being miserable alone.
It's a tough read at times with how low both Ari and Josh get, but it's also so inspiring in how they both face the things that they find scary and keep them from what they truly want. There are as many moments that are truly funny as heartfelt, and the way the relationship develops as they each push the other's buttons while pushing back on themselves makes for an excellently emotional read.
It's a story about messy people living a messy life full of emotional messiness. It's perfect.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for the great read!

I liked this one, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. I thought the author's writing was lovely and that she really captured the "When Harry Met Sally" vibe, but it just took me a long time to warm up to either of the main characters. Once I finally did, I really enjoyed the rest of the story, but I almost gave up on it since I need to connect with main characters before I feel fully invested in a story. That's totally a me thing though, and I think this book would be great for anyone who enjoys a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance with fall vibes.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

Enjoyed the writing style and main characters. I loved the representation within the relationship and the vibes it gave! Perfect read for fall!

This was an ok read for me. I was expecting more from it as it was a BOTM pick as well. For me the romance fell a little short and I didn't love the characters. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

An exceptional novel about two messy people whose lives keep intersecting until they finally choose to stay together. In a lesser author’s hands, it wouldn’t have worked. This is an author to watch.

I ADORE THESE TWO CHARACTERS SO DAMN MUCH!! It’s been a minute since I fell in love with BOTH MCs in a book but I couldn’t help but love Ari and Josh. Their banter was some of the funniest I’ve ever read it felt like two real people. I absolutely adored their individual personalities! I think their individual struggles were relatable and realistic. I like how instead of a meet cute we get like 4 and they’re all a disaster. This book was funny, hot and REFRESHING!

Highly recommend!

Ultimately this book didn’t do it for me, but I know I’m in the minority here! I think I might love the movie too much to be open to a reimagination of it. I did love the gender-swapped concept of the characters, but for most of the book they both melded into different versions of Harry. I needed Josh to do something besides wallow in his fancy loft with his family’s money. He gets there eventually, but it takes a LONG time. I would have enjoyed seeing more of the secondary characters, Briar in particular had a lot of untapped potential and what felt like a slapdash edited-in relationship at the end of the book that was disappointing (although the empty running gray sweatpants logo as a personality was a really great line!)

It was nice and real but it lacked the romantic feelings and swoons. It would recommend it to people who are into Rom-coms like Friends with benefits. I had to DNF when it got pretty good but its just not completely for me.

If you love a tension-filled, angsty love story, oh boy, you'll love this. I sure did.
Definitely for When Harry Met Sally lovers.


There were a lot of time jumps and seeing the dynamic change over time was very thrilling. The banter was incredible and added so much tension to the story. What I wasn't anticipating was getting emotional reading this but when a declaration of love makes you cry well, I have to give it 5 stars.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! Easily my favorite read of the year!

I do think, however, that comparing it to ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is doing it a disservice (and I love that movie), because they’re not even on the same wavelength.

YOU, AGAIN is so genuinely real. Two real people who really need to work on themselves, but also really love each other and really want to see it through, and really, is it fate??

I just love this story so much, it checks so many of my boxes, and I couldn’t put it down even if I really wanted to; let the author know they can keep it coming!

“Maybe there’s no such thing as soulmates, but I think you’re my person. And I’m yours.”

Ari and Josh. She’s a commitment-phobe and he’s a hopeless romantic. The only thing they have in common is their mutual dislike, but that changes when they develop a close friendship because their love life is not all that great anymore.

This book was so entertaining! I loved that they kept running into each other every few years—like they were connected from the start. It was so cute that they’d watch movies together while on the phone!

🍂READ IF YOU LIKE🍂:
- dual POV
- she’s a commitment-phobe, he’s a hopeless romantic
- frenemies to friends to lovers
- slow burn
- opposites attract
- witty banter, lots of bickering
- comedian x chef
- when harry met sally
- jewish & bi rep
- constantly running into each other
- new york setting

cw: depression, anxiety, grief, death of loved one, divorce, cheating

Thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the advanced copy! You, Again is now available!

I am so thoroughly enamoured with this book and these characters!

The pacing of You, Again was absolutely perfect. I loved how the author really grounded Ari and Josh in each timeline so that we were able to get a true sense of the entire scope of their relationship. I also loved that she really did make them friends first - I believed in their friendship so strongly. The subtle shift to lovers could have been a stronger for me, would have loved a little more tension, a little more will-they-won’t-they!

This book is beautiful in its messiness. These are relatable characters doing stupid things and figuring shit out as they go. It’s falling in love and getting scared and running away and big realizations and dramatic airport runs. It’s perfect fall vibes and delicious bingeability and I highly, highly recommend!

The perfect fall read 🍂. This book is inspired by When Harry Met Sally and was giving all the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers vibes!

Witty, angsty, full of banter with NYC as the perfect backdrop! This was done so well on audio too! This is definitely a slow burn to get to the romance, but I enjoyed all the side characters and the journey to get there. I love seeing more diversity in romance reads and this one has great Jewish and Bi representation!
Edit Review

Books with funny witty dialogue and dual pov's are some of my favorites and this book really delivered. I absolutely devoured this book and am was so excited to get approved for an arc. As soon as I heard this book was a modern retelling of When Harry Met Sally I knew it was a must read for me and it did not disappoint. This book is charming, funny, and has some spice. I think this book is going to be everywhere.

This book was so good! The development and the two main characters, Ari and Josh, is absolutely riveting, organic, raw and mesmerizing. I read this book in two days because I simply couldn’t not put it down. The course of their relationship was so emotional and so well written. Described as a “reverse when Harry met Sally” it details the progressive friendship/relationship of Ari and Josh over the course of several years and through many personal trials and triangulations for each character. I did not want this story to end!!

This was a fun read. I liked the book spanned around 9 years but it was cohesive. The two main characters were unlikeable at times but ultimately I was routing for them. Despite the cover this is not an autumn book. It spans all seasons with New Years Eve being highlighted over multiple years.