Read This Book If…you were a little obsessed with your high school English teacher.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochran

Please note: this was an ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: queer romance
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 1-2 explicit scenes
Setting: across USA
POV: dual, 3rd person, present tense
Tropes: childhood friends to enemies to lovers, small town, road trip, opposites attract, hurt/comfort, one bed, virgin

My Thoughts: Warning - emotional damage ahead!!! This is no light summer romcom, but I loved it all the same. I thought the anxiety and ADHD rep were well-done and I loved learning more about the love interests past. The romance does take a bit of a backseat in this read, but their relationship with their teacher and the adventures they had across the country were amazing!

Memorable Quote: “My heart still loved you on instinct. Loving you was like breathing. My body just knew what to do.”

Alison Cochran has done it again! I didn’t think I would be able to love her books more but this might be my favorite yet! I laughed. I cried. I felt so deeply. Here We Go Again is perfect.

From the enemies-to-lovers arc to the Mamma Mia inspiration to the incredible descriptions of settings and place (and GI smells), I loved every detail. The love - and different types of love - depicted all felt so real.

If this book were a song: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰

Rosemary and Logan were best friends. Inseparable. From ages 11 to 14, they spent their days tromping through the woods, singing ABBA songs, and helping each other through the rough parts of growing up.

But that was then. This is now.

Today they are 32 year old women teaching English at their Alma mater. Logan never left, Rosemary recently returned.

Rosemary remains uptight, her OCD and anxiety manifesting itself in lists and label makers and holding everything too close. Logan, wild and chaotic, is something of a self proclaimed “f*ckboy” who doesn’t let anyone close so she won’t get hurt when it ends.

And the two women are no longer friends, haven’t been in almost 20 years. There’s a story there but both are afraid to touch it — maybe they were in love as teenagers, maybe they could be again.

Enter Joe, the only person who could bring them together. Their former English teacher and de facto father is dying, and he wants them to drive him across the country from Portland, Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine before he dies.

Reluctantly the two agree and what happens next is nothing you could have predicted.

The book started slow for me, and initially Rosemary and Logan were both difficult to like. It’s Joe, though, who is the heart of the story. Joe, a dying gay man who survived the AIDS crisis in the 80s, who was once a drag queen, who was the town’s most beloved teacher.

The trip is cathartic and lovely, ugly and difficult. It’s perfect.

Having recently lost my own father, having held his hand as he died, this book touched so authentically on dying, grief, and love. Beautiful — so beautiful I sobbed through the last fourth of the book in the best way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Artria for the ARC to read and review. Available this week, April 2, 2024.

A bucket list road trip and second chance romance combine in this funny and spirited novel about Logan, Rosemary, and Joe, the teacher who inspired and cared for both of them. Joe is dying and he's determined to have his final moments in Bar Harbor so he ropes Logan and Rosemary into driving him (and his dog) there. This is a road trip for the ages. Logan and Rosemary have a back story and they both have issues that have stymied their romantic lives. About the only thing they agree on is Joe- but that will change as they drive. You know how things will eventually work out for the two of them (or do you?) if you're a fan of this genre but this is about the journey and about Joe. If only we all had a teacher like Joe in our lives. He's got a big back story too. No spoilers from me. I liked this for the funny moments, the music, the books, the poignant moments, and the positive spirit. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. It's a good read that became a page turner for me.

this book was so achingly beautiful. it hurt. a lot. a lot more than i was expecting it to which is my own fault because i went in almost completely blind because i love alison’s writing and sapphic roadtrip sounded fun and mamma mia title!!!!! couldn’t ask for anything else!!
but here we go again was so much more than that!! such a tender, real exploration of grief and grieving someone who hasn’t even passed yet with such great caretaking representation. i don’t think I have ever read a book with this kind of representation and it was so unique and filled the story with so much more depth and emotion. joe is such an entertaining character full of so much heart and wisdom and watching him interact with Rosemary and Logan, and also just watching his own storyline unfold was so special. when I wasn’t literally sobbing my eyes out I had the biggest smile on my face watching Joe interact with his girls, and read them for filth constantly.
and those girls!! god!! i loved them with my whole heart. When starting the book I was very confidently on “team Logan” I felt so bad for someone who was so clearly scarred and misunderstood and even though she was flawed and came off a little cold sometimes (I mean don’t we all????) I just wanted everyone to hug her and be nice to her and tell her it’s going to be okay. but of course!!!! not even a quarter of the way in I was so won over by rosemary too. I loved seeing them interact and pretend they didn’t both care so deeply about each other and didn’t miss each other’s friendship more than anything. and I also loved seeing their friendship transform into so much more, while also doing all sorts of personal growth and development.
this was truly just such a heart warming read. It will hurt, I stayed up until 3am to finish this and did in fact wake up with absurdly puffy eyes, but every single second will be so worth it.

**thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!**

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
Rating: 5 stars
Steam: 2 chilis
Pub date: 4/2

All the stars for Alison Cochrun’s newest release! When I picked this up I was not expecting to ugly cry my way through it. This book packs an emotional punch, while also being lighthearted and swoony. I’m not sure how Cochrun managed to write such a romantic story about death, but here we are!

This delightful queer rom-com takes you on a journey packed with humor and heart. Logan and Rosemary, once childhood best friends turned bitter rivals, are thrown together for a cross-country road trip with their former teacher, Joe, who wants to see some of the country before he dies. What ensues is a rollercoaster of emotions, mishaps, and self-discovery that will tug at your heartstrings.

The dynamic between Logan and Rosemary is electric, with Logan's free-spirited nature clashing beautifully against Rosemary's structured world. Their banter is as witty as it is endearing, keeping you hooked from start to finish. And let's not forget about Joe, their wise gay mentor whose presence adds emotional depth and wisdom to the narrative. As much as I cried my way through this one, I laughed just as hard. The ridiculous situations they find themselves in along with the hilarious banter had me laughing out loud more than once.

While the premise may seem light-hearted, "Here We Go Again" delves into heavier themes of grief and identity with grace and sensitivity. The exploration of death and its impact on relationships is particularly poignant, lending the story a layer of emotional depth that will linger with you long after you've turned the final page.

Overall, this is a charming blend of romance, comedy, and profound introspection. If you're craving an emotional read that will also make you laugh and swoon, look no further. This road trip of a lifetime is one you won't want to miss!

Thank you so much to Atria for my advanced copy. Read if you like:
*sapphic romance
*road trips
*second chance romance
*enemies-to-lovers
*emotional reads
*opposites attract

God this book made me cry. A good road trip romance is always my weakness but combined with elements of grief. I enjoyed this and found it to be so heartfelt. i love alison as an author and will continue to check out her books.

I absolutely love (childhood) best friends to lovers and I absolutely love Alison Cochrun.
I also really love a good road trip story and I think (like any of her books) this would make for an excellent movie!!!
I really liked the overall story of these two bonding again while driving their old favourite teacher across the country, and I really liked the ADHD and demi rep. Joe was a sweet and funny guy and I loved his great lovestory. But the two MCs were just often so annoying I just couldn’t really get into it.
Sadly this book drove me real crazy with the two MCs being in their 30s, but mostly acting like teenagers. I’m also in my thirties and if I’d ever see another person my age stomp their foot on the ground like a toddler with a tantrum I’d laugh my ass off.
The “cussing with celebrity names” thing was so annoying! For me the pacing was off, with some things dragging on for too long, which would have worked in a movie, but not in a book.
I didn’t love it in the end, but it was also not bad, just sadly not a new favourite of mine like her others books were.

Long time rivals Logan and Rosemary are forced to spend a summer together when their dying mentor ask them both to take him on a final road trip across the country. Along the way they find out that maybe they've misunderstood each other and themselves for too long.

This book was wonderful and heartbreaking. I absolutely loved Joe, Rosemary, and Logan and their trip across the country.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this queer rom-com about two former childhood best friends turned enemies to lovers who are forced together to drive their former English teacher across the country as his dying wish. Logan & Rosemary are opposites in many ways, despite both being English teachers at their alma mater and both being neurodivergent. Logan is messy, chaotic, bursting with ADHD, and suffering from trauma from her mother's abandonment. She is a seemingly fu** girl who just doesn't know how to commit while Rosemary suffers from anxiety, is structured, and has avoided intimacy altogether. Joe, their gay high school English teacher, who is dying from cancer, requests that both of them drive him from Oregon to Maine, so that he can die in his beach-side cottage that he once shared with the love of his life. Joe is such a gem in this novel--humorous, self-deprecating, and so genuine. He loves them both, understands their history, and the fallout of their friendship, yet still suspects they may need each other more than they realize.

The forced proximity works its magic as they cross the country, throwing caution to the wind (despite initial objections from Rosemary), and making random stops. Road trip romances and forced proximity are two of my favorite tropes in addition to enemies to lovers and friends to lovers, and this book has ALL of them! There were so many laugh-out-loud moments in here (hello, a special painting they encounter of a younger Joe and his prominent "member" when they visit his ex-lover's gallery!), but also ones of sadness and emotion as the death of Joe is inescapable. This book warmed my heart and broke it at the same time, but I love its message of starting over, pursuing one's dreams, and not allowing past trauma and fear to keep you from being your best self. The neurodivergent rep was realistic, and the dialogue was timely and lively. The romance doesn't disappoint either, as there is a bathtub scene I'm still thinking about! I loved the importance placed on older queer narratives and how their stories and support can help younger ones.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC. It comes out April 2!

This is one of my new favorite books! Here We Go Again had me hooked from the beginning. I laughed, I cried (like I literally bawled my eyes out.) I adored every one of these characters. I loved how easy it was for me to see myself in all of them. I loved the neurodivergent representation shown in several characters but completely different ways.

Logan is a chaotic, “apathetic f*ckboy”, who is terrified of showing her emotions and being left again so she always leaves before she can get hurt. Rosemary is an anxious Capricorn with an organized binder for every situation and a need to feel safe and in total control. And Joe, the sweetest man and mentor to the two girls, who are both a little lost.

Alison Cochrun managed to capture all the beautiful things about life, death, love, and forgiveness. It was a fantastic read and I definitely recommend pairing it with a playlist of ABBA and Van Morrison! ;)

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Whew, have tissue close by when you read this book because Here We Go Again is a raw, vulnerable, and emotional exploration of grief and parental loss. Cochrun put readers right alongside Rosemary, Logan, and Joe on their cross-country roadtrip and writes the characters’ joy, pain, and loss that is it a visceral experience - you cry when they cry, laugh when they laugh, and grieve and mourn past and impending loss right alongside of them. I had tears in my eyes the entire second half of the book and my heart felt acutely for these characters.

I truly love how Cochrun speaks to the enormous and lasting impact teachers make in the lives of their students. In many ways, this book felt like a love letter to teachers - how their classrooms are a safe haven for students whose homes may be filled with hurt and whose parents may not be present; how educators recognize potential in their students and help them harness that creativity in ways that will help them achieve their dreams and bring fulfillment; how they teach self love and encourage inclusivity; and how their legacy extends far beyond the classroom and time in school.

I really loved how until the very end, Joe reminded Rosemary and Logan how their differences are strengths, to not be afraid of being vulnerable, and to seize love when life provided a second chance. When the world dismissed them as being ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’ or ‘unfeeling,’ Joe not only reminded them they were enough but encouraged Rosemary and Logan to harness their creativity in new ways, to relinquish the desire to control life and instead take chances on love, connection, and new adventures… because while life is beautiful, it will inevitably hold pain, and those painful moments are easier to brave with others by your side.

I do think it’s important to keep in mind before picking this book up, this is not a traditional rom-com. There are two beautiful love stories that are told in this book, but the focus is more on found family, friendship, self love, and healing.

If you’re looking for a book that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next, that is a love letter to the lasting impact and legacy of teachers, that celebrates love and friendship, and that makes you feel like driving with the windows down and the wind blowing through your hair, Here We Go Again is a must read.

📣 estranged best friends to lovers with a very emotional second story thrown in

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, & Edelweiss for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 if you were going on a big trip across your country & time wasn’t an issue, would you rather fly or drive? I’d rather drive, I think. I’d love to see the sights, especially some of the US’s National Parks!

Here We Go Again is one of those books that has a great romance & a hopeful story but also comes with a big trigger warning.

The estranged best friends to lovers arc doesn’t have too much angst…but then you add in the sub-story of a former teacher/parental figure/best friend figure who is dying of cancer & of course everything gets much heavier & emotionally devastating.

~~

Logan doesn’t believe in commitments. She also doesn’t like her ex best friend and current coworker Rosemary Hale, although she spends a lot of time thinking about her.

Despite their discord, they both have strong relationships with their former English teacher, who asks them to drive him across the country so he can die at his Maine home.

Their relationship goes on a believable & wonderful path, I think, as they let down their guards, reconnect, & allow themselves to be vulnerable. With great anxiety and ADHD rep, this book is all about acceptance, love, & appreciation.

But the impending loss of their teacher is a big storyline, & while some parts are heartwarming, hopeful, & funny, there are also some very sad moments, graphic scenes, etc. that might be difficult for readers, particularly those that have suffered a comparable loss.

HWGA is a romance, but it’s also a story about losing a loved one to cancer. I think the book is really great, but it’s also a hard read in moments & even thinking about it now makes me—someone who lost a beloved family member to cancer—feel a bit of everything.

4.5 ⭐️. Out 04/02.


CWs: Former teacher & mentor has cancer and dies during the book. Reference to alcoholism, parental abandonment, homophobia, toxic masculinity.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a curving road. In the background are trees in autumnal shades.]

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC!

I absolutely fell in love with Alison Cochrun's writing when I read Kiss Her Once for Me, so I knew that I needed to read this one.

Logan and Rosemary are childhood best friends turned strangers/work nemeses after an unfortunate party when they were teenagers. But when their favorite high school teacher wants them both to take him on a final cross-country road trip, how could they say no.

This story captured me from the beginning. I love a good rivals/enemies to lovers and second chance romance and this encompasses both of these tropes so well. Logan and Rosemary both have their flaws, but their love for their teacher Joe brings them both together to give him one last adventure. The rekindling of their friendship and love was beautiful. It showed that love isn't perfect. It is messy and painful and deserves to be felt, just like grief and loss.

The way that Alison dealt with grief and loss in this book was so beautifully done. Watching not only Logan and Rosemary, but Joe and Remy, learn to deal with accepting loss and love simultaneously was so amazing.

This book made me feel so many things, and yes, I did feel them all deeply, as the deserved to be felt.

If you need a feel good story, filled with found family, second chance romance, and emotion, you definitely need to read Here We Go Again.

This book had be ugly sobbing at the end. It starts off so innocent with grumpy/sunshine and really hits you hard with the self development and insecurities giving to us by our parents while navigating grief in different ways. Five stars of course but wow does this book punch you in the stomach and make you grieve right along side the characters

I really enjoyed this one! The author's note truly made the book for me. Would definitely recommend!

Cochrun made me laugh, cry, and swoon in this masterpiece!

Ever since reading Cochrun’s debut novel, The Charm Offensive, she’s been on my must-read list which is why Here We Go Again made my list of most anticipated romance books of 2024. This book totally delivered and is one of the best romance books of 2024!

From the original characters, to the cross-country road trip, to the human look at mortality and end of life, there is so much to love about this book that truly packs a punch.

Here We Go Again made my TBR list because I loved the friends to enemies to lovers storyline between Logan and Rosemary. I had to know why these two women who had been such good friends as tweens suddenly became enemies and didn’t speak to one another for years even when they found themselves both living and working in their hometown.

Right from the start, it seemed kind of obvious why these two were like oil and water from their first scene together. No two people could be more opposite than Logan – the ride by the seat of your pants, impulsive fuckboy who still lived at home with her father and Rosemary – the controlling, anxious and slightly uptight perfectionist.

Learning that their former teacher, mentor and friend was going to ask them to join him on a cross-country road trip as his dying wish, you knew that chaos was going to ensue and it did, though it also turned into this amazing journey for them all.

I enjoyed the romance development between Logan and Rosemary and how they came to finally talk about what happened between them as kids and how they came to be honest with one another about their current struggles. There’s a lot going on with these women that impacts their ability to trust others and feel like they are worthy of a relationship.

But then there is Joe and I was equally if not more captivated by this man and his journey and backstory. This book was heart-wrenching and has trigger warnings for a reason as it is about his death, his end of life journey and how these two women give their favorite teacher, stand-in parent, and friend the sendoff that he wants and how they grieve along the way.

Cochrun has this amazing ability to weave in important mental health and real-life topics that impact personal lives and thus their relationships into her stories and she definitely does so in Here We Go Again. ADHD, anxiety, neglect, alcoholism, and end of life care are just some of the topics touched on in this book and she does so beautifully.

While my heart broke at times for these characters, I also found myself laughing at the hilarity of them traveling around in a ridiculous van and getting into situations that just made you laugh out loud.

This book is also a really fun journey across the USA from Washington state to Bar Harbor Maine and will make you want to take a similar trip one day.

It is not a particularly steamy romance. There is really only one short scene that only has them watching each other so if you’re not one to like steamy romances this is not one of them and it didn’t need to be in my opinion.

This book is about friendship, loss, reunions, and mourning but ultimately about love that connects us all. I loved it and highly recommend it.

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was so wonderful. Being a teacher this book was extra special to me. I loved the relationship the girls had with their old teacher and their relationship with each other. It was definitely an emotional read but I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would recommend knowing that it’s a heavy book at times.

Here We Go Again review

This book shredded my heart and sewed it back together so many times I lost count.

It was clear that a great deal of thought was put into each character’s histories and how those shaped their actions and motivations. Each character was so well developed that I was deeply emotionally invested in their growth. I was rooting for them to win and frustrated when they couldn’t get out of their own ways.
The juxtaposition of grief and new beginnings was beautifully done. I also really appreciated that the ADHD rep was done in a way that shows how vastly different the disorder can present.

Both FMCs took turns deeply annoying me, but their journey was worth every second of eye-rolling. Don’t get me started on Joe, though, because I simply cannot cry again.

My biggest criticism is that the ARC I read definitely could’ve been run past a proofreader another time or two. There were some spelling and grammatical errors that bothered me enough that they pulled me out of the story for a second.

Review will be posted to Goodreads now and instagram on pub day.

Alison Cochrun is back, baby. I'll admit that I was dreading starting reading this at first - I recently went through a loss and was afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle a book where a main character dies. I shouldn't have doubted Alison Cochrun though. The first half of the book is incredibly funny, and while the second half does get more emotional, she writes about these experiences so incredibly well. She manages to capture the unreal experience of seeing the sun rise over the grand canyon for the first time, and she also captures the experience of that awe disappearing at the end of the day when everyone is exhausted and has heat stroke. Is this a canon event that everyone has experienced? She also captures active dying and what it's like to be there for someone at the end perfectly. As an oncology nurse I'm always an advocate for respecting the dying and that death can be good - and the author gets it. There's also at least 3 taylor swift references and hijinx and road trip adventures. I highly recommend this one.