Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of Here We Go Again. Phew I really wanted to love this book because I've enjoyed some of Alison's work in the past. However, it was a slow read for me and hard to get through. I did enjoy his past lover and the artwork he created of him.

A sapphic, opposites-attract, road trip romcom about two former best friends turned enemies who reunite to drive their dying former teacher across the country.

There is SO much to love about this book. The banter is delightful, the characters are beautifully written, and the emotional arc had me crying almost immediately. And of course, Odysseus the dog is a delightful road trip companion and responsible for many critical hijinks throughout.

I also loved Alison Cochrun’s @alisoncochrun Instagram post about all the tropes and themes in the book, including “There’s only one bed x100,” “A critical subplot involving nudes,” and most importantly, “A giant dog/toddler horse named Odysseus.”

Alison Cochrun has written another winner for me. I have firmly established that For Your Consideration is my all time fav romance novel of all time and while I did love Kiss Her Once For Me I haven't felt the urge to revisit it since the first read. However, I already know that this will be a book I come back to and roll around in in the future.

Here We Go Again is a love letter to road trips, your favorite high school English teacher, death, and that universal sapphic experience of the homoerotic codependent middle school friendship you never really move on from. While my homoerotic middle school bestie and I emerged from childhood as friends this story as them begin as adults to begin as enemies to get the enemies to lovers rolling. While I am generally not an enemies to lovers fan I loved both of these characters their perspectives and the Nurodivergent and Ace rep I always find in Cochran's books.

This book made me laugh, made me cry and made me want to take a long road trip even though I hate driving.

this book was outstanding. The banter, as always from Alison Cochrun, is hilarious. I definitely identified with one of the main characters so much that I cried when the other MC understood and appreciated her flaws. Crying is inevitable with this one.
Sorry! This is a very character driven book, so you will become very attached to the characters even down to the dog, Odie. But in the end you'll be better for reading this book.

(from Goodreds)

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I expected to cry (maybe not sob so loudly I scared my cat, but here we are). I expected to be emotionally punched in the face. I *did not* expect to be called out by yet another rom com, but apparently that's what we're doing these days, so cool.

The way this book has consumed my mind for the 24 hours since I finished it, however, was the most unexpected thing about it. I read half the book sitting at a park during the solar eclipse, and then read more before bed, and then finished it when I woke up and I cannot stop thinking about it. Lately the rom coms I've been picking up (and absolutely devouring) haven't been simple love stories, but deep and complex in ways I didn't expect. I don't consider myself to be judgmental (deragatory) about genres (I'm very much one to encourage people NOT to be), but clearly I've been making assumptions if I'm being constantly surprised like this.

Maybe how I read this kind of book has changed, or maybe norms in the genre are changing, but assuming rom coms are going to be light and fluffy probably won't be my default anymore. I'm okay with having to be more conscious of that moving forward if it means getting more like this though. I don't know if I'll ever fully recover from this one - and honestly? I'm okay with that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts (even if I did end up buying the book without having read the ARC)

Alison Cochrun books always make me smile but this one had the added bonus of making me cry like a baby. Holy emotions batman! Here We Go Again is a sapphic romance between ex best friends that go on a road trip together and are forced to confront their past is guaranteed to capture your heart.

Probably 4.5//I adored this story and reflections on death, grieving, and love. Listened to this while on a road trip and it really hit the spot. I found both MCs to be likable and compatible. After the flop of Kiss Her Once For Me I was nervous, but the Cochrun I loved in The Charm Offensive has hit it out of the park once again.

I will always pick up a book by Alison Cochrun. I think both main characters had great emotional character arcs and development, and despite the reasons for their travels being grim, there are still fun adventures throughout the book. Please take care when reading, and be mindful of the trigger warnings at the beginning, but I would highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. I love a good LGBTQ romance. This one did not disappoint.

i was so excited for this and the premise is super fun and interesting! however, the writing was really hard for me to get into. the main characters feel very severe and unrealistic, and the millennial references made the book feel very 2021. i'm bummed! i really wanted to like this!

HERE WE GO AGAIN by alison cochrun was a delightful sapphic romance ft. second-chance romance, enemies/friends to lovers, and many, many one bed moments 😇

Even though childhood best friends Logan and Rosemary work at their Alma mater as high school English teachers, they don’t speak and haven’t been friends since high school. Logan could not be more chill and Rosemary is type A and buttoned up (literally). But they have to get past their differences and tumultuous past to drive their beloved high school teacher across the country because it’s his dying wish.

How was this book so sad but still so fun?! Gosh I just so enjoyed the characters, their shenanigans, and how *real* this all felt. I also loved how much this book is a love letter to teachers who make profound impacts on their students’ lives!

This is a "sapphic road trip rom-com about death," according to the author's acknowledgements, and this story does not fail in this regard.

Logan and Rosemary were childhood friends until a kiss brought the end of their friendship. For 20 years, they have not spoken (or spoke rudely) to each other. Then comes a phone call from their mentor, their previous teacher, Joe, who tells them he is dying and convinces them both to take a road trip from Washington state to Maine. Throughout this journey, Logan and Rosemary come to terms with their own mental issues and opinions about each other, while Joe embarks on some much-needed closure with his one regret in life.

This is a heartbreaking tale of losing someone so young to a horrible disease. Through the tears, there are snarky comebacks, ridiculous pet names, and horrible exclamations using famous people's names, but the sentiment still rings true. According to the author as well, it seems she wrote this book "with a naive detachment from the subject matter" which, unfortunately, is how I found Logan's reaction to this whole trip. She has ADHD (mirroring the author's own mental issues), is not someone who can deal with heavy subject matter, and apparently has a selfish streak that runs deep (courtesy of her absentee mother). By the end of this road trip, thankfully, Logan's character seemed to have done a 180 in regard to her disposition. Rosemary's character also climbed an uphill battle, trying to come to terms with how her anxiety has controlled much of her life. It was refreshing to see these ladies find the silver linings in such a painful time.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, for an honest review.

A beautiful, heartbreaking rom-com about death. A celebration of life from page 1 to the end. I rarely cry while reading…this one got me. This one had me blubbering! I loved each character even when they were being insufferable. They were real people with real struggles joined together through the magic of teaching. This one is going to linger.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and author Alison Cochrun for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. “Here We Go Again” was published April 2, 2024!

This one made me cry but they warned me in the beginning so I have no one to blame but myself. I loved that this had such a strong theme of found family and exploring how that supports you. I loved that both characters saw their own flaws and were able to work through them. It was a bit heavier of a read than I was expecting but still had a lot of bright funny moments, much like life.

I’ll admit to enjoying Cochrun‘s previous books a fair bit more especially through plot pacing and characterizations.

However I have to applaud Cochrun’s ability to write such heavy subject matter in a rather beautiful way.

Definitely pulled at my heartstrings. Shed more than a few tears reading this.

This romance was very grief centered which can admittedly be a bit triggering. I loved it though. This was so emotion and beautiful and I love alison's writing.

I always recommend Alison Cochran books because she never disappoints. She has done it once again!

This is a heartfelt & gripping story. This story features heartbreak & loss. The author deals with those topics generously. The 2 mc’s relationship is almost a subplot to the bigger overarching story here.

There’s great representation featured in this book
LGBTQ, ADHD, anxiety!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author & the publisher for a copy of the ARC!

Here We Go Again was an amazing enemies to lovers story that was filled with so much heart! I enjoyed the tension and budding romance between Logan and Rosemary, who appear to be comically opposite from one another. While the romance aspect is what initially drew me to Cochrun’s latest novel, I especially loved the plot surrounding their beloved English teacher and how both characters come together to take him on a road trip across the country. This pulled on my heartstrings and was a beautiful story! I highly recommend for anyone that enjoys Emily Henry novels or Cochrun’s prior novel, Kiss Her Once for Me.

alison cochrun you're getting my next therapy bill because I am not okay after reading this. this was the book you were meant to write.

FF
Friends to enemies to lovers
Self discovery and growth
Neurodivergent representation
Dual POV

Rating: 5/5 - this book was incredible but I will never read it again
🌶️: 2/5 - there were a couple explicit intimate scenes

TLDR: This is an incredible book. Read it with tissues nearby.

Boy oh boy will this book make you feel all your feelings. This book is just beautiful. It has so many incredible elements and poignant moments. It was funny and I laughed. It was beautifully romantic and I cried. It was so sad and I sobbed. There are so many elements to this book that I don't even know where to start so I'll just say read it. Ultimately I would recommend this book to everyone and warn them to have tissues handy.