A surprising novel that intertwines classic romance tropes and adult fiction. Read this in almost one sitting but this is by no means the easiest read. This story follows Emma, a Marketing Assistant who has just achieved her first full year of sobriety. We unpack her trauma surrounding her alcoholism, the strained relationship with her alcoholic father, and the realities of an adult that has pored all of her energy into leaving her past self behind. Lo and behold we are very quickly introduced to the IT guy and main love interest Ben. Ben exhibits all of the normal straight love interest characteristics: he is sweet, charming, somehow ripped even though he sits at a desk all day (which is maybe the most questionable part, but I digress), and most importantly jealous- so jealous that Emma and Ben are nearly forced to begin fake dating around 25% of the way through the book. So, you can imagine how that unfolds in a corporate office.

Side note for the trope driven: I thought the twist on the one-bed trope at the end was well executed and actually had me laughing when I realized what was happening.

Overall I think this was a very sweet novel- Emma’s relationship with her father is incredibly heartbreaking and raw, and I wish that had been a bit more of a focus rather than the relationship with Ben during the mid-parts. This type of book is not necessarily my cup of tea all the time, but for Ava Robinson I may make an exception.

This was a great read. It kept me engaged and I finished it easily. The characters were developed and the story line was great.

I loved this book. The story of finding yourself during sobriety and also dealing with the consequences of your past actions in this refreshing voice Ava Robinson gave her characters was both gut wrenching and heartwarming.

Emma is trying to make herself in sobriety and making new relationships. She navigates making friends, parents, and maybe love. She works through her shortcomings and realizations that she could only do sober.

Thank you to NetGalley and @harlequin-books for my advanced copy of *Definitely Better Now* by Ava Robinson.

I selected this book from NetGalley mainly because of its cover and a quick scan of its description. I haven’t read many, if any, books from the perspective of a sober person in their mid-twenties. It’s an important topic, and it was written with such care while also being a very entertaining and fun story.

The FMC, Emma, is funny, and her depiction of addiction and recovery feels honest without being corny or like an after-school special. In addition to just getting her feet under her in her everyday life, she is finally able to date again after completing her first year in AA. As if normal life wasn’t difficult enough, she has to experience all her firsts again, but completely sober.

This story speaks to the journey of truly moving on from a difficult part of life and accepting the good and bad things that can result from positive change. I loved it. If you’re on NetGalley, I highly recommend checking it out. If not, add it to your TBR for December!

Real, funny, poignant, this book follows Emma, one year sober, through navigating what her life will look like now. She develops a budding romance with a work colleague, but is unsure of how to commit to sober intimacy. She also must navigate changing relationships with both her parents, and come to terms with her father’s own alcoholism. I could not put this book down as it felt so real and I found myself cheering Emma on as she learns to navigate her adult life and relationships sober.

This book was incredible! “Definitely Better Now” by Ava Robinson tells the story of a woman in her late 20s navigating her life after accomplishing her first year of sobriety. This story was relatable, heartbreaking, raw, and uncomfortably funny. One year sober, Emma has to now navigate feeling comfortable in her own skin while dating, dealing with her parents, and discovering who she is and who she aspires to be. The insights into AA were extremely interesting and intriguing. I also loved understanding the complexities of her intrusive thoughts and how they impact her poor choices. Overall, this was an emotional and well written story that is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys character development with an emphasis on personal development and complex relationships to alcohol.

This book broke my heart in the most beautiful way and is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. Following Emma’s journey a year after she gets sober, we follow along as she navigates romance, family, and friendship now in this new world she lives in without alcohol. The author has perfectly described the chaos and confusion and complexity of these issues, and done so while being so respectful. This is a heavy read, you will cry, but you will be grateful you read this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the Advanced Readers Copy of Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson. I was very pleasantly surprised with the execution of this story, since I went in knowing very little about the subject matter. This is a very heavy book, definitely read the trigger warnings before picking it up. It follows very intimately our main character Emma’s journey to Sobriety from hard drugs and alcohol. I thought it was very authentic and real. I didn’t rate this a 5 star because I felt like the third act conflict between the MC and the love interest added unnecessary stresses to the already extremely heavy plot, and I felt like it would’ve been a better move to make it the readers emotional escape from the heavier subject matter this book carries. Though I understand that it is less of a romance than it is a women’s fiction. Other than that, the topics of grief, loss, sobriety, adulthood, and generational guilt were very much realistic and very well written. I would love to read more of Ava Robinson’s book and I am very thankful for this opportunity.

wow! What an amazing debut. I wasn’t expecting such an incredible book. This book was such a heavy one, but with that being said it gave me all the feels and pulled on my heart strings. I believe this is going to be a major love for every reader who will take the time to pick a copy of
this up!

This book was not what I was expecting. It was more heavy but still good. While there is some romance in it, it is more of a women's fiction than a romance novel. I feel that it could be something people can relate to when going through AA. I did feel that it was an authentic interpretation of someone's journey through AA and the struggles they may have to overcome. I will say that this is not exactly a happy go lucky book, but a good read if you are into these types of books. I did not find myself rolling my eyes or getting overly frustrated while reading, I also felt that things did resolve nicely in the end which is great. I would like to thank Harlequin for allowing me to read this book as it was my first one! It meant the world to me.

DEFINITELY BETTER NOW
2/5

Emma just hit a personal milestone: she completed one year sober and can now focus on other matters in her personal life such as her relationships – romantic, familial, and friendships. Integrating additional elements of a sober life that were previously ignored is resulting to be much more challenging than Emma expected.

Y’all, I could not vibe with this book at all. I can sympathize with a story that depicts a lived experience that is different than mine (i.e. life as a newly sober young adult) but I did not find the protagonist likeable at all. Emma just struck me as so boring and bland with nothing to really offer the story, despite the story being about her. I thought she and her love interest, Ben, had no chemistry whatsoever until the last chapter, which is so disappointing because Ben seems lovely.

Nevertheless, thank you to @NetGalley and @Harlequinbooks for the Advanced Reader Copy!

#bookstagram #books #booklover #bookworm #bookreview #reading #booknerd #bookaddict #bookish #alwaysreading #readingchallenge #DefinitelyBetterNow #AvaRobinson #NetGalley #Kindle #ARC

Overall, I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars. Having lost friends to substance use disorder, I was immediately drawn to this story. Overall, I appreciate the story of redemption, but I don’t think it’s anything to write home about.

I thought Avery’s anxiety about which version of herself she needs to present to different people in different environments was very relatable to how I interact with others. I normally cringe at romance books, but the selflessness and understanding of Ben was hard not to smile at write reading.

I did feel like the dialogue was a bit hard to follow during the text exchanges and it often took me out of the story to try to figure out who was saying what.

Definitely Better Now is a unique, fresh examination of someone navigating life in early-ish sobriety. Firstly, the title of the book is perfect, as is the cover. Secondly, it gives a lot of insight into what the recovery process can be like, and addresses some of the challenges that pop up when you are “surrendering.” The narrator struggles between doing what feels right to her and doing what she is told to do by her sponsor, which is a common thing that I think doesn’t get talked about enough. This book deals with grief and new beginnings in a way that is honest and refreshing. I loved the main character (though at times her choices frustrated me) and I loved Ben, the love interest. I would definitely recommend this to most people, but especially those who have experience with addiction or 12 step programs. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

Although a slower read for me, it definitely was one of the more heavy. This novel goes through the past, present, and future implications of alcoholism. There is a part of this book that most everyone could relate to. I enjoyed the romantic part of the story as well and how it tied into the healing process of becoming sober.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for letting me experience this book!

Definitely better now - follows Emma Finely as she navigates her sober life and AA. I admit I wasn’t sure I would like this book as it is not my usual genre. I was pleasantly surprised. Emma is going through many ups and downs and has finally accomplished her one-year sobriety. But with that, she starts facing all kinds of struggles. It was interesting to be in her head and feel all the anxiety from everyday things that would not bother a nonalcoholic person. I was crossing my fingers the whole book that she wouldn’t relapse and that she would be okay. And she was in the end. I rooted for her and Ben the entire time, and I’m glad she got her happy ending.
As someone who has never met or read about AA, it was interesting to see different aspects of it and how hard it can be. I can’t imagine how Emma was feeling. I have my own anxiety, but this was the next level. It broke my heart that casual conversations and just trying to say the word “No” were hard for her. I wish people would understand that when someone says they don’t drink, you don’t question or make a big deal about it. Say okay and move on. A simple work holiday party was pushing the limits. When her dad passed, I broke with her, and I again was hoping she’d be okay.

This book gave me a better understanding of how people feel and struggle even after they can get sober. I enjoyed this book and appreciated how, although there was a sprinkle of romance, it wasn’t the main focus.

One thing that bothered me while reading this (not sure if it’s because it was an ARC read) was the spacing was weird, and some chapters had sentences split in the following line. Also, throughout the book, random F words had the letter F spaced far back (ex., F ar). I am not sure why it was only F words. Not all of them were, but a lot were.

such a heavy read. pls check trigger warnings, dealing with any type of addiction is so hard to tackle but i believe this is one of the good ones. so much care was given to this book. i had to take my time with this one since it really hit home at certain parts so beware. still a great read.

Definitely Better Now
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Emma is celebrating a year sober and hoping that the best is yet to come; however, the road to a happy ending is never as easy as we want it to be. Ava Robinson’s debut novel is a stunning view into Emma’s life, navigating messy family and friend dynamics, dating, and just trying to make it day to day. While this book started off a bit slow in the first few chapters, it picked up for me and I feel in love with the perfectly imperfect characters Robinson gives us. This dark romcom was so interesting in showing the dynamics of a recovering alcoholic and shedding light on AA is a respectful way. Also, we just love a supportive MMC, and Ben is the sweetest! This book is perfect for anyone who appreciates a slow burn and self re-discovery!

this was my first time reading a book by this author but also reading this genre since it is women’s fiction and i never read anything women’s fiction related at all. overall i enjoyed this book, it was okay, some chapters i found interesting while other times i found it boring

Definitely Better Now is touching story about a former alcoholic finding her way through life after a year of successful sobriety. The concept of the story was sweet and the main character was believably complex. However, there were examples of her former alcohol and drug use phase that were over the top and most likely littered throughout the story for no other reason than the shock factor from the reader. The main guy in the story didn't really have a lot of depth and seemed to almost be an idealized perfectly understanding mate (with a hair of a backstory) for someone in her situation. It would have been nice for her main romantic interest to have more intrigue than just a side character.

Which was nice...but could have been just a little better--and that's the theme of my take on this book. It was nice...but could have been better with a little more depth for the characters and less shocking scenarios of addiction to move the story along.

Solid 3.5.

Pros
-The writing was BEAUTIFUL. Reminded me of a cross between Old Enough by Haley Jakobson and Happy Place by Emily Henry.
-I really liked the subject matter and learned a lot about the culture of AA.
-Emma's character was really dynamic, and I loved the way her anxieties and fears seemed to leap off of the page.

Cons
-The pacing felt off - too slow in some parts, too fast in others. It was hard to really figure out how much time was passing because the author gave a lot of detail to things that didn't 100% seem to matter.
-There were a lot of subplots and minor characters that also could have been cut for length. The book overall dragged a little bit.
-This is nitpicky, but some of the way the dialogue was written, especially during texting, made it hard to figure out who was saying what.

Overall, this was a really strong debut. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!