"There was a little office in Manhattan, doing work that wasn't particularly important or groundbreaking but could occasionally be fun, waiting for me to come home to it."

I wish there could be required reading for twenty-somethings because this would make my list. I am not an alcoholic, but I felt so SEEN by Emma and by Ava Robinson's writing. This debut poignantly described the trials of becoming sober, of finding your footing, of mental health crises. I love a good coming-of-age when it's an adult, learning that she doesn't know everything. I feel like this generation is used to quick fixes and fleeting feelings, but that's not what adulthood is. Emma learns how to be grown-up, and I am glad I got to learn a lot with her. The narration was flawless, with good touches of humor and a whole lot of gravity. I would be remiss if I didn't include Ben: readers should not go into this story expecting it to be a full-fledged romance, but the romantic elements had a lot of heart to them. Ben was a perfect book boyfriend, but what makes this book extraordinary was Emma herself.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ava Robinson, MIRA, and Harlequin for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. I could definitely see myself purchasing a physical copy of this.

3.5/5 rounded up!

Definitely Better Now follows our main character, Emma, as she navigates her sobriety on top of family, work, and romantic struggles.
I did quite enjoy this book. It featured realistic characters and conflicts, as well as had a romantic subplot that wasn't front and center, allowing the main character to navigate her life without a constant reliance on romance. The story kept my attention until the end, but I waited on a final review because it wasn't the most memorable.

I am not a recovering alcoholic, and I’ve never been to an AA meeting, but this was so interesting. The view of alcoholism through the lens of someone newly sober, trying relationships on for the first time, navigating a workplace without messing it up…this book has a little bit of everything. I really enjoyed reading this one and even though the first 35% kind of dragged on, once I started reading in earnest it flew by. Lovely for most anyone, and although it’s a romance, the spice level is nice and mellow.

I've never read a book with POV of a recovering alcoholic and for it to be of someone so young like Emma I felt it added a unique aspect to it. I really enjoyed this book and was rooting for Emma throughout her journey into getting back into a more a social lifestyle after celebrating her one year of sobriety. I thought this was beautifully written and a very honest representation of addiction and alcoholism. I highly recommend giving this a read!

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing & Netgalley for the ARC!
Pub date: December 30,2024.

The book opens with Emma who is just about to reach a year of sobriety. With a full of year of sobriety comes a lot of new responsibility, and as Emma emerges back onto the dating scene, she's finding it to be a lot more difficult to navigate sober.

Wow, I really enjoyed "Definitely Better Now," I think Robinson was able to craft such an engaging, page turning story with a complex protagonist that can be hard to do with a story such as this. Sometimes the "coming of age" in your twenties or thirties novels can lack a vigor that makes you want to keep reading and engaging with the story. They can be bland where the day to day is not made interesting by the author, however Robinson is able to make Emma's day to day so compelling. You just want to follow Emma's every step as she navigates day by day what it's like to be a year sober all the while figuring out dating, work and coming to terms with a dying parent who you inherited your addiction from.

What a debut! I have never read a book told from the POV of a recovering alcoholic before but I was surprised at how interesting and authentic it was. Emma was an easy heroine to like. She was so real and vulnerable in her quest to take back her life and really begin living again post alcoholism and after one year of sobriety. But trying to take her life back isn't as easy as it seems and quitting alcohol doesn't magically solve every single one of her problems like she thinks it will.

Despite having absolutely nothing in common with Emma, I still felt so attached to her in this journey and every single on of her thoughts and introspections felt so relatable. And as Emma navigates new friendships, a budding office romance with adorably awkward Ben from the IT department, and the return of her alcoholic father, you can't help but root for her. Though this book felt heavy at times with themes of grief and past childhood trauma, it felt balanced with the fun and lighthearted moments as well as subtle humor. This story felt so complex, human, and absolutely personal. It was an emotional rollercoaster that I did not want to get off and such a solid first book. I will gladly read more from Ava in the future.

4.5/5 ⭐

I enjoy a coming-of-age story and this one delivered on its premise! Really enjoyed and know this will be a fave this year.

Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title. It was nice to read a Novel about a woman who changed her life for the better, and although she may have had moments of self sabotage, the author knew to keep her head screwed on straight (somewhat) to pick herself back up, be there for those who needed her, get her shit together, and keep moving forward. I really enjoyed Emma 's character and Ben seems swoonworthy enough 😋

This is kind of a romcom but more than that. Emma has just celebrated one year of being sober. This book tells a bit about her story. Her drinking years, her complicated family, and her trying to function responsibly in the world as she hides her past. It is very honest and really a lovely read as you want to cheer Emma along as she stumbles through life sober and figures out what she wants.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a delightful story.. it’s a life affirming story set in New York - in the City and also in the mountains. We find ourselves
with Emma as she celebrates a year of sobriety. We follow her as she begins to navigate her life basically learning how to
interact with her co-workers, her family and, to her surprise, a man! A co-worker, actually. She’s 26, without a date during
her first year of sobriety. When she runs into Ben the story is really well written. The evolution of their fledgling relationship
is so perfect. I look forward to the next installment by this debut Auth0r..
My thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing via NetGalley for the download of the book for review purposes.

It's the realism for me. Of course a book like this is going to be character based, which is my jam, and the lead is done so well. All of the characters feel real, but being in her head feels honest. Beautifully done, Ava; thank you for sharing.

This was a very emotional read and I was rooting for the main character the entire time. It gets very heavy at times and I felt even though my life is different, I could really relate to this book. It was very well written and i definitely recommend.

4-4.5 rounding up bc… Very strong debut. I finished the book in 2 days. The ending and Epilogue were perfection. So satisfying, left me with a smile on my face.

At first I thought this would be around a 3 star read, and then when I got past 180 pages I realized that there was more complexity to the story (which I appreciated). From there, I was invested in where the story was going to go and the pace remained steady with the developments that came with Emma’s story. So, I highly recommend to keep going right to the end with this book!

I was first interested in the book based off the striking colour combo featured on the cover and the fact that the main character’s name is the same as mine (Emma). I’m a “go-in-blind” reader so I was pleasantly surprised with the romance that came out of this book. For me, I mostly enjoy romance that can simulate real life, where I can envision the scenes as something believable. This was that 100%. It felt so genuine and gave first-love vibes. All the scenes the FMC & MMC had were so sweet and gave a sense of innocence, it was refreshing to read a romance like this - it was very swoon worthy! I’ve already recommended some friends to read this book based off of this fictional book relationship, it was a special one. I liked their deep convos and quirky moments.

I have a Ben-type of life partner so I think that added to my enjoyment. Plus Emma’s overthinking/second guessing at times I could relate to.

I thought the depiction of Emma was fitting for someone who is in recovery AA. I thought her character traits coincided with someone who is trying to find themselves, in trying all of life’s events as a sober individual and trying to find inner peace and confidence in oneself.

Chapter 21 hit hard!

I enjoyed the side characters.

I will say I thought the Mitchell character could’ve been edited out. I was a bit frustrated with those scenes and wanting to skip over them. I felt it didn’t add anything to the story, or to Emma’s character development. I couldn’t put believability into that character, it played off too stupid-rich-bro to the point that it didn’t seem authentic to me, whereas all the other characters in the story I could believe in as real people. I didn’t get why Emma kept entertaining when clearly she hated him from the get-go, so all the interactions that followed didn’t make sense to me. Maybe if these scenes were written differently I would’ve been interested in this aspect of the story more. I understand it got a touch-her-and-die type of moment but I felt the Mitchell stuff could’ve been played out differently and for that defend-her vibe be played up better.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing (MIRA) & Netgalley for an eARC!

Publication currently says Dec 30, 2024!

This was a good book. Emma’s journey was very touching. I’ve never read about a recovering alcoholic and this was well written. It did start of slow and didn’t really give rom com vibes.

This book was such a special little gem to find. It’s got a combination of so many things, grief, love, hope, fear, humor, and so much more that all blend together to create such a lovely exploration of the human experience. Emma is such a deeply developed character, and I found her to be so wonderfully relatable even without having many shared life experiences. That’s part of what made this such a magic reading experience.

Emma’s journey with sobriety is very raw, and her emotions are felt so deeply through the book. I really enjoyed being along with her as she navigated life and the different faces she feels she has to wear, and how they began to blend into just her being Emma. Her character truly was so special, and I didn’t even mind that it was in first person POV.

There are some delightful and enjoyable side characters, and some others who are not as enjoyable, but I got such a clear picture of all of these characters. Obviously, the biggest character we get to know outside of Emma is Ben, and I absolutely adored him. His kindness and empathy was really lovely, and his sense of humor was such a delight. The other character I found really interesting was Kirtan, and especially how Emma navigated their relationship and her feelings about him as a father.

Just all around a really beautiful and emotional little book. I loved it!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

This book is about a young woman, Emma, who is one year sober. One that anniversary, she wakes up expecting her life to be magically better once she hit that milestone- but Spoiler alert: her life is still messy like everyone else’s.

Emma is absolutely the kind of main character you want to root for. Not only is she relatable, but she also carries so such strength and resilience when faced with so much pain and hardship. She's definitely not perfect, but that made her all the more likable as a main character. She’s also witty as heck. I loved the dry humor interlaced.

I think this is an absolute must-read for 2024! Whether you struggle with addiction or not. Emma's authenticity and depth of her relationships resonate profoundly. The portrayal of Alcoholics Anonymous is insightful. 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.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked the theme of sobriety in this book and found Emma's journey to be touching. She was a character that you wanted to cheer and wanted to do well. I also really liked Ben... he was so patient and understanding towards Emma. Unfortunately, I found the pacing to be incredibly slow and I think that weighed the book down. It gave me "Interesting Facts About Space" vibes at times, but it didn't commit all the way to that level of humor. Overall, I enjoyed the book! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

Definitely Better Now was unlike any book I have read before. The insider POV into all of the elements of addiction and recovery were fascinating. The description of the AA program, and insight into how groups differ from one another in structure and function made me feel like I was learning while reading a good story. Emma is easy to root for, even with her history, and although there was a lot of information included in the narrative, it was so nicely woven into the story that it worked perfectly.

This is not my normal read. It was an emotional journey to go along with Emma as she takes on a new journey of taking back control of her life and addiction. There are heavy elements that are brought up through her journey. There is of course a love interest that takes its own twists and turns.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This book was not light. I learned a decent bit about AA. I was rooting for Emma in general and I was rooting for Ben and Emma. The ending was tough, so heartfelt but hard. Even for a person who has no connection to AA.

This book is about a young woman who is one year sober and how she expected her life to be magically better once she hit that milestone. Spoiler alert: her life was still messy like everyone’s is. It could be triggering for some people but I think it was beautifully written and rein-stilled the best part of reading for: living another persons experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Ava Robinson for an advanced digital copy.