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!

Ava Robinson is a new author for me. I appreciated this beautiful story of success of a realistic challenge faced by many. This has the potential to be an inspirational book for anyone facing a trial in life.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade publishing for the advance reader copy

I hadn’t read from the perspective of someone going to AA and it was really interesting to read. We get to go through Emma’s time after making it through a year of sobriety and how she has to figure out how to navigate various relationships with family, friends, and romantic relationships as well.
It was also hard to read at times because of how Emma has to deal with her relationship with her dad and what ends up happening with him. Also going through her struggles with her and how much she overthinks everything because she’s so used living her like drunk and she’s unsure of who shes supposed to be sober.
It was nice to see the development of her relationship with Ben and how understanding and patient he was with her. I just thought that their brief break-up was too brief and I wished there had been a bit more time for Emma to really process that.
I wished we had gotten more of developing friendship with Vanessa because I was really enjoying that.
Overall, it was really good and I did enjoy going through this journey with Emma.

There was a lot to like about this one. This book is about Emma, who is one year sober and just trying to get by one day at a time. She has a meet cute with an IT guy at work and botches his attempt at asking her out. She also starts to make friends at work and tries to figure out how to be more honest about herself at work without letting people know she’s an alcoholic.

^^ that is a very bad summary. Haha- but this book is really good.

*spoilers*

It focuses on Emma’s growth and what she is struggling with - and how she figures out what she wants and needs. I really loved her as a character and as someone who is a year and a half sober, I really felt for her.

I loved Ben - he was such a great love interest and so very patient. I really liked his sense of humor and I loved how much he blushed around Emma. It was so cute! When he said he’d drive all day to get to her *swoon.*

I absolutely loved their intimacy because it was more about their emotional connection and the heat was only intensified between them. I loved their honesty and tough discussions.

The relationship Emma had with her parents was really interesting - particularly in the back half of the novel.

I highlighted a LOT of passages that really resonated with me, both about sobriety and the developing relationships/friendships Emma had.

I really enjoyed the ending so much. It was a good book and I’m happy I read it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a superb read. I loved the POV, the writing style was excellent, the plot was easy to follow and had great pace, and the characters were easy to love. Does it help that I am in AA and haven't gotten to read a book from this POV before? Absolutely. Seeing references to the Big Book and meetings and this raw perspective that not all meetings are the same and speak to everyone, even AA doesn't speak to everyone, is incredible. Seeing someone that went through similar struggles to me in a book is really cool. Especially because this story takes place a year after getting sober, not going through the weeds or rehab or withdrawal. We see struggles, questioning of life and motives, discovering what is important, and just an overall feel good read.

Do I normally read contemporary fiction? No. Was this still an excellent book even though I'm a sci-fi / fantasy fan? YES. The added romance is sweet and salty and not a bit cringe or overbearing. This is a fade to black / spare-me-the-details type where it is mostly just the build-up and then skipping over most of the other details. The romance is just a subplot in the bigger story of Emma's life.

I hope you take the time to read this book and really enjoy the story unfolding before you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ava Robinson for letting me get an ARC of this book. I appreciate your support in me and can't wait to read whatever Ava has next for us!!

A lovely debut by Ava Robinson. When I chose this book, I definitely judged by the cover and thought I was getting into a romcom. This book was definitely a little deeper with heavy weight on sobriety and relationships within newfound sobriety. As someone who has never struggled with addiction, I felt like the author did a lot of research and touched well on the ins and outs of the sobriety journey and AA. I loved the writing style, finished so quickly because I NEEDED to know the outcome of the sexual tension between the two MCs!

This book was so heartfelt. I was captivated by the way Emma went through her journey to stay sober, the struggles with mental health and learning to accept herself.
The realness of the way she wanted to start a relationship with Ben so badly but being scared to show her true self to him really hit home.
From learning to love herself, to learning to accept love from another person, to the sadness of losing her father who she wasn’t very close with, this story touched on a lot of difficult subjects that we all face in life. It was written in a way that was relatable and kept me reading, anxious to see what choices Emma would make and where those choices would lead her.

Thank you NetGalley and Mira Books for the early release of this debut by Ava Robinson. I absolutely LOVED this book. It had me engulfed in the story from the very start. The characters and plot were enjoyable and relatable.

As a woman in my late twenties I felt like this was a very important book to read. It shed a lot of light on self discovery, self worth and self growth. This book follows Emma a 26 year old recovering alcoholic who is just taking life one day at a time. The book is centered around her second year of sobriety while she deals with all of life’s ups and downs while remaining sober.

This book has love, friendship, family, grief, and career all wrapped into one. It really shows how hard life can be in your late twenties and even more different and difficult it could be for someone struggling with alcoholism. I loved the way the author described and delved into addiction. This book made me emotional at times and had me cheering on the main character which is really all you can hope for while reading.

This was a debut book by Ava Robinson and I really hope there are more books by her to come! This book comes out at the end of December 2024 so make sure you add it to your TBR you won’t be disappointed.

4.5 stars!! I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book & can’t wait for everyone else to read it.
Definitely Better Now is a heartfelt, raw, coming of age story with some comedic relief (contrary to the description I would categorize this book as “funny”). Emma is a young woman living in NYC working a corporate job while trying to juggle sobriety, work and personal relationships. I thought the sobriety aspect of this book was really interesting and added a lot to Emma’s personal struggles, especially with her father. Overall this book was interesting and I actually wanted to pick it up to find out where the story was going. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for women’s fiction or a coming of age story (with a little bit of romance and complex family relationships)