loved this romance about emma and being sober for year. she has some ups and downs with finding her way with friendships and dating ben. She deals with family issues and with coming to terms with death. She realizes that she is trying with Ben and figuring out what she wants. Its a tough year for her. she realizes that she needs to make some changes.

This book was SO GOOD! There is something so real about Emma, where even though I had hardly anything in common with her, I felt like I could relate to her fully. There were so many beautiful truths about life, family, and just social interaction that make this book so enjoyable, fun, and poignant to read!

Emma has reached the impressive milestone of 365 days of sobriety by talking to her sponsor daily, following all the steps to recovery, making amends and attending many, many meetings. She goes to work, goes to meetings, and does little else except wallow in shame at her embarrassing past. She also hasn't dated at all during the past year, and really has never had a steady boyfriend. When she goes out for drinks, only fizzy water for her, she finally admits to a couple of coworkers that she is one year sober. During that "happy hour", they set up a dating profile which immediately starts attracting interest. Meanwhile, she meets the IT Director when he comes to her workstation to fix her computer, and there is an undeniable something between them.

The first half of the novel goes by really slowly, with an excruciating, often boring recollection of Emma's past, the meetings, the conversations in her head, the conversations with her mom, the freighted relationship with her dad, etc. It does finally start to pick up, and I felt fully engaged in her story by the final third of the novel. It was worth the wait to find how she faces the challenges of crafting the rest of her life without the ruinous effects of alcohol.

I really enjoyed this one. Emma, a recovering alcoholic living in New York, is such an immediately sympathetic MC that has such a tenuous grasp on her sobriety that you can’t help but root for her. Robinson has such a deft hand in exploring really complex, nuanced situations that feel so intricate and personal that it’s hard to believe this is a debut. I loved the world that Emma was in, the little instances of humanity related and unrelated to her sobriety and love the way we as readers can see how she slowly opens up. My only qualm, if it could be called that, was how quickly she was head over heels for Ben the main love interest. He is smart, funny, and so unlike a book boyfriend in that he’s awkward! I adored that! Everything about their relationship (and perfectly avoiding the dumb third act breakup while still creating some understandable tension) was just as easy to root for that had it not been for the lightning beginning, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. As it was, Ben and Emma’s slow courtship was fun to read though I’ll admit that once they started dating, I would’ve liked to have seen more of that chemistry and banter on the page.

Nevertheless, I’d definitely round this up more as a 4.5, a lovely debut that will have me looking for more of Robinson’s work in the future.

Engaging, relatable, and relevant. A recommended purchase for collections where women's fiction is popular.

I did really enjoy this book, but I wish there was more to it at the end. The ending felt abrupt and I felt like I was missing out on details.

This book will undoubtedly make my top 5 of 2024!

The writing is amazing, Emma is SO REAL, her relationships are raw and full of depth. I appreciated the discussions of AA - the process of sponsorship/working the steps/finding meetings that are right for you/etc.

I am so happy Emma has healthy and supportive relationships with her mom, Vanessa, and Ben. I think her hope of “once I’m one year sober everything will be “better”/I’ll be “normal”/i can move on with my life” not just being automatically true can be applicable to and experienced in a lot of different life situations (work/school/weight loss/salary/relationships/etc).

I want everyone to read this book when it is published - i really can’t accurately sum up how touching, emotional, and truly relatable this story is.

🤍Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!!🤍

I gotta give myself a break in between fantasy, and this story just felt like a warm hug with relatable characters in a more realistic setting. I'll be keeping an eye on this author will defiantly grab more!

Emma is a recovering alcoholic coming up on one year sober. She’s trying to navigate sober life and she’s waiting for the wonderful like AA portrayed after recovery. Dating is tough and so is making new friends. It’s a quick read with relatable characters that you root for into the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC**

5/5 Stars!!!!

Emma is an alcoholic. That is no secret to the few people she lets close to her; however, to everyone else she is just another "normal person". As Emma navigates life year sober for the first time in 10 years, she prepares herself to reenter the world of not only friendships but romantic relationships. As the important people in her life emotional dump on her, almost all at once, Emma navigates the world again as a new, sober, form of herself.

This book for me was so relatable, even though I am not a recovering alcoholic. I could feel Emma's anxiety in social situations, and for me that really drew me into her as a character. She was so awkward, terrified, and earnest throughout the entire book it made me spend a vast majority saying "YOU CAN DO IT". Her struggle throughput the whole book that she describes as "work Emma" and "real Emma" was relatable to read as someone who constantly battles between who I think I should be and who I actually am.

I give this a 5/5 because of how much Emma's character made me laugh and how relatable I found this book. This was my first time reading Ava Robinson but I will definitely continue to check out her work! I loved the writing style of this book and I actually finished it in one sitting. Be ready for this book to hit the shelves in December 2024 because I believe it will be one of the most popular of the year.

I cannot wait for everyone to read this exceptional book.

Emma had been drunk for ten years and so, after one year of sobriety at age 26, life feels like a lot. She’s never had a friend, never gone on a date, never had a boyfriend. All of her jobs have been the kind that you can steal liquor from, get drunk in the back at, and show up to sporadically without getting fired. And her mom? She answers every phone call by asking, “Emma? Is everything ok?” because lord knows it’s been a long time since it was.

More than once she wonders, “Is that something a human woman would say?”

But every day she gets up, goes to her job, calls her sponsor, makes the decision not to drink.

Sober, everything confuses her.

Emma’s alcoholic father is reaching out, Ben from IT is maybe flirting with her, Vanessa who shares space at work seems to want to be friends, and she’s been assigned to the Fun Team responsible for the office holiday party.

What unfolds is deeply affecting. Emma is fearlessly fragile, afraid to open up while desperately wanting to have someone to hold her — physically and metaphorically. She doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes but she doesn’t know if she can trust herself to make new ones.

It’s a beautiful, witty, emotional book. So affecting. I laughed out loud on one page, cried the next, and sighed in exasperation on the last. Ben is messy and imperfect while being patient and kind. And Emma is beautifully real and fully flawed. It’s not a romcom unless it’s about falling in love with yourself.

I never wanted this book to end. Sometimes you read about characters so rich and full that you imagine them in the real world. This is that book. I know Emma is still sober; I just hope she has found a way forward and is holding hands with Ben because it makes her happy.

What a book. If I could give more than five stars, this book would get them.

Thanks to @netgalley and @_mira_books_ for the ARC to read and review. Available December 31, 2024.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

This was a vulnerable and thoughtful debut novel for Ava Robinson. The story was compelling and unique in following Emma’s journey after her first year of sobriety. The pacing was slow at times and I think there were a few too many side stories that could be edited, however, I still felt a heartfelt draw to continue reading Emma’s story. Her self doubt and anxiety felt authentic and I appreciated the unique perspective of a young woman in NYC struggling with common issues around romance, work, and family while taking personal accountability with her relationship with alcohol.

And it must be said, Ben must be protected at all costs - what an absolute perfect MMC. I absolutely adored his character and his respect and support for Emma.

All in all, a tough but beautiful read.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Somewhere in the near past sobriety has become cool and I am so here for it…and so happy to see and read this book being published. Emma is a young professional about to celebrate a year of sobriety but feeling the need to keep it near and dear to her heart, only sharing with a few select trusted people. Definitely Better Now is a hilariously honest novel! For anyone sober, wanting to get sober, supporting someone who is sober, or just wants an amazing feel-good read - this one is it for you ❤️❤️❤️

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on instagram well before publication!

Emma has just passed her one year sober milestone. She is ready for her life to become this beautiful amazing thing everyone in her AA group has promised. But getting back into dating is harder then she thought. And opening up to potential new friends and sharing her sober status is terrifying. Her mom decides now is the time to tell her she has been seeing someone after years of being single and her formerly absent father is wanting to see her now. Even without alcohol and drugs her life isn’t as easy as she thought it was going to be and she is struggling to figure everything out.
Emma is so awkward and terrified and earnest. I spent the whole book just cheering her on. Her struggle to be the person she feels she has to be versus who she was versus what she actually does want is heartbreaking and heartwarming. The end of the book was a perfect payoff for her and delighted me.
Releasing December 31 2024.
Thank you to @netgalley and @_mira_books_ for letting me read and review this book.
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I enjoyed this quick, funny, quirky read and it definitely resonated with where I’m actually at in my life it seems. I loved that it was relatable, I just feel like it was missing that wow factor.

What a beautiful debut. Compassionate and so wonderfully realistic, this captures the weirdness of recovery and still early sobriety while also dealing with grief, self doubt, and trying to fall in love again - with people, and with yourself. I loved our fumbling heroine, and the way humor is weaved throughout the narrative. I picked this up out of my passion for working in the field of recovery and wanting to read more nuanced stories about substance dependence and gosh, do I see so many clients in this story while still being appealing to a wider audience who's less familiar with the field/experience.

Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the arc. This is my first Netgalley review.
I really enjoyed Definitely Better Now and rated it 4.5 stars. It was multi-layered and emotional with a focus on alcoholism and the death of a family member. While the topics were serious, there were bits of humor throughout. I found the journey through Emma's thought process interesting and think Emma's character development was successfully executed. I would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing an e-Arc!

3.5.I really liked this book! It brings up serious topics that are not often discussed or written about. It was refreshing to see.

Story revolves around a young women, Emma in her 20s navigating life as a recovering alcoholic. She has reached the one-year mark and is now ready to put herself out there in the dating pool where she struggles to bring up this aspect of her life. Recovering from an addition is never easy and when life is thrown many obstacles, the journey is never linear.

This was an incredibly touching story especially because we don't often read about young people recovering from addiction. It offers a new perspective of sobriety. Although serious topics are brought up, this book also had comedy to lighten the load of reading such heavy topics. I loved reading in the pov of Emma. She is an over-thinker with a lot of self doubt and is hilarious but is not afraid to speak her mind. I think many of us can relate. What a refreshing read!