I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Begin Again by Emma LordNarrator: Georgina Sadler
Published by Macmillan Audio on January 24, 2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Length: 10 hours 51 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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A laugh-out-loud funny and emotionally resonant send-up of Legally Blonde and The Ex Talk, Begin Again is a vibrant, romantic novel about the journey we take to find our people, and ourselves.
As usual, Andie Rose has a plan: Transfer from community college to the hyper competitive Blue Ridge State, major in psychology, and maintain her lifelong goal of becoming an iconic self-help figure despite the nerves that have recently thrown her for a loop. All it will take is ruthless organization, hard work, and her trademark unrelenting enthusiasm to pull it all together.
But the moment Andie arrives, the rest of her plans go off the rails. Her rocky relationship with her boyfriend Connor only gets more complicated when she discovers he transferred out of Blue Ridge to her community college. Her roommate Shay needs a major, and despite Andie’s impressive track record of being The Fixer, she’s stumped on how to help. And Milo, her coffee-guzzling grump of an R.A. with seafoam green eyes, is somehow disrupting all her ideas about love and relationships one sleep-deprived wisecrack at a time.
But sometimes, when all your plans are in rubble at your feet, you find out what you’re made of. And when Andie starts to find the power of her voice as the anonymous Squire on the school’s legendary pirate radio station–the same one her mom founded, years before she passed away–Andie learns that not all the best laid plans are necessarily the right ones.
Filled with a friend group that feels like family, an empowering journey of finding your own way, and a Just Kiss Already! romance, Begin Again is an unforgettable novel of love and starting again.
I really liked this book! I have read 2 of Emma Lord’s previous books and really enjoyed them so I was eager to give this book a try. Once I started listening to this audiobook, I was quickly hooked. Andie and her two grandmothers were easy to like with their snack cakes and determination to make friends. I couldn’t wait to watch Andie in her new college environment and I kind of wanted to help her find all the ribbons that she needed.
Andie was pretty easy to like right from the start. I loved the way she didn’t hesitate to go after what she wanted. What she needed to work on was putting her needs above what others were demanding of her. I liked all of the characters that we meet at Blue Ridge State, especially Milo, Shay, and Valeria. Andie was very lucky to be paired with a roommate that was such a good fit and it was great to see her really find her people. I thought that her family issues were addressed rather well.
I believe that this is the first time that I have listened to Georgina Sadler’s narration and I thought that she did great with this story. I thought that the voices that she used for the various characters really helped to bring the story to life. It was just so easy to slip inside this wonderful story for hours at a time. I do believe that the narrator’s performance added to my enjoyment of this book.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. I love that this book dealt with so many important topics, such as grief and learning to put yourself first, and did it in an incredibly entertaining manner. I do hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.
I received a digital review copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Young Listeners.
I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
More Than Maybe by Erin HahnNarrator: P.J. Ochlan, Rachel L. Jacobs
Published by Macmillan Audio, Wednesday Books on July 21, 2020
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Length: 9 hours 41 minutes
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Library, Publisher
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In this exciting new romance from one of 2019's most anticipated debut authors, Luke and Vada are crazy in like with one another—except neither knows their feelings are requited
Growing up under his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.
Vada’s got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom’s boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil’s music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley’s prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out-of-this-world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?
In More Than Maybe, Erin Hahn’s swooniest book yet, Luke and Vada must decide how deep their feelings run and what it would mean to give love a try.
This was great! I am now officially caught up with Erin Hahn’s books which is kind of exciting, at least for me. I am not even sure why I didn’t get to this one closer to the publication but I am just going to blame the dumpster fire that was 2020. Once I started reading this one, it didn’t take long for me to figure out that I really should have made this book more of a priority because it was extremely well done.
I liked Veda and Luke quite a bit. I thought that they made a great pair and I was eager to see how the things in their lives would work out. I loved how music played a huge role in this story and in the characters’ lives. Veda’s passion is music. She runs a music blog and hopes to write for Rolling Stone someday. She works at her mother’s boyfriend’s music club where Luke and his brother record their popular podcast. Luke also composes music but keeps that to himself since his rocker father would want him to go after stardom as he did. I liked that they both had some personal issues to work out and that they were there for each other.
I thought that P.J. Ochlan and Rachel L. Jacobs did an amazing job with this story. I just loved the accent that P.J. Ochlan used for Luke and really I just thought that both narrators did a great job in bringing these characters to life. I thought that their voices complimented each other well and I loved that they were able to add just the right amount of emotion into their reading. I do feel that their performance added to my enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a very well-done story with characters that were easy to cheer for. I will definitely be reading more of this talented author’s work soon.
I received an advanced review copy of this book from Wednesday Books and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.
I’ve yet to read Lord, but have seen good things about her. I enjoyed Hahn’s You’d Be Mine but More Than Maybe was a mixed bag for me. Glad to hear you liked it.
This YA is old enough I think I might enjoy it. ( not high school)
I also enjoyed both these books. Andie’s grandmothers were a trip! That’s probably my favorite book by Hahn. I loved it all.
Sounds like a couple of good books.
I want to read Begin Again; it sounds like a fun YA book. 😀
I haven’t read either of them Carole but both stories sound good. I like how a lot of publisher and indie authors too are going to illustrated covers.
I have yet to try Hahn, maybe one day
Both of these books look good. I don’t read much YA but since the characters in these books are college age I think these would be fun reads.