Again, but Better: A Novel
Written by Christine Riccio
Narrated by Christine Riccio and Brittany Pressley
4/5
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About this audiobook
This program includes an author's note read by the author, and a bonus chapter.
From one of the most followed booktubers today, comes Again, But Better, a story about second chances, discovering yourself, and being brave enough to try again.
Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal -- but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?
Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change -- there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!
Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.
Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic - the possibilities are endless.
Christine Riccio
Christine Riccio is the New York Times bestselling author of Again, But Better. She’s been on a quest to encourage more humans to read since the third grade. Her YouTube channel PolandbananasBOOKS has over 410,000 book-loving subscribers. She makes comedic book reviews, vlogs, sketches, and writing videos chronicling the creation of her own novels. She’s also one of the three YouTubers behind BOOKSPLOSION—YouTube’s longest-running book club. She graduated from Boston University in 2012 with a degree in Film and TV and now lives in Los Angeles, CA.
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Reviews for Again, but Better
416 ratings34 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/51.5 out of 5 stars.
awful. bad writing, glorified emotional abuse and manipulation, cheating is glorified, stalking is somehow okay. don't bother. read Radio Silence by Alice Oseman instead.5 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A self-insert lead story.
Horrible insta-love with no chemistry and cheating involved forced mannerisms and a protagonist with a lack of personality.
The story is boring, the dialogue is ridiculous most of the times, books/fandom/2011 references that add nothing to the story and that become annoying after the 5th time they've been named.
The writing style feels like it has has been copied from 4 different popular YA authors and mashed all together, bringing all the voices of your average-ya-protagonist into one annoying Shane.2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I loved the beginning (first part), part two wasn't executed the greatest and the turn it took worked yet didn't. The whole romance seemed forced and unrealistic.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a great read from beginning to end. I couldn't stop. Each of the characters were well developed. I downloaded the audiobook on Scribd without even reading a review or summary because I just needed something to listen to so enjoying it as much as I did was such a pleasant surprise. I think that the author did a fabulous job of narrating her book as well! I highly recommend this book when you are looking for pure pleasure reading.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I’ve been hearing a lot of mixed reviews about this book, so I didn’t know what to believe. I like contemporary romance so I thought it can’t be that bad. And it’s not bad. Unfortunately, it’s also not good.
I like Christine. I’ve been following her on BookTube for years and I find her funny, I enjoy her content. I also enjoyed her videos about the process of writing a book. And for a first book, as far as writing goes, I really like her writing style. The book is a nice mix of romance and things that happen, not too flowery. A solid 4 Stars as far as Writing Style and Structure go.
Unfortunately, I never give points to the writing style alone. It’s a lot about the content. And the content was just not my cup of tea.
I get that Shane’s character is loosely based on the author, and that did not bother me. But Shane as a character… Damn! I felt like DNF-ing the book after the first 8 chapters. For someone who also reached the early 20s before being in a serious relationship I figured, I could relate, especially after reading the introduction from Christine. Boy did I not relate! Like at all.
I totally disliked Shane from the beginning. She is a very annoying mix of naïve, “too dramatic”, head-in-the-clouds, drama-queen. I do not like this type of characters. And that is just on the first half of the book.
Then comes the 26-year-old Shane. Who the hell shows up out of the blue 6 years later and asks what if?
And then chapter 28 came. I heard there was some sort of magical realism in this book [ and I got that it had something to do with the red-haired plane lady. But I had no idea what it could be. And then there comes the elevator scene: “If you could go back and do London all over again, knowing everything you know now, would you do it?”. And it hit me: NOOOOOO! This is not happening! And guess what? It did. -_- They got to redo it… yeah…. -_- And then came the cheating! How should I put this? If I know a book is written around either ‘time-travel/second chances’ or ‘cheating’, I have no problem. I expect it. Or cheating on an ‘bad-for-you’ partner. But Amy is barely present. She’s not someone bad or toxic. Then there’s Pilot’s “let’s hold off on the reset button”, because we won’t remember what we do here. So not planning on cheating, is he? So, yeah… Not my thing. (hide spoiler)]
I also didn’t get the feeling that Shane went through much of a character growth. She’s a 26-year-old in a 20-year-old body and I felt that she was just a different color of annoying. She panics the moment things don’t go the way she wants them to and instead of doing the adult thing of trying to fix it she tries to run away. Because of course we should take the magical way out.
And did I mention I hate Shane’s parents? Yeah…. Generally speaking, when you go to college you need to choose well, because it’s something you’re gonna do for the rest of your life (or so the theory goes). And especially Med School is hard. So I totally hate parents who push their dreams upon their children, who only support their own choices and don’t care what their children want.
To be honest, the only reason I plowed through was because I was reading the book for a Read-A-Thon and DNF-ing it would have lost me the points.
Am I being too harsh on this book? Yes, probably. But I was really disappointed. I expected something else and this book hit me really hard. I’m not someone that doesn’t like knowing what books are about. I hate surprises. The discrepancy between the blurb (and the expectancy because of said blurb) and the reality of the book was just too much for me.2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ugh I just had so many issues with this book
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not gonna re read but very nice book! The second half seemed a little rushed and expected but still a good read nevertheless I liked it??
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy read, although I feel like I'm too old for this book. It's a fun book to read, sometimes I got a little annoyed with some overly enthusiastic references to 2011. I wanted to stop reading it until I got to the middle part and it got a bit more exciting. The ending is great too.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such A Sweet Story Of Love, Finding Yourself, And Making Major Decisions. It’s A Story Also Of Dear Friendship. I Couldn’t Stop Listening. I Loved It! Loved the Characters Also. Loved the reference to Harry Potter, and City Of Glass, The Mortal Instruments. I loved the part where Shane said she was reading Harry Potter, and Babe Said Duh?! Harry Potter makes everyone feel better. ? Simply Put I Loved It! ?
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5OMG! This was so good ? I loved Shane so much!!!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christine made me fall in love with books again. Reading one of her own books was an honour.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My favourite audio book so far! I loved the narrator, she did such a good job bringing the story to life!!!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved it. For a first novel I think Christine did an incredible job. I loved the story from beginning to end. I've been watching her on Youtube for years and adore her. I had high hopes for her book and she didn't disappoint. Way to go Christine!! I can't wait for you to write more books.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed reading #againbutbetter and I really connected with the themes of feeling like not doing right in college and trying to discover what you want to do with your life ?
It’s worth mentioning that this book gave me all the wonderlust for Europe and London ?1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really enjoyed listening to this book. Voices and story line are great.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book was so wonderful and made me think back to the things I will change and what I will not change. It was a beautiful read and a wonderful story. I give it a 4.5 star ⭐️.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I see there are VERY mixed reviews about this hook :) all I can say is, yes please!! I was trully in the mood for a lighthearted witty book, and this one delivered 10 fold. It just makes you happy....
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the most amazing books I’ve ever read. Funny, romantic, relatable, devastating, and fantastical. A true feminist contemporary and important book for young women. I truly loved every second of this book.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I did enjoyed this audiobook. Got surprised in the middle of book?
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I honestly don't have anything nice to say about this book. So here is the truth of how I felt.
The entirety of Shane as a character feels like a person no one I would ever want to meet. I get being shy, or unaware of your path however Shane seems to be allergic to trying to even figure it out. She moves away from pressure or attention as if she has a deathly allergy. I don't think she cares a lot about her own happiness. She knowingly continues having feelings for a boy who HAS A GIRLFRIEND! I HONESTLY CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH THIS INFURIATED ME. Also Pilot creating distance by just ignoring her rather than stating a need to create better boundaries WAS EQUALLY INFURIATING! HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THAT FRIENDLY TO SOMEONE WITH OUT THAT PERSON KNOWING THE BOUNDARIES OF THAT FRIENDSHIP.
This entire book could have never existed if Shane just told her parents what she wanted to do and stopped living for them. And for those of you about to type the response that it's hard or it's not that simple; I respectfully disagree just because a confrontation may have dramatic responses from OTHER PEOPLE doesn't make it complicated.
This book also tried so hard to prove to me how all the characters were like cool college kids that I was honestly so exhausted. In general this book exhausted me in it's references to remind me it 2011, in the way Shane loved the Beatles (because somehow that is what makes someone a music lover), to the fact that Shane could do nothing alone.
In conclusion this book should not have been published and they should be ashamed of themselves. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/54.5 stars but it was really good. Not what I expected at all.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such an enjoyable read! A story about a girl who finds love as well as herself.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great and I loved the narrator. Great read to be honest.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cute. First part of this books was a 5 star, second s 3 star, but the whole thing was so so cute.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was fun bc the ending was actually really good. For my this book goes a follow first 60% 2 startthe final 40% is a 4 stars .
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This was unfortunately not for me. The main character was to quirky for my taste and her love interest was as interesting as a cardboard box. The book was about doing things different with a second chance but she did things the exact same so the second half of the book was a waste to me.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My favorite contemporary novels are always the ones that make me cry at the end, even when it's happy. I was very skeptical about starting Again, but Better because you can never be too sure what you're getting into when you read a youtuber or bookstagramers novel. However this connected with me in so many ways. It's quirky, witty, romantic - and clever! I really related to Shane and her journey. It's filled with all kinds of fun pop-culture references and I absolutely loved the twist half way through. I didn't see it coming and it really brought something special to the story. I have a lot more to say regarding my thoughts and feelings on this book and not enough time to write them. So for now I will leave this with a "Loved it, one of my new favorites!" and hopefully I'll come back to share more later. And I really look forward to reading more from Christine in the future.
Content Warnings:
- Strong Language (swears, but nothing crude)
- Sexual Content (kissing scenes, "off-screen" sex )
- Challenging Family Relationships
Recommend for fans of:
- Ashley Poston's Geekerella
- She's the Man
- Freaky Friday - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it!!!! Just loved it, that’s all I have to say
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The best narrator I've listened to. Also, the story hooks you from beggining to end. Romantic comedy should be more appreciated in literature.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ahhhhh this was amazingggg, I loved it so much
☺️☺️☺️
I’m so proud of Christine!