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amyvl93's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Loosely inspired (it seems) on Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake; Once More with Feeling is a second-chance romance/enemies-to-lovers story following Kathleen Rosenberg who once performed as teen favourite Katee Rose, before breaking up with her boyfriend Ryan the lead singer of a boyband after cheating on him with Cal another member of the group and being thrown to the tabloid dogs. Many years later, Kathleen and Cal are thrown together again when he signs on to direct the musical that is Kathleen's chance to achieve her childhood dream.
As someone who loves musicals, I was probably pre-disposed to enjoy a book that is set backstage and contains loads of references to musicals and I enjoyed how unapologetic it was in even the most niche references.
It was blindingly obvious how the story was going to work out from the beginning of the novel, and most of the supporting characters aren't hugely well developed but either way I enjoyed myself reading this. I did feel that Cal didn't quite do enough reckoning with the past of his and Kathleen's relationship, however, he was a fairly inoffensive male romantic lead and I liked how into Kathleen he was. I enjoyed Kathleen as a character, her self-assuredness felt quite refreshing.
This was a fun time!
Moderate: Sexism and Eating disorder
rebecca_arielle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Panic attacks/disorders
stormeno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Misogyny and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, and Eating disorder
summerslittlelibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Infidelity
aliciavalenski's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Eating disorder and Infidelity
izziepng's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i can not decide whether i likes this book or not and could be persuaded either way. it wasn’t a dnf scale bad its just not a great book
none of the characters feel fleshed out. they all have like 1-2 things and that’s it like
Kathleen- was a famous pop singer and cheated on her famous boyfriend with Cal
Cal- has been in love Kathleen for forever and like directing
Harriet- wrote the play thing that Cals directing and Kathleen staring in
and there is nothing else to their WHOLE personality
There are A LOT of apologies in this book and none of them feel like they truly mean anything. Everyone apologizes in this book like 10 times to everyone. they all just kind of accept the apologies and move on. But there is NO GROWTH in any of the characters
Also Cals apology for kind of helping Ryan ruin Kathleen’s career isn’t enough tbh.
He’s like sorry for not saying anything 🥺 yk like i had to save my career because what else was i supposed to so and she’s like yeh fs it’s fine love you too btw.
To sum this book up
- No one really grew as characters
- The characters are plain
- No ones good at apologizing
- Cal isn’t a good book boyfriend
- Kathleen was a kind of shitty person
- Harriet was okayish but also kind of a shitty friend
Graphic: Infidelity, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content, Body shaming, and Cursing
Minor: Antisemitism, Eating disorder, and Child abuse
cc_shelflove's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is described as being a “friends-to-lovers meets enemies-to-lovers story,” and that is the perfect way to define the relationship between Kathleen and Cal. The spark from when they were kids has since dissolved, and now the two can’t even stand to be in the same room. When their mutual friend writes a Broadway play, the two find themselves in forced proximity.
What would I say to the author after finishing this book? Why, once more with feeling, of course. The characters were extremely flat, and I did not notice a lot of development or growth in their relationships overall. While I wasn’t necessarily bored and it turned out to be a quick read, there was nothing to this story. Fights and kisses popped up out of nowhere, and I didn’t really care if Kathleen and Cal ended up together or not. In short, I would compare this book to trying to make tacos without any seasoning. Huh? Who wants that? #blandAF
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Eating disorder and Body shaming
sdupont's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*I received the ARC for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Graphic: Infidelity and Bullying
Moderate: Physical abuse and Misogyny
Minor: Eating disorder and Body shaming
katelynnelawson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Minor: Antisemitism, Child abuse, and Eating disorder