Reviews - Once More with Feeling

3.23k reviews for:

Once More with Feeling

Elissa Sussman

3.61 AVERAGE

fullmachine's review

3.0

ahhh i loved the parallels between then and now

shellyb1's review

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

karissav's review

3.0

A solid 3.5 stars. A story told in two times, a very classic “theater trope” sort of story.
Every theater kid will love the references. And any of us who grew up in the early 2000’s watching the Disney channel stars become musical artists and go on tour will love the “behind-the-scenes” look at a theater kid turned pop-star.
A great and fun read. With some emotional moments scattered throughout.

voni_r's review

4.0

Slow burn, second chance romance.

Major Britney and JT flashbacks, but I definitely liked both these characters more.

I really love Elissa Sussman’s writing style.

I think this is a great follow up to Funny You Should Ask!!

I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review

jen_be_reading's review

3.75

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I love a then and now in a book! Also love the exclusive content pairing each chapter with a song from a musical 🫶🏼 this was a sweet read! You go Elissa Sussman

odalopheim's review against another edition

3.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

megreads613's review

3.75

Sussman's work is interesting to me, because I've read two books and both of them I devoured in a day. But also, both of them were fairly lacklustre when it comes to lasting impact.

I enjoyed this book and the premise behind it, but I felt like the audience was left out a lot of the time. It was a time jump novel, which meant that sometimes we were so in the dark. I understand this is a method to build tension, but it left me confused.

I also didn't fully grasp Kathleen as a superstar. I don't know how she got there? Maybe I missed it. But they were in theatre camp together...........then she was mega-famous and how she's not? There wasn't a lot of backstory that made me want to root for her.

Cal was interesting. Unprofessional, but interesting. I did like his supportiveness but he seemed to change on a dime when it came to Kathleen.

Also, because we skipped so much time, I didn't get why Cal was so in love with Kathleen. Yes, we saw cute moments of them together here and there, but it wasn't enough to justify the yearning IMO.

The conflict between

Harriett and Kathleen was ridiculous. They were both in the right and the wrong but I do not believe for one second that it was solved with one conversation. Harriett WAS meddling, and Kathleen WAS selfish. I didn't understand why they were friends.

All this to say, I liked the pacing of this book for the most part. I liked that the characters had real flaws and weren't perfect. I read this in like 5 hours while sitting on the beach and enjoyed that element, but I also found myself frustrated and wanting more elaboration on certain parts.