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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
This story follows June, who left New York five years ago, but after an email, she is summoned back to New York to find out that her and Aiden, her roommate for six years, have inherited the brownstone they lived in together. Forced to stay in New York to inherit the Brownstone, June and Aiden must come to face their past and maybe even build a future.
I really enjoyed this book. I think that the pacing was great, and I wanted to keep reading even when I had to stop. The romance was well-executed. I love how there were so many small but cute moments between June and Aiden. Also, just the care and support of Aiden just melted my heart, I loved it. Another thing is that the dual timeline aspect of the book was well-done. I felt that the scenes from the past where integrated well with what was happening in the present and providing good context for the present. Lastly, towards the end of the book, I felt that I connected to June and her emotional turmoil, and just really was able to feel all of the things that she did, which added to the experience of reading it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
Readers might like this if they like:
I really enjoyed this book. I think that the pacing was great, and I wanted to keep reading even when I had to stop. The romance was well-executed. I love how there were so many small but cute moments between June and Aiden. Also, just the care and support of Aiden just melted my heart, I loved it. Another thing is that the dual timeline aspect of the book was well-done. I felt that the scenes from the past where integrated well with what was happening in the present and providing good context for the present. Lastly, towards the end of the book, I felt that I connected to June and her emotional turmoil, and just really was able to feel all of the things that she did, which added to the experience of reading it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
Readers might like this if they like:
- Friends-to-Lovers
- Second Chance Romance
- Dual Timeline
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of the most well written, fun romances I’ve read all year!! Of course June has some stuff she has to work through (she just was doing and justifying anything 😭) I just enjoyed her and Adam’s second chance. Strong sense of place in this story— definitely a love letter to NY. Hoping for an amazing debut for Joss!!!!!!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
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
It’s Different This Time is a story about two roommates in NYC who slowly fall in love with one another until June suddenly leaves for LA. Six years later they are brought back together when the brownstone they shared suddenly becomes a brownstone they own.
The setting of this book is also a character in its own, as well as Broadway! It’s really a love letter to both and I really enjoyed setting the book during fall as well. This book is filled with mutual pining, found family and sometimes devastating family dynamics. June is a flawed character and her parental neglect plays heavily into her decisions both professionally and personally. Adam is an interesting character as well as it seems he’s doing much better for himself when they reunite despite his own family and personal issues.
There’s a lot of frustrating events that the couple go thru and June really could have benefited from therapy but her friend Chloe is a true friend for calling her out on her bullshit. That’s so refreshing to read!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book because it was well written and had so many great emotional scenes. The romance was built up so nicely and the dual timelines really helped with the progression of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine and Dell for this eARC in exchange for a honest review.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
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
I’m sitting here after 10pm weeping because I just finished this book.
I cannot explain how incredible this book is!
The writing? Immersive! The setting? Stunning.
The characters were so wonderfully human. Imperfect, yet perfect for who they are with. Hallmark worthy moments with real life mess.
Theatre galore. Food references that will make you hungry.
You will smile and laugh and weep.
Found family? Absolutely. Growing? Learning? Yes. Yes.
Hope. So much hope.
Second chance.
Friends to lovers
Dual timeline
Theatre references
Chef
Forced proximity
Joss is going places with her amazing writing and I will cheer her on every step of the way!
Thank you to the author + publisher for the eARC via NetGalley!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
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
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
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
June returns to NYC for the first time in 5 years, only to find out she's inherited a brownstone from her old landlord. The catch: she's inherited along with her old roommate, Adam, who is the reason she left in the first place.
This was an amazing debut novel by Joss Richard. I'm not always a huge fan of second chance romances, but I loved the twist that they were roommates with unrequited love reuniting. I appreciated that everything was eventually all laid out in the open. The dual timelines were done extremely well.
I almost loved the relationships June had with Sarah and Audrey more than Adam, but I did love the banter between the two of them.
This story would be great for those who love friends to lovers, second chance romances, Broadway musicals, and old school rom coms.
Thanks to Ballentine and NetGalley for this ARC! All views and opinions are my own.
This was an amazing debut novel by Joss Richard. I'm not always a huge fan of second chance romances, but I loved the twist that they were roommates with unrequited love reuniting. I appreciated that everything was eventually all laid out in the open. The dual timelines were done extremely well.
I almost loved the relationships June had with Sarah and Audrey more than Adam, but I did love the banter between the two of them.
This story would be great for those who love friends to lovers, second chance romances, Broadway musicals, and old school rom coms.
Thanks to Ballentine and NetGalley for this ARC! All views and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent
Minor: Dementia
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
5 ⭐️
Tropes: friends to lovers, second chance romance, dual timeline, slow burn, forced proximity
I absolutely adored this book and the only negative I have is that it wasn’t a dual POV because I would have loved yet would have been completely undone getting Adam’s perspective so I guess it was a blessing in disguise. The dual timeline was amazing to see the birth / beginning of Adam and June’s relationship, to the messy in between and the happily ever after - it was seriously a roller coaster. I swooned at the relationship they had as roommates and loved them simply as friends because they had a beautiful friendship 🥹 but they were both terrified of the hypotheticals and what ifs of letting anything happen - they simply couldn’t risk jeopardizing what they had and risk things falling apart.
“My friendship with Adam is too important for me to be thinking of him any other way.”
They eventually went their separate ways because things inevitably did fall apart except it happened without them even giving things a shot. Years later they were forced back together by fate and the home they once shared. Now June was back in NY and had Adam back in her life forcing her to deal with unresolved issues and face the music.
“I want Adam Harper. I want him, all of him, and maybe I don’t have to be afraid of that anymore. We used to be two halves of a whole. There was no June without Adam. No Adam without June. I want to get back to that.”
June was faced head on with her insecurities and so many unresolved feelings being back in Adam’s orbit. She had to relive the choices she made and work through things because Adam was to important to let slip through her fingers again.
“Maybe the things worth having in life aren’t supposed to come easy. Despite the years apart, Adam and I have found our way back.”
They both got another chance to make things right and get that happily ever after they deserved. Together they seriously felt like a warm hug and I couldn’t get enough of them - the heartache was worth it because it was different this time.
I cannot recommend this enough! 😍😭 And I can’t wait to see what Joss Richard writes next!
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine I was able to review an advanced copy of It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard.
Two one time roommates are forced to be together again after fate intervenes in this story about how love deserves a second chance. But can they overcome the events that lead to their estrangement?
Our two main characters are so relatable and human. There were many times where I teared up at the rawness of emotion that June and Adam shared. Watching them navigate the vulnerability of opening yourself to someone was heart wrenching.
With June, who has never known the true love and support of family, we see a woman desperate to be independent and not give in to the ever increasing feelings she has for Adam, her unexpected (and gorgeous) roommate. Adam, raised in a loving “nick at nite” style family, aches to find the kind of love his parents have and the two of them orbit each other like planets, struggling to find a way to coexist in the same home and not fall prey to each other.
I absolutely love a second chance romance and this book is no exception. Add in that it’s got theater kid vibes, a sexy chef, and dual timelines and it’s basically everything I could want in a book.
This is an amazing slow burn story told in third person and set predominantly in the beautiful backdrop of NYC in autumn. It’s Different This Time is a debut for author Joss Richard and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from her!