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A review by amyvl93
Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
This was a weirdly addictive reading experience for me; is it a masterpiece? Nope. But there's something about Sussman's writing that had me eating Once More with Feeling up.
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Eating disorder