A review by bookishaddy
Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman

emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 
"You come alive on stage," he said. "I've never seen anything like it."


Katee Rose was the biggest pop star, sold out concerts, screaming fans type of big. Every dream was finally coming true, but it was all getting too much, and the person she wanted to turn to was Cal Kirby.

It all came crashing down when she broke Ryan LaNeve's heart, her boyfriend, and member of the same band Cal is in. When she cheated on him, he let the whole world know and the public rallied around their favorite CrushZone member.

It's years and years later, and she's ready to come out, this time as Kathleen Rosenberg, and finally chase what makes her happy. The only problem is her happiness comes with strings.. strings named Cal Kirby. She finally is going to Broadway, but Cal is the director and she's not sure how she can stand to be around him after his role in the destruction of her career. But all that time together... it's hard not to let those old feelings come to the surface.

___________________

The buildup in this story is soooo good. Sussman writing this book in three different timelines was perfect, because every piece of Cal and Kathleen's story is essential to their character arcs.

I love flawed and messy characters. Most of the time, this means we get to see their character arc, and we get layers. I think Elissa Sussman nailed that with these two characters. We know right off the bat they cheated with each other, but the rest of the story is them trying to come back from that. There's no excuses, just trying to move on. I loved their dynamic so much. These two who were friends when they were younger, then fell for each other, and ultimately resenting each other? There's so much understanding and feeling. There's no way they werent going to find their way back to each other... even if it meant a lot of bickering along the way.

This book tops Funny You Should Ask for me. I loved the side characters in this one. Harriet is Kathleen's best friend, the one who helped write her music, and wrote the Broadway play they're all working on together. I love that we get to see the way other people's mistakes effect not just themselves and their romantic partners, but the other people close to them too.

This book is filled with all things Broadway, lots of tension, and fantastic character development. Elissa Sussman excels with second chance romance and this book was addicting and fun. I cannot wait for everyone to get their hands on this, no doubt a perfect read if you're a fan of second chance romance, forced proximity, friends to lovers to enemies to lovers again, Broadway in any shape or form, and overall great character arcs

Thank you Netgalley, Elissa Sussman, and Random House Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

-4.75 stars 
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