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bookcheshirecat's review
3.0
“Maybe there's no such thing as soulmates. Maybe there are only people who trust each other enough to begin something without being assured of the end.”
➽ You, Again seemed like the perfect Romance to read in Autumn! It's a story inspired by the movie When Harry Met Sally, but you don't have to watch it. I've never seen it myself and I could still appreciate the book. You, Again follows Ari and Josh, two New Yorkers who have gotten off on the wrong foot and meet again over the course of 8 years. In the present day, they've both been disappointed when it comes to their love lives and decide to form an unlikely friendship. I liked the premise of the book and how it discussed different types of relationships and intimacy. There were some elements I wasn't the biggest fan of, so I had some mixed feelings in the end. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the messy characters and their odd friendship!
➽ The female main character, Ari, is an aspiring comedian and commitment phobe. She's a bit of a disaster and just trying to make it through life by taking on different gigs. I liked reading about her journey to make it in comedy, especially as the story showed the less glamorous side. Ari doesn't have any money or privileges to fall back on, so she's always taking on odd jobs and desperately hoping to get her breakthrough. She's also struggling with committing to relationships and prefers casual sex. Ari's fear of being abandoned and opening up to others is what drives her. She has been badly burned by her ex-wife, who left her for someone else and is taking away everything from their shared life. My only issue with Ari's character was that she acted so immature. Her constant talk about sex, threesomes and sex toys got on my nerves at some point. I feel like the author was trying too hard to make her quirky and the attempts to include feminism were so awkward they made me cringe.
➽ The male protagonist Josh, is a chef who believes in soulmates, but can never find someone who's good enough. He was a fascinating character to me because, by all means, I should have despised him. He starts out as a smug know-it-all character who refuses to acknowledge his own privilege due to his father's famous bodega. Josh is one of these people who prides himself on never apologizing and in the beginning, he makes a lot of questionable decisions.
➽ I actually liked the unlikely friendship between Ari and Josh. Obviously, I knew going into this book that it's a Romance so both characters were bound to end up in a romantic relationship. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel like Ari and Josh worked much better as friends and should have stayed platonic! In that case, I would have even given a higher rating, as I liked both of them becoming friends when they desperately needed someone. Ari and Josh never got along, but quickly get invested in each other's lives despite their differences. Both of them have been burned by romance, so becoming friends who support each other is their priority at first.
➽ I don't think they worked together as a romantic couple because they had such different attitudes toward romance. The second half of the book was filled with romantic drama and I wasn't surprised that Josh's intense commitment to a soulmates-like romance was too much for Ari. As someone struggling with commitment and fear of abandonment, Ari's obviously not dealing well with someone who immediately goes from 0 to 100. Josh should have known her better, especially in the end.
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexism, Grief, and Abandonment
takarakei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
alexisgarcia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
alicesbookcorner's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic relationship
geoalice23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
bi_n_large's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
imds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, and Abandonment
kacyreadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
complex characters like ari can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow to swallow. the frustrating part wasn’t her immature coping mechanisms or avoidance techniques, but how she got in her own way on the path to happiness. tho we love a story where she overcomes her personal hurdles 🩵
i saw a tonnnnn of myself in josh. & if someone gifted me a little piece of myself back with a cereal bowl, that would have been it for me. best dust daddy ever.
inside jokes like the ones in this book are my absolute favorite, on par with emily henry’s books and giving me emotional turmoil all the same.
4 stars ⭐️
Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, and Abandonment
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I wasn’t quite expecting this to be as slow-paced as it was, and I’m not certain whether I believe the story’s resolution provides a catharsis proportional to the nearly 400 pages of agonizingly poor communication and bad timing.
However, the writing was stellar, the dialogue was laugh-out-loud funny, and the characters were super endearing. I empathized with them almost as much as I thought they were being completely unreasonable for 90% of the story.
But that’s people. These characters were realistically flawed and acted in irrational ways that I’m all too aware mirror some of my own.
So all in all, I was impressed with the writing, but wanted a bit more from the romance besides a torturously prolonged angst phase followed by a hastily tacked on HEA.
Graphic: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Grief
Minor: Drug use and Panic attacks/disorders
mangofraiche'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
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol