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A review by kaitrates
You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
- 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
4.0
The single most important thing to know about this book is that these characters are extremely unlikeable and messy. If that isn't your jam, this isn't the book for you! If it is—or, if you're willing to try—you'll be rewarded with a rich and layered exploration of love and life through your 20s and 30s.
I love when books are written by people who KNOW the city they set their story in. The level of detail Goldbeck included in this warmed my heart and made it so that NYC was almost another character. I can't imagine this story happening anywhere else. That's how embedded it was into the story.
The best way I can describe these characters is that they're all the worst parts of yourself laid bare on the page. Josh is insufferable and snooty and I mostly wanted to smack him upside the head. Ari is...well IDK that I've ever read a character who needs therapy more than she does. She's terrified of intimacy, often ends up using and discarding people, and is the definition of hurt people hurt people.
You aren't supposed to like them...so when you start to? Well TBQH it felt like a therapy session to me.
I also love the subtle (I imagine to those outside of the world) nods to ethical non-monogamy. Mentioning Feeld and unicorns and Goldbeck mentioning navigating a long-term relationship and dating apps simultaneously. Its not written in a way I've seen before—as just one of many normal relationship structures that have their pros and cons like everything else in the world—never mind in a mainstream romcom, and it made me very happy. SO did the super explicit and repeated consent checks that never, not once, not even for a nanosecond, detract from the pure SEXINESS of the spicy scenes.
I loved being transported back to some of my favorite spots (the ramble my love how i miss you) in NYC while also seeing it through new eyes.
I really enjoyed this. I wouldn't necessarily put it in the "life changing" category but I can recommend it wholeheartedly.
I love when books are written by people who KNOW the city they set their story in. The level of detail Goldbeck included in this warmed my heart and made it so that NYC was almost another character. I can't imagine this story happening anywhere else. That's how embedded it was into the story.
The best way I can describe these characters is that they're all the worst parts of yourself laid bare on the page. Josh is insufferable and snooty and I mostly wanted to smack him upside the head. Ari is...well IDK that I've ever read a character who needs therapy more than she does. She's terrified of intimacy, often ends up using and discarding people, and is the definition of hurt people hurt people.
You aren't supposed to like them...so when you start to? Well TBQH it felt like a therapy session to me.
I also love the subtle (I imagine to those outside of the world) nods to ethical non-monogamy. Mentioning Feeld and unicorns and Goldbeck mentioning navigating a long-term relationship and dating apps simultaneously. Its not written in a way I've seen before—as just one of many normal relationship structures that have their pros and cons like everything else in the world—never mind in a mainstream romcom, and it made me very happy. SO did the super explicit and repeated consent checks that never, not once, not even for a nanosecond, detract from the pure SEXINESS of the spicy scenes.
I loved being transported back to some of my favorite spots (the ramble my love how i miss you) in NYC while also seeing it through new eyes.
I really enjoyed this. I wouldn't necessarily put it in the "life changing" category but I can recommend it wholeheartedly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent