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Becs (244 KP) rated Again, But Better in Books

Jan 2, 2020

Again, But Better

Christine Riccio | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

7.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Trigger warnings:
a crazy amount of ableist language, cheating, grey area cheating, and sexual assault in the form of an unwanted kiss.

When you read a synopsis, you kind of expect the book to be somewhat similar and Again, but Better followed the synopsis but also, didn’t? I really wanted to like this but it just was not for me. I originally rated this 3.5 stars but I am dropping it down to 2 stars.

Again, but Better follows Shane as she makes a change to her constant everyday life and moves to London for a semester abroad. From zero friends, no social life, and a non existent romance life, Shane hopes that moving abroad will help her make college better than what she’s been experiencing. Because college is supposed to be all fun and games and parties and boys, right?

Well, once Shane gets to London, she soon finds that college there is not all it seems. She is faced with complicated realities of living outside of the bubble she has been living in. Her self-doubt also comes swooping in, helping to tear the new life Shane so desperately was trying to make for herself, fall even more apart. But, finding the right amount of courage and determination, one can conquer anything that is thrown at them. Throw in a little fate and magic, the possibilities become endless.

The writing wasn’t bad at all, but it was the plot and characters that had me feeling off. There was also little details that were repeated quite often, like we get it Europe has different laws than America. You don’t have to keep talking about it. And how some of the characters talked about their relationships. *cough* Pilot *cough* Also, can we talk about the Young Adult feels this gives off? It was classified as New Adult but doesn’t have any of the NA feels.

There was also the ending that really threw me for a loop. I was okay with the first portion of the book, but the twist at the end had me all sorts of confused. Certain parts of the story didn’t connect with other parts and I really had a hard time following along. I was also frustrated with all of the pop culture references. There were SO MANY OMG. Honestly, the book felt like it was built specifically around all of those references and it got boring, FAST.

One thing I enjoyed was the social anxiety rep and the diverse character cast. The main characters were white and straight so that was a bit of a let down, but the minor characters were of different sexualities and race. I feel Again, but Better is a bit of a hit or miss when it comes to reading. So, take my thoughts and do what you so please.

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