You, Again

I loved this book - full of banter and wit, loveable but very flawed characters (who I was rooting for the whole time), NYC setting. Also has a lot of raunchy humor so if that's not your thing you probably won't enjoy this as much.

fresh take on When Harry met Sally (and made me want to re-watch the movie)

3.75 rounded up.

As I go into books blind, I didn't know this was basically a reimagining of When Harry Met Sally. I really enjoyed the banter and such, but didn't love the characters as much as I would hope.

Also, there was something about the writing style that made it feel a little longer than it was.

Overall, good story, good banter, characters are missing something I can't place and I think it could have been slightly shorter.

Update - I was driving to dinner a few days after reading this book and I started thinking about it... I really liked that bad timing was the issue, and not one of the typical misunderstandings that plague rom coms

YES MA'AM!! this book is the love child of when harry met sally and normal people :,)

I liked the time span of this story. Ari and Josh have a series of random run-ins over several years and - though they go from a strong dislike to friendship to love - it takes them much longer to grow into the right partner for the other. Ari has to face her fear of fully loving someone and grapple with what she wants from her life. Josh has to put aside his ego and build a life outside of his career failure without pinning it all on Ari. By the time they finally fall in love, you've seen so many different sides and phases of these two people.“Somewhere in that mass of people dressed in colorful outfits is a man wearing a dark hat and jacket, reading a sloppily dictated love declaration. It's either the beginning of a love story or the moment she'll be narrating to therapists for years to come.”

eh. 1.5

reading fall romances for a week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTaNQGnn3xE

I was not prepared to be emotionally destroyed by this book but here we are. This RomCom is light on the com and heavy on reality.
Apparently it's loosely based/inspired by ‘When Harry Met Sally' which I haven't seen

Insert emotional damage meme here

Almost 35 years ago, moviegoers were asked to consider if men and women could be friends without sex getting in the way. In You, Again, a loving homage to When Harry Met Sally, debut author Kate Goldbeck updates the story to 2023, when “friends with benefits,” “f*ck buddies,” etc. blur the lines between friends and lovers.

Josh and Ari first meet in 2014, when she is soliciting charitable donations, and a grumpy man in a sweater rudely blows off her request. Surprisingly, Tall Sweater Nightmare Man appears that same evening at her apartment for a date with Ari's roommate Natalie, who is conspicuously absent. Josh and Ari engage in awkward conversation for a while, but the tentative ceasefire disintegrates when Ari admits she has already slept with Natalie.

The two New Yorkers encounter each other several times in the next few years, and the sparks that fly are predominantly the angry kind. Finally, when they cross paths in 2022, Ari and Josh are at personal and professional nadirs. Too depressed to consider screwing, they become friends who text, shop, and watch synced Netflix movies while on the phone with each other. Everything is fine until a fateful New Year's Eve kiss, which leaves Josh looking for a soul mate and Ari looking for a quick exit.

Neither Ari nor Josh are entirely likeable people. Ari is an aspiring comedian and improv actor who doesn't allow anyone to get close to her emotionally, including her friends. She's analogous to the Billy Crystal character, with a cynical view of love and a dating app that includes threesomes with married couples. Josh's father runs a famous Jewish deli, but he dreams of opening a hip, modern restaurant that eschews chopped liver and blintzes. He's the Meg Ryan-ish romantic of the duo, but he is also rather rigid and judgmental. Goldbeck creates such strong chemistry between the two that you'll root for their HEA, even if you're not completely sold on them as individuals.

Goldbeck doesn't stick too closely to the WHMS plot, but there is a last-minute “epiphany leads to airport run” that is milked for all of the drama and comedy feelz. From its autumnal-colored cover to the sweet epilogue, You, Again is a delightful homage to one of the most celebrated American romcoms.