Again, but Better by Christine Riccio
I went into this book extremely sceptical, I’ve been burned by booktuber books in the past and I was wary to say the least. I’m pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised by the author skills Christine brought to the table in this book.
Overall I got some vague Anna and the French Kiss vibes, but Christine really brought a lot of original thoughts to her story. Her main character Shane is extremely relatable to, well at least everyone I was friends with in high school and my early 20’s, so I’m going to imagine a large part of the general female population as well. Shane is awkward, shy at first and generally stumbles through life trying to please her parents first and her second. I’ve read other reviews that talk about the “instant” love on Shane’s part with the main guy Pilot, and I don’t agree ... as a girl with little to no experience with guys, I don’t think it’s that she’s in love with him straight off the meeting, I think she’s excited about the idea of the possibility. She wants the whole deal, the holding hands, the spending time together, and Pilot was the crush that led the way down that road.
This book gives you an overall good feeling while reading and I’m happy to have added it to my shelf. There aren’t a million things I could say about this book with out giving everything away ... however ... this is a great contemporary read that leads you on a roller coaster of emotions, there’s a fun fantasy twist in the middle that left me feeling slightly off beat and behind, but who couldn’t use the chance to start over again.
The one thing that bothers me about this book is all the unanswered questions. Questions come up about her family life and how she grew up, there is a fantasy element to the book that isn’t explained and overall you’re left with some loose ends by the time the story is over. For a debut book by a young author, I give her props on a job well done. Like a quote from the book “ With five out of five, there’s no room to grow! Maybe next time will be five stars” Christine had a good first start, left room to grow and I know her next book will be just that little bit better.
I give this book 4 stars ⭐️ I’ll happily give anything else she comes out with a reading chance. Hope you will too.
