ARC Review: Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman
It’s May 30th which means it’s publication day for one of my favorite reads of the year, Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman!
I am so excited to finally be able to talk about this book. You have no idea!
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell Publishing, part of Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Now that that’s out of the way, the first thing I want to say is that Elissa Sussman is a Rom-Com witch. I mean it! Once More With Feeling was so good I read it in one day. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve finished books in one day before but not like this. Never like this. I couldn’t put it down. And I tried. I tried to put it down to do something else but I couldn’t. I couldn’t get the characters out of my head and I couldn’t do anything else until I knew how it ended.
Possible spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Kathleen Rosenberg is fine with not being in the spotlight anymore. Sure, her life didn’t turn out exactly the way she’d thought–she had hoped to be on Broadway–but it’s nice not having to deal with the pressure of being international popstar Katee Rose anymore. She is totally fine living a quiet life with her cat named Fish, teaching dance lessons in her private studio. At least she is until she agrees to star in the musical her best friend wrote now that it finally found its director.
One slight problem.
That director is the one and only Cal Kirby, former member of the boy band CrushZone and the last person on Earth Kathleen wants to work with. What soon develops is a second-chance, slow-burn romance that burns brighter than the lights of Broadway! (I’m so sorry that was so cheesy but I couldn’t resist!
Once More With Feeling is an instant Rom-Com classic. It’s funny. The banter is A+. The sexual tension is undeniable. And Cal Kirby? Mr. Calvin Tyler Kirby. A Top Tier Book Boyfriend if I ever did see one. The honest way he talks about Kathleen and the way he supports her and is just head over heels in love with her? I’m SICK!!! She is his sun. His stars. His universe. And I am tired. I am fed up. Cal Kirby is now the standard and there is no real-life man that can live up to it.
But hang on,
We can’t forget about the real star of the show, our female protagonist, Kathleen. I wanted to wrap her up in a cozy blanket, hand her a warm mug of tea, and tell her to sort her shit out. While being a pop star isn’t universally relatable, Kathleen’s feelings are. Kathleen is the epitome of Fake It Till You Make It in terms of self-confidence. She knows she’s talented–she wouldn’t be where she is if she wasn’t–but after spending so long as another person, as Katee Rose, doing things for other people and being someone she isn’t, she lost herself. She knows she’s talented–yet that tiny little worm of self-doubt can’t help but wiggle its way through her mind making her second guess everything.
I mean, oof… Am I right? Who hasn’t experienced insecurities like that?
It’s gotta be all of us, right? Sussman has taken these universal feelings and written them in such a real way. It’s honest and vulnerable and refreshing to see in a Rom-Com.
So to revise my previous statement, Elissa Sussman isn’t actually a Rom-Com witch. That wasn’t witchcraft, that was just some excellent writing because Elissa Sussman is an excellent writer. I gotta be truly honest, I am a little surprised by how much I loved this book considering I did not love Sussman’s previous novel, Funny You Should Ask. Sure, I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. The fact that it’s basically Chris Evans fanfiction kind of ruined it for me. (Nothing against Chris Evans or fanfiction I just couldn’t stop picturing Steve Rogers as the love interest and I couldn’t take it seriously I’m sorry!) So, I consider Once More With Feeling a big improvement over Funny You Should Ask. The characters are more likable. The plot is more believable. There’s less Chris Evans distracting me. I’m kidding. Kind of…
Anyway…
I’m truly happy with Sussman’s newest novel and I know it’s not even out yet but I can’t wait for a movie adaptation. If you want to read something with the vibes of 90s-2000s pop stars meet Broadway musicals with a slow-burn romance to die for then this is the romance novel for you.
Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) is out May 30th, 2023
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