Again, but Better by Christine Riccio

☆☆1/2
ebook, 416 pages
Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books
About the Book:
Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal—but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that? Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change—there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure! Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart. Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic—the possibilities are endless.

How am I twenty years old and I’ve yet to even hold a boy’s hand?

I had never even heard of Christine Riccio until I saw this book on Netgalley. Apparently she is a book reviewer on YouTube with many a follower. I thought I was getting a book about a young woman (20 years old!) going on her first adventure. Well it turns out Shane comes off as being more like a twelve year old, or maybe someone on the spectrum....and the character has very little growth during this time.

The first half of the book, I felt like not much happened. I kept waiting and waiting but it seemed we were stuck story line wise. About half way through is when the story picked up and started to gain momentum. Perhaps we needed the first half to lay the ground work for us to understand Shane and why she is the way she is? I’m not sure, it just dragged a bit too much for my liking. Some of the writing just grated on my nerves as well. "Pilot loosed an excited HEY of triumph." This use of the word loosed was used more than a few times. What the heck is that!?

This book was a short read at 338 pages but it took me forever to finish it. Maybe because I disliked more characters than I liked...but that alone does not make it a bad book. I just didn't care what happened to the characters, I just couldn't connect, and there were lots of cliches which took away from the story at times. Overall, it was middle of the road read which is why I ended up giving it a middle of the road review...2.5 stars.

P.S. I LOVE the cover!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Christine Riccio for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#NetGalley