You, Again

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You, Again

Kate Goldbeck

448 pages | Published by Dial Press Publication Date: September 12, 2023

The Set Up: A gender-swapped and modern day When Harry Met Sally. You, Again follows Ari and Josh as they meet again and again over the years in New York City. Ari firmly believes that relationships are destined to end and ruin friendships - while Josh thinks a friendship can blossom into a happily every after. When they begin to lean on each other during low points of their lives, they can't ignore that there's more than friendship to their relationship.

THIS is the kind of romance I love which is probably something I should unpack with a therapist. There was tension and romance with an underlying sadness and that mix just really gets me. You, Again was SUCH a great pick to start easing into fall reading. I read it essentially in two days and when I wasn’t reading it, I wished that I was, sneaking in chapters during every spare moment that I could.

I loved the gender swapping of the original When Harry Met Sally set up, and how well Kate Goldbeck modernized the story, adding in queer characters along with creating a realistic view of the dating app world. The writing was sharp and propulsive. It moved back and forth seamlessly between Ari’s perspective and Josh’s, which I always love.

I struggled with both Ari and Josh for a while in that way as a reader when you see characters making questionable or poor decisions and you just want to SHAKE them. But as frustrated as I was with them, I felt like I understood them and could see them growing little by little. This was ultimate opposites attract, grumpy-sunshine tension and I will eat that up every time. I loved seeing their relationship morph from outright disdain for each other to a true understanding.

I’ve only been to NYC once, and to be honest I wasn’t in love with it like some people are, but this book made me think maybe I need to go back. I felt like I was strolling through the city right alongside Ari and Josh. The book felt cinematic to me and I could easily see this being adapted for screen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for the advanced e-book!