Again

by Lisa Burstein

[Cocktails and Books]

AGAIN had an interested premise and one that I thought I would really, really enjoy. But as I read the story, I had to wonder is going back to "redo" college the way Kate did really the way to change the course your life is taking.

Kate is a hard character to like. She relies on alcohol WAY too much, her best friend drinks just like Kate and her boyfriend is actually her married boss. So after losing her boyfriend and her job in the same day, Kate decides going back to college to try and "redo" where she thinks her life went wrong is the way to go. For most people I would applaud them for trying to change, but Kate does it in a bit of a creepy way. She's 29, pretending to be 19 and living in a freshman dorm. Really?

For a woman who knows she has an issue with alcohol, the last place she needed to be was living on a college campus, in the dorms, where partying and availability of alcohol was probably going to be an issue. Then there is the issue of a very adult Kate drinking with minors. You thought you're life was hell now, imagine what would have happened if a party she was at got busted by the cops. YIKES!
Then there was her relationship with RA Carter. Yes, he's 22, and legal enough for Kate to be with, but it felt weird. Yes, Carter was trying to rebuild his life after a horrible error in judgement when he was a freshman. Yes, he could sympathize with Kate for wanting to start over and forget the past. But I just couldn't get with their relationship. He seemed like the adult and she the child. He was saddling himself with a woman who really couldn't help herself. It just felt like too much for him to deal with.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and the unique voice she gave to this New Adult book. But unfortunately, this was a story I couldn't connect with and a heroine I didn't really want with the hero.