This is such a lovely, romantic feel good read. I read this when I was feeling really poorly and it was like a big warm hug in book form and I highly recommend it to all.

Mac and Thomas are total opposites and have a disastrous first meeting ... but the Universe insists on continuing to throw them together. They have such a sweet relationship and I completely devoured this romance in a single sitting. I will definitely be going through the author's back catalogue for more!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Mac is all about hook-ups instead of relationships and when her dating app suggests preppy and corporate Thomas it's a clear no from her. But only after she rejects him does she notice that he's sitting right beside her, and that he saw her do it. After parting ways Mac thinks she'll never see him again but of course she keeps bumping into him in every single possible way, and turns out that maybe he isn't all that shabby..

This book is such a romcom stable and was everything i would expect from a contemporary romance book. The pace was really good and kept me intrigued and I really enjoyed the wee bump-ins between Mac and Thomas, the situations didn't feel to unrealistic. The only thing this book was missing for me was some meatier conflict and sometimes I wasn't a fan of the steamy stuff!

4.25 stars
This was such a quick and easy read and even though it was the first book that I've read by Lauren Layne, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by her in the future.
You, Again feels very much like a romantic comedy movie playing out on the pages.
It kept me hooked the whole way through, even though you can guess exactly how it's all going to turn out.
I really liked the 'not so meet cutes' between the two main characters and Thomas was a strong leading man in this. I definitely found myself liking him more and more as it went on. I also enjoyed their banter too.
There was also a great steamy payoff when they do eventually get together too.
I definitely enjoyed all of the scenes at the unexpected bachelor/bachelorette party weekend.
I do have to admit that it felt like the blue streak in Mac's hair made me think of when authors feel like the main female character has to be quirky just for the sake of it.
And even though I am of a similar opinion to Mac that marriage and children isn't the end goal for everyone, as someone who's meant to go with the flow, seeing her be so rigid, even when she starts to fall for Thomas, did get a little bit annoying.
It may not be the most memorable romance that I've ever read but I really did enjoy it and flew through it in one sitting on a sunny Saturday, which definitely enhanced my enjoyment. So this could be a great option for a beach/holiday read.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book really easy to get into from the first chapter and a quick romantic page turner. The story focuses on Mac and Thomas and the action between them is pacy which kept my interest. Mac’s big issue is her unwillingness to commit and I liked Layne’s conversational writing style that draw the reader into the characters feelings. The bedroom scenes were really steamy. I’d definitely read future stories by Lauren Layne.

This book drew me in from the first page. Full of romance and chemistry with likeable characters. A real page turner. I really enjoyed this and would recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

this was such a fun book! It’s not fun being stood up at a bar especially for a hook up and then going on a dating app and swiping left on someone who seems boring let alone that same person sitting next to you and watching you swipe on them.

Mac is mortified and even more mortified when she goes to work the next day to see him as her new boss oh and also her friend is getting married and this boss is the grooms brother. Thomas keeps popping up and some would say it’s fate but these two can’t help but role their eyes. Mac is very chill, doesn’t look for love and a free spirit. Thomas is very different, he wears suits, preppy and little uptight.

But, with these events that keep throwing them at each other and even if they do annoy each there is a little bit of chemistry a bit of tension that neither of them can ignore. Mac doesn’t do relationships due to her mother and Thomas has been hurt before. Are they both needing something like each other to change up their lives for the better?

I really enjoyed this story. It flowed so nicely and the characters where brilliant. I love Mac and her ways. Thomas is very cute and reading about both of them just made me love them. They both have a background which closes them off but they cannot deny the attraction and I really enjoyed reading about them.

This is such a cute romance novel with some added spice to keep you hooked 🌶. It was such an easy read with not too many characters so it's easy to remember who everyone is. I would call this a Fate troupe the way Mac and Thomas keep meeting one another. 
 
I love how they start out on the wrong foot, but as they get thrown into unavoidable situations they get to know one another. It's nice to have a book where the female characters is the one who doesn't want  
Commitment. (I'm not gonna get into the whole debate where men get away with it and women don't, it would jusu cause too many arguments)

This was great! It had all the ingredients for a classic rom-com with the best meet cute I've read in a long time!

Lauren knows how to draw out the emotions of her characters, bringing them to life and making readers feel the joy, agony, elation and tears that come along with a great romance story.

The story
Mac is a young singleton graphic designer living in New York. She believes that she takes after her single mother, never settling down and seeking the next thrill. Until one night she is stood up by her date and when she opens her dating app she passes when she sees Thomas’ profile. Oops he is sitting next to her and sees what she is doing. And if that isn’t bad enough, she discovers on Monday morning that he’s her new boss. And then that he is the brother of her best friend’s fiancé. Ugh.

My thoughts
This story is such a cute read. Mac has her self beliefs thrown out the window in this sweet story. Thomas is patient and really endearing but he knows if he pushes too hard, he is going to lose Mac. The emotion is strong in this story, but it’s handled in a way that shows kindness and empathy, support of friends and strangers rather than judging. It’s also a little spicy in a way that compliments the story ❤️

You, Again by Lauren Layne is an absolute delight. It is such a fun and fabulous rom-com, the perfect summer read.

You, Again is an opposites attract, enemies to lovers where he falls first - I mean give me all the tropes I love it! It follows Mac and Thomas who have the most awkward of not so meet cutes where she rejects him on a dating app, not realising he’s sat right next to her (awkward). The universe then keeps trying to push them together as they soon find out he’s her new boss and then there’s the fact he’s the brother of her best friend’s fiancé. Though Mac is sure Thomas is not the man for her, the more time they spend together leaves her questioning what it is she really wants.

I absolutely loved Mac and Thomas, they are so different from one another and yet worked so well together on the page. Mac is quirky and very cool; she’s a life of the party kinda gal. Whilst Thomas is more straight laced, and yet very funny and oh so caring. Their banter was excellent, their chemistry sizzled and the tension between them palpable (which great streamy payoff.)

I loved the evolution of the characters that we got to see through the story; as they helped each other understand that what they thought they wanted might not really be what they need and that it’s ok to shift and change. There are some great supporting characters too, especially Mac’s best friend Collette and new friend Stephanie, who helped Mac realise that she can be more than she was allowing herself to be.

Overall a great fun read, I’d highly recommend.

5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Although the synopsis seemed pretty cliche - and this book does follow some predictable romance plot devices - I absolutely enjoyed every moment spent reading this.

I love a good opposites attract moment, and Mac and Thomas couldn't be more different. Mac is carefree and living her life to the beat of her own drum, whilst Thomas is a planner. He knows what he wants out of life and what steps to take in order to get it. I found their first meeting incredibly fun with the concept of being rejected in person and on an app. From there with the 'fated' crossing of paths, I settled into the rhythm of experiencing Mac push and pull from this man whom she didn't think fit her ideals of a good time. Witnessing Mac slowly uncover that things between her and Thomas could be something other than boring and foreign was such a reward as the reader.

Thomas is a fantastic MMC. I loved him from the first meeting, and he continued to make me swoon over him page after page. Even when things got a little dicey with Mac's feelings, I really appreciated how determined and unflappable he remained against wave after wave of indecisive and flighty reactions. I would *love* to meet a Thomas Decker of my own.

The romance is spot on. The buildup, the spice, the confessions, and the longevity - it's all done right and that's the main reason I'm giving this 5 stars. I often struggle to rate romances so highly as someone who also reads fantasy a great deal, but this novel was easy to consume and delightful to turn the pages on. I loved the emotional connection just as much as the physical attraction, and this couple felt wholly believable.

Of course, there were times where it felt a little repetitive with the chatter about Mac's upbringing and eccentricities, but this was such a minor issue that I don't feel it knocks the read overall.

I've enjoyed a couple of Lauren Layne books in the past, and I'm so happy I picked this one up. I consumed it and fell in love - and that feeling is not one I've been experiencing often with romance reads of late.

Thanks for my earc if this book!
I really loved this story. I loved the enemies to lovers and how opposite our MCs are in so many ways.
I adored the female friendships and though the whole “I hate her because she’s pretty” vibe annoyed me - it didn’t happen so much that it ruined the book and it didn’t happen a lot. I just wish the toxic competitiveness between women wasn’t a thing.
The romance itself was fabulous!! I loved the good balance of steam and heartwarming scenes. Loved that it didn’t drag anything out either!

This book was OMG sweet, and is the perfect he fell first book because boy did Thomas have to work for Mac

Mac couldn't be more delighted to be single, she's never been one to settle down instead preferring uncomplicated one night stands with tattooed men. But then she is continuously thrown in the path of straight laced serious Thomas who ruffles her feathers and gets under her skin.

Mac is a fun girl about town, she marches to the beat of her own drum and definitely someone I would want to be friends with - even if I did want to shake her for being quite narrow minded at times on her views about relationships.

Thomas is sarcastic and dry which I love. Plus he showed far more patience with Mac than I would even have been able to.

This is a really fun modern RomCom with great relatable characters who had believable banter. It's got nice pace and was easy to fly through on a Saturday afternoon with a coffee.

Thanks for the advance copy. This was my first Lauren Layne…it won't be my last.

Thank you Netgalley and Headline Etrrnal for this advanced copy.

I loved this book! It was such a cute, easy read that I found myself finishing it on one day. The opposites attract relationship between Mac and Thomas was believable and enjoyable, with some great chemistry and banter between the two.
Lauren Layne has definitely become an auto buy author for me as her books are always entertaining and heartfelt romcoms that never fail to get me out of a reading slump!

A five-star read that you shouldn’t pass on. This is such a great story, I loved Mac and Thomas, and all of their beautiful differences, this was one of those stories that swept you up, and had you working alongside them, feeling the horror of their first meet cute. This is a fabulously written story that will make you drop everything to keep reading, as you need to know what will happen next, will they make it? Or were the first instinctual impressions, right? You need to read to find out.

Omg, this book! I have no proper words other than incessantly fangirling over the masterpiece that is this book. I enjoyed reading it so much that I couldn't put it down until I'd turned the last page.

Lauren Layne is honestly the queen of swoon-worthy contemporary romance. I can't say I've been able to put down a single one of her books.

When I got approved for this ARC, I was over the moon. And it did not disappoint. This was exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump. Everything was *chef's kiss*.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

You, Again is a fun, opposites-attract romance, about the usual fare I expect from Lauren Layne, but pretty enjoyable because of it. It has a creative enough premise, and a compelling enough romance. I liked it a lot, although I never loved it.

The plot follows Mac who, stood up on a date and scrolling through a dating app in the meantime, unknowingly rejects the man who’s sat next to her at the bar, while she watches. When he brings this to her attention, it starts an animosity between them, one that keeps coming back as they seem unable to not meet each other again.

I think what Lauren Layne does best in her books is tension. No matter the characters, the tension between them always leaps off the page. You devour the book because you want to find out when and how they get together. And what Layne does really well here is, even when they’ve started up something that is not quite a relationship, you’re still engaged with the story (speaking personally, as someone who finds that I lose interest once the sexual tension dissipates).

And I would even say that the third act break up makes sense in this one. Mac shows time and time again that commitment isn’t for her (or the her she thinks she is, if that makes sense), so of course she would be scared off by any show of it. Really, that’s what I want from a book that utilises a third act break up: that it’s consistent with previously established characterisation.

(As an aside, at times, I thought I might like Thomas’s POV, just for a little bit of insight into his thoughts, but then, after getting the epilogue in his POV, I decided against it. Lauren Layne is best sticking to writing only from women’s POVs, I wholeheartedly believe.)

If you’re looking for a quick and fun romance to read, then, I’d definitely point you in the direction of this one.

You, Again might be my favourite Lauren Layne book so far! This book features the classic opposites attract trope, but it executes it very well. Mac and Thomas have maybe the most 'modern' meet-cute I've read, with Mac rejecting Thomas on a dating app without knowing he's sitting next to her at a bar...watching her do it. After that, the universe constantly pushes them together, with Thomas appearing in Mac's life almost everywhere (he's her new boss! he's her best friend's husband's brother!) While they start out by approaching life in completely different ways, they slowly realise that they could learn from each other. Mac, quirky and outgoing, was the perfect foil to Thomas' reserved personality, and they had excellent chemistry and banter. All in all, I thought this was super fun and I really enjoyed reading it!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I adore Lauren Laynes books do this should be no exception! Full review to follow here and on blog. I feel netgalley was experiencing some tech difficulties today so unfortunately I couldn’t post more. She always has the most unique and unexpected storylines. I love the premise of rejecting someone with them sitting right next to you! Cringe! I can’t wait to read Mackenzie and Thomas journey to love! So excited! Thank you so much for the opportunity

They have to stop meeting like this . . .

Mackenzie 'Mac' Austin just wants what any modern, commitment-phobic woman in New York wants: a no-strings-attached hook-up, steamy enough to brag about over mimosas the next morning.

What she doesn't want is her dating app's latest suggestion: preppy, corporate Thomas Decker. So, obviously, she rejects the guy without a second thought. There's just one snag: he's sitting next to her, so he witnessed her do it. And now he's calling her out.

After the initial embarrassment, Mac is determined not to let it bother her, but Fate has other plans - and Thomas isn't going anywhere. First, he pops up as her new boss. And then he reappears as her best friend's soon-to-be brother-in-law.

As the not-so meet cutes add up, Mac is sure that uptight Thomas is the last man that a free-spirit like her should want. Only the more time she spends with him, the more Mac realizes that the man she can't get away from has become the same one that she wants to keep close . . .