Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this read.
Boring.
Normally I devour any read that revolves about suicide and second chances in life but this one really didn't stick with me.
I think these heavy themes could have been more explored and explained, as someone who lost close people to suicide.
Didn't really care at all about the characters, like at all. It's the same tropes of any other book all over again with nothing new added to it.

I was really looking forward to To Be Someone All Over Again and went in with a lot of excitement. The concept itself is intriguing, and I could see the heart the author poured into it.

That said, the writing style just wasn’t the right fit for me personally. It felt a little unpolished at times, like something that could really shine with more editing and restructuring. Because of that, I struggled to stay engaged and eventually decided to put it down around the 30% mark.

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad book, it just wasn’t for me. I can imagine other readers connecting more deeply with the story and style, especially those who enjoy raw, emotional narratives. For me though, it didn’t quite land, so I’ll leave it unrated (or maybe a light 1 star just for the potential).

I truly admire indie authors for the courage it takes to put their work out there, and I hope to see more from Maryam A.H. in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Maryam A H for this early eArc.

Contemporary Romance is not typically my preferred genre but the description pulled me in. The poetic phrasing throughout the book was often overshadowed by the choppiness of the prose. The exploration of grief and trauma was done well when expressing the connection between characters. I could see the potential of how moving this story could be for others that were emotionally ready to receive a story like this. I do believe I wasn't in the right head space compared to others. Aside from that, this is a powerful debut and am looking forward to other works by this author.

Wow. Ive just finished this book and absolutely sobbing. make sure you're in a good place mentally with this, trigger warnings definately regarding mental health, suicide and death, but wow, this book is powerful.
I was absolutely blubbering for the last 20 odd pages.
A story regarding a guy, Asher, who lost his friend, however he hasnt left him mentally. Asher isn't in a good place mentally, however after a suicide attempt he meets summers who changes everything...

I absolutely recommend. thankyou Netgallery for this emotional arc!

The most beautiful heartbreaking story I have read so far this year. I couldn’t stop crying.

We are following Asher who after a traumatic event drifts apart. He doesn’t seem to have faith in life. After a suicide attempt he meets Summers, from there the story will unfold itself into the most heartbreaking change. It is a roller coaster of emotions for both the characters and the reader. Each time I thought I had figured it out a plot twist came leaving without a word (plus some tears).
We see the story through multiple POV, with each character bringing their own unique voice to the story.

I think this book won’t be for everyone, as it definitely explores heavy themes yet powerful. The story is loaded with trauma, mental health problem, grief, sorrow, suicidal thoughts. But it is also about love, friendship and found family.
It is a really good job for a first book, a powerful story. I think we all should watch out for the next Maryam A.H. Also can we talk about the cover? It’s gorgeous. I would have picked it in a store just for this cover!

Thank you Netgalley and the author Maryam A.H for this ARC copy. I saw on Instagram that she was looking for ARC readers. I already had a few to read but I asked for it anyway. Thank god I did.
I was in a bit of a reading slump, nothing I tried was good, I didn’t want to open a book for a few days until this one arrived.
My heart is still aching !

Thankyou for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

1.5 stars rounded to 2.

The synopsis of this gave me such high hopes and I was prepared to be emotionally wrecked by this but unfortunately it completely missed the mark.

The writing felt stiff and unnatural. The author opted to tell the reader absolutely everything in such a blunt and obvious way that it felt as though the author was worried the reader wouldnt take the time to read between the lines. Everything felt very surface level the majority of the time.

The choppy and disjointed writing style really stunted my ability to connect with the story or the characters. The emotional impact was completely ruined by the writing and it felt like such a hard read to get through. I contemplated dnfing multiple times but held off in the hopes it would get better but it sadly didnt. I really think the lack of nuance or chance for the reader to infer and realise/feel things themselves is what was the nail in the coffin for me.

Usually I would chalk this up to personal preference but in all honesty, I think this book could do with more rounds of editing, improvements and feedback. It felt like a first draft or undeveloped manuscript. There was promise in the premise but it needs major work, in my opinion, to reach a level where it executes what it is trying to.

"I feel like my life is one big series of unfortunate events, and everyone’s laughing at me. It would make me feel better to find the director of my life and throw them off a cliff, too."

Firstly, I do not leave star ratings for DNF's, but in the interest of this being an ARC I will provide my thoughts and will leave a star rating on NetGalley itself.

I went into this book with high hopes, as the premise sounded emotional, heartfelt, and right up my alley. Unfortunately, I ended up DNF’ing at around the 30% mark because I struggled to connect with the characters and felt the story just wasn't the right fit for me. While I could sense the emotion the author was aiming for, the impact just didn’t land for me in the way I had hoped, and I found myself putting it down and not really feeling motivated to pick it up again. I noted quite a few issues with the writing that really pulled me out of the story, such as repetitive words and phrases, and I found the way some of it was worded quite confusing. Definitely check your trigger warnings if you're going to pick this book up too, as we dive straight into the suicidal ideation of the MMC and it is really heavy going.

The writing style had promise. On one hand, there are moments of poetic phrasing and raw emotion that clearly show the author’s talent and potential. But on the other hand, the prose often felt choppy, with dialogue that sometimes read as unnatural and not genuine. The way the two main character's are so hot and cold within the first 30% just didn't work for me. It felt like we went around in circles numerous times as the MMC tried to push the FMC away, but then kept being drawn back to her, which can definitely work and I have enjoyed this premise in other books, but sadly it felt exhausting for me in this one. The narrative structure also became confusing at times, particularly with POV shifts that didn’t always feel unique and time jumps that left me a bit confused. The MMC mentioned he'd been seeing the FMC around a lot before we had actually seen him seeing her around a lot on page, and because of the time jump from the beginning to the third or fourth chapter, it just felt choppy and more like we were being told rather than shown. I can see how some readers would find this immersive and layered, but for me, it pulled me out of the story instead of drawing me in.

When it comes to the characters, I admired the themes the author was exploring, the grief, trauma, healing, and the importance of connection with others. These are powerful ideas, and the story is clearly built on a heartfelt foundation. However, the characters themselves felt a little underdeveloped at this stage of the book, I am sure they will be further developed if I had read further but I just wasn't connecting to them and honestly felt a bit exhausted by their personalities, unfortunately. I had trouble distinguishing their voices and didn’t feel invested in their budding relationship, which made it difficult to care about their journey. That said, I did notice glimmers of depth and potential in their arcs. So maybe I could give this another go one day and it will be better suited to me, but for now, this book is not working for me.

Overall, this book just wasn’t the right fit for me, but I can absolutely see why others have been moved by it. It’s a story with a lot of heart and some striking emotional moments, even if the execution didn’t fully work in my experience, and that's only having read a small portion of it. Readers who enjoy raw, emotional journeys with themes of grief, found family, and healing may very well find themselves swept away where I couldn’t. While I had to step away early, I still admire the ambition behind this debut and hope to see where the author goes from here. A big thank you to the author and NetGalley for prividing me this ARC, I am very sorry I couldn't provide a more positive review at this time.

Thank you to Netgalley & Maryam A.H. for the ARC!!!

Wow, this book really got to me! It's super tender and emotional – like, you feel everything. It's about Asher and Alessia, and their story is both broken and hopeful.

There are some dark and sad parts, but also so much kindness. I just wanted everything to be okay for them. The book really shows how important support and love are for healing.

I'm really glad I read it. It made me think about how we connect with each other, and it made me want to hug all my friends and make sure they're doing okay!

For a debut, this book is seriously impressive! The multiple POVs weave together complex storylines effortlessly, and the found-family dynamics make the story even more heartwarming. I’m already hooked and can’t wait to see what this author does next!

First of all, I want to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC and give my honest opinion on the book.

I have to be honest, I was really struggling to keep reading the book all the way until the 90% mark because I thought the plot twists were actually pretty good ideas, but everything was poorly executed in my opinion.

It was hard to get into because of the choppy sentences and unnatural conversations with characters that even in the end lacked a lot of depth for me. It read like a book that was only imitating the true story and gave the shortest possible synopsis. What I really missed was a better structured closeness of the main characters. It gives us all the facts but in a way that feels very unfinished. Therefore, I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of the characters and in the end, what happened to them as well. The writing did not capture the true depth of their actions and trauma and made them very one-dimensional. A lot of the conversations were repetitive, unnatural and did not feel logical to any emotions but were just there for the plot.

The plot itself has a lot of potential, but as I said, it is poorly executed, and his final revelations seem very strange and resigned just because. So in the end everything fell flat for me and it felt as if I didn't really get to know anyone, he side characters had SO much potential to do more or to be seen more, the relationships between them could be exlained better. Everything about their parents was not described well enough and could easily leave you confused.

In my opinion the book needs to be heavily edited and restructured.

For a first book, the writing was so good! I loved the multiple POVs with their complex storylines and the found family vibes alongside it. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

“You can’t choose who you fall for. You don’t always get to choose the ending you want”

!!! Please read triggers before continuing with this read !!!

In To Be Someone All Over Again, we are following Asher, who is grieving the loss of his friend Tyler and communicates with his ghost. Asher is lost, and wants to end it all. But then Asher meets Summer and she is full of life and she is the presence he needed to find his way back to himself.

When I first started reading this I was highlighting to the high heavens. The grief, the loneliness, the ptsd. When I first stated reading I thought “ I need this book more than it needs me” however halfway through it lost me a little. I had to re read several chapters. We start off in Asher’s POV and then Summers POV is added in but the random chapters in other peoples POV was confusing as they all had the same voice and flow. There wasn’t much of a distinction between characters and I had to constantly remind myself from whose POV we were in.

That wasn’t even the only time I was confused. I think that was the point though. The point was that no one was a reliable narrator. And although I understand why we were kept in the dark along side Asher, it made it challenging to read. I wanted to love this book so bad and keep trying but in the end, the book just didn’t have the emotional impacted expected. I was so emotionally attached from the start but even with that attachment, I had to reread so much at the end I just didn’t feel the impact. This also affected how the plot twists didn’t hit right either.

I still think the author is a great storyteller and shall they write another book, I would love to pick up a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review

you can hurt with this book, heal with this book and most of all feeeeel with this book.
what a tender, touching and deeply emotional book.
broken.
falling.
and yet...maybe...not?
this book had me all the way through and im so glad i got the chance to read it.
we have troubles in this book. some really dark and sad ones. but somehow we also have hope and kindness.
i felt so much for our main characters. i ended up just wanting them to be ok. for it to be ok.
healing is support. is love. is connection. we feel ourselves when accepted,loved,held. we heal ourselves with feeling safe. and that comes from many forms and in many forms.
im glad i got to read this book. it made a difference to my day.
it made me want to scoop up the people i love and check, check again on them.

** there are of course some people that might find the themes too much. and thats ok. its ok if you dont read books that cover things that are too close to your pain either one you are in or have had. its braver always to protect yourself.

★★★★☆ 4/5 stars

🌷 Thank you to Netgalley and Maryam A.H. for the ARC.

This isn't my usual genre but I liked the cover and summary a lot and I was very happy to receive an ARC of this.

The story follows multiple POVs but mostly Asher's and Alessia's. Asher is a young troubled man who sees his dead best friend and the book starts with him trying to end his life. Interrupted by Alessia, she will try to save him at any costs, even her own spark.

The writing is really nice for a young author's first book; it's quite poetic but sometimes lacks depth. I wish we could have had more descriptions and maybe less dialogues; a bit more of "sitting together in an enjoyable silence" vibe.

I liked the multiple POVs and seeing what the different characters were thinking and how they were analyzing what was happening and the relationship between them. While the middle of the book got a little lengthy, I really liked the beginning and the end. I do wish we had more hints and plot twists throughout the whole book and not just the end but overall the story still made sense and it wasn't too hard to follow/keep up with the events.
The morale of the story is very found family-ish; I loved that very much. True love isn't "just" being a couple: it's also the friends and family supporting us and caring for us. This book does a great job highlighting the friendly, platonic love people have for each other.

I think I'm too much of a cynical to fully enjoy this nowadays but younger me would have been jumping up and down reading this. It could definitely be a hit with the teens/YA audience!

I wish the author a happy first book release and lots of support & love for this. A kind and sweet author says a lot about the type of books they publish and the authenticity and heart of their writing and it really shows in this book.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was difficult to get through. The writing is weak, and much of the dialogue felt vague or overly broad. The characters came across as awkward and overly edgy, and the emotional weight the story was aiming for just didn’t land. I couldn’t bring myself to care. I ended up skimming the second half because so much of the text felt like unnecessary filler.

This doesn’t feel like a case of “just not the book for me”—it feels like a first draft that still needs significant editing and reworking before it’s ready for readers.