Book Smart Kate

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by Kate Goldbeck

If you loved When Harry Met Sally and longed for a modern update, let me introduce you to You, Again. This book is the best of the “strangers to enemies to friends to lovers” trope.

When Ari and Josh meet, they hate each other instantly. Over the next few years, they encounter each other periodically, and nothing driven and organized Josh nor chaotic and drifting Ari does anything but cement that hatred. Then, they meet again when they are both at their lowest, personally and professionally. What grows from that is an unlikely but charming, funny, and profoundly caring friendship. But then the lines between platonic friendship and romance blur, and they struggle with fears and insecurities.

Set over 7-8 years in NYC, Josh and Ari approach life in dramatically different ways but seem to complement each other – even when they can’t see it. Glodbeck writes a deeply tender book that is also laugh-out-loud funny. As someone who has never lived in or desired to live in NYC, sometimes I shy away from books set there, as the “NYC is the greatest place on earth” narrative is exhausting, but this book doesn’t have any of that. It is a character-driven book that makes you root for these opposites to realize they are the perfect fit.