Quick Synopsis

The author of the “sexy, insightful, and utterly charming” (BuzzFeed) Kiss Her Once for Me returns with a new queer rom-com following once childhood best friends forced together to drive their former teacher across the country.

Publisher’s Synopsis

A long time ago, Logan Maletis and Rosemary Hale used to be friends. They spent their childhood summers running through the woods, rebelling against their conservative small town, and dreaming of escaping. But then an incident the summer before high school turned them into bitter rivals. After graduation, they went ten years without speaking.

Now in their thirties, Logan and Rosemary find they aren’t quite living the lives of adventure they imagined for themselves. Still in their small town and working as teachers at their alma mater, they’re both stuck in old patterns. Uptight Rosemary chooses security and stability over all else, working constantly, and her most stable relationship is with her label maker. Chaotic and impulsive Logan has a long list of misguided ex-lovers and an apathetic shrug she uses to protect herself from anything real. And as hard as they try to avoid each other—and their complicated past—they keep crashing into each other. Including with their cars.

But when their beloved former English teacher and lifelong mentor tells them he has only a few months to live, they’re forced together once and for all to fulfill his last wish: a cross-country road trip. Stuffed into the gayest van west of the Mississippi, the three embark on a life-changing summer trip—from Washington state to the Grand Canyon, from the Gulf Coast to coastal Maine—that will chart a new future and perhaps lead them back to one another.

Book Review

I have been a fan of Alison Cochrun since I read her debut novel, The Charm Offensive. While I really enjoyed her sophomore book, Kiss Her Once for Me, it did not quite live up to her debut. So when I saw that she was publishing her third novel, I jumped on the chance to read it, hoping for another story to cherish. However, I only read the one sentence blurb about the book and skipped the synopsis. And that turned out to be a big mistake. 

Some of you know that my spouse has been battling leukemia since last summer. They will finally be receiving a transplant in a couple weeks that will hopefully cure them. As a result, I have been under a lot of stress, and consequently, opting for books on the lighter side. I picked up Here We Go Again thinking it would be the light, fluff, and heartwarming story I needed, only to find a very sad novel about a father figure dying of cancer. Because this was so divergent from my expectations and hit too close to home, I will not be giving Here We Go Again a rating since I do not think I can provide a fair, impartial one.

In Here We Go Again, two former childhood best friends – Rosemary and Logan – set out on a cross country road trip to fulfill their mentor’s wish. Joe was Rosemary and Logan’s high school English teacher whom provide solstice, understanding, and a safe place for the two queer teens, Now, Joe is dying of cancer and asks his former students/surrogate daughters to drive him to his Maine cabin to die. The only problem is Rosemary and Logan now hate each other and cannot imagine spending days trapped in a car with each other.

Although Here We Go Again is labeled as a romance novel, I would argue it is more contemporary fiction with a dash of romance. The focus of the story is really the road trip and their relationship with Joe. The romance just happens along the way in chunks. I also say this because it felt like there was not a lot of build up of feelings and the like before Rosemary and Logan get together. Essentially, I was left swoonless and a bit bored in the love department.

It definitely did not help that Rosemary was an annoying, inflexible character, supposedly due to her anxiety. However, her inability to adjust to change and reactions just made me want to ring her throat. There was not much to adore. It is also worth mentioning that Logan has ADHD, which I thought was much better portrayed.

I think if I had picked up Here We Go Again at a different time when I could appreciate the storyline, rather than be filled with dread and anxiety, I would have liked it. I recommend it if you are looking for a heartwarming, yet heartbreaking novel about the impact an adult can make when they truly see and accept kids for who they are.