Book Review: "Once More with Feeling" by Elissa Sussman

Katee Rose is living the life she’s always wanted. She’s a huge pop star with fans all over the world, giving sold-out concerts, and topping the charts. The media can’t get enough of her, especially her relationship with Ryan LaNeve, the breakout star of the beloved boy band CrushZone. But fame and constant media scrutiny have their price. She doesn’t love that producers keep auto-tuning her voice, and she hates having to worry about everything she eats, everything she wears, and making sure she’s always “on” in case she inadvertently upsets a fan.

And as much as she cares about Ryan, having a relationship in the public eye is exhausting. Which is why she finds herself turning more and more to her good friend Cal, another CrushZone member. Cal is quiet, more mature, and he seems to understand Katee more than Ryan. And when friendship turns to romance, it destroys everything–her relationship with Ryan, her career, her reputation, and her future, as well as her friendship with Cal.

Years later, Kathleen Rosenberg is fine with her life outside the spotlight. But when her best friend Harriet’s musical–with a part she created specifically for Kathleen–has an opportunity to get to Broadway, Kathleen is thrilled for her friend. Harriet is determined that Kathleen gets another chance at fame. That chance, however, is in the hands of Cal, now a successful director and choreographer. Neither has spoken to the other since the implosion of both of their careers, and both blame each other.

Can Kathleen trust Cal this time with the possibility of a second chance? They both know the scrutiny the show and both of them will be under if she gets the role, but they also know that it has the potential to resurrect both of their careers. What to do when the chemistry and the old feelings reawaken? Is there potential for a comeback in their romantic lives as well, or will that be too much for the show to sustain, not to mention the public scrutiny?

Elissa Sussman’s last book, Funny You Should Ask, was one of my favorite books of last year, so needless to say, I had very high hopes for this book. While it was an enjoyable read, and I loved the behind-the-scenes look at the mounting of a musical bound for Broadway, it was a little too predictable, and the whole book ran far longer than it needed to. (What is it with super-long rom-coms lately?)

But Kathleen and Cal definitely had chemistry, and it’s always great to read a rom-com with more mature characters.