Let me start this by stating that I absolutely love Christine. I have been an avid subscriber to PolandBananasBooks, PolandBananasBooks, PolandBananasXX, and PolandBananas20 for years! I started watching her somewhere between 2011-13 and have never left!

 

That being said, I will be posting my honest thoughts and opinions on her book and I will not be biased towards it.

 

Going into this book I was nervous. I'm not a big rom-com fan, so I was expecting to read the book, feel meh about it, and then I'd give her lots of stars because the book would have been great but not my type so I couldn't fault her for that. Spoiler! That's not what happened at all! This book has genuinely blew my mind and rocked my world.

 

Unfortunately, it did not start out that way. I like to think of it as the first half of the book being like why? and then the second half happens and it transitions into oh!

 

The beginning just felt a bit off. It was like it was too much. This girl lands in London and automatically this really hot guy who is a musician is all over hanging out with her, flirting with her (gosh I hate to say it but that flirting had me CRINGING! Thank God for the hilarious comeback about the name Pilot and a human lol.). It was just way too unbelievable and ick I hate to say it, but insta-lovey-ish. That in mind, please let it be known I did ship it and I was ready to rip Pilots head off when the GIRLFRIEND became known. What the heck Pilot? You've been walking around London and Rome with this girl and flirting and leading her on, only for it to become known you have a girlfriend?! It's not even just the fact that he was doing one of the scummiest things a guy can do, but it's also how he acted when said girlfriend was brought up! He brushed her off like she was nothing but trash, which is so gross and disrespectful. Cheating is always a massive no for me, so this automatically made me like -no thank you, bye.

 

Unfortunately, that is not Shane's way of thinking. She continues to crush after slight emotional cheater Pilot, which of course makes me love him too because I'm seeing how sweet he's being and reading Shane's thoughts. Rome was a LOT. It was sweet and cute and we had such a fun time allowing ourselves to love the thought of the two of them falling in love. So, the truth about the girlfriend kinda knocked my world.

 

Even worse than Rome though, was Paris. Paris was goals and cute and awefbaiwufiwnfu EVERYTHING! The almost kiss! The club! The family talk! All! Of! It! Yet it wasn't obtainable because stupid Pilot and his clueless Amy were still a thing and Pilot seemed to realize that after returning.

 

Things really went downhill here. I'm a romance reader so I was frustrated that there was no romance at the time! Not to mention, I wanted to beat Pilots head in because of how he continuously abandoned her throughout their time in London and went places with others. Like, good for him for not cheating any more, but dang you're still a jerk.

 

Luckily, Christine wrote a beautiful story where I was not mainly focused on the romance aspect, and instead made it enjoyable to read about Shane's discovery in her love for her job, and her enjoyment in making friends and attempting to find herself. I found that so much fun! It made me worry for my future and reflect on my life a lot. I especially loved all the fun friend nights and Shwednesdays! I was very upset when rifts started to form in all of that because of Pilot.

 

The entirety of spring break had me so upset! C'mon Shane! Be brave! Experience something new! She didn't and instead dealt with a week of being alone. Also, how DARE Pilot take Amy to Paris! EXCUSE ME?? I was so angry it blew my mind he could be so cruel.

 

Everything came to a screeching train wreck however, when the parentals came for a visit. Ugh, great mom and dad. They really had to invite everyone for a dinner, including Amy. Shane stupidly didn't try to whisper her lie to everyone and it all blew up in her face. That scene was really, really, bad. I loved Pilot trying to help her, it earned him some points from me again. I felt for her so much. Parents being angry at you is one thing, but disappointment? That's something completely different. Her parents were so frustrating, yet I understood where they were coming from because she lied and wasted thousands of dollars.

 

(Side note: Amy is such a Bish. If you see a diary you don't read it! And girl are you really crazy enough to think, 'my boyfriend is probably cheating on me so let me spend hundreds-thousands of dollars to fly out and remind him he can't leave me.')

 

I was infuriated when she gave up. How dare you Shane, I did not spend all this time invested in your story for you to roll over and give up! But, she did. She gave it all up and continued trying to right the path her parents wanted her on.

 

Then she goes to the airport. I was so mad at her for running back. Like Shane! Your parents want to kill you already! Flights are expensive!

 

Here's the crazy thing: I accidently looked at the pages online and somehow read that I had 100 ebook pages left when I really had 1000 left. So, when it moves to 2017, I was like WHAT! HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING! THERES NOT ENOUGH TIME TO FIX THIS CORRECTLY!

 

2017 time jump was such a horrible moment for me. I was extremely upset. I grew even more upset after learning how those 6 years had been spent. Shane was trying for residencies and she has a 4 year long boyfriend who proposed?!?! And of course, Shane is thinking of Pilot! Shane, girl, yall were buddies for one week unknowing of his girlfriend, then yall were buddies for another week or two before it was put to a stop? Why are you still thinking of this man? I do my best to take a step back and remember she did travel amazing places with him, he flirted like crazy with her, and it was the first time she was being herself with someone. With those things in mind it made understanding Shane easier.

 

Now, Shane reuniting with Pilot was....a lot. I was surprised he easily agreed to go out with her. It was really sad to hear how he distanced himself from all of the study abroad group, whereas the rest of them stayed in touch. They both completely left behind their passions after 2011, and that was upsetting,

 

THE POSTER FOR THE CAFÉ! I was immediately like, oh my gosh creepy red headed lady is back! Every time we saw her, I was confused as to why she was there, but I did not imagine anything magical because this is a contemporary! And then we saw the elevator. Okay okay! There's this recently new movie on Netflix called The Unicorn Store, and the movie is about this girl's discovery in herself, making friends, ect. The reason I mention it is because in the movie she's in NYC, and she gets a letter to come to this shop. Its abandoned besides AN ELEVATOR, which has ONE BUTTON, and inside its magical.

 

So, I was super freaking out at the comparison to the movie and how exact it was to the book, especially since the movie came out right before Christine's book! That being said, I was increasingly more concerned when they saw the button was titled 'rewrite'. I was wondering, how is it gonna rewrite? What will Red headed do? All the while I was keeping my thoughts to a NORMAL UNMAGICAL WORLD.

 

My thoughts got distracted quickly though once the fight between Shane and Pilot started. Ugh, Pilot! He's obviously unhappy and he's just content to continue being unhappy! Basically said 'screw it and you, let's go'. God bless magic red head.

 

When that elevator stopped, my breath caught. I knew something was about to happen just not what. And then Shane asked that question. Man DID I CRY. I was crying so much, and next thing I know they're in January 2011. MY WORLD WAS KNOCKED OFF IT'S AXIS. MIND COMPLETELY BLOWN. WHAT THE HELL, CHRISITNE YOUR TALENT!

 

I'm currently still reeling over this. It is so unbelievably crazy to me that I was played so well!

 

They find out about the button and I wanted to punch both of them for wanting it. Thank goodness, Shane gets some sense and decides to have a redo and thank goodness again because Pilot actually becomes smart for a second and agrees! And that's when things pick up! Seeing their relationship throughout that time was beautiful. He read, and listened to all of her favorite things during those years apart. Their game of the moves had me swooning at how cute, young, and happy they were being. They were so carefree it made my insides fuzzy. He literally made her feel glitter!

 

They both learned to love their crafts again. They told each other deep things, about why it was so messed up the first time around. They were allowing their selves to be completely them and because of that it allowed them to love each other.

 

And then Pilot and Shane both had to screw it up. Shane was stupid with the way she treated work, and Pilot was an idiot with his stupid confrontational fear. That being said, I was angrier at Shane. How dare she attempt to use the button without him after they agreed to consult each other! It's not just your life Shane! She also had to completely isolate Pilot? She was doing to him exactly what he did to her the first time around! Remember that didn't work well Shane!

 

Shane did manage to fix all other relationships with her friends though, and she did manage to stand up to her parents and continue with the path of writing that she set out on the first time she came to England. I loved seeing her relationship with Leo mend. She had been so focused on herself that she missed the fact that he needed her. It was great seeing the difference between them from the first time around to the second.

 

Then Edinburgh happened. I was both really upset and really happy. I was super upset because now it's the SECOND TIME they agreed on going to Edinburgh and the second time one leaves without the other! Yet, I was happy because Shane was going out on her own and that felt like a huge accomplishment.

 

The entire crag scene had my heart twisted up. She was toying with that dang button again and I wanted to smack her around. And then....Pilot came up. And he did the sweetest thing, performing songs for her that meant something about them, and singing little tunes he wrote. (btw thanks Christine for making me listen to so much Taylor and feel emotionally connected. Please read the sarcasm lol. I can't believe I sobbed to Taylor music.)

 

It was absolutely perfect. All of it. The two of them deciding that they want this! No holding onto the button, just living in the moment and being happy and madly in love.

 

Then came the beautiful epilogue and a much happier 2017. Shane was an author! Pilot was in music! The entire Q&A was so cute, I was picturing Christine getting her moment and I was super emotional. Pilot had to surprise her with getting rid of the dang button for real! And he proposed in the cutest most them way and I was absolutely crying while Shane was upset that she would never beat his move.

Side note: I loved all the references to Christine throughout the book, and I loved the inspiration of Natasha in Babe! Their friendship was a very good thread throughout the book. All of the fun aspects of the book with its fangirling, had me feeling super giddy. This book is such a movie. I can picture it being a massive success as a film, it reads perfectly as one.

 

I loved Shane's character, I found her so funny and witty with her fangirl quirks, journals, and lists. I loved seeing her growth throughout the book, and reading her fears of life and her overcoming them. This book hit me hard for a bunch of reasons. Some of them being I'm 20 years old, in my junior year, I have no clue for my future, I'm not a self-kiss-blocker - I'm just unkissable, and I'm scared. There are so many things I want to do that I'm terrified of, I have to give Shane so many props for being brave enough to throw away 3 years of schooling and money to do what makes her happy! I found this book very inspirational. Cue me finally starting a blog! Because why not! I doubt I'll receive a magical second chance, so I should start living life how I want to now instead of allowing it to pass me by.

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I know I seem super frustrated with the book throughout the review, but overall there were a million more highs than lows. If there was no magical redo, I probably would have come out of the book disappointed and not liking it. Yet, the frustrations are what made the book, the book. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to have read Again, But Better. 10 out of 10 stars.

 

(P.S. I cried throughout the acknowledgement from how proud I am of Christine. She made a beautiful, fun, magical, shocking, surprising book, that made me feel something and has impacted me a lot.)

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