Here We Go Again Review | Alison Cochrun | Is It Worth Reading?

A cross-country road trip, a dying mentor, and two former best friends who never stopped loving each other — this is the queer rom-com that will wreck you and heal you in the same breath.

If you love second-chance romances where the reunion is soaked in grief, humor, and a decade of unspoken feeling, Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun belongs at the top of your list. It won the 2025 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Romance, was a Stonewall Book Award honoree, and landed on best-of-year lists from Publishers Weekly, BookRiot, and Elle.

Our take: This is far more than a rom-com. Cochrun braids laugh-out-loud banter with a genuinely devastating storyline about a beloved teacher’s terminal illness, and the result is a book most readers finish in tears. The romance itself is tender and slow, sometimes taking a back seat to the grief plot — but for readers who want a story with real emotional weight, that trade is exactly the point.

The Evidence Scorecard

Here is what the reviews across Amazon, Goodreads, and romance.io consistently reveal — the praise and the honest caveats.

★★★★☆ Writing & Voice

Evidence:

• ✓ Booklist (starred) and Publishers Weekly (starred) both praised the prose; PW called it “Cochrun’s best yet.”
• ✓ Readers repeatedly describe the prose as “beautiful” and note the recurring “prickly pear” metaphor as a genuine highlight.
• ✓ The dual-timeline structure (present road trip woven with childhood flashbacks) is widely credited with giving the leads real depth.
• ✓ A recurring criticism: the running gag of swearing with celebrity names (“Kristen F-ing Stewart”) grated on many readers and feels like it will date quickly.

★★★★☆ Dialogue & Banter

Evidence:

• ✓ UK and Amazon reviewers single out the dialogue between the MCs as “such a highlight.”
• ✓ The comedy is genuinely funny — readers report laughing out loud even while crying.
• ✓ Logan’s chaotic energy versus Rosemary’s uptight precision fuels sharp grumpy/sunshine sparring.
• ✓ Some found the bickering repetitive, as both characters cycle through the same defensive patterns.

★★★★☆ Chemistry & Romance

Evidence:

• ✓ The friends-to-rivals-to-lovers arc feels earned; readers describe them as “the other half of each other’s heart.”
• ✓ The romance is tender and swoony — “dancing in car headlights,” changing song lyrics to be secretly about your best friend.
• ✓ Honest caveat: several readers felt the grief plot overshadowed the romance, which develops slowly and quietly.
• ✓ A romance.io reviewer flagged “contrivances” and “melodrama” you have to accept for the reunion to land.

★★★★☆ Heat

Evidence:

• ✓ romance.io rates steam 3/5 (open door), but reviewers note it “really means it” — there is essentially one on-page scene, largely elided.
• ✓ This is an emotion-first romance, not a spice-forward one; readers seeking heavy heat will want to look elsewhere.
• ✓ Includes ace/demi representation, which shapes the low-key physical tone.
• ✓ The intimacy that exists is emotional rather than explicit — a plus for slow-burn fans, a miss for spice-seekers.

★★★★☆ Emotion & Depth

Evidence:

• ✓ This is the book’s superpower — near-universal reports of “sobbing,” “ugly crying,” and needing to put the book down.
• ✓ The New York Times Book Review said it “will have you weeping.”
• ✓ Handles terminal illness, grief, ADHD/neurodivergence, addiction, and religious trauma with striking care.
• ✓ Joe, the dying mentor, is repeatedly named as the emotional core — his storyline blindsides readers in the best way.

★★★★☆ Pacing

Evidence:

• ✓ Several readers note a slow start before the characters “suck you in.”
• ✓ The road-trip structure gives the middle strong forward momentum, city to city.
• ✓ A minority found the repetition of the same character struggles draining over 368 pages.
• ✓ The final act accelerates emotionally — “the last 100 pages” are where most readers report crying hardest.

★★★★☆ Ending

Evidence:

• ✓ Delivers a full HEA — PW praised the “beautiful romantic reunion.”
• ✓ Readers describe the resolution as “anchored in the real world,” bittersweet but hopeful.
• ✓ The grief and the romance resolve in parallel, which most found cathartic rather than tidy.
• ✓ A few wanted a touch more romance-focused denouement after the emotional climax.

★★★★☆ Re-read & Comfort Value

Evidence:

• ✓ Named a favorite book of 2024 by multiple readers who “can’t wait” for more Cochrun.
• ✓ Comfort value is complicated by the heavy grief — this is a cathartic cry, not a light re-read.
• ✓ Strong appeal for teachers, neurodivergent readers, and anyone who has lost a mentor.
• ✓ Some noted timely pop-culture references may feel dated on re-read.

Quick Facts

Author	Alison Cochrun
Published	April 2, 2024 (Atria Books)
Length	368 pages
Steam Level	3/5 (open door, low)
Tropes	Second chance, childhood friends to rivals to lovers, forced proximity, road trip, small town
Awards	Lambda Literary Award winner; Stonewall Book Award honoree
Ending	HEA (bittersweet)

You’ll Love This If…

• ✓ You want a rom-com with real emotional stakes and are okay with crying a lot.
• ✓ You love second-chance and childhood-friends-reunited stories.
• ✓ You appreciate ADHD and neurodivergent representation done with care.
• ✓ Road-trip romances and found-family dynamics are your catnip.
• ✓ You loved Kiss Her Once for Me or Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls books.

Avoid If…

• You want a light, purely fun rom-com with no heavy themes — terminal illness is central here.
• You need high heat; this is a low-steam, emotion-first romance.
• Repetitive character arcs or a recurring pop-culture gag will frustrate you.
• You prefer the romance to stay front-and-center rather than share space with grief.

Book Synopsis

Logan Maletis and Rosemary Hale were inseparable as kids — running wild through the woods of their conservative small town and dreaming of escape. Then an incident the summer before high school turned them into bitter rivals, and after graduation they went a full decade without speaking. Now in their thirties, both are teachers at their old alma mater, stuck in the very town they swore they’d leave: uptight Rosemary clinging to security, chaotic Logan hiding behind an apathetic shrug.

When their beloved former English teacher and lifelong mentor, Joe, reveals he has only months to live, the two are forced together to grant his last wish: a cross-country road trip in the “gayest van west of the Mississippi.” From Washington State to the Grand Canyon to coastal Maine, the journey forces Logan and Rosemary to confront their shared past — and the possibility that the person they each ran from is the one they were meant to find their way back to.

My Review

I went into Here We Go Again expecting a breezy road-trip rom-com and got something far weightier — in the best way. Cochrun, a former high school English teacher herself, has written a love letter to the mentors who shape us, and Joe’s storyline is the beating heart of the book. It sneaks up on you: you come for the enemies-to-lovers banter and stay for a meditation on grief, chosen family, and living fully in the time you’re given.

The romance between Logan and Rosemary is tender and slow-building, rooted in a childhood bond that never fully broke. Their dynamic — chaotic sunshine crashing into anxious control — produces some of the sharpest dialogue I’ve read in a contemporary sapphic romance. The dual-timeline flashbacks do a lot of quiet work, so that by the time they finally reach for each other, it feels inevitable rather than convenient.

It’s not flawless. The recurring bit where characters swear using celebrity names wore thin fast, and both leads circle the same wounds a few too many times across 368 pages. The romance also occasionally yields the spotlight to the grief plot, so if you came strictly for the love story you may feel the balance tip. And the heat is minimal — essentially one fade-to-black scene.

But none of that dimmed the experience for me. This is a book that made me laugh out loud and then sob, sometimes on the same page. It’s the kind of story you finish with mascara-stained tissues and a fuller heart, already recommending it to everyone you know.

Romance Profile

Pairing	F/F (Logan & Rosemary)
Central trope	Second chance / childhood friends to rivals to lovers
Heat level	Low (open door, one scene)
Conflict	Old betrayal, fear of vulnerability, grief
POV	Dual POV, third person

Emotional Profile

• ✓ Devastating — expect real, heavy tears over the grief storyline.
• ✓ Funny — genuine laugh-out-loud comedy balances the heartbreak.
• ✓ Tender — a soft, earned reunion romance.
• ✓ Hopeful — ultimately life-affirming despite the sadness.

Content Warnings

• Terminal illness (cancer) and death of a major character
• Grief and bereavement (central themes)
• Mental illness, addiction/alcoholism (referenced)
• Homophobia and religious trauma; family abandonment
• Reference to the AIDS crisis

Book DNA

Vibe	Bittersweet, funny, cathartic
Setting	Cross-country US road trip (WA to Maine)
Pace	Slow start, momentum builds on the road
Comps	Delilah Green Doesn’t Care; Kiss Her Once for Me
Best for	Readers who want emotion-first queer romance

Similar Books You Might Enjoy

• Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake — small-town queer romance with big feelings and sharp humor.
• Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick — another emotionally devastating second-chance love story.
• Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur — friends-reunited banter with a cozy heart.
• One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston — queer romance that blends yearning with real emotional depth.
• Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur — opposites-attract sapphic rom-com comfort read.

For more like this, browse our full guide to Sapphic Second Chance Romance Books, and if you love the rivals-to-lovers spark here, don’t miss our Enemies-to-Lovers Lesbian Romance roundup.

About the Author

Alison Cochrun is a former high school English teacher and the author of queer love stories including The Charm Offensive, Kiss Her Once for Me, Here We Go Again, and Every Step She Takes. She lives outside Portland, Oregon, with her wife, her son, and two very needy dogs. Her fiction is known for pairing sharp humor with deeply felt explorations of mental health and neurodivergence.

Read more Alison Cochrun reviews →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Here We Go Again a sapphic romance?

Yes. It is an F/F romance between Logan and Rosemary, two women who were childhood best friends, became rivals, and reconnect as adults. It won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Romance.

Does Here We Go Again have a happy ending?

Yes, it delivers a happily-ever-after for the central couple, though it is bittersweet given the grief woven through the story. Publishers Weekly praised its “beautiful romantic reunion.”

How steamy is Here We Go Again?

It is low heat. romance.io rates it 3/5 steam (open door), but there is essentially one on-page scene that is largely faded to black. This is an emotion-first romance rather than a spicy one.

Do I need to read Alison Cochrun’s other books first?

No. Here We Go Again is a standalone. Fans of her earlier books like Kiss Her Once for Me will enjoy her signature blend of humor and heart, but no prior reading is required.

Is Here We Go Again sad?

Very. A central storyline follows a beloved teacher’s terminal illness, and most readers report crying — often heavily — especially in the final third. It is cathartic rather than bleak.

What tropes are in Here We Go Again?

Second chance, childhood friends to rivals to lovers, forced proximity, a cross-country road trip, small-town setting, and found family, plus strong ADHD/neurodivergent representation.

Is there content I should be aware of?

Yes — terminal illness and death, grief, mental illness, addiction, homophobia, religious trauma, and a reference to the AIDS crisis. Check the content warnings above if any of these are sensitive for you.

Who will enjoy Here We Go Again most?

Readers who want a queer rom-com with genuine emotional depth — especially teachers, neurodivergent readers, road-trip romance fans, and anyone who has loved and lost a mentor.

Final Verdict

Here We Go Again is a rare rom-com that earns its laughs and its tears in equal measure. The recurring celebrity-swear gag and a slightly repetitive middle keep it from perfection, and readers craving high heat should look elsewhere. But as an emotionally rich, award-winning second-chance love story about grief, growth, and coming home to the person who knew you first, it is a triumph. If you’re willing to cry, it is absolutely worth reading — a well-deserved 4.1 / 5.

Where to Buy

Buy Here We Go Again on Amazon

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