I absolutely loved the story of Jo and Hunter! This was my first ever FF read and I’m so glad it was this one! I loved the development, the realism and the fact that there was so many diverse characters. Hunter has my heart, she was incredible! How despite her own trauma was always ready to rise to the challenge and protect her own. She is everything.
I love how Jo developed in her story and I’m not afraid to admit i whooped with joy at her girl boss moments .

Back to Me is a second chance, fake-dating sapphic romance. It follows the characters of Jo and Hunter as they navigate living together over a decade after a special summer that changed both of their lives.

Generally romance novels are not my go to but I was intrigued about this one after reading about it on a friends instagram. I went into this expecting I was going to read a nice romcom between our two lovely leads. And while I definetly got that, the book was so much more. Duggan did an amazing job at touching on religous trauma associated with being part of the queer community as well as highlighting important mental health issues and physical conditions and bringing light to some misunderstood 'taboo' areas of health.

This book really emphasises that finding yourself and in fact losing yourself is all part of life and it is a process that will continuously go on. As someone who sometimes feel a little lost I really loved seeing this played out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really loved this book! Past lovers reuniting is one of my favorite troupes when there is history and it makes the chemistry extra sizzling! This book was wonderful at representation of queerness, health issues, neurodivergence, just … chefs kiss. There was emotion and love and it was just a beautiful story. I loved it

𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝.

I loved this book so much. It's swoony and sweet and emotional and deep and deals with a lot of tough themes. It just warmed me from the inside out and it was such a great book.

Jo and Hunter fell in love one summer when they were 15. Twelve years later they have a chance reunion and end up roommates. (THE TENSION)

When Jo is asked to plan her ex fiance's wedding, Hunter is the photographer and it's SO messy. So wonderfully, perfectly, messy.

I absolutely love how Katie writes mental illness, queerness, and disabilities in these books. Jo has Type 1 diabetes and depression, and Hunter has ADHD.

The way they work together to come back to each other is just so beautiful.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.”
“𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐩. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?

One thing I've noticed and appreciated about this author is their characters know how to communicate, and how to give long declarations of love. This wont be for everyone, but I love not having to worry about characters that can't say how they feel.

Honestly, it's just a lovely sapphic romcom and it spoke to me in so many ways.

𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲, 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for this review.

Back to Me follows Hunter and Jo and is your quintessential second chance romance. Each character has their own things to work through that influence how they see their past and future relationship. Overall, this was a mostly sweet, slightly angsty read. I enjoyed the story and would read the next book, assuming there’s one, however, I wouldn’t necessarily put this on the top of my re-reads list.

Ahhhh! I loved this book! Back to Me is an adorable sapphic rom-com following Jo and Hunter. They were together as teenagers and end up fake dating for reasons. I loved the representation in this book! As a queer, neurodivergent, Type 1 diabetic, it was fantastic to find a story that includes type 1 diabetes (actually represented correctly) and ADHD and depression and allll the queer characters.

I did occasionally find it confusing about which sibling was which, there were a ton of them and they all seemed somewhat similar. That being said, I started with book 2 and that might have been a bit clearer if I had read the first book as well.

Thanks to Netgalley and Katie Duggan for the chance to read and review! My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don't have much to say about this book, it was sickeningly sweet in the best way, and so very queer. I loved it!
It was funny and heart warming, and had representation for the whole rainbow.

Jo having diabetes was treated so well. It written with compassion and care, very informative, and actually mattered to the plot.
I kinda felt like Hunter's ADHD was brought up once out of the blue at the start, then forgotten about until it was used to explain something at the end, and wasn't really as well thought out as Jo's diabetes.

First loves reconnecting and working through their issues separately and together is always nice to see.
You can clearly see both characters taking their mental health seriously and actually communicating. Do I say that a lot? Yes. But I'll never get tired of it. I'm a sucker for good communication.

I'm a little sad it wasn't quite the bi rep I was hoping for, but compulsive heternormativity is a bitch, and I guess I understand people also deserve to have representation of not knowing quite where they stand and having to unlearn decades of brainwashing ;P

Oh and I can't forget that I'm pretty sure Duggan wrote a remix to Our Song by Taylor Swift, and it was seamlessly worked into it. Or maybe that was just me...

The spice was spicy and yummy. I was slightly confused by the drastic change Jo had inside the bedroom, it seemed like a totally different character then, and after they started having sex, but I guess that could be explained by her being emboldened. I just didn't quite see it.

DNF @ 20%

I really wanted to enjoy this book, I really liked the concept but for me the execution was just not it.

I really struggle with contemporary books that reference modern day things so the constant references to Taylor Swift etc bugged me so much. I’ve never read a book with a playlist attached but I didn’t really like the whole listen-to-this-song-while-reading-this-chapter vibe with the song title at the beginning of each chapter. The chapters were also really short, probably the duration of said songs which I didn’t really like.

Within the first few pages there was already a handful of spelling and grammar issues and with the plot on top I just couldn’t read on.

Jo and Hunter didn’t feel like very well thought out people. For people in their late twenties they feel painfully immature in their words and actions and I just didn’t enjoy it. The writing style felt like it was going for sexy but just came across as crude.

The constant references to Bridgerton made it obvious that that’s what the author is trying to do with the whole queer siblings series thing. Sadly, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

I received an ARC of Back to Me from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this spicy contemporary sapphic romance! Back to Me is a beautiful celebration of found family and the kind of supportive, protective love that embraces you for precisely who you are. The alternating points of view between Hunter and Jo and the fact that each chapter began with a song title added a unique touch to the story! As someone with multiple disabilities, I also appreciated the authentic and positive disability representation (Type 1 diabetes, Major depressive disorder, ADHD). However, it should be noted those identities are not my own. Overall, Duggan and her romance novel skillfully balanced a humorous and light tone with deeper, weightier themes (ableism, emotional abuse, depression, religious bigotry, homophobia, fatphobia, diet culture, and family and religious trauma) with respect and without being preachy. #BacktoMeKatieDuggan #NetGalley

“Life’s funny that way. It throws you someone from your past and they become your soul’s reason.”

This was my first book by Katie Duggan and it was such a sweet romance! I loved that this was a second chance romance but also dealt with deeper topics including major depressive disorder, diabetes, and mental health. Katie manages to weave these tough topics into the story while maintaining the balance of the second chance romance. Jo and Hunter were so sweet with each other but my favorite part is how they CARED for each other. Between healthily communicating, giving each other space when they needed it, being there for each other in their individual lows, you could feel the love they had for each other every page. The flashback “that summer” scenes provided amazing backstory and warmth as we saw them first fall in love. This book was so so sweet!

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was the first book I’ve read by the author and it didn’t disappoint. While it read easy, there are deeper topics such as mental health, physical health, and homophobia. The author did a good job at weaving them into the story and providing a delicate balance between not enough and too much. I’m also always a sucker for when one MC calls the other by their full name when no one else does, so the times she didn’t I was thrown off because I enjoyed it so much.

This books comes with a content warning, why? Honestly I don’t know.. I understand how some of the events can be triggering to some people, but surely the content warning is a bit much.

I didn’t mind the story, nor did I really like it. Now I wonder if that might have been influenced by the content warning, it had me expecting something more intense than this repetitive and mediocre story. I do like how the body types are different from most of these books. The support between our two mains is excellent, although it’s a tad unbelievable and over the top.

Mediocre book with different than usual representation.

I want to thank NetGalley and Victory Editing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

this book was really adorable! I loved how the 2 mains kept telling each other how they felt and were always opened and honest with one another. The communication with them was really well done. I just find there were to many other characters and their back stories involved that it was kind of confusing at times to follow allll of that.. other than that, very cute read!

Omg I loved this book! Absolutely devoured it in a day.

•WLW romance
•Second chance
•Forced proximity
•Fake dating
•Grumpyish/Sunshine
•Mental Health representation
•Diabetes representation
•Plus-size MC

🎶These are a few of my favourite thingsss🎶

And honestly, it was also downright sexy🔥
Highly recommend this sapphic romance 🏳️‍🌈

I enjoyed this second chances are some of my favourite romance books and this didn’t disappoint
I adored hunter
I adored their relationship
I loved the wedding planing the friendship the setting it was so beautiful
Lovely happy sweet book

Sometimes first love if meant to be forever but at the time you aren't aware of the power of one's first love. Jo and Hunter meet up years later and realize their is so much more than what meets the eye.

Back to Me is a sweet second chance sapphic romance with impeccable ADHD rep, a rowdy menacing family with hearts of gold, and a mechanical bull scene. (!!) The communication in this series is just SO good - the main characters treat each other with respect and care. The spicy scenes are unbelievably excellent. I liked the spins on the various microtropes that popped up - one-bed and grand gestures in particular.
This book is great for everyone, but especially anyone who has felt like they’re too much or not deserving of love; for those afraid to take up space; and for those who have ever wanted to name a bearded dragon Dolly Parton.

Here is my review as posted on Instagram @readknitcoffee and StoryGraph @queenlaserbeam. I’m so happy our next Quibling book was Jo! In From the Start, we got to meet Jo bc she lived with Nic and gave Josh a hard time 😂 I loved seeing the book club continue on and how romance books were involved in this book as well. While Jo might be my fave in the family, NO ONE can top Hunter! She is incredible, a force to be reckoned with, and the sweetest/most thoughtful ever. I loved their dynamic and understanding of one another.
Katie’s books tackle mental health in a very relatable and thoughtful way. I felt seen throughout all of the discussions and situations and felt the care and compassion from her understanding their importance. Katie’s books should be on everyone’s fall TBRs bc they are cozy and warm love stories.

Katie, you have convinced me that I need to actively seek out more second chance romances, which are not my top choice! I cannot wait to see what else pops up with this family, and I’m really hoping it’s with Kat🫣

I cannot express my excitement for the second Quiblings book! Jo and Hunter are my girls and I love them with my whole heart. What can I say, other than I loved this book so much? Because I really did. Jo and Hunter got together when they were teenagers, but Jo's dad walked in on them, and they never spoke again, losing touch. Now, Jo is the wedding planner for her ex, while Hunter is the photographer for the same wedding, and they find each other again, but things aren't exactly the same and both girls struggle with their feelings, the past, and their current lives. First and foremost, I really loved the representation in this book. Jo struggles with Type 1 diabetes, as well as MDD (major despressive disorder) and Hunter struggles with ADHD. Both of them are queer, fat girls and reading about women like this is really important to me, and others. There were some great caretaking scenes, and both Jo and Hunter just seemed to get each other and know what each other needed. The support and care and love was so beautiful. The spicy scenes were intimate, hot, and also poignant and meaningful and beautiful. I really loved that the author included a playlist! I love getting to see what songs inspired the author and their writing. I also loved the side characters, with a special shoutout to the Quinn family; they are amazing and so hilarious! They are the kind of family I would love to have. Jo and Hunter have such a raw, genuine, and deep love that was really palpable. Their chemistry was off the charts! I loved that their got their second chance at a happy ending.

Jo and Hunter were a thing as teenagers, until they broke up when Jo's dad walked in on them having sex.

Now Jo is a wedding planner and Hunter a photographer, and have found themselves together at a friend's wedding.

Six months later, her sister surprises her by suggesting Hunter should be Jo's new roommate...

(There's a minor continuity issue. Jo tells Nic and Josh about wedding planning for her ex, then tells them AGAIN a few chapters later. I assume it'll get fixed?)

Good read, a lot of humor. The relatives, especially, had me chuckling a lot.