Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing, by Allison Winn Scotch {ends 8/8}

Cleo McDougal is not a good person. She does good, yes, but doing good and being good aren't the same thing, now, are they?

Cleo McDougal did not see the op-ed or this opening line in said op-ed on the home page of SeattleToday! until approximately seven fifteen a.m., after she had completed her morning at-home boxing class, after she had showered and meticulously applied the day's makeup (a routine that she admitted was getting lengthier and more discouraging at thirty-seven, but Cleo McDougal had never been one to shy away from a challenge), and after she had roused her fourteen-year-old from his bed, which was likely her day's hardest ordeal. 

Of course, she had not yet seen the op-ed. By the time she did, the political blogs had picked it up and run with it, which was why it took off, blazing around the internet and Twittersphere. (SeattleToday!, a hipster alternative online "paper," would otherwise really never have landed on Cleo's radar).

She had made a rule, which was clearly a mistake—she could see that now—to give herself one hour in the mornings before checking her phone. 

I'm a big fan of Allison Winn Scotch's novels, and so I was excited to get an early copy of Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing.

Official synopsis:

Politics is a test of wills in a sharp, funny, and emotional novel about truth and consequences by the New York Times bestselling author.

Cleo McDougal is a born politician. From congresswoman to senator, the magnetic, ambitious single mother now has her eye on the White House—always looking forward, never back. Until an estranged childhood friend shreds her in an op-ed hit piece gone viral.

With seven words—“Cleo McDougal is not a good person”—the presidential hopeful has gone from in control to damage control, and not just in Washington but in life.

Enter Cleo’s “regrets list” of 233 and counting. Her chief of staff has a brilliant idea: pick the top ten, make amends during a media blitz, and repair her reputation. But there are regrets, and there are regrets: like her broken relationship with her sister, her affair with a law school professor…and the regret too big to even say out loud.

But with risk comes reward, and as Cleo makes both peace and amends with her past, she becomes more empowered than ever to tackle her career, confront the hypocrites out to destroy her, and open her heart to what matters most—one regret at a time.

Cleo is very easy to relate to in this novel, and I liked her a lot. She's only 37 but is already a U.S. senator, from New York, although she lives in D.C. during the week. She has a 14-year-old son, Lucas, whom she had at 23, and the dad is not in the picture (we find out later in the novel why). Her childhood best friend, MaryAnne, has now written a scathing op-ed about her in a local Seattle paper, where she is from, which normally wouldn't mean much, but Cleo wants to run for president soon, so it irks her.

I found this novel to be both very timely and also funny, in parts. Both Cleo and the supporting characters are ones you want to root for (except maybe MaryAnne!), and Cleo is very ambitious, to which I could also relate. Her life isn't perfect, either, though, and she was a very well-developed character.

I'd recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Winn Scotch's previous books, or who like a good story.

4 stars out of 5.

{click here to purchase - currently FREE for Kindle Unlimited members!}

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Saturday, August 8th, at 11:59pm EST, and the winner will be notified via email the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing, by Allison Winn Scotch