Quick Pick Book Review: The Rewind, by Allison Winn Scotch

• Opening lines: Frankie Harriman took a long last look in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door of her decently appointed hotel room. The lighting was, as expected, quite grim, but even without the shadowing and the unflattering overtone of yellow, she startled herself. She fidgeted with the cuff of her oversize wool sweater, tried tucking it into the waist of her Levi's, then decided that made her look like she was trying too hard, so untucked it, but she still wasn't happy. She turned to the side and gave herself a final once-over. It would have to do. The rehearsal dinner invite had called for College Chic! and this was all she had: her old J.Crew fisherman sweater that she'd dug out of a box in the back of her closet in her Los Feliz apartment and her vintage Levi's, which she now bought at a used-clothes store on Fairfax, but she may just as well have been wearing the ones from 1989, the year they graduated. The last time she'd set foot on campus at Middleton University.
• Reason I picked up the book: I'm a huge fan of Allison Winn Scotch's books, and the synopsis sounded intriguing—I love books that involve reunions of a sort.
• And what's this book about? Two exes wake up together with wedding bands on their fingers—and no idea how they got there. They have just one New Year’s Eve at the end of 1999 to figure it out in this big-hearted and nostalgic rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch. 
  
  When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie’s on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late ’90s, and Ezra’s ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan—they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.
  
  But when they wake up in bed next to each other the following morning with Ezra’s grandmother’s diamond on Frankie’s finger, they have zero memory of how they got there—or about any of the events that transpired the night before. Now Frankie and Ezra have to put aside old grievances in order to figure out what happened, what didn’t happen...and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?
• Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys "reunion" books as well, or cute rom-coms with a dash of drama.
• Favorite paragraph: What Ezra Jones always needed was a plan. What Frankie Harriman always needed was a foil. They never could have worked. They were always a thunderstorm of impending doom.
• Something to know: I haven't been reading a lot throughout the pandemic—as you may have noticed, my guest reviewer Becki has been doing the heavy lifting on this blog with her reviews—but this was the first book I've read that I wanted to keep reading ASAP to see how it ended.
• What I would have changed: Nothing. Now I want to see it made into a movie, too.
• Overall rating: 5 stars out of 5.
• Where can I find this book? Click here to pre-order on Amazon—it will be out on November 1st.

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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

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Between Me and You, by Allison Winn Scotch {ends 4/1}

Ben - November 2016 (now)

I told myself that if she showed, that would be the sign I needed.

If she showed, maybe we could find a way to rewind, rewrite, do it all over. Do it all better. Do it all again, only differently.

It's silly; it's something out of a Hollywood ending, and I'd know that better than most. It's not how I'd write it, but it's how the studio would want it, what would appeal to the demographic they were courting: Men will want to go home and screw their wives, call their girlfriends; women will weep and know that love conquers all.

I snort to myself, though it's lost in the bluster of the wind, the squeal of a motorcycle racing too quickly down Ocean Avenue, empty on this overcast Sunday morning.

Did I ever believe that? Did I ever pin my hopes that love could conquer all? It feels like so long ago: when we first met each other, when we loved each other without conditions.

I've been a fan of Allison Winn Scotch's books for a while now, and I usually enjoy them. I enjoyed this one as well but the chronology is very confusing at first—the story is told from both Ben and Tatum's POVs, and it starts in November 2016, which is the present time. After that, the story goes both backwards and forwards, and the second chapter takes place in October 1999, at the beginning of their love story.

Official synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch comes an honest, touching, and funny exploration of falling in and out of love, told from two perspectives—one rewinding history, one moving it forward—and each with bias and regret.

When their paths first cross, Ben Livingston is a fledgling scriptwriter on the brink of success; Tatum Connelly is a struggling actress tending bar in a New York City dive. They fall in love, they marry, they become parents, and they think only of the future. But as the years go by, Tatum’s stardom rises while Ben’s fades. In a marriage that bears the fallout of ambition and fame, Ben and Tatum are at a crossroads. Now all they can do is think back…

A life of passion, joy, tragedy, and loss—once shared—becomes one as shifting and unpredictable as a memory. As the pieces of their past come together, as they explore the ways love can bend and break, Ben and Tatum come to see how it all went wrong—and wonder what they can do now to make it all right.
Like I mentioned above, this story was very hard to follow at first. One chronology is going backwards and the other is going forwards, so the chapters that are the most recent are throwing names and people at us that we haven't yet met. Once you get into the groove of it, though, you start to realize that Ben and Tatum's story is very interesting, even though they're on the brink of divorce currently.

At the beginning of their relationship, Tatum was an aspiring actress and Ben was a screenwriter. His star is on the rise for a few years, but then Tatum's career takes off, and soon she's a Hollywood A-lister, whereas he's writing scripts for a TV show. That causes tension between them. They later have a son together, Joey, who wasn't planned, but both of them love him.

Meanwhile, Tatum is getting more and more stressed about her career—being the best, trying to stay super skinny, etc.—which is driving a wedge between them.

This wasn't my favorite Allison Winn Scotch book that I've read so far, but the story was pretty interesting. It would actually make a great movie, in my opinion; maybe one day it will get optioned as a film. I'd recommend this book for anyone who is interested in movies and/or for anyone who likes love stories.

3.5 out of 5.
{click here to purchase}

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Two of my lucky readers will win a copy of Between Me and You!

Enter to win via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Sunday, April 1st, at 11:59pm EST, and the winners 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!

Between Me and You, by Allison Winn Scotch

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Year in review: The best books of 2016

I've been slacking a bit this year, unfortunately ... according to Goodreads, my total amount of books read for 2016 was 66 books, nine shy of my goal of 75. That being said, most of the books I remember reading were very good this year. Here's a list of my top nine favorites.

The top 9 books I enjoyed this year, in no apparent order, are:

1. The Circle, by Dave Eggers. I believe this is the only book I gave 5/5 stars to this year. It's an older book, I believe from 2013, but the movie adaptation is coming out in 2017 (starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks). VERY interesting book.

2. My Not So Perfect Life, by Sophie Kinsella. I'm a Kinsella fan from way back (loved her Shopaholic series) so it was unsurprising that I enjoyed this one as well. 4.5/5.
*publishing date: February 7, 2017

3. Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult. Again, huge Picoult fan, and I was privileged to get to read this one super-early on Kindle, and then receive a hardcover copy of it. She researches her book topics thoroughly, too, and it definitely shows. 4.5/5.

4. The Last One, by Alexandra Oliva. I started reading this on Kindle while on a plane, and I could not put it down. Think Walking Dead meets Survivor, minus the zombies. 4.5/5.

5. In Twenty Years, by Allison Winn Scotch. This book followed a group of college classmates as they reunite on the anniversary of one of the classmate's death. Each of them has secrets, though, which will come to light that weekend. 4.5/5.
*currently free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: In Twenty Years, by Allison Winn Scotch {ends 7/23}

"Please don't get arrested," Catherine fretted. "Our parents are all in town! And we're graduating tomorrow!"

Not everyone's parents were in town, but we were past offending one another by parsing words. Only Annie's mother was here. And my parents not at all. 

But it didn't matter. What mattered was the six of us. What mattered was our star. What mattered is that in this moment in time, we were unbreakable. We were light and destiny and a meteor shower of invincibility.

We were twenty-one. We were allowed to believe impossible things. 

I'm a big fan of Allison Winn Scotch's books, and I've reviewed two of them here before, with them earning a 5/5 rating (which I don't give lightly) and 3.5/5. In Twenty Years was just as good, if not better, and was a great book to read.

Official synopsis:

Twenty years ago, six Penn students shared a house, naively certain that their friendships would endure—until the death of their ringleader and dear friend Bea splintered the group for good. Now, mostly estranged from one another, the remaining five reluctantly gather at that same house on the eve of what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday.

But along with the return of the friends come old grudges, unrequited feelings, and buried secrets. Catherine, the CEO of a domestic empire, and Owen, a stay-at-home dad, were picture-perfect college sweethearts—but now teeter on the brink of disaster. Lindy, a well-known musician, is pushing middle age in an industry that’s all about youth and slowly self-destructing as she grapples with her own identity. Behind his smile, handsome plastic surgeon Colin harbors the heartbreaking truth about his own history with Bea. And Annie carefully curates her life on Instagram and Facebook, keeping up appearances so she doesn’t have to face the truth about her own empty reality.

Reunited in the place where so many dreams began, and bolstered by the hope of healing, each of them is forced to confront the past.

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Book Review: The Theory of Opposites

The Theory of Opposites, by Allison Winn Scotch.

I guess I didn't see it, that we no longer fit, that he outgrew me. That the gawky high school kid eventually discovers that he can go back to his reunions and make the prom queens jealous with regret. 

But what's regret anyway?

Regret, I am learning now, is a lot of things. But mostly, it's a slippery seed of longing, of looking back and asking yourself why you didn't know better, when the answers were so obvious all along.

I was reading a book for my book club that was a little boring, and I crept onto my Kindle and remembered that I had downloaded this, Allison Winn Scotch's newest. I promised myself I'd only read a chapter or two and then return to my previous book ... but I quickly got immersed in this story, and the other book fell by the wayside for a while.

Official synopsis:
What happens when you think you have it all, and then suddenly it’s taken away?

Willa Chandler-Golden's father changed the world with his self-help bestseller, Is It Really Your Choice? Why Your Entire Life May Be Out of Your Control. Millions of devoted fans now find solace in his notion that everything happens for a reason. Though Willa isn't entirely convinced of her father’s theories, she readily admits that the universe has delivered her a solid life: a reliable husband, a fast-paced career. Sure there are hiccups – negative pregnancy tests, embattled siblings - but this is what the universe has brought, and life, if she doesn't think about it too much, is wonderful.

Then her (evidently not-so-reliable) husband proposes this: A two-month break. Two months to see if they can't live their lives without each other. And before Willa can sort out destiny and fate and what it all means, she’s axed from her job, her 12 year-old nephew Nicky moves in, her ex-boyfriend finds her on Facebook, and her best friend Vanessa lands a gig writing for Dare You!, the hottest new reality TV show. And then Vanessa lures Willa into dares of her own - dares that run counter to her father’s theories of fate, dares that might change everything…but only if Willa is brave enough to stop listening to the universe and instead aim for the stars.
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I loved that the characters and situations in this book were all so believable. Willa met her husband, Shawn, on Match.com six years ago, and they've been "Shilla" ever since, as her sister dubs them. All of a sudden, though, he wants to take a "break," and he proposes that they "do what they want" for two months while he goes to Palo Alto for a work opportunity. Willa is a little bit lost without him until her friend Vanessa proposes working together on a new book, one that Willa's father isn't too happy about because it directly contradicts his own bestseller.

Willa had one other love of her life, Theo, and he asked her to move to Seattle with him years ago; she declined, and the relationship ended. He recently Facebook-messaged her telling her has has testicular cancer, and wanting to reconnect.

Another thing I really liked about this book were the emails/Facebook-messages/tweets that popped up at the beginning of each chapter (I love books that do that). It decidedly puts the novel in the year 2013, and modern-day readers will enjoy this. I also was glad the novel ends how it did, because I was worried it would go the predictable route, for a minute, but it did not.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys "chick lit," but it's much more than that - it's a great story of how you never forget your first love, and how to really examine and evaluate relationships, whether they be with your parents, siblings, or significant other.

The Theory of Opposites will be in stores on November 12th. 5 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book from Edelweiss for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. 

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The Department of Lost and Found

The Department of Lost and Found, by Allison Winn Scotch.

There is a moment in every relationship when one of the parties senses its imminent demise. There's a moment of incredible clarity, when your stomach drops with a heavy sense of dread, and you feel like control is slipping through your fingertips even as you try to hold on. The night I bought our tickets to go to Sally's wedding and the one when Jake was dying for moo shu - that was the night I had that moment.

Natalie Miller is 30 years old and in perfect health - until she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Her slimeball boyfriend breaks up with her the same day because he is having an affair, and she must rely on her friends and family to help her through it. She kinda/sorta has a crush on her OB GYN, Zach, but she doesn't want to be in a relationship while she has cancer. Meanwhile, her old boyfriend, Jake, hears about her diagnosis, and comes back to visit, and they end up embarking on a pseudo-relationship. Natalie also works for a senator and has been a workaholic for the past five years; to not work while she is out sick, then, is not helping.

The narrator (Natalie) sometimes came off as a little annoying, but overall I liked her. I also really liked the ending of the novel, although it was a bit predictable.

3.5 stars out of 5.

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