I’m really coming around to second chance romance, and Take Two, Birdie Maxwell was second chance with a Hollywood twist as celebrity romcom star, Birdie, heads back home to sort her life out. It was another fun read that was so funny, and I once again paired the book with the audio format, and was happy to see it had a multiple narration cast along with a new fave, by Helen Laser.

*many thanks to Berkley Romance, Netgalley and PRH Audio for the gifted copy for review

I loved this one! The Hollywood background was fun to read, and the relationship and friendships among Birdie, Mona, and Elliot.

This was a fun story with some of my favorite tropes: second chance, first love and best friend’s brother. I enjoyed the plot a lot and I always love how this author has two perspectives. I think I had wished for a little bit more time for the main character to do some self reflection because I liked that angle of the story, but besides that this was a fun read that I enjoyed.

I really struggled going into this book and unfortunately it never really picked up for me. Maybe it was wrong book, wrong time. The plot sounded great, and I thought it had potential. I couldn't really connect to any of the characters, and I am not a fan of the miscommunication/misunderstanding trope.

I do know several book friends that absolutely adored it, so it's probably just me. Maybe I'll try a reread over the summer and adjust my rating.

The idea of a fallen starlet searching to rekindle a former love sounds so fun. I did enjoy the idea of the story. However, I did not care for Birdie's character. She came off really entitled & only looking out for herself. I thought it was great how she was put in her place by ex-boyfriends but she didn't seem to grasp just how bad she was. Elliot was also a boring character & just as self involved as Birdie. Also, the I called the character who wrote the letter it was pretty predictable, but come on 7 years later.

I love a good romcom set in Hollywood. Birdie Maxwell is on the bad end of the publicity target when an on-set feud goes viral, and America’s sweetheart is suddenly viewed as a fraud and she-devil. Typical right? Birdie runs back to her hometown to lie low, and reconnects with her old flame, who is now a popular journalist/reporter. While in her home, she finds a letter from an ex-boyfriend—- unsigned. This sets her off on a journey or find who wrote the letter, traveling to different areas of the country, alongside Elliot, her former flame. Elliot of course, is in love with her but too scared to say anything. And Birdie reciprocates those feelings, but after Elliot left her 7 years ago, doesn’t believe that he still feels for her. So these two who are in love with each other are looking to find Birdie her man. How rom-comy. LOL I enjoyed the interviews and seeing Birdie’s exes, and how they each have a different interpretation of her. This book is essentially built on the miscommunication trope, but I didn’t mind it as it was different. It was more of a misunderstanding I guess— plus the pressures of Hollywood added to it. Also how misogynistic Hollywood can be, and automatically blaming the woman. Birdie thought she needed to give herself a real-life rom-com to get America to love her again, but really she just needed to find herself again and stand up for herself. Nothing she did was wrong, and she should have to take the lashes. Elliot never blamed her or believed what they were saying. He knew her since they were kids, and know what kind of person she is. They’re both just too hard-headed and oblivious to see that they’re meant for each other. Nevertheless, you know the two will get a happily ever after, and half the fun is in the journey.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the copy!

Dnf @ 67%

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an arc for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the concept of this and wanted to give it a try since I’m not one that usually reads second chance romance or famous celebrities.

Our fmc, Birdie, goes back to her home town after her reputation was damaged and finds an anonymous love letter from one of her exes. She’s determined to visit her exes from the past and find who wrote it, and to tag along is her childhood crush and best friends twin brother, Elliot. Years ago, they had a wild night together and haven’t brought it up since and repress their feelings for each other.

All of that sounds right up my alley, but none of it was clicking for me and I would barely pay attention in some parts. For characters in their 30’s, Birdie was so whiny and I got so much secondhand embarrassment from her that I had to stop reading. And Elliot is no better when he’s so in love with Birdie, but doing absolutely nothing and not communicating any of his feelings.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I was very intrigued by the second chance, celebrity romance, but the writing started to feel chunky and like it was dragging for me. I also was not sold on the whole road trip to find the secret admirer situation.

I loved The rewind a lot and think this one just hit below the mark of that one for me. As cute as a live story could be. I love Elliott and Birdie relationship and honestly his POV was the most I loved. Birdies character growth was nice to seeafter the whole PR fail and the mystery of the love letter from a fan kept me hooked until the last page.

Thank you @prhaudio for the free audio book and @berkleyromance for sending the physical copy for free in exchange for my honest review.

Take Two Birdie Maxwell 🎥
(Swipe for summary)

Author: Allison Winn Scotch

Pub Date: March 5th 2024

Review: I REALLY wanted to like this book, but it very much missed the mark for me. I’m going to say the excessive cursing was my first mark off this book. I’m no prude by any means but the cursing was SOO BAD, and truly unnecessary. The use of Jesus and God in cursing form is a huge cringe for me and it was in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER multiple times.
Aside from that this whole book was one big miscommunication literally until the very last two chapters. It was back and fourth of them not knowing they both liked eachother but them being in close proximity the whole book. I also didn’t feel much chemistry between Birdie and Elliot. I really don’t think she was a very likable character to begin with, which made her with loathing about her career and issues with liking Elliot seem daunting.
The book didn’t flow for me and like I could feel the author trying really hard to write a compelling story but it really kissed the mark for me. I kept reading/ listening wing because of the second chance, childhood romance, but overall i regret not dnfing this one..

I struggled to get into this book and I’m still not sure whether I like it or not. Frankly, I thought both the FMC and the MMC were entitled brats and really didn’t treat other people in their lives with a lot of respect. My favourite character was Mona, Birdie’s best friend and Elliot’s twin sister. There were some scenes that had me laughing, but a lot that had me cringing. I was pleased that there was a lot of self-realization along the way and an understanding of how poorly both Birdie and Elliott treated each other and their loved ones.

It's one of the better celebrity/non-celebrity romances I've read, even though both MCs are known in the media world in the book's universe. .

Thanks to Berkley for an early e-copy of the book; all opinions are my own.

An extremely fun romance with a little bit of meta that really plays with romance in the entertainment world. Allison Winn Scotch is one of my favorite romance authors because of how real she makes her worlds and this book was no different. People are messy, relationships are messy, but it doesn't have to be outlandish drama to create problems, sometimes it's just being trapped in an RV with an old friend.

i am so thankful that i got to read this book early! thank you so much to the publishers and to netgalley. what a lovely story this was!! it was fantastic and sweet and precious and lovely in every single way!!!

Birdie is the queen of the rom com. Everyone loves her…until they don’t. After an onset feud goes viral she heads to her hometown only to find a love letter by an ex, that’s unsigned. She goes on a quest with her best friend and her best friend’s twin, who also happens to be the one she has crushed on for years. A trip in an rv, second chances and happy endings in this one!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch can always be counted on to deliver an entertaining story. Her books often appear, at first blush, to be light, breezy romances with happy endings and clever, innovative premises that elevate them within a saturated genre. But as her stories progress, it quickly becomes evident that she is intent on exploring much more than simply how a couple meet, fall in love, perhaps lose each other, and then find their way back together. And Take Two, Birdie Maxwell is not an exception.

Readers might be surprised to learn that Scotch found Take Two, Birdie Maxwell difficult to write. In fact, she says she “burned down my first four drafts, deleting them nearly entirely.” There is no evidence of her struggles in the fast-paced, crisp narrative that flows with seemingly no effort at all. The story was inspired by a real-life event. Like Birdie, her lead character, she received an anonymous love letter in the mail years ago when she was at home from college during the summer. She did not attempt to discern the identity of the writer – she found it “more alarming than romantic.” But that experience was the impetus for a story that once again begins with an unusual premise and, with the addition of inventive plot twists and a cast of quirky, empathetic characters, becomes a touching meditation on the importance of communication in relationships, learning to be brave, loyalty to family, and daring to craft a life on one’s own terms that brings genuine happiness.

Birdie Maxwell is now known as Birdie Robinson and she is the beloved queen of the United States box office. Having started in a string of successful romantic comedy films, she is known as “America’s Sweetheart.” Until, that is, she blows up on the set of her latest movie and the details are leaked to TMZ. The reason for her emotional implosion? The mistreatment of women by her co-star, Sebastian Carol. Sebastian is known for being “handsy,” leering, and luring actresses to his trailer with promises of movie roles and associated perks. Birdie felt “she was defending the honor of women everywhere.” But so far, the public is on Sebastian’s side, and not even the “apology video” she reluctantly released at the insistence of her agent and publicist has helped stop the freefall into which her career has careened, once again demonstrating the ongoing disparate treatment and perceptions of men and women by both the media and the public. Birdie was aware, when the studio insisted on casting Sebatian, of his proclivities, in part, because she was enmeshed in a clandestine relationship with his brother, Miles, for five years. But she couldn’t tolerate it for one more moment, spoke her mind, and now the studio has ceased production on the film.

In an effort to escape the paparazzi and stress, she has escaped to her hometown of Barton, “a speck in the middle of California,” for the first time in four years. No one will look for her there, in part because she has claimed for years to be from Oregon. She didn’t bother to warn her parents (professors at a nearby state university); younger sister, Andie; or Mona, her best friend, the proprietor of a local dive bar who set out to be an astrophysicist, but dropped out of college and returned home when her parents needed her. She ended up staying, but her twin brother, Elliot, has traveled the world as a highly respected and well-known journalist and correspondent. Birdie has been in love with Elliot since his family moved to Barton when Birdie was twelve years old. Seven years ago, Birdie elieved her chance to have a romantic relationship with Elliot had finally arrived. But she was disappointedly, devastatingly wrong and they haven’t seen each other since one horrible, heartbreaking night they spent together. Elliot “emotionally decimated her” and she blames herself for allowing herself to think that she would mean more to him than she evidently did. Elliot has always been a handsome and charming womanizer.

Birdie’s relationship with Andie has been troubled, but she is not prepared to have Andie slam the door in her face. Had she read her emails, she would have known that her parents have embarked on a year-long sabbatical in Spain and Andie is packing up their belongings in preparation to sublet the house. Her requests for assistance from Birdie went unanswered, so she has boxed up Bridie’s remaining belongings. “Anything you want, I suggest you salvage it now.”

So, Birdie begins sorting through boxes of memorabilia, one of which contains a letter startlingly addressed to “Birdie Maxwell Robinson.” Only a few people in the world would address such a letter to her in Barton — and Birdie can’t remember whether she confessed the truth about her upbringing to any of her old boyfriends. The postmark is faded and only partially legible. Type-written, bearing no return address, and signed “X,” the letter must be several years old. It says, in part:

I regret everything.
All of it.
And I would have done it all differently.
. . .
If you have the same regrets, the same what-ifs about where we went wrong when everything could have gone right, come find me. Consider it?
Consider me again.

Letter in hand, Birdie proceeds to Mona’s bar to ponder the identity of potential letter-writers with her best friend. She is already determined to learn who sent it, plotting how documenting and publicizing the search can revive her career. “I’m thinking maybe that will help remind people that I’m likable, that I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” The suspects include Elliot, of course, as well as a world-renowned chef, a tennis pro, and mabye even Miles. Before she and Mona can finalize plans for the search, Elliot himself strolls into the bar. No one knows that his career is in trouble after an unfortunate ethical breach – he paid for information he needed to break a major story, although ultimately getting the facts right.

Mona enthusiastically suggests that Elliot write the story of Birdie’s search for the author of the letter. And Birdie and Elliot set off in Mona’s dilapidated Winnebago to track down and meet with her old flames, intent on remaining incognito as Birdie confronts her former lovers to see which of them regrets the demise of their relationship. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and as they travel together, they find themselves simultaneously getting reacquainted and revisiting their pasts, especially their mistakes and regrets. As the story proceeds, Scotch gradually reveals their history – how Birdie and Mona became best friends; Elliot’s high school years as the school’s star athlete, and most popular and desired boy on campus; how they ended up attending the prom together; and all that transpired seven years ago, culminating with their fiery and, so far at least, irrevocable breakup. Along the way, Birdie fights with her agent and publicist, as well as Elliot, and contemplates how events in her life led her to her current ridiculous professional and personal predicaments. Elliot is still harboring secrets that, if revealed, could again destroy his rekindled relationship with Birdie. He is also fighting to save his career. His editor has authorized him to write Birdie’s story, but only with strict ethical constraints that he finds himself straddling as he learns a great deal about Birdie’s past relationships, gains a deeper understanding of her, and contemplates how he will react if they find the author of the letter. . . and Birdie reconciles with him.

Scotch deftly keeps readers invested in their efforts to solve the mystery. In addition to providing snippets of her characters’ pasts that provide insight into how their current troubles developed, her characters that are at once lovable and sympathetic, and completely exasperating. They are flawed, their lives messy, and they are very relatable in a number of ways. Birdie is a small young woman from a small town with a big talent that she managed to parlay into a wildly successful career. She has always approached life as though it were a movie or play – she “always found difficult moments easier to digest if she simply pretended she was acting out a scene; this meant she could be vulnerable on the surface but not so vulnerable that she risked emotional decimation.” But now she is forced to confront reality – her usual defense mechanisms will not serve her in her current circumstances, and she has to develop a more honest, transparent, and straight-forward way to cope. Secrecy has made her personal life chaotic, and she is tired of it. But is she ready to risk revealing the truth and face the potential fallout? Underneath her love of the spotlight, bravado, and quick wit, she has always been and still is insecure, searching for validation, frightened, and very vulnerable. Especially where Elliot is concerned. Elliot is well aware of his public persona – talented, attractive, confident, and desirable. But, like Birdie, secrets have brought him to a crossroads in his life, and he has to decide if he has the strength and courage to speak his truth and clear the air. He recognizes that there is no other way to move forward toward what he has really wanted all along. Mona also figures prominently in the story. Both Birdie and Elliot love her dearly, and would never do anything to hurt her. She has been a loyal, steadfast, and unwavering supporter to both of them . . . and they are about to find out how deeply their best friend and sister cares about their happiness.

Scotch again demonstrates that she is a master at creating characters who engage in sharp, at times sarcastic, and frequently hilarious banter. Her characters’ verbal jousting injects the perfect balance of humor and emotional resonance into the crackling story as they find themselves in increasingly ridiculous situations, even as their deeply buried emotions are surfacing.

With Take Two, Birdie Maxwell, Scorch has crafted a delightful tale that is a combination of I Love Lucy-esque comedy and a journey for her characters of reflection, self-examination, and personal growth. If they can learn to communicate with each other freely and fearlessly, they stand a chance of saving their careers, creating a meaningful future for themselves individually and, perhaps, remaining in each other’s lives this time. And yes, Scotch eventually reveals who wrote and mailed the letter, and why, in a plot twist many readers will never anticipate.

I liked it and It was a super easy going cute romcom, first 50 percent held more promise, second half I felt a bit confused and unsure if these two really deserved each other. The story overall had promise, it just didn’t hit home for me - maybe because entire time I kept thinking if they just were honest this wouldn’t be happening. It’s perfect for those looking for a light hearted feel good story of long time pining.

Birdie had the a-list Hollywood career of her dreams, only to have it all upended by an on-set feud that went viral. Trying to escape the drama, Birdie returns to her childhood home. One day going through her childhood bedroom she comes across a very old letter from an ex asking for a second chance. The only problem is she has no clue who wrote this letter or when they wrote it. With the help of Elliot, a reporter who happens to be the brother of Birdie’s best friend, she sets off on an adventure to find the man who wrote the letter, documenting the whole journey to try to get good press for a change.

This book was a combination of tropes that I love - best friend’s brother, celebrity romance, and a good road trip. While these aspects led to a lot of fun moments, they were often overshadowed by the terrible miscommunication that could have resolved everything so quickly. Birdie’s journey of self-discovery and growth was admirable (and much) needed, and that aspect of the story worked really well for me. However, the romance often felt frustrating due to all of the miscommunication.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Perfection isn’t real, but this book was close. A love letter? A reputation that isn’t doing well? A rom com star? A one night stand? I enjoyed this book from start to finish!

Thank you @BerkleyRomance for the gifted copy! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC!

Take Two, Birdie Maxwell is a trope-filled romance novel that takes the two main characters and the reader on a journey to discover who sent Birdie Robinson, aka Birdie Maxwell, an anonymous love letter. Partnered with her childhood crush/one-time hook up/best friend’s brother/journalist the search is on.

This is such a fun, chaotic, and did I mention trope-filled (one bed, road trip, second chance, childhood friends to lovers, best friend’s brother) romance. I laughed, I was interested in the mystery and pleasantly surprised by some of the turns. This book is messy and chaotic, much like the titular character at the time of the novel. What a fun read!

Take Two, Birdie Maxwell is a dual POV, second chance, forced proximity, road trip romance. Allison Winn Scotch

Premise:
Birdie Maxwell, Hollywood’s biggest rom-com star, has fallen from grace after an altercation with a popular director goes viral. With nowhere to turn, she travels back to her rural hometown where she reunites with her angry sister, childhood best friend and childhood crush, Elliot O’Brien (who also happens to be her best friend’s twin brother). After a disastrous first day home, Birdie finds an anonymous love letter and decides to contact her previous exes to win back the public and fix her career.

Elliot O’Brien, who has been harboring an unrequited crush on Birdie forever, is struggling with his own work problems. To break the best journalistic stories, he is blurring the ethical line and facing termination. Helping Birdie find the author of the anonymous letter, will also help him break a story and resolve the tension with his boss.

My thoughts
I really enjoy the forced proximity X road trip trope, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. Although there were some things I enjoyed, I had a hard time connecting with Birdie. In addition to the romance between Birdie and Elliot, there is a large focus on Birdie discovering her true self and her true wants outside of the persona and lens of Hollywood. But by the end of the book, I felt like I didn’t know Birdie much better than I knew her in the beginning. I wanted to see more depth, candidness, and authenticity.

I found this book to be quirky and chaotic, but not always in a bad way. I could see this being a movie with a fast-paced plot and unique humor. The mystery woven through the book kept me engaged as Birdie tries to discover the author of the letter. I rated Birdie 3 stars.

Tropes & Things
• people pleasing celebrity X playboy journalist
• Best friends (twin) brother
• Road trip romance
• Second chance
• Lots of secret pining X 2
• Resolving estranged relationships
• a surprising reveal