Imagine going to a wedding where you will see your college boyfriend on your college campus with your college friends . And you haven't seen him since a very dramatic breakup. And it's been 10 years. And you wake up the day after the rehearsal dinner in bed with him- in his old dorm room. Wearing a wedding ring. And neither of you remember what happened.

That's the premise of this book and it didn't go where I expected. I loved how Frankie and Ezra had to figure out what happened. It's like they were excavating both the night before and their past relationship all at the same time. I appreciated the growth and insight and connection between the characters.

I listened to the audiobook and I thought the narrators did a great job capturing the characters and story.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Oh this story! A truly beautiful story of a college relationship and all of its faults and the adults reunited ten years later. You'll love the back and forth between the main characters and keep turning pages to see what happens at the end.

It’s hard to write a review for this book. This book has a great premise and the first third of this book was phenomenal! I loved discovering what happened to them both in the past and the previous night. Frankie and Ezra had amazing banter that made you feel both their animosity and their lingering feelings. The problems started about half way through the book. Ezra still having Mimi hindered the “romance” part of this book until the very end, which made me really sad since I wanted to see more of their relationship redevelop. I loved the epilogue, but that would have been nicer to have happened throughout the book. I also think that a lot of the stuff with Mimi was unnecessarily added to prove that she was wrong for Ezra, even though there were simpler ways to do that.

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch was a heartfelt second chance romance novel.

Ten years past their college graduation and explosive breakup, Frankie and Ezra find themselves back at their alma mater for the wedding of mutual friends on the eve of Y2K. Even though Frankie and Ezra now despise each other, they are paired together as a team for a scavenger hunt following the rehearsal dinner and wake up the next morning with wedding rings on their fingers. While the two work to figure out what really happened, they must also confront their past and any address any lingering feelings. Will the pair rekindle their romance or will they vow to never speak again?

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I’m a big fan of second chance romance, so this was definitely up my ally. The story was much deeper than I expected it to be and I was happy for both of the characters in the end.

“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮, 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮, 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣-𝙪𝙥𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚. 𝙏𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙮 𝙖𝙩 32 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙩 22 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨.”

The Rewind takes us back, literally. The year? 1999. This is where we meet former college sweethearts, Frankie and Ezra. After a horrible break up some ten years prior, the pair are reunited at their alma mater for the wedding of mutual friends. In the decade since “the breakup to end all breakups” both Frankie and Ezra have moved on- Frankie a successful music manager, Ezra a self-made mogul about to propose to his current girlfriend. All they have to do is avoid one another as much as possible while still joining in the reindeer games, so to speak.

Then the unthinkable happens. Ezra and Frankie wake up next to each other in his old dorm room bed, wearing wedding rings. With no recollection of the night before, the two must retrace their steps and piece together the memories of the previous night. But as they attempt to untangle their most recent snafu, the unresolved past inevitably comes into play as well. With just a few hours to get things right one has to wonder, just how far back do they have to go to do so?

Overall I enjoyed this one. It was a quick, easy read, albeit one that meandered a bit in the middle. I see some people dubbing this a holiday read, but it it’s as much a holiday read as Die Hard is a holiday movie (fight me!). I liked the characters, but they often acted like infuriating children. Everything happening in 1999 felt random, but I graduated college in 99, so I appreciated this aspect maybe a bit more because of this. I will say I really had no idea how it would end because I wasn’t sure what I should be rooting for.

Beginning with her debut novel, Allison Winn Scotch has always created characters asking "what if?" about their choices in life. Frankie and Ezra, former college sweethearts in THE REWIND, reflect on the same question ten years after an emotional "I never want to see you again" breakup.

Although classified as a rom-com, I found this character-driven novel insightful and profoundly poignant regarding the truth of love for another and ourselves.

Frankie has spent the last ten years hating her college boyfriend, Ezra, after their relationship imploded on the day of graduation. Neither has seen each other in all that time. That is until their college friends are getting married, and it’s here that they are forced to be in the same room together. The night after the rehearsal dinner, Frankie and Ezra find themselves in bed together, with no memory of the night before. They also might be married, if the rings on their fingers are to be believed. What ensues is a deep dive into their past, as they try and make sense of the night before.

I think I took one star from this book because I thought it was a time travel or a ‘Groundhog’s day’ type story. I have zero idea where I got that thought from, but I spent way to long anticipating something that would never materialize.

With that said, this is such a cute read and was the perfect first holiday read of the season for me. This second chance romance bounces back and forth between Ezra and Frankie’s POV, which gives us a huge glimpse into their thoughts and emotions. I felt that both POVs were nicely flushed out, and neither was better than the other. In fact, I thought Scotch did a great job of keeping our characters realistic and relatable while also portraying the difficult dynamics of relationships. . I went back and forth on who I wanted ‘to be right’, but both definitely needed to address their own issues.

I generally enjoy a good second chance romance and felt that this one was well thought out and fun to dive into. I enjoyed the slight New Year’s vibes mixed with all the 90s nostalgia. Definitely recommend reading if you love a fun romance, with plenty of flawed characters.


The Rewind comes out now! Huge thank you to Berkley Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

Thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley @letstalkbookspromo for the #gifted copy.

I loved this book! Frankie and Ezra met in college. They were opposites in many ways. Frankie was running from her parents and her gift of music. It all falls apart their senior year. They both spend the next 10 years hating each other. They reconnect at a college friends wedding weekend in their old stomping grounds. Can they forgive and forget to get a second chance at love?

The Rewind is the story of a pair of exes who are back at their college campus for mutual friends’ wedding in 1999. They wake up in bed together wearing wedding bands and having zero memory what happened. This book was fun. I loved the 1990s references. I loved seeing life before iPhones, social media, Uber, all of it. How much simpler but harder things could be. I loved seeing them piece together their night with bits and pieces of their memories coming back - humor, emotions, sweetness all wrapped up together. And I loved the angst driven second chance trope.

2-2.5 stars...

I was looking forward to this one since I heard it was coming out. I read the author's earlier book Time of My Life], probably 10-15 years ago now, and it is still a favorite, that sits on my bookshelf.

This one was so hard for me to get into...and I never did. I didn't connect with the characters. I couldn't stand Frankie, or her name. I couldn't connect with their past or present. This one just didn't work out for me at all.

:(

During the COVID-19 pandemic, bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch was sheltering in her Los Angeles home with her husband and two children. She hadn’t written a word for nine months, and was “listless and depleted,” evaluating ideas for books that failed to resonate with her during “endless quarantine walks.” She recalls she was “just spit balling” because “I felt like I needed to start writing something. She recalls taking one “long walk up my neighborhood hill because I was desperate to get out of the house” during which “a spark of any idea” came to her. A man and woman whose college romance did not work out are reunited when they attend a mutual friend’s wedding. They wake up in bed together with no memory of how they ended up there but have to figure it out quickly because it is New Year’s Eve 1999. She instantly knew that drafting the book would be difficult and says, “indeed, it was very, very hard.” She credits her agent with making her continue writing “when I endlessly complained I couldn’t do it.” It’s a good thing she did, because The Rewind is arguably Scotch’s best work to date.

Frankie Harriman has made a name for herself in the music business, primarily for managing the most successful female band. At thirty-three, she lives in Los Angeles, but travels extensively with the acts she manages, and has not been involved in a serious relationship since she and Ezra Jones broke on the day of their college graduation. When she was just five years old, her parents discovered she was a talented musician with perfect pitch when she played “Bridge Over Troubled Water” after hearing the tune emanating from the record player. Frankie didn’t understand how she did it. She just knew that she saw the notes in front of her the same way she saw colors. And she instinctively knew what key she was playing in. She spent her New York City childhood practicing the piano four hours per day to prepare for competitions, learning to master her nerves and perform with confidence. Her parents fully expected her to enroll in a college with a prestigious music program, but by the age of seventeen she was done. She simply did not want to pursue being a pianist any longer, even though she knew her parents and teachers would be devastated. She wants to at last control her own life and destiny. Her parents only acceded to her wish to attend quaint Middleton University because the Steinway family had recently underwritten the cost of the school’s new auditorium. Frankie kept her musical past from her college friends, instead choosing to pursue a career helping other artists succeed in the music business. But recently she impulsively purchased an upright piano and had it delivered to her apartment. She has not played it . . . yet.

Ezra’s father abandoned his wife and two sons, and his brother, Henry, was much older and left home when Ezra was very young. So growing up, it was just Henry and his mother on their own. Ezra cared for her as she battled ovarian cancer, a fight she lost after graduation. He was a studious, rule-follower destined for law school. But he ended up making a lot of money in the tech industry. Now he has come back to Middleton for their friends’ wedding, intent on proposing to his perfect girlfriend, Mimi, who works for a dating start-up (Datify.com) and loves grand gestures as much as he does, before the stroke of midnight. He even had “12/31/99” engraved in the ring that once belonged to his grandmother.

Frankie and Ezra have checked into their respective hotel rooms and steeled themselves for their inevitable reunion at the rehearsal dinner to which Ezra is headed when the elevator stops. The doors open and there is Frankie in the hotel hallway.

The next thing they know, it is the morning of December 31. Frankie awakens with a splitting headache next to a naked man in a room she doesn’t recognize (which, truthfully, isn’t all that unusual for her which is one of the reasons she quit drinking two months earlier). She screams when she realizes that she is in bed with Ezra and they are in the dorm room in which he resided during their freshman year – before they met. Ezra’s grandmother’s ring is stuck on Frankie’s finger and Ezra is wearing a wedding band on his left right finger.

Why? What happened last night and how did they end up sleeping in a dorm room another student now occupies? Did Mimi ever arrive, as planned? About they only think they agree on is that they have to find out what happened. So they embark on a frequently hilarious quest back to the bar where they both apparently had drinks and various campus locations, gathering clues about the prior evening’s events. Along the way, they argue and fret about the best approach and what steps they should take in search of answers. First, they have to evacuate the dorm room when its very angry current resident returns and finds they slept in her bed. As the day wears on, they trek to the school library, gymnasium, and Steiner Auditorium, discussing their relationship in the process. Their banter is believable, funny, and, as the story proceeds, touching.

Scotch deftly transports readers back to 1999, a time when cell phone functionality was limited to actually making calls and texting. So even if they could find their cell phones, Frankie and Ezra can’t just Google the name of the bar to find out what time it opens. They have to walk there. And Ezra has to deal with the slow dial-up connection to the internet in order to check the airline’s schedule and learn if Mimi’s flight was delayed or canceled. Frankie finds herself negotiating with that dorm resident to get her Walkman back because it contains the rough cut CD of her girl band’s new album. And, of course, there are references to fashion (Frankie wears Doc Martens, of course).

And as Frankie and Ezra gather clues, Scotch reveals their relationship history and what propelled them to break up in such a spectacularly final fashion. She also examines all the ways in which their personalities and quirks differed, how they responded to those differences and supported each other during their relationship, and, most importantly, how they have matured and grown in the years since.

Frankie always reminded Ezra “of a tornado: always in motion, occasionally a thing of beauty too often destructive.” They were “combustible.” Still, they never fought. Ezra suffered from panic attacks that Frankie was able to help him through – although, coincidentally, he has not had one since he and Frankie broke up -- and never had a one-night stand because he believed in monogamy and commitment, and wanted a relationship, not just sex. Ezra unexpectedly finds himself re-evaluating his relationship with Mimi as he is reminded of all the reasons why he loved Frankie so much. He is stunned to find that he has loved “two women so wildly different.” He always avoided confrontation and let Frankie make choices for him. He has been enjoying a “seamless life, one uninterrupted by drama” with Mimi. But is it really enough?

Franke never mourned losing Ezra, their relationship and the possibilities it held, or making music. Rather, she graduated, moved to Los Angeles, and got busy with her career. “It was easier to move on, to force her way through.” Her life has been a whirlwind, but now she realizes that unresolved pain remains until it is confronted. She is shocked by the real reasons he never practiced law because they seem out of character but observes changes in him that remind her their relationship “was the most solid thing that she’d ever held on to her whole life through.”

The Rewind moves along at an unrelenting pace as Frankie and Ezra confront both last night and the things that tore them apart a decade ago. Scotch finds just the right balance of hilarity and poignancy as her two relatable and likable lead characters unexpectedly find themselves on a journey of reflection and self-examination. The histories Scotch has concocted for them seamlessly and credibly inform the two people in their early thirties who need to solve a mystery – and quickly – if so that they can get on with their lives and all that they have planned. Or . . . maybe not? Perhaps after all that they have learned about each other and themselves in the process of finding out what mischief they got into last night, their futures might look very different.

Scotch says she enjoys “capturing that time in your life when you were on the open road and anything was possible. I love exploring that and the dichotomy of getting older.” With The Rewinds, she again proves how adept she is at melding comedy with introspection into a thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable, and, ultimately, heart-tugging and thought-provoking story. She obviously worked through any difficulties or complications she encountered while crafting the story about two people who are presented with an unexpected second chance at love and happiness. The narrative zips along seemingly effortlessly to a thoroughly satisfying and not entirely predictable conclusion.

This book was a DNF at 30% for me. I just couldn't get into it at all. The premise sounded perfect for hijinks and hilarity, but that wasn't the case.
Neither Frankie nor Ezra were particularly memorable or compelling. They each continually had bizarre reactions to things. For example, Frankie says she arrived at a bar at 5:30pm with plenty of time to make it to a rehearsal dinner at 7:30pm. Ezra responds by laughing. There's nothing to explain why he'd laugh about that. They weren't engaged in lighthearted banter. They weren't joking about how she's never on time. She just stated it as a fact. Then she asks if something's funny. He says no, and then it just turns into a regular conversation. What was the point of him laughing at all?
In the few chapters I read, there were several other instances of either of them having atypical reactions to things and they were just glossed over like nothing. It was jarring.
Overall, I wasn't into the way this story was written. The characters weren't unique and memorable and there was no real action from chapter to chapter. Just alternating chapters of two undeveloped characters trying to remember what happened the night before...mostly by talking about it and not doing much of anything.
I wasn't excited to pick up the book and start reading again so I've decided to let it go and try another story that might grab me.

A second chance romance with 90’s nostalgia.

Frankie and Ezra dated in college and then broke up right before graduation. They haven’t seen or spoken to each other in ten years until New Year’s Eve 1999 when they return to their college campus for a wedding. They wake up in bed together with no recollection of what happened the night before and Ezra’s grandmother’s diamond ring on Frankie’s finger…

This was such a charming story; it did get me a while to get into but once I did, I was hooked. Told between alternating POV’s of Ezra and Frankie in present time and flashbacks from when they were dating in college. With ten years of life experiences, they both have grown as individuals since they last spoken and have more insight into their issues. It was fun following them along on campus trying to piece together what happened the night before and I loved the 90’s nostalgia.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and Neyaglley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Would you want to wake up next to your ex from 1999?

I have been fairly lucky in the “love” department. I can’t complain about any ex I have had (ok, maybe one) and each one served a distinct roll in my life and led me right into the arms of my husband .

Ok, I’m not that corny, let’s get to go the good stuff….

The Rewind

This book will be loved by all, even people who do not prefer the romance genre. The nostalgia was real. I couldn’t help reflecting back on some past loves (not too many, wink wink) . I laughed, I cried. The big question is, did I get my happy ending ? You are going to have to pick up this incredible book to find out !

The teaser on this book pulled me right in so I have attached it below to see if you get that instant “have to have” feeling too!

Teaser :

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?

Frankie Harriman and Ezra Jones fell madly in love in college and had a horrible breakup before graduation in 1989. Ten years later, the two are back at their college for an on-campus wedding of two of their friends as 1999 becomes 2000. While Ezra and Frankie loathe one another, the day after a pre-wedding get together, they awaken together in bed in Ezra's old dorm room. And Frankie is wearing the diamond ring Ezra was planning to give to his girlfriend in a romantic proposal as part of the millennial celebration. Frankie and Ezra have no idea how they ended up together and fear they may have gotten married the night before. 

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch tells of the couple's efforts to retrace what happened the night before as neither have any memory of it. And while they take steps to figure out what happened, they also have the chance to review their past and their bad breakup. It's a cute book with some emotional moments. It was a little too slow-going for me at parts. The back and forth from the present to the couple's past as they went to different places on campus blended too much into one another making it often unclear if the scene was in the present or the past. And the complete lack of memory when the couple woke up in bed together was a bit too far-fetched for me. But I still couldn’t put it down. I'm always excited to read a book about second chances and while it didn't quite live up to my high expectations, I enjoyed it. It has some very clever parts and I suspect many people will love it, so check it out.

Book Review:

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch

What a cute throw back book.

Frankie and Ezra return to the college to celebrate their friend's wedding after not talking to each other for ten years. The wedding is on New Year's Eve 1999 and Ezra is determined to propose to his girlfriend.

But when Frankie and Ezra wake up together wearing wedding bands on the morning of the wedding with no memory of the night before, they have to retrace their steps and relive the past to figure out what happened.

I love that this was set in 1999. Its Y2K, there are cell phones but still payphones. There are no cell phone pictures or social media posts to fill in the gaps of their night.

The Rewind just released this week on 11/1. Make sure to add it to your holiday reading list

#BookReview #Bookstagram #AllisonWinnScotch #TheRewind #BerkleyIG #BookishLife #Reading #Bibliophile #BookPhotography #BookRecommendations #InstaBooks #BookNerd #RomanceBookstagram #RomanceBooks #NewYearsEveBooks

Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC of The Rewind.

𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
Second chance/true love prevails
Dual POV/timelines
Enemies-to-lovers
80s/90s nostalgia
Low steam

🥂The Rewind🥂

🥂My rom com streak is going strong here you guys. The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch is a must read for the holiday season.

🥂Like a rom com version of the movie The Hangover- exes Frankie and Ezra try to piece together the circumstances of the night before and reflect on their past relationship after waking up with wedding rings on their fingers.

🥂 This book has a dual timeline (1989 and 1999) and I absolutely loved the 90’s references. If you’re looking for a sweet, fun, second chance romance, then this book is for you!

🥂Thank you @aswinn @berkleypub @netgalley and @letstalkbookspromo for my gifted copy.

Thank you @PenguinRandomHouse, @BerkleyRomance, and @PRHAudio for the #free #book and #audiobook to review!

It’s New Year’s Eve of 1999 and
Ezra is planning to pop the question at the stroke of midnight to his girlfriend, but things must’ve really gone awry, because he awakes with a ring on his finger next to Frankie, the girl he swore he would never speak to again.

Frankie and Ezra race to figure out what on earth happened. Are they married? What did they miss? Does anyone know what happened to them? Why were they even together at all?

These two are forced to work together to piece together their missing night. As they sort through the mess, Frankie and Ezra are reminded about the good and bad of their past and reconciling their old version with who they are now.

Could this actually an act of serendipity for Frankie and Ezra?

I enjoyed reading this book while listening to the accompanying playlist on
Spotify! Check out the link in my story!

QOTD: Who would you want to relive the midnight of Y2K with?

This book is absolutely the 90s nostalgic romcom version of The Hangover.

Frankie and Ezra met in college and fell madly in love and everything seemed to be perfect for this mismatched pair. That is, until they day of their college graduation in 1989 when they blew it all up and vowed to never speak again. Flash forward to 10 years later, and both Frankie and Ezra are back on their college campus for their friends’ NYE wedding. They haven’t spoken to each other in a decade and are very different people. They are just trying to survive the weekend so Frankie can go back to her music executive job in LA and Ezra just wants to propose to his new girlfriend, Mimi, at the stroke of midnight entering into the new century.

The problem? Frankie and Ezra wake up on NYE 1999 with wedding bands on and they CANNOT remember the night before. The story alternates between both of their POV as they try to put the pieces of the night before together, so Frankie can get through the weekend and so Ezra can propose to Mimi. But as they put the pieces together, their hatred for each other seems to not be as big as it originally felt and they start to question if they got it wrong before.

I really enjoyed this story and really loved how flawed both Frankie and Ezra were and are throughout the story. Both fully accept blame for their relationships demise while also not shying away from the confrontations around what the other person did wrong.

Watching these two lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers reflect on their past and present and start to piece together their night before was often hilarious and truly cathartic. I was really excited to see where their story was going to lead towards the end and found a lot of hope for them towards the end. The ending was a bit open-ended and happily for now, but I would have loved more, because we learned so much about them and I felt like I was invested in so much of their past to only get a brief glimpse of happiness in their future.

Definitely a fun read as we head into winter and I highly recommend!