Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This had so much potential with an interesting plot surrounding the ability to have a "rewind moment in time" and confessing love to best friend. Sadly, the execution didn't meet my expectations. That's not to say it was bad just lacking. I think I needed more character development, more clarification on what, why, and how things were coming about. There was a lot going on but missing something that led me to be confused. at times.

2.5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

★★★½☆

Rewind to Us is a sweet and nostalgic YA romance with a magical twist that adds emotional depth to a classic best-friends-to-lovers story. Dixie Mulligan’s summer plan to confess her love to her best friend Sawyer takes a sharp turn when she discovers he’s moved on—and she’s left wondering what went wrong. Enter the Mulligan family’s magical gift: a Rewind, allowing Dixie to redo a moment from her past in hopes of changing her future.

The concept is fun and heartfelt, and the setting of Cielo Springs—with its small-town charm and movie theater magic—adds a cozy, cinematic vibe to the story. Dixie and Sawyer’s shared love of film gives their relationship a nostalgic, layered feel, and the summer movie night tradition is a lovely touch.

Where the book stumbles slightly is in its pacing and emotional payoff. While the Rewind premise is intriguing, some of the family drama and secrets feel underdeveloped, and the resolution doesn’t quite hit as hard as it could. Still, the story is engaging, and Dixie’s journey of self-discovery and second chances is worth following.

If you enjoy YA romance with a touch of magical realism and heartfelt character moments, Rewind to Us is a charming read that’s easy to get swept up in.

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #rewindtous #mollymorris

Dixie Mulligan had the Mulligan family power to “Rewind” and go back to a certain point in her life that she wanted to re-do.

The concept sounded so neat! And Dixie was given journal entries from her grandparents about using the “Rewind,” which helped her make the decision to use it or not.

I wasn’t really that invested in her relationship with Sawyer, which was the whole reason she wanted to use the “Rewind.” I didn’t see their chemistry. There were too many other things going on, and honestly, it got confusing.

This was a cute story though. And I’d recommend it for anyone who likes magical realism.

<i> Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.</i>

Dixie Mulligan is ready to confess her love to her best friend Sawyer during their annual California vacation, except they’re not exactly on speaking terms anymore, and he’s already moved on. But thanks to a magical family “Rewind,” Dixie gets one shot to go back and fix the moment that broke everything between them. The problem? Changing the past might not be so easy when you're also uncovering messy family secrets, old wounds, and a truth you didn’t expect to face.

Tropes
* Best friends to lovers
* Second chance romance (with a literal twist)
* Time travel/do-over
* Family secrets
* Parallel timelines
* Summer setting/vacation romance
* Emotional growth & self-discovery
* Sliding doors moments

Molly Morris delivers a fresh, emotionally resonant YA with Rewind to Us, exploring how a single moment can change everything—and whether we’d really fix things if we had the chance. Dixie is a flawed but lovable narrator whose internal journey is as compelling as the romantic stakes. The “Rewind” concept adds a fun layer of tension and magic, while the themes of regret, forgiveness, and growing up are deftly handled. It’s a book for anyone who’s ever wanted a do-over—and learned that love, real love, might mean accepting the past rather than rewriting it.

I enjoyed the premise of the book, and it kept me invested the whole time. However, I feel like after the big reveal/plot twist, everything was rushed. I wanted to know more and go deeper into Dixie's home life and parental relationships. I also think more explanation of how the Rewind works would have been great, but it was also good that it was mysterious. I think the end was worth it, but I also think there could've been more closure and explanation. Still a great read though!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the digital advanced copy!

thanks to NetGalley for providing me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was okay I guess. After a while it began to drag on and I kinda lost interest. Majority of it was repetitive and I just didnt connect with it

Rewind to Us is heartfelt, funny, and a little bit messy—in the best way. Dixie’s plan to confess her love to her best friend Sawyer hits a wall almost immediately, and what follows is part second-chance romance, part family drama, and part magical do-over.

The concept of the “Rewind” adds a unique twist without making the story feel too far-fetched. It’s used less like a gimmick and more like a lens to explore what could’ve been if just one moment had gone differently. But the story doesn’t take the easy way out—Dixie has to work through the fallout, not just with Sawyer, but within her family, too.

This is a great pick for fans of friendship-to-love stories, layered emotions, and just a touch of magical realism. It’s honest about how complicated love—and timing—can be. A satisfying, thoughtful read with a lot of heart.

Rating: 4.5 /5
I received an ARC for my honest opinion

If you are in the mood to read a contemporary romance with time travel, YA love, magical realism, friends to lovers and an overall cute romcom book. In this book you will meet Dixie who travels to see her aunt and cousin in Cielo Springs every summer. She has her best friend Sawyer there and all she can think of is getting there to see if the biggest moment of her life, as she puts it, was ruined with her own actions. However, when she gets there, she realizes that her New York life and her life in Cielo Springs don’t blow up in her face and ruin the life that she wants with Sawyer.

One thing that you need to know about Dixie’s family is that they have a secret, they have the ability to have one “rewind” in their lives, and only if her grandmother allows it. This allows them to go back to a moment in their lives to change the outcome of a choice or moment in their life. However, they have a grace period of four days to decide whether or not to go through with it or not too. After Dixie gets back to Cielo Spring and sees that Sawyer isn’t single anymore and she can’t take back what happened in Central Park a few months ago she decides to use her Rewind, but before she has her chance to use the Rewind a lot of twists come up that most readers won’t see it coming. I found the plot was full of comedy, young love and wanting a do-over, but at the same time the understanding that there can be a ripple effect of having a rewind. I loved all the heartfelt moments that the family had, and I liked how we got to understand more and more what really happened between these kids. I loved that readers get to go on the journey of Dixie who is just the cutest, relatable MFC, she makes mistakes and yes, she would like to take them back (I mean who hasn’t wished that we can go back in time and change things. I found myself wanting to be friends with her and help her through all the thoughts that she is having and to help her understand that sometimes being honest and open is the best thing, yes, it is hard and not easy but sometimes it will all work out. I was rooting for Sawyer and her throughout the book, and I loved that we got to see the whole family there helping her fix what she thought was broken. Dixie is determined, caring, sweet and understanding. Sawyer is sweet, and sometimes a little honest. You can tell that he cares about her but with the hurt that he is still feeling. I loved that when these two were able to sit down and talk everything worked out.

This was my first Molly Morris book, and it will not be my last. I loved her writing style, and the flow of the book was just right.

I want to thank NetGalley and SMP for the opportunity to review the book.

This book plays with time but never loses heart. Rewind to Us is a charming, heartfelt romance about the ache of what-ifs, the messiness of young love, and the question that haunts anyone who’s ever wished for a do-over.

The speculative element is used just enough to push the plot forward without overshadowing the emotional core. What really anchors the story is the chemistry between the leads. Their connection feels lived-in and complicated in all the right ways. There’s tension, vulnerability, and just enough hope to keep you turning pages late into the night.

The writing is warm and accessible, with flashes of sharp insight that hit unexpectedly hard. Some scenes felt a little rushed, especially around the mechanics of the time-shift, but the emotional payoff lands clean.

It’s the kind of story that leaves you thinking about your own pivotal moments—what you’d change, what you wouldn’t, and what it means to really show up for someone.

I was really excited about this book from the beginning. It sounded like something I could really get into, since I have loved other time slip romances. In the end there were some things that I enjoyed about it, but still a lot that I didn’t love about the book. It felt a bit young for me so maybe that affected how I felt after reading it. I didn’t love the constant switch ups (this person’s Rewind, no Dixie’s Rewind, no actually it’s this Rewind!!). I felt like I was thrown around and for what? I didn’t love Dixie as a character - she was very immature and kind of annoying. I think the idea for this book was good but the execution was a bit off. 2.5/5 stars. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a surprising read! It was not what I thought it was going to be which was fun to have something different.

Rewind to Us by Molly Morris is a heartfelt and charming contemporary romance with a clever magical twist that keeps the story fresh and engaging. Dixie’s annual California trip turns into a high-stakes mission to confess her love to best friend Sawyer, but with their relationship already fractured and Sawyer moving on, things are complicated—especially when family secrets come to light. The concept of the “Rewind” adds an intriguing layer to the story, exploring how much one moment can change everything.

Morris balances the emotional ups and downs beautifully, crafting characters that feel real and relatable as they navigate love, regret, and second chances. The pacing is steady, and the blend of romance and family drama feels natural. While some familiar tropes show up, the magical element adds enough originality to keep it from feeling predictable. A sweet, satisfying read for fans of heartfelt, slightly whimsical romance.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this title to read and review. "Rewind To Us" had such a cool premise- that every member of this family gets to apply for exactly one magical do-over of something that happens in their life, a Rewind. Of course, you'd want to choose wisely and pick a great moment that is really impactful, but we have a cast of teens who are primed to use theirs in this story. And not to try to stop big accidents, illnesses, or other catastrophic events, or any other things you could imagine using superpowers for - instead, they're changing family dynamics and romantic relationships.

I loved the premise in some applications, like I will be thinking about Kate's rewind for ages, it was really presented in such a memorable and impactful way. But most of these others characters just need to sit down with each other and have actual human conversations. No need for magical intervention, just apologize! Or correct misunderstandings! Or explain your perspective! Sometimes time travel/reality-bending stories can be a bit repetitive just because it necessarily means re-living the same moments or scenarios. But this book got super repetitive for entirely other reasons, that none of the characters could just openly communicate with their loved ones or admit they were wrong! I hope this is a takeaway for younger readers -- you have a lot of power to change your own future and make things right that you may have messed up, even without time warping abilities.

There are enough interesting plot twists and unforeseen changes to the storyline given the Rewind aspect, so the story itself stays suspenseful and entertaining. But a lot of details just don't work (and the writing works really hard to try to explain some elements that feel truly unexplainable) so it's not a total hit for me. I'd love to compare it to the author's other books!

I really loved this sweet and surprising book. I loved the cover and the blurb really caught my eye too. Wonderfully, this book delivered and then some on the promise of the cover and blurb. I was instantly gripped when I started reading this one and didn't want to put it down. The writing was engaging and surprising and more than once I was saying to my husband, "well, I didn't see that coming". I don't usually get to really enjoy a book and be surprised by the twists coming so this made it all the more enjoyable for me.

I loved the concept of the Rewinds and the little blurbs at the beginning of the chapters that helped explain how they worked and the natural consequences of them as well. Being able to pick a moment and rewind and relive is something I'm sure most people have wished for at some time so to be able to explore that is really interesting to me. I really liked how the author explored the good and the bad of the idea of rewinds too instead of just making it all neat and perfect and simple. There was a lot about making mistakes and owning that and how apologizing is so important that also really hit with me.

Dixie is adorable and so relatable I'm sure. She makes mistakes and has all the complicated feelings of a young adult going through some really tough stuff. She is someone you really want to root for and the love story between her and Sawyer was so sweet and messy and honest. I also really loved Dixie's cousin Bunny who brought some real laughs and heart to the story as well.

I will definitely be reading more by Molly Morris after this as I so enjoyed her writing style and the heart that she put into this book.

I received an advanced ready copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a surprising read! I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it, but I had a great time! It was absolutely adorable. This author is one I will be looking forward to in the future!

The concept of a random family having the power to “rewind” one moment in their life in order to hopefully have some better outcome is what drew me to this book. However, I was a bit hesitant because of the whole Dixie going back to fix her relationship with Sawyer so he doesn’t end up with another girl.

So, color me pleasantly surprised when that very early into the book (minor spoilers I guess) it was clear he wasn’t actually in a relationship with the other girl and was still hung up on Dixie. Thank god, because Dixie and Sawyer were such a cute couple, especially with all their background of being such good friends provided some great chemistry.

I also really liked the dynamic with all the parts of Dixie’s family—they definitely played a huge part in this book, and seeing her interact with the different parts of her family from her cousin, to her grandma, and eventually to her parents. I liked how the author resolved her issues with her parents, as well as how the rewind was explained throughout the book, especially through the little paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute and easy read! I liked the depth of Dixie's relationship with her family and how she grew throughout the story. I would have liked more about her actual relationship with Sawyer.

Rewind to Us puts a fun and whimsical spin on the classic best-friends-to-lovers trope, with a magical twist that sets it apart.

Every summer, Dixie heads to California to spend time with her aunt, cousin, and longtime best friend, Sawyer. This year, though, things are different—Dixie is determined to finally tell Sawyer how she feels…except they haven’t spoken since a spring break mishap. Enter the rewind: a quirky family gift that gives her the chance to redo the moment that changed everything.

I really enjoyed the premise—it gave me Ashley Poston vibes with its touch of magical realism. Who wouldn’t want a do-over for life’s most awkward moments?

That said, the pacing felt a bit uneven. The rewind element didn’t come into play as early as I expected, and when it did, things moved a little too quickly.

Still, this was a fun, heartwarming read with charming side characters and witty banter that added levity and laughs. A sweet story about second chances—with just the right amount of magic.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Rewind To Us is a rough one for me to review because I thought the premise of the book was very appealing, but author Molly Morris lacked the writing capability to pull it off. Broken into three parts, the first part lays out who Dixie (FMC) and Sawyer (MMC) are, their shared loved of movies and movie theaters, Dixie's problematic parents, her safe haven aunt and cousin, and her families random ability to rewind time---but only under strict rules. Dixie wants to use her Rewind to go back in time to correct a mistake she's made with Sawyer, but life gets messy and she starts to question if she should. The next part enters Dixie's parents and a random boyfriend that isn't her actual boyfriend, and a lot of family drama. And the last part completely shifts her cousin's entire character by having him fix wrongs he didn't even make.

Disjointed, slow and messy are the three adjectives I'd use to describe the book. The characters were fairly interesting, but they lacked depth when everything seems to ping pong back and forth. It had your standard teen angst, but if you're expecting romance this is a quick skip---it's basically non-existence.

I think this book would have been better served without the sci-fi aspect to rewinding time, or making that the focal point of the story because it's a more interesting concept than the overall story.

Thank you SMP and Wednesday Books for the gifted ARC.

This was a super cute and clever YA romance with a unique magical twist. I have to give props to the author for naming the rewind-capable family the Mulligans—I definitely laughed out loud. The plot is fun and original, with solid character development and an entertaining premise.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.