3.5 Stars

Rewind to Us is a YA romance that imagines getting a second chance to make things right.

At the center of the story is Dixie, a girl who becomes someone else every summer. During those trips, she becomes who she wants to be — working and living in a small town, spending time with her aunt, cousin and best friend, Sawyer.

Dixie is in love with Sawyer, but messed things up, and is desperate to fix them, even if it means changing history.

Dixie is a likeable enough character, as is Sawyer and the rest of the supporting cast. They’re all well developed and experience growth throughout the novel.

Where the story gets a little muddy is in the “rewind” process itself. It’s not really clear how they work or why Dixie’s family can do the rewinds. And how did Dixie’s grandmother get the power to work them in the first place.

If you can set those questions aside and just accept that rewinds can/do happen, then the story flows pretty well. And honestly, it’s the relationship Dixie and Sawyer have built on their love of all things film that really carries the story.

Rewind to Us is a fast-moving read that fun and perfect for the summer.

This was a really interesting use of magical realism!

It started off slow, but as I got into the second and third chapters I was hooked. I wasn’t sure I liked Dixie until later in the book, but I always like to let MCs grow as I read, and I really grew to like her POV. She was a teen in the ways we all are, making terrible choice and being yanked around by our feelings and our parents. I loved the ways she connected with people, and really loved how the crush on her BFF (Sawyer) played out.

I found myself questioning everything quite a few times and it really kept me on my toes. All of the possibilities that happen with rewinds were fun to speculate and I loved that piece of magic. Her connections with her mom and dad were so well written, I ached and hurt and was joyous with her.

I loved how it all played out and how you didn’t know all of the information at all times. It’s a book I look forward to reading again!

This is really sweet and cute! I'm definitely seeing more and more of these time travel based romances and I think this is a really fun one that doesn;t have some of the moral problems other ones can do.

I was intrigued by the plot but then it felt like the storyline became repetitive. This read was predictable and then I found myself skimming through the last 25%. It’s a cute plot but not my favorite.

I overall enjoyed this one, it just felt very predictable. I liked the magical realism aspect of this one, because that is one element in stories I love. I loved the fun banter between not just the main characters but also the sides characters, it felt like being around your family - it was so fun!

I think this book had a great story line and there was a plot twist that was unexpected, but overall I generally guaged how this was going to go from the first few chapters. I know this book is labeled as a YA book, and I agree that this would be perfect for a teen, or even middle schooler.

it was cute, a really fun read, quick to connect with and follow along but it just felt a little flat to and very generic. I would still love to read other books by this author, though. her writing elements are fun!

thank you to Wednesday books for sending me this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A nice fast paced read, kind of felt repetitive but there was a nice twist that I didn’t see coming.

I adored this book. This is YA fiction at its finest. Such a sweet story, fantastic characters and the best concept. I loved the Grandma and all the comments on her “blob”. I’m also a huge fan of time travel and was really into the Rewind.

I would definitely recommend this to teens who love a story with time travel or romantic elements. I will be checking out all of Molly Morris’ other books.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy! This one was just published this week and is now available.

Dixon is born into a family that has the unique ability to be able to rewind time once. When Dixon feels like she messed up her chance to be with her best friend, also the love of her life she decides she wants to use her rewind to go back to the moment she messed things up. But as time goes on she questions if she should rewind or just let things continue on their own.

This book had an interesting premise but just fell flat. The story felt like it just dragged in parts and just jumped around a bit too much.

Thanks to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on June 20th, 2025. Links provided.

Rewind to Us follows Dixie Mulligan, who’s heading to California for her usual summer break—only this time, she’s planning to tell her best friend Sawyer that she’s in love with him. The only issue? They haven’t talked in months after a messy spring break fallout, and when she shows up, she finds out Sawyer is already seemingly over her and into someone else. But in the Mulligan family, there’s one big perk: each person gets a single “Rewind,” a chance to go back and fix a moment they regret. As she tries to mend her past, unexpected revelations about her family surface, making Dixie question whether one do-over is enough to heal old wounds—and whether what she and Sawyer had is even worth saving.

I gave this one four stars because the concept was really fun—realistic with a little magic thrown in. The whole “Rewind” idea was cool (even if I had to just roll with it a bit), and it added a unique spin to a typical friends-to-more story. Honestly, though, the most interesting parts for me weren’t about Dixie and Sawyer—I actually cared more about her relationship with her parents and the secrets that started to come out. The family stuff felt a lot more emotional and real.

I also loved how much movies and old theaters played into the story. Dixie’s love for cinema really came through, and I wasn’t expecting how much I’d connect with that part. Plus, there’s a twist halfway through that totally caught me off guard—in a good way.

Overall, this was a thoughtful, sweet story with some surprising depth. If you're into YA with a little time travel, emotional family moments, and a main character who genuinely feels like a real teen, this one’s worth checking out.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of Rewind to Us in return for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, and Molly Morris For this advance copy, This book Rewinds to US, of a cinematic love story although this is a potential friends to lovers romance this family is heavily involved in the movie culture. Characters in the family are owning a movie theater and also a movie video store so the love of cinema is threaded through the pages.
We are all functionally dysfunctional families
This book also reminded me of that film. Click by Adam Sandler
This book is a dissertation on why theaters are proper, movie watching is better than streaming at home. The twist got me and I enjoyed this journey

Rewind to Us is a very cute YA romance coupled with a touch of magical realism. In this novel, Dixie Mulligan has the chance, like all those in her family that share her last name, to enact a "rewind" which allows each member of the family to turn back time once in their life. The fact that this novel incorporated elements of time travel and second chance as Dixie decides to use her rewind on her "best friend" were instant winners as far as tropes for me.

I especially enjoyed how the first half of this novel really flowed. It is incredibly apparent that some YA novels are written for a younger audience, but Rewind To Us felt more like a novel about younger characters that readers of all ages could enjoy. I also enjoyed thoroughly the little epigraphs that included excerpts from the history of the rewinds, bringing depth and light world building into the novel in a very natural way. While there were some slower moments to the novel, I felt like the reveals that were coming up were mostly warranted and caught me by surprise (although I should totally have expected it)!

Overall, this was a quick, fun, and engaging read and I gave it 4.75/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the eARC.

Did Not Finish.

Sometimes I read YA and I love it and sometimes I read it and feel like an old grandpa yelling at kids to get off my lawn. It was the latter with Rewind to Us. All unexplained magic aside, you have literally one chance to rewind your life to change your future…and you use it when you are 18 years old? With a crush, not even someone you already had a real relationship with? No thanks.

Rewind to Us by Molly Morris – ★★★☆☆

This was a cute, quick summer read with a fun concept, but something was missing that kept it from being a total hit for me.

Dixie spends every summer in Cielo Springs with her cousin, aunt, and best friend Sawyer—who she secretly loves. When she sees him kissing someone else, she uses her one shot at a magical family "Rewind" to fix things. Yep, she uses her only chance to redo time… on a boy. Very YA, but I kind of loved that for her.

The small-town summer setting and movie references were super charming, and I liked the unique spin on time travel. The Rewind rules were clever (especially the blog blurbs from her grandparents), but the execution got confusing mid-book, and I still don’t totally get how the Rewinds actually work.

The romance felt underdeveloped for a book that’s supposedly centered on it, but it did raise some great questions about regret, communication, and learning from mistakes. The ending was sweet—cheesy, but in a satisfying way.

Overall, it’s a light, fast read that’s easy to get into if you’re looking to escape for a few hours, even if it’s not super memorable.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not for me. I had to DNF it. I couldn't get into. I couldn't connect with the characters. I do not believe I would read another book by this author.

I love Molly Morris and the amazing characters she creates!
Sawyer and Dixie were relatable and realistic characters who I found myself so connected to.
I really enjoy the way Morris crafts her characters and stories.
This book was absolutely phenomenal!! I adored the characters, the story. It was romantic, heartbreaking and beautiful.

As a certified hater of time travel stories.... I liked this one. It's not quite a time travel story - more of a speculative fiction/very slight magical realism one.
It's part YA coming of age, part second chance romance, and part family drama.

I really liked Dixie and all the parts of herself that she's trying to balance - herself when she's at home in NY, herself when she's with her 'summer family' in California, and which parts of each she wants to carry forward with her. She felt very real, as did her secret motivations for everything.

Her family also felt so real and fully fleshed out - the whole scene with her dad at the restaurant hit me right in the heart.
Also Bunny and [spoiler] had me giggling and kicking my feet.

And I liked the commentary about keeping theatres and the movie industry (Dixie and Sawyer are film buffs, but only in a slightly annoying and not fully pretentions way).

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

The Mulligan family has the power to rewind the clock once a year.
Dixie leads a dual life due to the notoriety of her parents. However, as she starts college, her worlds are about to collide with her best friend Sawyer joining her in the Big Apple for school. Before college, Sawyer makes his way to the city for a school trip, but things don’t go as Dixie and he planned...
What would you choose to get a do-over on if you could?

This story has a cute premise, and you cannot help but love Dixie, Sawyer, Bunnie, and Kate. I really enjoyed it; however, it was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on. I don't know if I wanted more of her life in New York before she headed to Cielo Springs for summer or if I wanted more of Dixie's friendship with Sawyer, but I definitely wanted something that wasn't there.

This was a cute read with a really unique premise! The idea of a do over (AKA Rewind) was interesting and how each member of Dixie’s family gets one. Each chapter has a small snippet of info from her grandparents (think a how to manual - I mean paperwork is involved 😂) on the rewind.

The characters are quirky and fun to follow. I was definitely rooting for Dixie. I also liked how there was a focus on unintended consequences and how using The Rewind would affect the family members.

I will say there is a twist I didn’t see coming that definitely changes the course of the story!

✨What To Expect:
⏰YA Speculative Fiction
💖Rom Com Vibes
🌵Small Town/California Desert
🪄Magical Twist/Realism
🎥Movie References
⏱️Time Travel
💞Friends To Lovers
🔥Very Slow Burn
🤫Family Secrets & Drama

If you had the ability to rewind an event in your life to change the outcome, would you?

I am a believer that everything happens for a reason, but I am also someone who doesn't have the ability to rewind time so 😂 This book really had me thinking about this. which has led me to conflicting feelings about this book. I feel like not everything needs a rewind and that sometimes things happen for a reason and that is ok. How do you expect to ever learn from your mistake if you just rewind everytime something you don't like happens? Idk, maybe the book just wasn't for me! The excitement I got from the blurb wasn't quite what was delivered in the book.

Rewind To Us: ★★☆☆☆ (2)

Pub date: out now!

Thank you St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books & netgalley for an ARC of this book on exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review!!!
This was such a cool concept for a book! I don't think it's like anything I've read before. Dixie goes to Cielo Springs every summer and spends time away from her parents. Since she started going to Cielo Springs she had her best friend, Sawyer, who doesn't exactly know who her parents are. Being Dixie and having her last name Mulligan means that there's a special "rewind" moment people in the family have. They are able to "rewind" to a specific moment in time depending if it's approved. Dixie and Sawyer were not speaking for almost the entire year due to something that happened in New York when Sawyer went to visit Dixie. Dixie likes Sawyer and is scared to act on it and Sawyer might not feel the same or might. Sawyer finds out about Dixie's parents being these directors and big in movies. Dixie wants to use her rewind but is scared how it'll affect them. It was a good read. Felt long at time and slow but the last 20% was good.