I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) from NetGalley for Allison Winn Scotch's book coming out on August 1. It has been 2 years since I have read a book from this author, so I also regret nothing as I abandoned my #TBR stack to get lost in these pages.

Could you imagine PETTY things you did as a child coming back to threaten your future as an adult? And the idea those people seeking revenge have the financial means to attempt to destroy you AND your character without even knowing if you have grown as a person?!

And let's not forget vulnerability and feeling safe with those around you to be able to share your doubts and bad decisions you may have made?!

Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with this book and loved the growth of Cleo as you took a deep inner look at herself and previous decisions she made.

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. I absolutely loved it. Part of that may be how much I saw myself in the main character (since I’m a 38 year old boy mom lawyer with political aspirations who lost her mom early). Even without the self-identification, however, it is just a well-written yet fun book. It’s the perfect balance between intellectual and light, between well-developed characters and a compelling plot. I would definitely recommend it to a wide variety of readers and will probably try to twist my book club’s collective arm to add it to our list after it comes out in August.

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Winn Scotch and Lake Union for the opportunity to read a complimentary ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this forthcoming book via Netgalley and I really enjoyed it.

Cleo is a likeable and real character. She’s exploring her flaws and trying to improve, for herself and those around her. So often characters in women’s fiction (mostly of the chick lit variety) seem artificial and like caricatures of real people. That was not at all the case with the cast presented in this book.

Finally, as someone who doesn’t work in politics but does live and work inside the DC beltway, I’m always a fan of stories set here with local references!

I have a hard time finding novels that are purely fun and enjoyable without being predictable and cliched or filled with characters I find to be entirely vapid. but CLEO MCDOUGAL REGRETS NOTHING was none of those things! this book is smart and witty, and the story was engaging and creative. some of my favorite parts of the book were the inner monologues of Cleo because I found her to be such a layered, realistic character. this one comes out August 1, which makes it the perfect book to lose yourself in on summer vacation. thank you to the author for my advanced copy! I really enjoyed this one! 4.5/5 ⭐️

In the acknowledgments, Allison Winn Scotch writes, "In the end, I wanted to write a book not about politics but about power, about the state of being a woman in this specific moment in history, about learning to take up space without apology." This is exactly what I loved best about this book. First of all, I started reading it on a plane and remained glued until I finished it. I was utterly captivated by the story, and the quick and tidy way the story emerged without boggy detail or extraneous characterization. We are immediately in the story, where we remain until the final page. I was excited to see how Scotch wove feminist theory into the story in a natural and relevant way, making it much more complex than one might expect.

I recently watched a TED talk by Yve Blake called "For the Love of Fangirls" that speaks to how women aren't allowed to be passionate or excited without being labeled crazy, and this book was a tangent on that same thread--how women have to regulate themselves, and how Black women have to even more so if they don't want to be labeled a bitch by the world. This took this reality and showed it in story form, which is a much more accessible way to get a message across. Well done. This is a book I will be gifting to others as soon as it comes out!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the author, personally. Thank you SO much!! I truly enjoyed Senator Cleo's story. I admire any woman who is in politics because it can't be easy! Cleo's extremely ambitious and intends to run for President, but before she announces her candidacy, her former childhood best friend runs a scathing op ed in their local Seattle paper that reaches Cleo in D.C. Cleo has a list of regrets that she's been adding to over the years. We all have regrets, it's certainly human. Cleo's inner circle includes her chief of staff Gaby, her son Lucas, and her "mom friend" Emily. She's managed to make a career in politics as a single mother. This is not a romance although there is some in the book, which is refreshing. I liked that Cleo was able to push herself in areas she hadn't before, and address her biggest regrets. She also grew closer to her older sister. Much was said about her troubled older sister's teen years but it was vague. An enjoyable read.

I truly loved this book. Not just because it references both Kelly Taylor’s “I choose me” moment, and Dirty Dancing’s “lift” moment. I loved this book because the main character, Cleo, felt not only real, but someone I desperately wanted to meet. In fact all
of the characters felt real, especially Cleo’s 14-year-old son who would yell at his mom for texting emojis. This is a book with flawed characters who you still want to see succeed. And yes, this is about the #metoo movement which needs to be written about more.

Allison Winn Scotch gives us a lot to think about in her latest novel. It would be easy to say: I LOVED THIS BOOK and her writing is brilliant, but there's so much more to this timely, moving story.

To begin with, I had my own experience with an ex-best friend publically criticizing me for something that occurred when we were eleven. Yes, eleven. It hurt to be judged for something that was over thirty years old (when I was too young to know better), and I appreciated the way AWS tackled old friends, old wounds, accountability, and forgiveness. "Should we all have to apologize for being self-centered at seventeen?" People can and do change over time. So thank you AWS for saying so.

Cleo McDougal may be a politician, but she's every woman as she navigates single parenthood (nailing the right balance between hands on and hands off), poor choices, and the aptly titled, regrets. Cleo has a lot of them, and she's far from perfect, but how many of us can say we're any better?

With razor-sharp wit, Winn Scotch captures Cleo righting her wrongs, the nuances and struggles as she fights for power and forgiveness, while ultimately opening herself up to a rare and necessary vulnerability. The satisfying conclusion comes with a relevant life lesson: "Of course she had regrets. That made her human." And with that, we learn that through acknowledgement and apology there is acceptance and growth.

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing is that extraordinary, smart read that in a world of unkind apathy....matters.

Thank you to the author and Net Galley for an early copy. Highly recommend.

I. LOVED. IT! Cleo is a character that will stick with me. I’d love to follow these characters through their next chapter. It gave me so many feels. I’m stewing in a book hangover! Bravo Allison! Add this book to your tbr list!

I've been a fan of Allison Winn Scotch's for years now, for so long that I don't remember not loving her and her books. This one might be my favorite yet.

I love politics and political stories, and there's some of that in this, but it's more about Cleo herself. Cleo keeps a list of regrets, primarily so that she can learn from those mistakes. "Don't drink bourbon," for example, and I think a lot of people probably have one type of alcohol that they can't drink anymore after overdoing it. (Moment of silence for me and martinis.)

And then Cleo decides that what she's going to do is actually fix those regrets. (Well, to be fair, Cleo's campaign manager Gaby decides that for her.) And what happens next is both delightful and very, very relatable. (I experienced a very, VERY strong secondhand wave of mortification at one of them.)

This book is a complete delight. I can't wait for everyone to read and talk about it. Highly recommended.

I read about a quarter of this before setting it aside. It felt more like reading a cartoon instead of a story about real humans, and so it just didn't hold my interest.