The cover of this novel enticed me right away and I've been a fan of Allison Winn Scotch ever since I read Time of My Life. She has a knack for writing about the nuances of relationships and really getting into her characters' minds.

I will admit that I thought this novel was going to be cliché, as I am not a fan of couples getting back together after they've broken up. (I blame Rachel and Ross for this one, but I will make an exception for Betty and Jughead if that somehow happens.) However, I was rooting for Ezra and Frankie to make things right again.

The story is like The Hangover, but for a couple that has been estranged for ten years. It is also way better than the aforementioned film. It takes place at the turn of the twenty-first century and has a lot of eighties and nineties nostalgia as a result. I really enjoyed this novel and getting to know Frankie and Ezra as individuals and as a couple in the past. Allison's great use of detail really brought the story to life. The descriptions of winter were a nice relief from the summer heat in my neck of the woods. The story unraveled the past over time so just when you think you know exactly what happened, there are more answers and surprises to be found. The same is true for everything that happened during their "blackout" period. There were also lots of interesting characters and conflicts throughout.

Overall, this was a fun story worth checking out later this year!

Movie casting suggestions:
Frankie: Maggie Grace
Ezra: Andrew Garfield
Mimi: Sarah Power
Gregory: Dan Amboyer
Laila: Torrey DiVitto
Joni: Mikey Madison
Zoe: Juliette Angelo

Frankie and Ezra met in college in the late 80s and had an incandescent love story. It all blew up right before graduation, and they went their separate ways - Frankie to music moguldom in LA, and Ezra to law school in NYC. 10 years later, they're back at their alma mater for a Y2K wedding. If they still hate each other, why do they wake up wearing wedding bands.

I enjoyed the writing, and liked most of the minor characters. I did not love either of the main characters. Frankie is making it in a male-dominated profession by being tough. But she's like a hard-edged Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and I just didn't like her. Ezra is a little too Beta Male (but, now with money) and just too undemanding and nice.

This is the first book by this author I have read. Even though I didn't particularly like either MC, the writing and storyline drew me in.

Allison Winn Scotch's THE REWIND astutely captures the bittersweet angst of being back where it all began. When a group of old friends reunites on their college campus for a wedding 10 years later, among them are two first loves who haven't seen each other since the day they left, the day it all fell apart. When they wake up together after a wild night neither of them can remember, old hurts come flooding back along with all the best and worst history they've tried to forget and can no longer ignore. A relatable, nostalgic read (here's looking at you, Gen X!) for anyone who's looked back and regretted how they left things, or who's wondered what it would be like to say you're sorry, to hear "I'm sorry," or to have a second chance,

DNF @ 22%. I really didn't like this. The characters were awful. Ezra was slightly more likable than Frankie, but not enough to make up for how terrible she was. I really tried to get through more of this, but I just couldn't make myself read any more. I really don't want to see them get back together.

Frankie and Ezra have a really easy banter and the story moves along quickly. Very easy three stars for the average reader if it continues as it has during the first 25% and likely 4-5 stars for the right readers. It will likely do well in our libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

Two ex-lovers are forced to face each other again a decade after their emotional split.

Romance is just really not my genre. I think to truly get into romance novels or films, you have to have a higher suspension of disbelief than when dealing with a thriller or mystery. Frankie and Ezra are two angry, broken people that really don't want to be at a wedding held at their old college campus. (Also, who gets married at their old college campus???) They spend a reckless night before the wedding which then leaves them with no memory of said night the morning after. I just couldn't really stand Frankie or Ezra and the way they treated/interacted with just about everyone around them. The whole book was them being angry in the present or them remembering their relationship together and about 75% of it was all inner turmoil/thoughts/worries rather than actual dialogue. The lack of communication, the stubbornness, the frustration between the two of them. It just became exhausting to read about! For a romance novel I just didn't find very much about <u>The Rewind</u> that was actually romantic. That and the premise was just a little too over the top.

Hello 90's and college nostalgia! This was a fun and cute second chance romance. It was intertwined with some hardships and perfectly moved between both POVs showing how each navigated through and got to where they are now. I loved the friendships, humor and overall plot of this book. I will certainly be looking for more by this author! Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for my early copy!

The Rewind takes place over a single New Years eve in 1999, alternating perspectives between Frankie and Ezra. They are back at ok college campus together for a wedding, and spend the day together trying to figure out what happened last night which neither of them can remember….
The story was emotionally intense and fraught as they revisited all their past mistakes and figured out who they truly want to be now. I recommend it to readers of Nicholas Sparks, as it was a little too melodramatic for me.

The Rewind is the latest novel by Allison Winn Scotch and will be published on November 1st, 2022. Berkley Publishing Group provided me an early galley in exchange for an honest review.

This story reads like a quirky 90's romantic comedy. Through the narrative viewpoints bouncing back and forth between Frankie and Ezra with every chapter and the return of the characters to their old college stomping grounds, Scotch is easily able to unfold the history between the couple as they attempt to account for what exactly happened the night before. Having gone to college in the 80's like the characters did, I could very much relate to their situations, surroundings and experiences. I especially liked the song lyrics that are peppered throughout the book; that appeals to the popular music side of my personality.

I also liked that the story takes place on New Year's Eve of 1999. By dialing it back a few decades, the author takes readers back to a "simpler" time when the Internet was still a novel thing and the phones we carried in our pockets could only be used for communication. It gives her some very realistic hinderances to the resolution of the mystery that Frankie and Ezra find themselves in. One has to be extra careful not to slip in references that should not be there or give characters viewpoints that are common in modern times but not when the story is set. Thankfully, Scotch is able to navigate those areas well.

The ending was a little bit predictable, but this story is about the journey and not the destination.

A fun rom-com that I can absolutely see on screen and I hope it will be! Thanks to netgalley and Allison Winn Scotch for the advance copy. I was rooting for this couple the entire time. I've been a fan of Allison's for many years and The Rewind did not disappoint.

I loved this - well paced, engaging reads like a screenplay. I could not put it down. I love a second chance

I loved the blast from the past in Allison Winn Scotch’s upcoming novel, “The Rewind.” This engaging book follows Frankie and Ezra on the last day of the 20th century - and 10 years before. The exes wake up on Dec. 31, 1999 with some new jewelry as no no idea how they wound up together that morning. As they try to B put the pieces together while surrounded by their college friends, they end up reliving some of the pains of their past, and realize how much they’ve each grown - and see what they couldn’t a decade before.

I loved the way this book explores why events happen the way they do and his perceptions can change. And looking back at the past was fun - both 1999 and the ‘80s!

This is a charming novel about second chances. It has a level of predictability, but the story is so well told that I simply went along with it and enjoyed the experience of the thoroughly likable characters.

When Frankie and Ezra meet again after a decade apart and a very traumatic end, they are able to rewrite their history and move toward a new future. Maturity and self-reflection, as well as extreme physical attraction, enable this couple to re-examine their past and work on their relationship.

Thank you Netgalley for this sweet read.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me at all. I love Winn Scotch’s other work, so it was super disappointing to not love it. The setting being Y2K and the 90’s seemed great. The premise seemed good. I did not connect to the characters at all and found them really irritating. While she tried to make them layered, they seemed super one dimensional.

This was such a beautiful story, I really loved it. But what I really loved most was the character growth and development of the MCs. Also the ending was quite beautiful too. All, in all, it’s a full 5 stars read for me

Loved this! The nostalgia, first love, friendships and everything in between. I was rooting for Frankie and Ezra from the first few chapters. As someone who suffers from anxiety, Alison did an incredible job of describing what it feels like and also looks like. Truly a beautiful story told in alternating narratives as you see two people find their way through pain and hurt to get back to love. Thank you Allison for the ARC!

This is Allison Winn Scotch at her best- smart, witty, with a heaping dose of big-hearted love story. When exes Ezra and Frankie wake up in bed after a drunken night together, the pair must re-visit the past and a romance that never quite died. Told in Scotch's fresh humor and brilliant prose, readers will devour this tale of first love, second chances and the 90s music that touched our souls.

I shed my ugliest tears, my emotions are everywhere! Ezra and Frankie’s love-hate- unfinished story is one of the best angsty, heart wrenching, touchy, saddest stories that hurts you and heals you at the same time!

They were lovers in their twenties and after sudden break up they swore not to talk and see each other again ! Now they will meet ten years later after their traumatic breakup with full of mistakes, hurt feelings, misunderstandings and unsaid words that restrained, locked deep inside their hearts. They moved on with your lives, chasing their dreams, fulfilling their expectations. Frankie becomes a successful music manager of the hottest bands and Ezra quits law school for chasing his lifetime dream.
He also finds his other half Mimi: he decides to propose her at the same wedding night when Ezra and Frankie’s mutual friends unite their lives for happily ever after!

But on the eve of millennium, at the picturesque, snowy New England campus where their story began, Ezra and Frankie have an eventful night and when they wake up at the same bad. Frankie wears Ezra’s grandmother’s ring! The same ring Ezra planned to prose his girlfriend whose plane was cancelled because of weather conditions!

Did they get marry? How drunk were they? Could they rewind the entire night back to take back the mistakes they’ve made? What about rewinding the time for 10 years back to make things better for their unresolved issues?

As they slowly start remembering everything about the last night, they not only dealing with things they’ve made under influence, they also have to confront their secrets, things they held to themselves to make peace with both of their pasts and futures!

I loved this angsty, pure, genuine, beautiful story! Both Ezra and Frankie were flawed, sad, deeply layered characters. It was so easy to love them! I cannot say the same for Mimi!

Overall: definitely worth to my angsty screams, heartbreak and ugly cries!

So many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I absolutely inhaled this book. Such a delightful and beautifully-written book. I enjoyed every minute and will recommend to everyone

The Rewind was absolute candy for my nostalgic college soul! The premise is simple: two college exes go back to their alma mater to attend a mutual friend’s wedding after not seeing each other for ten years. I found it so easy to put myself into this story, and found it so relatable and fun.

I loved the two main characters, Frankie and Ezra and really enjoyed the plot device of them having to piece together the night before, together. As the story unfolds, you learn more about their past and, of course, the night before. There are some heavy parts, but all in all this was a fun and quick read I’ll be recommending!