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🔸ARC REVIEW🔸 Alternate Endings by Ali Rosen

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5)

GENRES: Romance, Contemporary

🌶️ HOT TAKE: What if the bimonthly work trips that seemed like the worst lifestyle-sabotage actually end up providing the requisite sandbox to bring about a timely evolution?

🧶 THE SUMMARY:
Work has always been the part of Bea’s life where she feels in control and confident. Especially now that she’s getting divorced and adjusting to life as a single mom. So when her boss breaks the news that she’s moving back to Ireland and will require the company’s leadership team to travel overseas twice a month for in-person retreats, Bea is stressed. To top it off, the company’s new CTO is a blast from the past, her old fling from high school, Jack. They haven’t spoken since he broke her heart years ago, but their chemistry feels undeniable.

💁🏻‍♀️ MY THOUGHTS:
🔸 This was adorable! I loved Bea’s high power career and her relationship with her boss. It was great seeing a romance where the career woman gets to have it all, without needing to change who she is in order to find love. The conversation was cute and the romantic scenes felt just right in terms of intimacy.

🔸 I liked how the author used the Ireland trips to physically divide Bea’s work and life spheres, although I could have used a little more ~exploration~ of the setting, instead of just keeping them locked up in a castle the whole time.

🔸 If I had to critique anything about this one, it was that I found Jack’s backstory and family to be a little outlandish and over-exaggerated. I don’t care how obnoxious your family is, I’m pretty sure anyone would understand that being a CTO is an undeniable achievement. Their scene did detract from the overall experience for me and I don’t think it was needed to substantiate his insecurities and motivations.

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for the arc, provided in exchange for an honest review.

Ali Rosen is officially an auto-buy author for me. I loooove anything she writes and this book was no different. ◡̈

Second chance romance is by far my favorite trope. I seek out books with this trope and eat them up!

This was a case of "Right book, wrong time." There isn't anything specific that I struggled with -- I was just struggling with reading in general when I picked this one up. I read it at a time when it was hard to focus on anything, and I found myself just wanting to finish this book and move onto something else.

I will need to give this another try when I'm in the right headspace because I appreciated the unique plot and the reviews are wonderful.

4.5- I missed Ali Rosen’s debut novel because I was trying to make a dent in my very long TBR by focusing on the books that have been on it for the longest, but I’ve since given up on that endeavor and have gone to the opposite end of the spectrum by solely reading advanced copies. Clearly I have no balance. Anyway, this one jumped out at me and I was ecstatic when I was approved for it.
Beatrice Leal is the VP of a New York based tech company and the single Mom of 6 year old, Sebastian (Bash). She’s never had a problem juggling being single mom with a tough career until the CEO moves to Ireland and requires the team to meet at her castle twice a month. Bea finds herself having to negotiate with her moody ex-husband while battling jet lag and crazy work outings. The real kicker is when she realizes the new Chief Technology Officer is none other than Jack Sander, her high school crush who crushed her heart and then ghosted her for 20 years. She thought she was over Jack until she saw him and all of her feelings from the age of 16 come rushing back. Now 20 years older and filled with more wisdom and insight, Bea and Jack decide to make the most of their regular time in Ireland while keeping their lives separate in New York. It’s messy, but Bea is beginning to discover that sometimes messiness leads to a life of happiness.
Ms. Rosen has written a book filled with characters with whom I want to be friends. Everyone from quirky Brigid to caring Rika and calm Clem offer something amazing to Bea’s life. I especially love how Bea came to look at her life differently and in doing so she made changes towards a happier life.
I am definitely going to check out Recipe for Second Chances sooner rather than later! Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an advanced copy of this. Alternate Endings hit the shelves on May 7th.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was plenty fun and light hearted even through the more serious bits and kept me hooked from start to finish.

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

Alternate Endings is a cute, second chance romance read. I enjoyed the visits to Ireland and the trips back in time to see how the main characters first met and knew each other. I also enjoy how the story handled the divorce storyline and the honest and sensitive way it also deal with struggling to have children. Lastly, I adored the friend squad- i feel like everyone deserve a squad like this one.

What a stunning book! This is a second-chance romance that teeters on the edge of women's fiction, in the best way possible. It's a story about Bea, who post-divorce, is fighting for the ability to be a bad-ass career woman, a present single mom, and to find her second chance at love.

Women can, should, and deserve to have it all and that's exactly the message that this book delivered. It was empowering, romantic, and perfectly heart-warming.

I can't wait to see what else Ali has up her sleeve!

i loved rosen's first book so much that i gave it 5 stars. that's a hard rating to get from me, and i was looking forward to her next book and the ones after that. this book is so different and is about nothing. i don't want to read about custody arrangements from an ex-husband that was probably a dick back then, too. i don't want the FMC, referring to her high school boyfriend by his full name 85% of the time she mentions him. it's also just a story about bea traveling back and forth, surface friendships and inner thoughts.

Thank you to the author and Montlake for the free copy of this ARC.

Unfortunately, I chose to DNF this one at 16%. The story starts out very slow to a point I wasn't racing to pick it up. I realize I stopped very early on, but I wasn't feeling connected enough to the characters to keep going. Really bummed!

I really enjoyed Rosen’s debut novel and was so excited to read Alternate Endings! I paired the digital arc with the audiobook and had a great time reading. I loved the NY/Ireland setting, I loved Bash, and I loved the slower pace. Ali Rosen is now an autoread author!

This gave me Emily Henry vibes
Lots of side characters involved and the story isn’t truly just about the love story
It’s also about the main character finding her voice

Although I will say it was a bit on the long side, I truly enjoyed the story. I loved the development of the main characters Beatrice and Jack. I really didn’t see it being a happy ending through out most of it. I was happily surprised by the ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc!

This was such a cute single parent romance! Loved the fact that it was also a second chance with a high school ex. Beatrice and Jack are strong characters from the get go and their development was well received.

I loved the little insights into their past and how certain events trigger a response. There is some spice in this but nothing too scandalous. Just a couple of no descriptive open door scenes. The banter is off the charts and it just works so well in the story. I did feel like there were some moments that were just really repetitive and not really necessary but it didn’t detract from the story.

I think my favorite scenes were Coney Island, the museum painting, and just all the little scrabble moments. Also the recipe at the end were such a nice little add on! I definitely recommend reading this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read this book!

An enjoyable read, second chance romance with serious topics like motherhood, divorce and career advancement. Beatrice was a strong character, Jack her high school ex is back and she is working together with him. There wasn’t a lot of tension between the, it was very let’s just enjoy the benefits while in Ireland and that’s it.

Alternate ending is a wonderful romance they reminds you that not every ending is the the end of the story. Beatrice had the opportunity to find exactly what she wants in life if she releases herself from fear of so many things. I enjoyed the second chance love story of Jack and Beatrice, although unconventional, is was warm and interesting to read.

I really liked Bea's personal journey and the way her recognizing her skills, her feelings, her grief and her wants was handled. It really felt like the character was growing as the book was progressing. I didn’t feel connected to Jack for a long while. This is a slooooow burn when it comes to romantic feelings (they dated in high school—didn’t see each other for twenty years—and after reconnecting at work become friends with benefits) since both characters deal with kind of a fear of their feelings. I started to warm up to Jack when we got more of a look into his family life. I believe Bea and Jack's relationship came full circle at the end and was beautiful to watch!

I really liked the female friendships in this book. Especially the school-friend trio made me sappy and think of my own friends.

Rating this three (and a half) stars since it took me about 50% to get really into it and invested in the story. The pacing wasn’t ideal for me. I’m glad the book handled some important topics and had kind characters realizing their own strengths.

Beatrice is recently divorced, trying to balance her career and being a single mom to a six year old.
When her job requires her to travel to Ireland every other week, the last person she expects to see there is Jack Sander. Her high school fling who ghosted her twenty years ago.

Bea and Jack had an art class together in high school, and would spend after hours one on one together finishing up projects.
Their banter is full of sarcasm and playfully teasing each other. The sexual chemistry between these two is so strong throughout the book, in present time and high school flashbacks. Now as adults, spending a lot of time together in Ireland for work, Bea and Jack finds ways to make the job a little more enjoyable!

“This lure between us never went away, we just went away.“

Tropes: semi-friends/semi-enemies to lovers, second chance romance, close proximity

Thank you @netgalley for this early release!

I really enjoyed this romance! If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that I love second chances and I love a bit of complexity mixed in with romance. This had exactly what I was hoping for!

The main characters were incredible. Their self-development was really endearing and their relationship was one I was rooting hard for.

The side characters were helpful to drive the plot and to help with the self-development process. I loved all their different personalities.

A really fun read!

•

Thank you so much to Ali and NetGalley for this ARC!

Bea Leal is dealing with a lot. Raising her precocious son Bash while still living in the same house as her ex-husband is challenging, but now her eccentric boss needs her to fly to Ireland every two weeks. Bea's life becomes even more messy when her boss introduces their new CTO, Jack Sander--Bea's first love and first heartbreak.

This romance focuses on personal growth and is not too spicy, so I'd recommend it for fans of Emily Henry. Overall, a sweet second-chance romance with a mature protagonist and picturesque setting. Would recommend!

Bea’s life is complicated. She has a six year old son, an ex husband, and she lived with her ex sister in law. Luckily, her work life isn’t complicated at all. That is until her boss decides to move to Ireland and requires twice a month work retreats at her castle. And that’s not all, the boy who broke her heart in high school is their new CTO.

There were so many things I enjoyed about this book that I really can’t pinpoint why I didn’t like it more. I got very bored during the middle and I think I just wanted more to happen. I liked Bea, I liked Jack, I liked Ireland. I liked it all but I wanted a lot more to happen. It chugged along and then they go together and that was that.

Here’s a long list of things I did like though:
-Ireland!
-Bea’s hilarious, precocious son Bash
-Bea’s no nonsense boss
-the friend group
-second chance romance
-scrabble
-NYC

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.