Second chance romance with character depth - check
Forced proximity - check
Workplace romance - check
Travel - check
Best friends that steal their scenes - check

Bea and Jack first met in high school where he was the popular jock and she was the smart nerd. They form a very special bond, but one that is kept between just the two of them. Things end on a very rocky note and then fast forward 20 years where they meet again at Bea’s company retreat in Ireland.

What follows is a year long journey between the two where we discover how they have been, and what curve balls life has thrown them. They slowly develop a deep friendship where they actually communicate with each other all while being “sex friends.” Their lives haven’t been perfect and each has had issues to grapple with (IVF, divorce, family drama, etc…).

Ali Rosen’s sophomore novel is a fantastic read and now it’s time to go read her freshman novel!

I enjoy a good second chance romance. I thought the story was cute but the pace was a bit slow. The characters were relatable, and even though the ending was a bit predictable, I wasn’t upset by it.

I have so much praise for Ali Rosen, this one was so hard to put down and I managed to finish it within 3 days

I found everything about Alternate endings so relatable, especially the Characters. It is a slower paced second chance rom com with some truly brilliant characters and dialogue.
Beatrice and Jack were both well developed characters that I could often see myself relating to, at times even likening situations to my own. Their relationship, interactions and friendships all felt very real to me, which I enjoy from time to time.
It gets you thinking I can relate to that!

I must say that Beatrice’s son Bash was a favourite of mine, his radiance and banter was so refreshing. The energy of a young child is always beautiful.
If you are a fan of Emily Henry I think that you would also enjoy Ali Rosen’s work as I have.
I know I will be recommending this book to anyone looking for a good rom com.

Review will be published in my Instagram page, good reads account and website on the 3rd May 2024

The book is a great read. It starts out slow, I love overall story. If you like stories with seeing your high school ex and reuniting into adulthood, this is the story for you.

A second-chance love story with delightful chemistry between Bea and Jack! Set against both New York and Ireland as the place themselves give insight and help round out a story of unexpected love and letting go of the past to find love in the present.

When Bea is faced with major life changes and a blast from her past (Jack), she has to learn how to bend and be willing to open up to new opportunities.
I enjoyed the aloof, but caring, boss, and all of Bea's opinionated friends. There was satisfying character growth for both the main characters, and switching between settings of the US and Ireland lent to variety and interest. The relationship between Bea and Bash was heartwarming.
Alternate Endings was an enjoyable read, but it did take me a while to get sucked into the story. Once invested, the last quarter of the book flew by, and I would encourage others to give it a try!
Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Alternate Endings by Ali Rosen. Bea is divorced butstill sharing a home with her ex, her boss just decided to relocate the company partly to Ireland, and the new CTO is her first love from high school, Jack, who ghosted her when he went to college. I really enjoyed the characters of Bea and Jack. Both were distinctly adult, bringing age and experience to the table, but also needing to heal a part of themselves. Ita funny how you can be in your mid thirties or 40s, have a kid, and sometimes still feel like a kid looking around wondering "How did I get here?" I related to Bea in this way. Going along and not remembering her power after difficulties in her fertility journey. This was handled so beautifully and realistically. It's nice to see this in a novel that would be considered a rom-com. Jack's patience, his quiet, his accepting nature, all made him a complex and interesting character. I loved the message of being quiet to allow space for someone else. I liked that there was no third act contrived issue. Everything that happened in this book was part of a natural progression. I couldn't wait to turn the pages, but also was reluctant for the book to end. I definitely looked goofy with a smile on my face while reading this. Definite recommend 4.5 stars. Thanks to Amazon publishing, Montlake, and Net Galley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

https://instagram.com/p/C3hDHGsLTNS/
I wrote my review on instagram. if you would please go see it there.
I do love your books and i would love to read more if you have any more coming out soon. Thank you and have a great day!

Thanks to Netgalley & Montlake for access to this E-ARC! So cute! Loved the premise & the writing style. New favorite author!

Thanks to Ali and Netgalley for my first ever ARC experience! What a special book to begin with - this gem of a story centered around a divorced mom named Beatrice who had such an authentic personality and echoed the challenging sentiments of navigating a career and parenting, plus reflected on family dynamics and secondary infertility galore. One of my favorite quotes that I really related to was “adulthood is about finding beauty in the gray”. Her relationship with Jack over time was adorably developed and felt so realistic plus Brigid was hilarious. Finally a second chance romcom that felt like the perfect length too!

The story follows Beatrice, a woman in her 30s, who is juggling her career as she’s going through a divorce, while trying to maintain custody of her son. Beatrice meets her high school ex-boyfriend who is a new hire at her company, and we see how the two of them rekindle their friendship. I found this book to be an easy and fun read. I loved Beatrice and Jack’s characters so much and reading the scenes with Bash was such a delight! I feel like this would be a perfect beach read because there wasn’t anything heavy going on with the plot as the build-up was very gradual (which I personally enjoy when I want to just turn my brain off after a chaotic week) and it was super light-hearted. I would recommend this book to those who love a quick and easy read.

Ali Rosen's "Alternate Endings" explores the complexities of modern relationships, love, and the unexpected paths life can take. The novel follows Bea Leal, a successful book editor, whose seemingly stable life is thrown into disarray when her boss's divorce forces her to travel frequently to Ireland. Bea's personal life is equally complicated. Her divorce and the custody agreement with her ex-husband create constant tension and uncertainty. Amidst this chaos, she reconnects with Jack Sander, the boy who broke her heart two decades prior. While initially hesitant, Bea and Jack embark on a "work fling" that challenges their preconceptions about happiness and the expectations they have for their lives. Rosen skillfully weaves Bea's professional and personal struggles, highlighting the interconnectedness of different aspects of our existence. Bea's demanding job and the constant travel disrupt her custody agreement, creating a conflict between her responsibilities as a mother and her career aspirations. The author delves into the emotional toll this takes on Bea, forcing her to confront the complexities of being a modern woman and the societal pressures that come with it. At the heart of the novel is Bea's relationship with Jack. Their initial fling evolves into something deeper, forcing them to confront their past and the choices they have made. Rosen's exploration of second chances and the possibility of finding happiness in unexpected places is both poignant and relatable. Through Bea's journey, Rosen challenges conventional notions of what a "happy ending" looks like. The novel suggests that happiness is not always about having a perfect life or a clear path forward. Instead, it lies in embracing the messiness and unexpected turns that life throws our way. Bea and Jack's story is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit, and the transformative power of love. In conclusion, "Alternate Endings" is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of modern life, relationships, and the search for happiness. Ali Rosen's characters are relatable and flawed, and her writing is both poignant and insightful. Through Bea Leal's journey, Rosen challenges our expectations and leaves us pondering the alternate endings that our own lives may hold.

A big thank you to Montlake for granting me the opportunity to read an ARC of Alternate Endings, which is set to hit the shelves on May 7th, 2024.

I found the plot and characters of this romance novel intriguing. While the pace was a tad slower than my preference, I was still captivated by certain parts of the story. I formed a deep connection with Beatrice and Jack and found Bash to be an absolute delight. His character infused the story with humor and wit, adding tremendous value to the narrative. The author has done a fantastic job addressing important topics and creating genuine and authentic characters. The friendships depicted in the novel are simply unparalleled. Life can be unpredictable, and the unexpected people who come into our lives often teach us the most valuable lessons.

Although the ending was somewhat predictable, I felt content and uplifted. This is a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking a heartwarming romance novel. I would rate it a 3.5, but I'm rounding it down for consistency in my reviews.

I read this as a free arc copy via netgalley, and I don't think I would have finished it if not for the fact I needed to review it.

The book was OK, but it's incredibly slow paced, in my opinion there isn't enough chemistry between the characters either.

Unfortunately not going to be recommending it in the future

Not the kind of romance novel I vibe with. Very slow paced, I feel like nothing really happened and I didn't feel the chemistry between the leads.

I love the concept: the whacky boss is forcing her employees to commute to the relocated HQ in her post-divorce castle. I do wish the author had taken more advantage of that setting and amped up the Irish immersion and castle atmosphere. It's a second chance, workplace romance in a cool place. The author does write the attraction well. We get a lot of quiet moments, long looks, etc. Bea and Jack ends up having a "what happens in Ireland stays in Ireland" fling. The love scenes are sometimes closed-door and other times glossed over with vague description. I do wish we had gotten more romance and eventful relationship development. It felt like the pivot from fling to love happened just with a serious conversations. I wanted the big gestures and the swoon-worthy words.

To me, this felt more like a women’s fiction with romance--but not a rom-com! There is some quippy and humorous dialogue but none of the hijinks and funny situations I'd expect from a rom-com. Also, Beatrice and her inner turmoil and emotional unavailability was giving me second-hand stress and annoyance. Bea as the heroine is coming out of a less than stellar marriage, dealing with changes to her job, trying to stay present for her son, and now dealing with the reappearance of her ex. The romance to me took a back seat to Bea's growth as a human.

I really enjoyed this book! It was super cute and I loved every character that was portrayed.

Bea had so many different layers to her and each of them were so relatable in even the smallest ways. Her love for her son and feelings of going through life doing what you think is just expected of you instead of feeling like you can voice what you truly want or need. Being a single mom who is also incredibly career focused is something that is unfortunately kind of frowned upon in society but Ali did an amazing job of showing how possible that is!
Jack was complex and broody but learning more about his background made all of his quirks so loveable. I loved how he challenged Bea while also challenging himself.

A perfect second chance romance to pull at your heart strings! Including fun, super opinionated, blunt friends who make you want to be invited to their bubble bath video chats LOL

Can we please get Brigid’s story?!

I was so excited to read Alternate Endings by Ali Rosen, since I loved her debut "Recipe for Second Chances". The barebones plot of both stories are V similar though: a second change romance blooms between two super witty people that can basically read each others minds when it comes to their desires. The female protagonist holds herself back from getting into a relationship, while the male waits for her to change her mind and continues to worship the ground she walks on. I recently got into reading romance so maybe nothing I said is new, I just can't tell if reading a similar storyline is what romance readers expect from their favorite authors or if their should be something different each time. Even the voices of our two love interests and the tone of the first person narration read the exact same way as in Rosen's first book. When I first started reading Alternate Endings, it just made me miss the old story. I soon fell in love with the new cast of characters in this book though; a bad ass girl boss and a smarty pants 7 year old kept the story fun and fresh. The happy ending was expected but I was smitten just the same when we got there. My final critique is Beatrice's lack of decision making in the book, a lover and a big time promotion are just handed to her and the story is more about her decision to say yes to these things than actually fight or work for them.

Ok, I saved the best part of Rosen's books as last...it's the bonus cultural recipes she adds at the end of her novel! I can't wait to make Irish-ish Stew and am equally eager to read what ever stories Rosen has written up next.

⭐️ 2.5 /5

This is for my second-chance romance readers ❤️

The good:

-I liked MMC, Jack. He was sweet and understanding.
-I loved their interactions. The banter was quite good.
-Her boss is THE BOSS. Cares for FMC, she has very good insight. Firm but caring too.


The not-so-good:

-I sadly didn’t feel any of the supposedly sexual tension or the romance. None of their emotions came through for me. I only felt a visceral reaction to FMC’s ex-husband and his unlikability.
-The pace was way too slow for my liking.

I seem to be an outlier on this one, and it has gotten very good reviews. The author’s writing was good and I will continue to give their books a try. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this eARC.

If you’re looking for a modern day story involving a woman navigating through modern day issues including divorce, infertility, and adulthood, while also adding in a fun and exciting second chance romance, this book will not disappoint. It had a satisfying amount of relatability, fun, and romance.

This is Beatrice’s (Bea) story.

She’s a single mother to a charming six year old named Bash and VP of business development at Breck Data, a company built by her badass boss Brigid. While trying to navigate custody agreements and coping with the aftermath of infertility and a failed marriage, Beatrice learns that her boss has decided to move from NYC back to Ireland and wants to hold bi monthly meetings with the team there. Definitely not ideal for a single mother during divorce proceedings. Then enters Jack, the high school boyfriend that broke her heart 20 years ago and also happens to be the newly appointed CTO. Cue the swoon worthy flashbacks and let the flirtation commence!

I thoroughly enjoyed Bea’s story of self discovery and the flirtatious banter between Bea and Jack. The romance developed at a perfect pace and felt very realistic and true to their personalities and situations. Ali Rosen’s eloquent writing made this book a very compelling and addictive read. The only thing I would have changed…was the ending. Without giving anything away, the scene that plays out with Bash, her son, felt a bit rushed and forced. Even with a not so ideal ending, I still gave this book 5 stars, because I was enamored the entire time.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for allowing me to read the ARC and the privilege of enjoying Ali Rosen’s beautifully written story, Alternate Endings.