This book was okay. She is usually a really loved author but for some reason this one didn’t peak my interest like her other works. I will still read her other future books.

EXCERPT: Prologue - Bea
Admittedly it was an over-nostalgic idea. But so what? If there were ever a time for nostalgia, it was tonight, our last night together at Penn, our last night under the same roof, our last night as a six-point star. Besides, if I didn't insist on it, none of them would have been willing. Frankly, and this is the part that somersaulted my stomach, none of them would have even considered it, thought of it in the first place. Well, maybe Annie. Annie would have considered it, but she'd never have spoken up because she'd worry that we'd all call her cornball or cheesy or judge her in some way for loving us more than we loved her.
We didn't. we all loved one another equally.
Or maybe not.

ABOUT 'IN TWENTY YEARS': Twenty years ago, six Penn students shared a house, naively certain that their friendships would endure—until the death of their ringleader and dear friend Bea splintered the group for good. Now, mostly estranged from one another, the remaining five reluctantly gather at that same house on the eve of what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday.

But along with the return of the friends come old grudges, unrequited feelings, and buried secrets. Catherine, the CEO of a domestic empire, and Owen, a stay-at-home dad, were picture-perfect college sweethearts—but now teeter on the brink of disaster. Lindy, a well-known musician, is pushing middle age in an industry that’s all about youth and slowly self-destructing as she grapples with her own identity. Behind his smile, handsome plastic surgeon Colin harbors the heartbreaking truth about his own history with Bea. And Annie carefully curates her life on Instagram and Facebook, keeping up appearances so she doesn’t have to face the truth about her own empty reality.

Reunited in the place where so many dreams began, and bolstered by the hope of healing, each of them is forced to confront the past.

MY THOUGHTS: There is a beautiful balance of characters in In Twenty Years. Quietly self-assured and mature beyond her years because of what she has been through, Bea was the kingpin. Since her death there has been little contact between the group, which had already begun to splinter after an incident at Catherine and Owen's wedding.

It's hard to pick a favorite from among these characters. It would be simple to say my least favorite is Catherine, but I know how easy it is to become consumed by one's career, to feel the pressure of being the breadwinner for the family, so I will give her a pass. Lindy acts up purely because she can and either pushes away those that love her or runs away from them. She is quite self-destructive, as is Annie, but Annie sabotages herself in a different, more subtle way. Owen is married to Catherine - they were college sweethearts - but feels unappreciated in his role as househusband. He's at the point where he wants more from his life. Colin is calm and kind, Bea's confidant and the man for whom Annie has held a torch for all these years.

Of course, any sort of reunion isn't going to go smoothly, and this one certainly doesn't. Long held secrets are revealed, petty jealousies and rivalries erupt, and relationships are fractured. But it's not only the issues between this core group of characters that affect the weekend - there are also outside influences at work.

I enjoyed this read, my first book by Allison Winn Scott. She has skillfully written a core cast of relatable characters, weaving their background stories into the current narrative. I would actually like to see where they are all at twenty years on from this book.

⭐⭐⭐.9

#InTwentyYears #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I had a perfectly normal, wonderful childhood spent in Charlottesville, Virginia and then later, Seattle, where I had a funny slightly-Southern drawl but otherwise found my calling among all the flannel and the grey skies. My mom was a teacher who encouraged us to read a lot (and used to send vocab words in the mail to camp over the summer), so I suppose the seeds of literature, coupled with an active imagination (hello, I could have SO been an actress) led me to one day believe that I could write fiction.
While earning my keep as a freelance magazine writer (all of those "10 Ways to a Better Life" articles you read? I wrote them on every subject, as well as had the good fortune to write hundreds of celebrity profiles, which I genuinely adored and met some amazing and talented people), I tucked away pockets of time toward a novel. Which, four years later, I finally finished. It was terrible. But I wrote another one that proved less so, and now, a decade later, I'm almost a dozen books deep.
When I'm not planted in front of the computer (go ahead: send me a note!), I'm hiking, running, doing yoga, reading, listening to music, negotiating with my teenagers, or hanging out with my family and our pooches, Hugo and Mr. Peanut.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

This book was well written and engaging although not very memorable as I read it a while ago. This is more of a beach read than meaningful story.

Thank you to NetGalley and lake union publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Allison Winn Scott does a great job writing about the past and present in this book and all of her books to be honest. I love a book about dynamics and past and present so this was right up my alley. I love seeing the past and present and getting the backstory especially when they come back to “the scene of the crime” so to speak. The memories come flooding back and emotions run high. The author did a great job of reveling the secrets that come with years of friendships and marriages especially when those friendships are formed at a pivotal point in your life. The author leaves the ending a little vague which felt very true to life. Not everything will get fully resolved or explained.

Wonderful story that shows how friends have to work through their issues. Great characters to follow along as each one battles with their own issue. Really enjoyed reading this book and it was hard to put down. Would recommend it highly.

I thought the reunion of a group of hodgepodge friends over another ones death was a unique take and I like the mulitiple POV's my favorite was Owen

“We were twenty-one. We were allowed to believe impossible things.”

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found In Twenty Years, by Allison Winn Scotch to be an okay read , but found all the characters unlikable and the trajectory of their lives disingenuous. I also feel like reunion stories are "a dime a dozen" and this one had nothing new or unique to add. It was just another reunion story.

I cannot compare it to other books by this author, since this is her only book I have read. I would be willing to read another of her books and would recommend this book to anyone who is really drawn to reunion stories. I give it 2.5 stars.

Struggling to come up with what to say about this book. It's not terrible, it's actually fairly enjoyable at times. But a cast of 6+ main characters never leaves enough time or space to really get to know any of them thoroughly. And in the end, nothing is truly fully resolved and a lot is left open.

If infidelity is a hot button issue for you, don't read this book. There's an instance of infidelity that didn't sit well with me at all --spoiler alert--

Just because Annie's husband cheats and she has unresolved issues with Colin from college is NOT an excuse for her to cheat. Plus it made me think awful things about him that Colin agreed to have sex with her even though she was sloppy drunk and was definitely not in a state to make a rational choice. Add that she had just found out her husband was cheating, if he was at all honorable he would not have done it.

This book would have been more like 3 stars had that part been left out, but it really turned my stomach. And how could these people really call each other friends if they were all pretty much lying to one another about everything all along?

6 friends live together in college, tragedy, followed by splintered friendship... fast forward two decades and we have a reunion with some stereotypical, somewhat annoying characters. It was an ok read, kind of boring.

I don’t normally read books like this, I’m more into the thrillers and ya books but this was a cute read and good getaway from the books I normally read. The plot was decent and writing was good.

At 40, are you still the person you have used to be at 20?

The pivotal question here reverberates through the weekend full of (self)revelations when 5 friends gather to celebrate the 40th birthday of the sixth one of them - Bea, who has died some years before. These 20 years ago, they have dreams, secrets and hidden fears - how did these play out?

I have started reading eagerly, as the premise is exactly my alley, but got my hopes slowly diminishing because of the slow execution and lack of the serious catharsis. Yes, they have it out, yes, they finally confront some of the secrets past and present - but never fully. And this is what I lack: some very hard look into the mirror, some very hard discussions, some very hard compromises and amendents. Even of this is very hard to do - but that is why we have the fiction here for us, right? To show us that this is probably the most courageous thing you can do for yourself - to look frankly into the mirror of your soul and learn to love the person you see.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this anymore. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

liked it very much. interesting. good story and good characters. easy read. kept my interest all throughout

Six friends from college meet up at a house for the weekend at the direction of a seventh friend who has died. Together they revisit their college years and old wounds are opened.

A timely, honest novel from a generous author. I have loved everything Allison Winn Scotch has written since I read her book, The Time Of My Life. She finds a way to reveal truths we all can feel but wouldn’t say in the lives of her characters. People change and what binds them often doesn’t hold. The older one gets the more likely a tragedy has been faced. Also disenchantment with what they thought would make them happiest, money, fame and marriage. What the characters day reminds one is to keep trying to get to the heart of what matters as it is there you will find purpose and meaning.

Smart, funny & genuine - this book had me thoroughly engaged & ignoring the rest of the world. Very relatable characters, great storyline & just an overall “win”! Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read & review.

College friends Catherine, Owen, Annie, Collin, and Lindy are one day invited to reunite at their college home at the request of their friend, Bea, who appears to have planned their reunion prior to her death. The five friends get together and are initially reunited on the surface level, but as the night progresses, they dive into deeper matters rather than just the surface.

I was intrigued by the concept of the book, and continued reading because it was so realistic. The interactions between the characters resembled some of the relationships I have with my former friends. And, like in real life, though everyone seemed to have the perfect life, all was not as it seemed.

This book was an entertaining, yet realistic read, reminding us to be thankful for what we have and appreciate the world around us while we can.

As a fan of relationship stories, the description of a twenty year reunion of six college best friends interested me. I grew up in Philadelphia, so the Philly setting at Penn was another hook. The story is told from the six different points of view, two men and four women. The group reunites on the 40th birthday of Bea, who was their ringleader. Unfortunately, the characters fell flat for me and the story just didn't seem plausible or relatable--their antics during the reunion seem more like those of college students than forty year olds. I find it really hard to like a book when I don't relate to the characters. Colin, one of the men, was the only character I found likeable. This may appeal more to readers in their twenties and thirties.

Very enjoyable book. I think this would be a great book club choice.

As soon as I saw the cover for In Twenty Years I was instantly intrigued! It just looks like my kind of book!

Twenty years ago, six Penn students shared a house, naively certain that their friendships would endure—until the death of their ringleader and dear friend Bea splintered the group for good. Now, mostly estranged from one another, the remaining five reluctantly gather at that same house on the eve of what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday.

But along with the return of the friends come old grudges, unrequited feelings, and buried secrets. Catherine, the CEO of a domestic empire, and Owen, a stay-at-home dad, were picture-perfect college sweethearts—but now teeter on the brink of disaster. Lindy, a well-known musician, is pushing middle age in an industry that’s all about youth and slowly self-destructing as she grapples with her own identity. Behind his smile, handsome plastic surgeon Colin harbors the heartbreaking truth about his own history with Bea. And Annie carefully curates her life on Instagram and Facebook, keeping up appearances so she doesn’t have to face the truth about her own empty reality.

Reunited in the place where so many dreams began, and bolstered by the hope of healing, each of them is forced to confront the past.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are well developed and not one dimensional. I like being able to hear a little about everyones lives. Overall its a good book that I'd recommend!