Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Today Tonight Tomorrow

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

I listened to the audiobook on Libby and loved it - I highly recommend this format. :)

I deeply related to Rowan, because I have a tendency to hyperfixate on things, like reading, writing reviews, or making bookish content, that I essentially have tunnel vision, and lose sight of everything else. Graduating senior, Salutatorian Rowan Roth has this issue during her senior year, in being so laser-focused on competing with her longtime academic rival Neil McNair, that she doesn't make time to meaningfully interact with her best friends and inevitably feels left behind and isolated. She is navigating wistful feelings about the costs to the opportunities that she sought out, and agrees to work alongside Neil for Howl, a senior game which takes place after the last day of school! Forced proximity with a splash of "it's-always-been-you" will have you swooning by the very end!

I love how RLS weaves in such fantastic Jewish representation in her books, and this one is no different. Rowan discusses the microaggressions and overt antisemitism she has experienced, and it's again an example of people claiming they are allies but still missing the mark and fumbling. I loved the magic in Rowan realizing she found a new friend who could relate to her experiences, because there's truly no better feeling than being validated and affirmed that the comments and behaviors others have displayed were egregious.

I also enjoyed the commentary on the internalized misogyny that young women have too! Rowan is so scared of telling her best friends that romance is her favorite genre, and that she wants to go meet her favorite author. This is so wholesome, because I can only imagine being 17 or 18 and loving romance. When I was 17 and 18, I was absolutely & embarrassingly inoculated with "pick me"/"cool girl" syndrome, so I didn't think her friends were villains either -it's a product of being raised in a patriarchy that belittles everything femmes love. Rowan also is weary of telling love interests about this, because she hates dealing with the aftermath of either having to justify/explain herself, and/or realizing this is just another boy who is not worth it. It's disheartening, and I think all romance readers can relate!

One last thing that I appreciated was Rowan highlighting how romance novels helped her to be sex positive, and to be able to communicate about sex and birth control with her parents and her friends. Romance is so powerful yall.

Anyway, the entire premise of the Howl game being the force that allows Rowan and Neil to let their guards down and actually get to know the other was pure genius. I ate it up!!! It sounded like so much fun, and I'd love to join a scavenger hunt like this! RLS has another hit with this one, and I will continue to read anything she writes!

cw: antisemitism, car accident, drug use, mention of incarcerated parent, mention of physical violence, sexual content (fade-to-black/closed door)

Content Warnings

m4rtt4's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

probably the best contemporary romance novel I've ever read — like Neil, I'm not an avid enjoyer of the genre either, but it does please me to find a good love story every now and then. As someone who has always prioritized her GPA above all else, this book hit a little too close to home.. nevertheless, I enjoyed it, because what is better than enemies to lovers? Enemies to lovers but make it academic <3

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lindseyhall44's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read Today, Tonight, Tomorrow with my book club, and it was a great read to do so! Overall, it is so much fun and a perfect transition from the school year into summer.
This novel follows Rowan Roth, aspiring romance writer and salutatorian, as she competes with arch enemy Neil McNair (valedictorian and academic rival) to win a senior competition called Howl. When unforeseen circumstances force the two to compete together, they learn that maybe each others company isn’t so bad. In fact, they could become…friends? Maybe more? You’ll have to read to find out:)
I loved that within the progression of Rowan and Neil’s relationship, both become self assured as well. For any seniors with doubts or worries about the future, this story might resonate with you!
Despite enjoying these elements, there was a “love factor that was missing for me.” This is by no means a fault of the author, whom I adore the backlist of! Books connect more with some than others! For fans of YA romance, academic rivals to lovers, and guy falls first tropes, I would highly recommend Today, Tonight, Tomorrow

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traceyanderson's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book as I loved the Weather Girl and enjoyed the Ex-Talk. So obviously I wanted to read more of her work. God, as a 23-year-old, I shouldn’t be relating to Rowan as much as I did.

This book follows Rowan Roth. It's the last day of the senior year and Rowan and her enemy Neil McNair have been rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat Neil one last time. Tonight, she puts up with him. When Neil is named valedictorian over her, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning that a group of seniors are out to them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left – and then they’ll destroy each other. As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams. And maybe by tomorrow she has fallen in love with him.

I love the trope of I'm bullying you because that’s the only way to talk to you trope. I love it I love it I love it. I liked the storyline of this and how it was done over one day rather than a few months. It kept the book very fast-paced. I love Rowan. The whole time I just wanted to give her the biggest hug and tell her that 23-year-olds still feel the same way. And that it is okay to be a dreamer. I also relate to her having to have the perfect day or routines for some things and then when they don’t go right or plans change it can unsettle her - I'm pretty much like that so from the get-go when she had that coffee incident on her dress, I was fuming for her.

I wasn’t massive in love with Neil, as I have been with other MCs, except for the tough subject of his dad being absent, there wasn’t much to him, and he felt very two dimensional. I get why it was done in one day, but I want another book about them in college with a more slow-paced adult book with them trying to navigate a long-distance relationship. Or maybe a book from Rowan’s friends POV in college.

Content Warnings

berrii_b's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

~~I'll be posting a fuller review (including more content warnings) when I have more time, but for now it's enough to say that I really enjoyed this. (02/04/2023)~~

Bear with me on this one, it's been a little over a week since I read Today Tonight Tomorrow and it isn't entirely fresh in my mind. I'll be using notes I made shortly after I finished - as well as my own memories - to write this review.

First of all, let me just say straight off the bat that the Jewish representation in this novel is fantastic. I shouldn't have been surprised - I read Rachel Lynn Solomon's See You Yesterday before this one and the rep was similarly good there. Solomon shows us the subtle (and not-so-subtle) aspects of antisemitism that exist in society, as well as different levels of observation, which is great to see.

Aside from the Jewish rep, I felt that there was a diverse range of sexualities and ethnicities within the other characters throughout the novel, even if said characters were only mentioned by name.

I thought the main characters Neil and Rowan-

and their eventual romance

- were developed very, very well. I was a bit nervous going in, given the majority of the novel takes place within the span of a few days - and at the beginning, the characters have been academic rivals from grade school through to high school, and basically loathe one another. But I shouldn't have worried, the reasoning and explanations given in the book were done convincingly and thoroughly by Solomon.

The overall feel of the novel is pacy, with lots of witty, sparkling dialogue.

I did have some minor quibbles regarding the MCs' attitudes to academia -

they're basically vying for top student, or "valedictorian"

- and how they view those less academically gifted than they are. But it didn't bother me all that much.

Overall, this was a well-written book with lots to enjoy if you like a romantic comedy with depth. (10/04/2023)

Content Warnings

ringetterox's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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