Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - The Rewind

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch

7 reviews

itsbrianascall's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I've been debating writing this, but I need to get my thoughts out. Be prepared for a relatively negative review ahead.

It took me a while to get through this one. I'll be the first to admit that romance isn't my preferred genre to read, but I can appreciate one every once in a while assuming I like the characters. Unfortunately, I disliked Frankie to a high degree and the way she and Ezra communicated with each other -- or I guess lack thereof.

Frankie has a habit of not divulging any information about herself and then blowing up on Ezra, blaming him for not knowing how to better handle it. We see this with her reaction to the proposal, with how she reacted to his praise and questions about her musical talents, and on and on. Could he have asked more questions about her life before they met in college during their relationship? Absolutely. But the few times we're shown him doing so, Frankie shuts conversation down almost immediately and doesn't want to talk about it. It's not really a surprise he doesn't continue to ask for more personal details after that, and I don't really think he's in the wrong for respecting that boundary she clearly set.

I didn't find myself rooting for their relationship because they spent nearly the entire time fighting, telling each other how much they hate the other, and bringing up all the old stuff from a decade ago to throw in each other's faces about how bad a person they were for doing x, y, and z. Not to mention Ezra having been in a long-term relationship until that day with someone he had every intention of marrying until maybe an hour before midnight. I'm supposed to believe that by the end -- which all takes place in a single day -- they suddenly have put all of that behind them and want to get back together?

I'll say that at least their friends throughout the story helped to keep me reading until the end, but the ending didn't feel even remotely earned.

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omgvalkyrie's review

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Going into this book I totally thought this would be Y2K meets The Hangover with a Second-Chance Romance and it did have those elements, for sure! Was I ready for the emotions and heart-wrenching angst? Not at all.

It was such a beautiful story though. I absolutely adored how flawed Frankie & Ezra were and how through the novel we experienced them not only trying to piece together night before but the traumatic breakup ten years prior. Allison Winn Scotch was a master at weaving in the flashbacks seamlessly into the present-tense. I felt like I was on the Middleton Campus with each of them reliving the past in hope of finding a better future. The reflection that each make for themselves and by extension, each other had me bawling!

I don't think this book is for everyone, at times it is very wordy and a tad repetitive. I could see some feeling a bit info-dumped on. However, I loved getting ALL of the details and thoughts that were going on. And I thought the information was given at great pace. Everything built up and up and up and then the damn breaks and you just have to let the tension go. Then you just have to sit back and quietly say "damn." while you take it all in.

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coreyarch9's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

"Frankie remembered that she hadn't hated it. That it felt familiar, comforting almost. That something about Ezra Jones sent a charge through her, through her veins, through her blood, through her guts, and when she kissed him, that electrical pulse raced inside her just as it always had."

The Rewind was cute. It didn't pack as much Y2K nostalgia as I expected, but it was a perfect palette cleanser of a happily-ever-after romcom. I am a sucker for a good second-chance romance, and Frankie and Ezra provided just that as they retraced their (mis)steps following some possible debauchery on the eve of their friends' wedding.

Frankie, Ezra and their friends were the same age as me and, as such, some of their ruminations about life and careers and what they thought the future would look like after college hit particularly close to home. "It was easy, necessary, to think that grownups got their lives together after college. To learn that life remained as messy at thirty-two as it was at twenty-two was to shatter the illusion that came with post-graduation dreams." Ouch. 😂

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