Author: Allison Winn Scotch
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 368
Date of Publication: March 5, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
Birdie Maxwell thought she’d gotten everything she wanted out of life: fame, adoration, and an A-list Hollywood career. But after an on-set feud goes viral, she leaves L.A. for the one place no one would think to find her: her hometown. There, she’s startled to stumble upon a love letter from a former boyfriend asking for a second chance--but there’s just one problem: the letter was unsigned and she’s not sure which ex sent it. Still, a public reunion with an ex-boyfriend could turn the wave of public opinion back in her favor. Life imitating art. What could go wrong?
Elliot O’Brien, star reporter, knows life isn’t an actual rom-com. Case in point: He’s spent two decades suppressing his long-simmering feelings for his twin sister’s best friend, Birdie. But with his journalism career cratering and Birdie back in their hometown at the same time he is, he realizes chronicling her search for her long-ago ex may be his opportunity to right some wrongs.
As they hit the road in an ancient RV, Birdie and Elliot retrace her romantic history for clues as to who wrote the letter and come face to face with their own romantic missteps, all while grappling with whether happy endings are found only on the big screen--or whether their own happily-ever-after could be closer than they both ever imagined.
MY THOUGHTS:
A rom-com within a rom-com within a rom-com. Birdie Maxwell. Elliot O’Brien. Both have a need for professional salvation - Birdie, to restore her damaged reputation, Elliot to get back in good graces with his editor and to salvage his career as a reporter. As America's Sweetheart, Birdie always got her guy. However, her acting career is crashing quickly. Elliot is not doing so great himself professionally.
At some point, Birdie received an anonymous letter from someone not only saying they are not only her ex, but that they want a second chance. Birdie's publicist Imani knows exactly how to spin this situation to Birdie's advantage. Meanwhile, forced to flee back to her hometown, Birdie reconnects with her best friend Mona. Birdie also runs into Mona's twin brother Elliot, the one man Birdie never once stopped thinking about. As things turn out, Elliot needs to play an advantage as well. Just as Imani wants to use the letter when it comes to Birdie's career, Elliot's editor Francesca has a pitch of her own - or so it seems.
This second-chance romance takes the word trope to a new level. With Imani and Francesca each puppeteering their clients, Birdie and Elliot take flight on a whirlwind jaunt with hopes of finding the author of that anonymous letter. Both of their careers can be catapulted during this search - but there is a catch. And it is a big one at that. Both Birdie and Elliot have real feelings for one another - yet neither is prepared to own up to those feelings.
So, traveling in an old RV, with stop after stop, Birdie and Elliot are revisiting her past loves to see if they authored that letter. With family and friends who have the best of intentions, only time will tell whether or not Birdie and Elliot will find their way to each other, and find the true happiness that has eluded them for nearly two decades.
Do you love tropes as much as I do? Well, then definitely do not pass up Take Two, Birdie Maxwell. This was a truly delightful read, with charming characters and an equally charming plot. This book brought smile after smile to my face, even when I deduced the twist, but the book still gained great favor from me, earning a well-deserved 5 Star rating.
Many thanks to Berkley Romance and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
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.
My ninth novel, The Rewind, pitched as THE HANGOVER meets WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, and is a return to my romantic comedy roots, was published November 1, 2022 by Berkley Books. It’s also currently in development at Netflix. (Yay!) My tenth book, Take Two, Birdie Maxwell, pitched as NOTTING HILL meets THE PROPOSAL, will be out in late 2023.
Other Tidbits
My eighth novel, BETWEEN ME AND YOU, is currently in development with Kerry Washington’s production company and Audible.com. Stay tuned for the romantic comedy podcast in 2023.
I graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Honors History and Concentration in Marketing from the Wharton School of Business.
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.
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