The Rehearsals by Annette Christie
Genre : Women's Fiction
Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date : July 13th, 2021
Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date : July 13th, 2021
Two people. One wedding. No end in sight.
Megan Givens and Tom Prescott are heading into what is supposed to be
their magical wedding weekend on beautiful San Juan Island. But with two
difficult families, ten years of history, and all too many secrets, things
quickly go wrong. After a disastrous rehearsal dinner they vow to call the
whole thing off—only to wake up the next morning stuck together in a time
loop. Are they really destined to relive the worst day of their lives,
over and over? And what happens if their wedding day does arrive?
A funny, romantic, and big-hearted debut novel, The Rehearsals imagines
what we might do if given a second chance at life and at love—and what it
means to finally get both right.
Ugh. I have no words to describe how disappointed I am with this book.
Everything from the blurb to the cutesy rom-com-ish cover and the
reviews praising it have been so misleading. I went into this one
thinking that it was some sort of second chance romance with the main
characters learning to fall in love with each other again. But it was
not. It was just two lost and confused people making a bigger mess out
of an already messy relationship.
The first few chapters introduce us to Megan who's a people pleaser and
she generally tends to be one who diffuses the tension between people.
And Tom, her fiance is a workaholic who is basically living out the life
that his parents have laid out for him, while trying to get their
approval. I was pulled into the story as the first few chapters were
really interesting, but then it started going downhill from there(just
like their wedding).
I've usually never had a problem with reading and enjoying books that
have characters that I don't like/can't connect with, but the basic
expectation that I'd have while reading them is for them to take me as a
reader, on a journey that I'd enjoy and have them mature along the way.
Megan and Tom did not do that here.
Moreover, I had this subtle feeling that the author was more biased
towards Megan's character.(I don't know how to pinpoint it?) But it was
in the smaller details like how it was mostly Tom apologizing more than
she did(even though she did so many shitty things as well). And as much
as it was Tom's fault for being silent when it came to his family's
behavior and expecting her to go along with his decisions, she also
bears a part of the blame as she never voiced her concerns or discomfort
to him. Any healthy relationship needs communication! If she had ever
talked to him about her issues and feelings, I'm sure he wouldn't have
ignored them. And if he did ignore them, then well he's a shitty
boyfriend. But, come on, why does he have to bear all the blame for her
behavior?
*Spoilers ahead*
And don't get me started about the cheating that both of them did! It
pissed me off. It's fine when she had cheated a long time ago and Tom
finds out and they fight about it. But, later after all the stuff she
still goes ahead and sleeps with Leo while telling that to Tom the
next morning too? That was too low, man. It wasn't fair to Tom as they
were still stuck in the time loop and they hadn't even figured
anything out. It wasn't fair to Leo either. She was jerking around his
feelings and she knew that too, but she didn't feel sorry about it.
Later, she thinks to herself that Leo is not a nice guy as he came to
break up his best friend's wedding despite knowing stuff, but it was
nice for you to cheat with him and jerk him around just because he
couldn't remember it the next day? Wow. No words.
Also, there was this tiny difference in details where she completely
slept with Leo, but Tom stopped at kissing and messing around with
that waitress.(Both the main characters are messed up man). This made
me wonder is this because this book is marketed towards the romance
readers and as female readers wouldn't be too enthusiastic about the H
sleeping with another woman, they pulled the brakes? But is it okay
for the h to do it? Feels very hypocritical!
As a reader who primarily reads a lot of romance novels, I've come
across a lot of flawed and questionable characters who've made me
root for them in the end. But, it didn't happen here. If you're
looking for a good second chance romance where the characters fall
in love with each other and mature over time, I'd actually suggest
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle. I found the heroine a little
petty and childish at first, but the character growth and
relationship development was done so well that I was cheering for
them in the end.
This book came across like a wish fulfilment fantasy that was mainly
catered towards Megan, where she could try out all her choices and
solve the answers to her what-if questions, with Tom coming along
for the ride.
The only reason I'd give this 2.5 stars is for the author's writing
and that ending. I'm glad that it was an open ending, because after
all this shit I wouldn't be able to see these two people together in
a typical romance HEA. Additionally, the author's writing style is
really commendable and it managed to pull me in and keep me
interested, despite the questionable actions of the characters. So I
think she has a lot of potential to come up with praise worthy
books, but this one wasn't it for me.
P.S. I know that cute, illustrated book covers have been the trend
for more than a year or so, but can we match them to the content of
the book? Please don't mislead us readers as it's quite
disappointing when the vibe and tone of the book doesn't match that
of the cover.
Annette Christie is a Canadian-American hybrid with a BFA in Theatre and a history of very odd jobs. She’s had articles published in various online magazines, including HelloGiggles and The Guardian. The back of her head is featured prominently in the film Mean Girls. She currently resides in Alberta with her husband and two children. She is the author and narrator of the young adult romcom LOVE LESSONS (Audible Originals). Her adult debut, THE REHEARSALS, is published through Little, Brown (US) and Hodder & Stoughton (UK).
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