One Old, One New - The Allison Winn Scotch Edition

One Old, One New features two books – one old, one new, which are connected in some way. Both of these books by Allison Winn Scotch are reunion books where college friends are brought together and given an opportunity to reconnect and reexamine parts of their pasts while looking towards their futures.

---

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch
Published by Berkley Books on November 1, 2022
Age/Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

After a decade apart, two exes have to decide if they will overcome their complicated past in the span of 24 hours in this whip-smart rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.

When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie’s on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late ’90s, and Ezra’s ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan—they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.

But when they wake up in bed next to each other the following morning with Ezra’s grandmother’s diamond on Frankie’s finger, they have zero memory of how they got there—or about any of the events that transpired the night before. Now Frankie and Ezra have to put aside old grievances in order to figure out what happened, what didn’t happen...and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?

A wedding that coincides with ringing in the new millennium reunites old friends and old flames.

The Rewind started out full-on humor with a story that reminded me a bit of The Hangover. While Frankie and Ezra tried to figure out what transpired the night before, they also had the opportunity to work through their history. As they spent more time trying to reconstruct the night before, they found themselves recalling the events from their college days. Meeting, falling in love, breaking up. These memories revealed the love they shared, and the secrets they kept, but most of all, they convinced that Frankie and Ezra belonged together.

I am a sucker for second chances, and the idea of being able to go back to where it all began was a great way to help this couple heal from the pain of their past. This was an emotional but also fun story during which both Frankie and Ezra grew so much. The combination of laughter and tears along with the nostalgia of ringing in Y2K made this a solid read for me, and set me on the path to reading more from Scotch.

---

In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch
Published by Lake Union Publishing on July 1, 2016
Age/Genres: Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

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.

Former college roomies are reunited to celebrate what would have been Bea’s fortieth birthday. This celebration turned into a weekend of reckoning as they confronted the past, examined their lives, and uncovered some long buried secrets.

This was a reunion book that gave me The Big Chill vibes. Summoned by their friend who died over a decade ago, the other five points of the star return to their college home on Walnut Street. They had been great friends, but their bond had splintered without Bea, the glue of their group, to keep them together. Side note: I loved Bea, and it pained me that she was not longer of this earth. I was grateful for the part of the story that let me get to know her and happy that she was able to help this group reconcile.

These were some messy people, and wow! So much drama too, but it was not over-the-top type drama. It was kept at a level where it was interesting without being ridiculous. The complicated group dynamics and my need for them to forgive each other kept me throughly engaged. I won’t say I was fully on board with every choice these characters made, but I was pleased with their progress over the course of the weekend. You know, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I did understand that every issue wouldn’t be fully resolved given the short timespan of the story. Regardless, I was left with lots of hope for this group. There were a few loose ends I would have loved tied up (it’s my nature), but still, I rather enjoyed this reunion.

Have you been to any reunions?
Let us know in the comments!