There are some books that, just hearing the title, brings a smile to your face. Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon is like that. I had the opportunity to receive an advanced reader copy (thank you Netgalley and Simon Pulse!) and this is a book that will probably get a reread from me sometime in the future.
Rowan Roth is an overachieving graduating senior at a Seattle high school. She always tries to be the best at everything. There’s only one thing that keeps her from being the best: Neil McNair.
They fight about being the best at everything. It’s the last day of school, and there’s only one more day to try to best Neil. Question 1: which one of them is going to be valedictorian? Question 2: will one of them win Howl, the senior year scavenger hunt, which comes with a pretty sweet prize?
Well, that I won’t give you the answer to. But I will tell you that circumstances force them to work together, and that over the course of the competition, they end up falling in love.
There are so many things I loved about this book! Before coronavirus closed down the gym, it was my hot tub book. I’d go to the gym, get a good workout in, and then reward myself by sitting in the hot tub with my waterproof Kindle, reading this book. I was happy to sit there and prune up because this book was so good. When the gym closed down, it was one of the things I was sad about. I had to find a new routine to finish this book.
For one, I loved Rowan and Neil’s competition. You know how in a book two characters say they hate each other, but as the book progresses, you realize that their professed hatred actually masks caring for each other? That’s what goes on in this book. It cumulates in a scene at the top of a Ferris wheel that put me in tears.
Another thing I loved about this book is that it focused on regrets. On wasted time. Haven’t we all been in a situation where we wished we had done something differently? Rowan realizes that maybe she should have spent a little more time living throughout high school rather than fighting with Rowan to be the best.
Since this is a romance, it does end with a happily ever after (or at least a happy for now). And of course, you can see on the cover that they eventually will get together. This is a wonderful journey with funny moments, touching moments, and moments that will leave you in tears. It has an overall happy vibe that–in this world currently overrun with social distancing and viruses–may be just the thing you need in this world. I highly recommend it.