Spotlight & Giveaway: The Romance Rewind by Sarah Everett

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sarah Everett to HJ!

Hi Sarah and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Romance Rewind!

Hi! Thank you so much for having me.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Eighteen year old Zadie Cartwright is anticipating an amazing anniversary surprise from her boyfriend Jason after one perfect, romance-filled year. Unfortunately, the surprise turns out to be him breaking up with her. While Zadie is still reeling from the shock (and with the devastation still fresh), they get into a car accident. Jason falls into a coma, so Zadie decides not to tell anyone about the breakup until he wakes up. And when she starts finding herself reliving her and Jason’s best memories from the past, she decides to try to figure out what went wrong between them and fix things before he comes out of his coma. This plan is unfortunately complicated by Jason’s cousin, Marcus, who somehow knows about the breakup and who also keeps popping up (inconveniently!) in memories he was never part of.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Most of my favorite lines contain too many spoilers, but this is a fun one:

“But as usual, the dream gods have their own plans, and even right there in each other’s arms, Marcus and I start losing each other.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• It’s loosely inspired by While You Were Sleeping, one of my favorite rom-com movies of all time!
• In the novel, the main character is named after Zadie Smith, her father’s favorite author.
• An early, early draft (or, well, a few early chapters) of the original manuscript featured absolutely no speculative elements! No weird dream sequences, no fun time-loopy elements, but that didn’t last for long 🙂
• The book was originally set in a beach town, which now feels wild to me!
• I started off intending never to publish this book.
• Bonus: The Romance Rewind was originally called A Year of Unfinished Days.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Zadie and Marcus have an off-the-page first meeting that we get glimpses into throughout the book. In that meeting, Marcus is attracted to Zadie’s openness and confidence and the fact that she does not yet know him simply as star soccer player Jason Riddick’s cousin, as Backup Marcus.
Zadie is attracted to Marcus’s attentiveness, charm and the fact that he is secretly much more than he pretends to be.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I loved writing Zadie and Marcus’s banter! In this scene, they find themselves in a memory/dream for the first time and are undecided on what to do next.

“We should try to get back to Jason’s, shouldn’t we?”
“That’s what you want to do? You find yourself in a dream where you can do literally anything in the world—”
“How do you know we can do anything in the world?”
“—and your first impulse is to go to Jason’s?” Marcus asks, disgusted.
“Okay, so what’s your brilliant plan?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest.
Marcus points toward the arcade. “I’m going in. Mind-blowing, right?”
“Oh, yes,” I say, all sarcasm. “Dream big!”

Readers should read this book….

-If you like teen romances, young adult contemporary novels with a speculative twist or teen coming-of-age stories
– If you like books by Lynn Painter, Dustin Thao, Justin A. Reynolds, Ann Liang, or Casey McQuiston
-If you love 90s/2000s rom-coms and want to see them updated or with a more diverse cast
-If you’ve read and enjoyed my previous books

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I have a middle-grade novel releasing September 15 that is called The Continuation of Summer Dillon. It’s about family and androids and grief.
I’m also always working on new ideas, and hopefully I’ll get to share those soon!
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A copy of THE ROMANCE REWIND by Sarah Everett

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Excerpt from The Romance Rewind:

Marcus is taking the steps up into the arcade when a car suddenly pulls up behind us. It’s loud and big, a black SUV like . . .
“Jason!” I yelp the word, so full of a million feelings that I’m not sure I can even tease them apart. On the one hand, it’s Jason. He’s climbing out of his car, looking like himself. Tall and strong and handsome as ever. He’s running over to the passenger’s side of the car. Running. As in his leg isn’t broken.
“Holy shit, this is a dream,” I whisper.
I’m in a dream.
But I’m just so incredibly happy to see him that I don’t even care. Even if he was limping or looked totally different, if he wasn’t dressed in a polo shirt, his hair sleeked back like he wears it when he’s trying to make a good impression. I don’t care what it is or why he’s here or how he’s here. Or how any of us are here.
I rush him. Like a bull charging a rider, I hurry around to the SUV passenger’s side and throw myself on him. And find my body . . . on the ground. Hugging air. Hugging nothing.
I’m so stunned, so confused I can’t process it.
I look to the stairs of the arcade where Marcus is standing, smirking at me.
“Jason!” I say again. I’m so pathetic, I know, grabbing for his pant leg to stop him turning away, but my hand goes right through his body. And not only does he appear not to hear or see or feel me, but he’s opening the car door for someone. He’s here with someone.
Who?
I just have the presence of mind to realize that he’s wearing the dark blue polo he wore on our first date when she steps out.
“Holy shit,” Marcus and Jason say at the same time.
Jason is grinning from ear to ear.
Marcus looks horrified.
I can only stare as—the girl, Jason’s date—I step out of his car.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Zadie expected her anniversary dinner with her boyfriend, Jason, to end with a dreamy promposal—not a breakup and a car crash!

When she wakes up in the hospital, she gets even worse news: Jason is in a coma. With nothing to do but wait by his side, Zadie is left wondering where the relationship went wrong and if anyone else knows about the breakup.

Suddenly, Zadie is catapulted back to their first date, trapped in a time loop she can’t escape. To make matters worse, Jason’s cousin Marcus is along for the ride, threatening to spill her secret. Can Zadie mend her relationship with Jason before he wakes up, or will Marcus shatter her hopes for a happily-ever-after?

For fans of The Do-Over and Check & Mate, get whisked away in this charming new rom-com abounding with betrayal, twists, and romance tropes.
Book Links: Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Sarah Everett is the author of various critically acclaimed books for young people. Her books have been translated into several languages and are available wherever books are sold. When she is not writing, she is going on long meandering walks, learning a new language or diving into a good book. She lives in western Canada.

You can find Sarah on her website or Instagram (@heysaraheverett).
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