The Romance Rewind

by Sarah Everett

In this swoony and charming YA romcom with a twist, a 17-year-old goes back in time to relive her relationship and see where it went wrong.

Zadie expected her anniversary dinner with her boyfriend to end with a dreamy prom-posal. Not a breakup and a car crash!

When she wakes up in the hospital, she gets even worse 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 maybe Jason didn’t tell anyone 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 heartwarming new romcom abounding with betrayal, twists, and romance tropes.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Time Travel, Young Adult Romance, Contemporary

304 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 23, 2026

Reviews

[Gabriella୨ৎ (mh break) · Rating 2 out of 5]

━━━ઇଓㅤ⤸
꒰ 𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ꒱ Ⓘ pub date: june 23rd 2026

𝟐 ✩

𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒'𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔.

꒰ 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: ꒱
Don’t always fall for a cute cover, you might just end up completely let down once you actually read it. That’s how I felt with this book.

The Romance Rewind follows the main character, Zadie who’s just been in an accident with her recently ex-boyfriend on the night of their one-year anniversary. Confused as to why he broke up with her, she tries to investigate–or as best as she can when the one person she needs information from is in a coma. There’s a sprinkle of magic realism when Zadie finds herself in shared dreams of the past with Marcus, her ex-boyfriend’s cousin. They follow their past selves through the dreams, uncover new secrets, and try to pinpoint the moment her seemingly perfect relationship went wrong.

I had originally settled on giving this a 3-3.25 stars. The reasoning was that nothing much was happening, I was hesitant about the love interest, and wasn’t necessarily sure if I was liking the book or just gaslighting myself into thinking I was. Yes, it was different from the usual romances. But just because a book is unique, doesn’t mean it'll be enjoyable. And just when I was confident about giving it a 3, BAM! Out came that plot twist that instead of being riveting had me confused the hell out. The funny thing is that I had actually just read a review about someone lowering their rating because of the ending, and I can one hundred percent agree with them. Everything was rushed and things were happening too quickly for me to wrap my head around. Some books really piss me off when they’re boring for the majority until suddenly there’s so much commotion and drama and things unfolding in the last few chapters. Whyyyy?? It should be like spreads on toast: an even layer of romance, drama, plot, and the development and leadup to the ending.

Another thing that I found lacking was the romance between Zadie and Marcus. I couldn’t feel the connection between them, and didn’t like how quick they were to jump into a ‘relationship’ when they honestly barely knew each other and their lives had literally just been flipped on its axis. It seemed like there was still so much more that needed to be resolved and talked about before anything else. If it’s a standalone, everything needs to be cleared, clarified, and concluded by the end of the book; not left feeling unfinished. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. Zadie and Marcus were cute, yes. And they did have their moments, but I felt no spark between them, wasn’t giddy when they kissed, and overall felt detached from the book. I apologise and deeply regret being so harsh, but I've come to terms with my expectations. And if they can't be met, then they'll have to get a low rating.

As much as I wanted to love this, I couldn’t. It had its ups, and it had its downs. And sadly, there were more things I disliked about The Romance Rewind than actually enjoyed. It's perfect for fans of The Do-Over (the reason I requested this book in the first place), with a little splash of magic and sweet teenage love. Although I wouldn't willingly read it again, I do recommend if you're looking for a quick and easy read.

━━━

ᰔᩚ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: ꒱
when i saw this on netgalley, i got sooo excited!! the cover is adorable and gives off lynn painter’s ya books which i adore. and a bonus is that it has similar vibes to The Do-Over, a book i am (hopefully) planning to reread for valentine's day. speaking of which, happy early val/galentines my lovesss!! fingers crossed the book is as cute as the cover.

Ⓘ thank you @netgalley and publisher for giving me the chance to read this free arc, i'm very eager to share my thoughts.

Ⓘ pub date: june 23rd 2026

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝: 9/2/2026
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 10/2/2026

-𝓖

[Joya Goffney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received early ARC:

I absolutely LOVED the premise, the execution, the twist. Way to go Sarah!! Smart and fiercely creative, The Romance Rewind is the perfect mix of mystery, romance, and heart-wrenching drama.

[Nishana · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC!

this book was almost a four star read... right up until i got to the ending.

yeah... it pissed me off.

it makes me sad because i enjoyed so much of the novel! i loved zadie and marcus's relationship and i enjoyed the mystery of trying to uncover the truth about jason's reasoning for breaking up with zadie. it was fun, and the co-dreaming made it all the more interesting.

without spoiling, the conclusion of the story made me feel like i had wasted my time with the story, being so invested in the book only for it to be torn away. in the end, i just felt so unsatisfied, like the story had not properly concluded.

what a disappointing ending for what could have been a great book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book after a recommendation from a friend. Im a big romance girlie so i was super excited to start it.
This was nothing like i expected but im entirely obsessed. I loved reading from Zadies pov as she deals with mourning and falling in love all while her world crumbles around her (literally lol). I loved the way i was able to read all of her thoughts as she comes to terms with her feelings changing towards Marcus. Co-dreaming made it so fun to read as we could look through both Zadie and Marcus' memories and watch as they begin to understand them differently.
I genuinely love Marcus and Zadie and i would loveee to see more stories from their universe
5 stars!!

[Petra Petrella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A magical-realism YA rom-com. Zadie expects an anniversary grand gesture. Instead, she gets dumped… then a car crash. When she wakes up, her ex-boyfriend Jason is in a coma, and everyone believes they’re still happily in love—thanks to a sort of When You Were Sleeping scenario. As Jason’s cousin Marcus threatens to expose the truth, Zadie realizes she has limited chances to fix the situation.

Then the magical element kicks in: Zadie (and Marcus) begin having synchronized dreams, reliving past memories as invisible observers—forced to watch what really happened in her relationship and reconsider everything she thought she knew.

Don’t think things stop here, though: it gets even weirder (and, unfortunately, less believable than this).

😊 YAY for

• A nice, original concept with a fun time-loop hook.

• Cute, engaging main characters. The MMC in particular is well drawn, and I liked how his feelings for the FMC are gradually revealed.

• A light rom-com tone that mostly works for the target audience.

🤔 NAY for:

• Overcomplicated execution. The story leans too hard into layered time-loop/inception-style moments, which sometimes muddle rather than enhance the emotional arc. Retrospectively, the final plot twist made much of the story (read: dreams) stop making sense, IMO, based on how it was built (which is a pity, since this is clearly meant to be the book’s biggest selling point).

• An over-the-top final showdown. The late revelations—where nearly everything the FMC believed about her loved ones turns out to be wrong—felt excessive. Seriously, how can she have gotten everything wrong about literally everyone? At times, it veered closer to emotional whiplash than YA romance.

🌱 Overall comment & note for the author

A cute and heartfelt idea with solid romantic moments, but one that would have benefited from a simpler, more emotionally focused delivery. I enjoyed the premise and characters, even if the execution occasionally went further than it needed to for a YA rom-com.

[Zia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and Sarah Everett for the opportunity to read and review an Advance Reader Copy of this book!

This book had some high expectations for me, especially being marketed for fans of The Do-Over and Check & Mate, and featuring one of my favorite tropes (similar to Woke Up Like This). While I did enjoy the second half of the book more and thought the plot twists were handled well, it ultimately didn’t fully live up to what I was hoping for.

I think our main characters improved as the story progressed. I liked seeing the FMC grow and appreciated how the MMC supported her through everything. However, it took me about 50% of the book to really connect with them, and by that point, it felt a bit too late for the story to fully win me over.

I really appreciated the representation in this book, and I think the author did a great job portraying certain emotional moments. I also liked that the characters had strong support systems during those scenes, it added a lot of warmth and realism to the story.

The plot twists (yes, multiple!) were fun, and this was a quick, engaging read. The writing style didn’t always fully work for me, but since this is one of my favorite tropes, I still enjoyed the dream/time-travel elements and the conversations that stemmed from them.

Overall, it wasn’t a five-star read for me like some of the comparison titles, but I’d still give it a solid 3 stars.

Thank you again to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and Sarah Everett for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

[Saloni Porwal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was loving this book for the most part, but the execution really threw me off. This novel has a very interesting premise and a strong base of intriguing characters to go off of. I think the "rewind" part of it could have been crafted so much better and more convincingly than whatever this half-baked resolution was.

Zadie was a super interesting character to follow, and I found her family background interesting, especially with the dynamics of her grieving her recently passed away father. I was interested in all her friends and whatever was the side plot there, right up until the ending and I was so annoyed by the way things went for the sake of some drama. When it comes to romance, in hindsight I think there was a lack of chemistry and connection, and that left me unconvinced. As a WOC, I'm not really sure where the author was trying to go with the many references to Zadie's blackness. I get that there were attempts at inclusivity and discussing racism, but i didn't feel they got enough spotlight and attention.

Not much I can say about the plot to justify my low rating, except that until almost the very end, I felt the story was emotionally compelling and I'd have likely given it a 4 star rating, but the general flow of the plot was so bad I have to give it a significantly lower rating. I obviously wouldn't recommend this book, but I won't rule out future reads by the author because I think there's potential in the writing.

Many thanks to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and the author for the advanced reviewers copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kas_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zadie goes to her anniversary dinner with her boyfriend, where he ends their relationship. Not only does she get broken up with, but she is also in a car crash. Her boyfriend is left in a coma, and now she is stuck wondering why he broke up with her. The only person who could give her that answer is unconscious.

Suddenly, she finds herself in a time loop of the day of their first date. It turns out they are actually dreams, and Marcus (her “ex” boyfriend’s cousin) is somehow connected to them as well. Zadie must relive her past memories to understand what really went wrong in her relationship.

I give this book 3/5. I thought the idea was cute, and I love a fun time loop trope where the main character realizes that the person they are meant to be with was the one they never really noticed. It was an easy read and something you could finish in a day.

I was not the biggest fan of the book because it became too complicated, and I kept having to reread parts to understand what was happening. The ending felt rushed, overly dramatic, and unnecessarily complex. I think the book had a lot of potential if it had been simpler and not tried so hard to be dramatic and complicated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advance copy for my honest review!
Expected publication: June 23rd, 2026

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was bad I didn’t like it it got better through the middle, but I almost dropped this book the story was a bit unbelievable the plot twist fixed it a little bit, but it still didn’t convince me as much I expected a little more from this story it didn’t quite delivered. The characters were a good part I liked the protagonist’s friend group her relationship with them and how they kinda click with each other sometimes the book felt like it dragged on a lot it got me wanting to skip the whole point of this story was Zadie, the protagonist, wanting to fix her relationship with her boyfriend their relationship felt doomed from the start you kinda feel it she tries to find the why of their relationship failure sometimes I felt frustrated with the protagonist the reasons were obvious like right in front of her, but she didn’t see it it made the book drag a bit.

It’s a story about acceptance, love and how it all mean together the protagonist goes through it all throughout the book it makes her decisions difficult and it shows the meaning of them the romance was good, but it wasn’t memorable the plot gets progressively better throughout the book. The book was fine the plot was interesting enough, but it felt like a drag reading through them. I found the story good, but not great.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

THE ROMANCE REWIND by Sarah Everett (June 23, 2026)

After a Zadie's boyfriend breaks up with her on their one year anniversary, she doesn't think things can worse. Then she and Jason get in a car wreck that leaves Jason in a coma. As she grapples with the breakup, she suddenly finds herself in a dream, a time loop, with Marcus (Jason's cousin) as she relives her relationship with Jason trying to figure out what went wrong.
THE ROMANCE REWIND is a YA romance. It's literally in the title. This was a good book. It was very, very similar (car wreck, time loop, part of the twist) to one of my favorite reads NEVER APART by Romily Bernard, so I knew what the big twist going to be. First, I was binging this to confirm that I was right. But I ended really liking this dynamic between Zadie and Marcus, and I wanted to see how things would would go for them. They just seemed to work, and they were cute together. You could just tell that they were where they were supposed to be, with who they were supposed to be with. I don't know if that makes sense.
THE ROMANCE REWIND is pretty out there with everything that comes with the "co-dreams" and time loops. It's interesting, intriguing, and quite unrealistic...but it works.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect when going into this book. I thought oh, this kind of time loop magical realism thing is always fun. But wow, it's so much more than that. It was a wild ride start to finish. I was captivated by the whole story. Zadie is such an enthralling main character, I felt for her so much with what she went through, with her grief over her dad, her loss of relationship, her confusion about her future and everything else. Her character journey was really well done. I enjoyed the mystery she was trying to solve as to why Jason broke up with her, and how she went through the memories to get clues. And I loved Marcus, too. He was there every time, and I could sense how much he cares about her even before the story got to that. They had great chemistry. The co-dreaming thing is a concept I just love so much! There was more than one thing I didn't see coming at all, it left me gobsmacked! At first I wasn't sure what to feel about the first twist, but no, it was brilliant. The other... I didn't love that, especially since this one particular character didn't seem to be regretful about anything, but that's fine. I loved everything else. This was such a surprise and I am so happy I read it!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Madisonn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. It was a little infuriating at times, but it’s a really quick read that has an interesting premise. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

~Tropes~
📖 Time travel
🦜 Dreams
🛏️ Comas
🍊 He fell first

Thoughts: My favorite character is Mo. It felt like she was the only sane one at times, and she was a good friend and gave people chances. I had a theory, and I think it could’ve been played out, but what actually happened with Mo wasn’t bad either. Regarding the main characters, Zadie, Marcus, and Jason, they’re all kinda meh. Zadie was kind of annoying for most of the book, and I feel like she could’ve convinced people easier there at the end. Marcus was a pretty stereotypical, semi-flat MMC. Jason was just a … You get the gist. I feel like it had really good potential, especially considering I thought it was gonna be like Lynn Painter’s The Do-Over, but don’t compare the two. They have very different premises, each interesting. But, I feel like it could’ve been executed just a little bit better. Again, I really like Mo, and while I’m at it, Joey, but there were just other aspects that I didn’t like as much, but the cover is gorgeous 💛

[Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC of The Romance Rewind by Sarah Everett!! All opinions are my own.

The Romance Rewind is a beautiful and emotional book that I truly loved!! It’s a story that deals with grief, relationship changes, and preparing for the future. This story was so engaging and extremely relatable at moments, I didn’t want to put it down after I started reading it!

This young adult book follows Zadie, a senior in high school, as she deals with the fallout of getting into a car crash with her boyfriend after he broke up with her. After the crash Zadie and Marcus, her boyfriend’s cousin, rewind through old memories in their dreams that reveal different lies and feelings from people in her life. As her boyfriend stays longer in a coma, Zadie and Marcus grow closer and learn more about each other through their co-dream adventures.

The Romance Rewind is a romantic and emotional ride that I’m glad I read. I absolutely loved the growing relationship between Zadie and Marcus and will likely reread again someday! I definitely want to see more from this author!!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own. I wasn’t a big fan of this one. Some teens might go for it, but I was turned away by many things. First, the dialogue and narration seem very immature. I know these are teenagers, but the way they acted and talked got on my nerves. I’ve read much better. Next, I didn’t really find the car caters likable. Markus kind of grew on me, but Zadie and her friends got on my nerves. I couldn’t nail down the types of characters they were supposed to be. Finally, the twist was weird and the dreaming really out there. I just couldn’t get vested in their story and what was happening. Again, some teens might like it bc it’s a love story-ish (very little basis for the love in my opinion), but it didn’t have enough depth and didn’t get me rooting for the characters at all. FYI profanity and talking of hooking up and sleeping together but not details

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

To start with.. wow.

Thank you netgalley for this arc read.

This was a book I went into with no idea about the plot (the love of arc reading because social media hasn’t had a chance to spoil it yet) and no prior reads from this author. I loved every page of this. I found myself devastated by the realisation that I’d fallen so in love with the idea of Zadie and Marcus, just like she did.

This book truly pulls the reader into Zadie’s world and portrays love, friendship and loss in such an amazing way I’ve never read before in a book with the style of co-dreaming.

To say the least, this may be one of my favourite books I’ve read this year (yes it’s only February- I’ll update my thought on this at the end of the year).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ utter perfection. Please a second book, I need more of Marcus and Zadie (dual pov??) I was not ready for this book to end.

[snazzy pen ✰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Current rating: 2.5 stars?

I'm so sad because I wanted to love this. I usually love time travel elements in books, but this missed the mark for me. I initially thought this would be a 3.25 star read, but my rating lowered as I read on.

I feel like there were large swaths of the book where nothing was happening, but the ending felt very rushed and unsatisfying. It really dragged at some points, and I found myself eager to be done with it, which is rare for me when reading contemporary romance- even if it's long or I don't enjoy the story, I am usually still relatively engaged and don't have the urge to skim.

Honestly, the only character I liked was Mo, and the others were pretty bland. The romance wasn't very believable imo, but there were cute moments.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great coming-of-age book for high schoolers. It’s packed with familiar teen angst such as college applications, first loves, breakups, and overbearing parents. Zadie’s grief over her father’s death felt especially real and emotionally grounded. As an adult, I did feel a bit too old for this book due to all the teenage angst, but I would have loved this in high school.

I primarily picked this book because I love Groundhog Day storylines, so I was pretty disappointed to realize that the ‘time loop’ was just her and Marcus revisiting her memories with Jason. I still gave it 5 stars because it’s very well written and I enjoyed seeing Zadie’s growth over the book.

[Fi W · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But sometimes, real life can feel like that way too. A dizzy, blurry mess. The only way to know for sure is—well, there is no way to know for sure. You just have to live it, and sometimes you get to the end and you wake up, and it’s all a dream.”

I’m finding it hard to put into words how much I loved this book. It has such an interesting premise and wonderful execution, I found myself so invested in the mystery of why the break up came to happen. Making it incredibly hard to force myself to put it down even though I knew I had to cause it was crazy late. The characters had so much wonderful depth to them making me truly care about where their stories went.

I have to say the plot twist shocked me hard; it had me questioning everything I had learned. What parts were true and what parts were simply made up by her mind? This is a book I find myself recommending to every friend I can, and I already know multiple are hooked simply by reading the description, they have every plan to purchase as soon as it comes out myself included.

[Arceli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Romance Rewind by Sarah Everett is the cutest, most heart-squeezing YA romcom! I loved Zadie so much—her heartbreak felt real, messy, and completely relatable. The time-loop twist made the story addictive, and I couldn’t stop turning pages to see how she would fix everything. Jason is swoony, but Marcus absolutely stole scenes with his tension and chaos. The mix of romance, regret, and second chances was done perfectly. It’s funny, emotional, and full of classic tropes in the best way. If you love sweet love stories with drama and a magical twist, this one will have you smiling the whole time.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little magical realism meets a YA rom-com that had a lot of potential but just wasn't for me, unfortunately. Two high school sweethearts who are supposed to be "the one" for each other, break up and quickly end up in a crash that changes everything. It's full of tropes I generally love including frenemies to lovers but the execution just wasn't what I hoped and not quite believable, in the I don't feel their chemistry sort of way. The first 3/4 of the book were pretty slow and the ending rushed right through all the fun parts.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed feelings but I liked it ok in the end. I didn’t see the twist coming but honestly I thought Zadie was stupid for the majority of the book. She sees thing after thing that Jason does that’s awful or wrong and still wants to stay with him? Like it’s irritating how stupid she is. Then she chooses him at the end over Marcus before all the end stuff? So we’re supposed to think what, none of her feelings for Marcus were real because she doesn’t choose him. Sooo I couldn’t relate to her even a little.

[Suze · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve loved every Sarah Everett book—her novels are always incredible and emotional and character driven in a way that catapults them to my favorites list. And this one is no exception. More romance than (rom com) it follows Zaire as she tries to examine what went wrong with her relationship without her friends and family knowing that her boyfriend who’s in a coma broke up with her right before their accident. It’s WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING meets 500 DAYS OF SUMMER and it’s brilliant.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was, overall, such a sweet romance. I read it pretty quickly and it kept me wanting to continue reading through the night. I did not expect the little twist and loved the little mystery she was trying to solve throughout the story. I felt for Zadie so much throughout the book. The co-dreaming aspect of it all felt so sweet and fitting for a young love story. I would definitely recommend!

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. While this book is everything you would expect from a cute, fun romance about finding first love, it is also a story of betrayal, heartbreak, and grief. The author did a great job of melding all of these themes into an overall great story.

[Ashley Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending of this book really upset me. I was enjoying it, until I wasn’t. Good writing and good storytelling though.