Megan and Tom are getting ready for their wedding on San Juan Island. They’ve been together for ten years, since they met at college, and they finally made it to the big day. Almost. Megan spent the night on the island. Tom had a business dinner the night before, but his plane just landed in Seattle and he’s heading for the island, where their families are already.
Megan’s morning is interrupted by her mother, who insists she needs a new dress for the dinner, and Megan is immediately sucked into her family’s drama. As she spends her day with her mother and sister, trying to support them with what they need, she finds her own agenda getting pushed aside. But it’s almost her wedding day, and she loves Tom. She holds on to that.
Meanwhile, Tom is spending the day golfing with his father and his brother (why did he agree to this? he doesn’t even like golf), and feeling a little like a punching bag. After assuring his father that his client dinner went well, and watching his brother play drinking games until his eyes are glassy, Tom is ready for a chance to see Megan. But they don’t get a chance to talk before the dinner, where Tom’s father toasts the couple and announces that he and his wife are buying the happy couple a new home . . . in Missouri. Tom hadn’t yet talked to Megan about moving from their place in New York, so she is stunned by the news.
And she starts to wonder if the marriage is a good idea after all.
The next morning, Megan wakes up, still thinking about what had happened the night before. And then her mother came in, interrupting her thoughts to talk about needing a new dress for the rehearsal dinner. Megan is confused. That was yesterday. The rehearsal dinner was last night. She things it must be some bad joke, but no. It’s the day of the rehearsal dinner again. She has to live the day again. But non one else knows.
Except Tom.
As the couple endures day after day of the rehearsal dinner, they work through their emotions, trying anything they can think of to break the weird time shift they seem to be caught in. Will Megan and Tom ever figure out what it will take to actually move forward in time, or will they just keep reliving that same day for the rest of their lives? How many times will they have to go through this day before they can figure out what will make them happy?
The Rehearsals is a fun time-bending romance with a serious underbelly. Author Annette Christie has written her first adult novel, and it’s a powerhouse. I loved how the repetition wove itself through these characters’ decisions, and how they worked to figure out what the universe was trying to tell them. I thought this was a smart romance with plenty of sweet moments and lots of honesty. I definitely recommend this one!
Galleys for The Rehearsals were provided by Little, Brown and Company through a Goodreads giveaway, with many thanks.
