Readers United Book Reviews | 99 Days and The Regulars

This week, Cici Curran '20 shares two novels about lessons learned from indulging in guilty pleasures.

99 Days by Katie Contungo

What can a year do to you? How do you come back after burning every bridge you made? 99 Days by Katie Cotungo answers both of those questions with a unique romance story. She adds twists and turns to the classic coming of age novel to create a novel you simply cannot put down.

Cotungo tells the story of Molly Barlow, a recent high school graduate, who returns to her hometown of Star Lake for the summer. Molly doesn’t exactly receive the typical welcome home—rather, she receives nasty notes, she is fat-shamed, her car is keyed, and more.

The reader learns that prior to her departure, Molly’s deepest secret was revealed, causing her to lose her best friends, the Donnelly brothers. A year later, she is forced face the decision she fled: which of the two Donnelly brothers does she love more? One is her first love, while the other her most passionate love. And as if life weren’t already hard enough, she also has to put up with their sister, who is convinced Molly is the reason why her family is falling apart. 

In the face of the ghosts of her past, Molly begins to stand up for herself and go after what she wants. She consistently finds herself wondering why everything is her fault, but eventually Contungo brings in the question: “Is Molly really the only one to blame?”

Verdict: Pick this up if you want a more atypical romance novel that not only provides an appealing plot, but also relevant life lessons.

The Regulars by Georgia Clark

Nobody ever said being an adult was easy. The glamorous lifestyle you imagined having when you were eight? Yeah, it’s not like that. The world is harsh and tiring, but what if you could have the one thing that would make your dreams come true? Author Georgia Clark tells the story of three best friends who discover their dreams aren’t at all what they thought they were. 

Though writer Evie, artist Willow, and model Krista are adults, their lives are a mess. Single and writing for a magazine that goes against everything she stands for, Evie finds herself bathing in low self-esteem and despair. 

Meanwhile, Willow, constantly feels self-destructive, and she begins slowly drifting away from everyone she loves, including her boyfriend. However, she finds herself unable to bring herself to do anything about it. 

Finally, there’s Krista, a “pretty, but not gorgeous” model, who dropped out of law school. The most disorganized of the three, she finds herself unable to stick to her job, yet she does not give up hope for her big break, even as she starts a downward spiral.

During these low points in their lives, all three of these women find the Pretty, a magical potion that makes you drop-dead gorgeous. All three quickly find themselves following the paths that they always wanted to, but soon they discover that being pretty can’t solve all of their problems. They soon discover that their old lives weren’t all that bad, but is it possible to get back to their old lives after the trail of destruction they left follows them?

In this absorbing tale about beauty, both literal and metaphorical, Clarke teaches several valuable lessons to readers everywhere about how things aren’t always what they seem.

Verdict: Pick this up if you want a novel full of a little bit of everything. The Regulars will teach you to love yourself and what you have because you never know when you’ll lose it forever.