Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.
Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”
Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I wanted to love this book. Katie Cotugno’s debut novel, How To Love, is on my favorites shelf. I adored everything about it. I put off reading 99 Days because I was saving it for a day when I needed a really good book to read. I definitely set my expectations way too high for this one.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall, 99 Days is not one I recommend reading. Check out Katie Cotugno’s debut, How To Love, for sure, but let’s just pretend like this one didn’t happen. I’m waiting on her third book so I can see if it will redeem her!
Overall reaction:
What others are saying about 99 Days:
The Perpetual Page-Turner’s review: “While on the surface this book might just seem like a romance with a love triangle between two brothers but it is SO much more than that.”
The Novel Hermit’s review: “99 Days seemed promising at first, but with a snap of a finger, the story turned boring and didn’t really resolve anything.”
Reading Lark’s review: “Overall, I loved watching Molly work through the ghosts of her past and start to make plans for a better future.”