[Elizabeth’s Review]: “Today Tonight Tomorrow” by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Hating Game meets Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by way of Morgan Matson in this unforgettable romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.

Today, she hates him.

It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.

Tonight, she puts up with him.

When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.

As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.

Tomorrow…maybe she’s already fallen for him.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

To start off, I have to say that this book has become one of my top 3 reads of not only 2020 but pretty much of all time! I read this book in a span of hours and finished it around five in the morning and was so giddy that I could not fall asleep.

Today Tonight Tomorrow was SUCH a comedic and heartwarming read in that I completely fell in love with Rowan and Neil and their story filled with endings and new beginnings. Not only that, but the entire atmosphere of the book was also so prominent and I loved the way that we got to explore Seattle in a fun way. I could picture every scene and moment that either felt light with humor or heavy with tension (the good kind of course).

Our main character, Rowan, was someone that I instantly connected to and I loved being in her head and part of her family. Rowan’s background was definitely one of the highlights of the book and we’re introduced to her author-illustrated duo parents from the very beginning. I loved their family dynamic and the culture that was brought into the small moments we were given with her family. We’re told that Rowan’s mom is from Mexico City and was born to a Russian-Jewish mother and her father is Jewish, and throughout the book, we’re constantly reminded of these aspects of Rowan’s identity which becomes an important part of the plot itself. This was something that I really enjoyed about the book in addition to learning the negative stereotypes that Rowan has to encounter in her journey of being who she is.

Rowan was a character that I could completely relate to because she loved to read and fall in love with stories, and just like many of us, her issues felt so prevalent and relatable because sometimes reality did not meet the expectations she created through her fantasies. And phew, I felt that in the deepest recesses of my soul and I think that so many others could relate to that as well! Another aspect of Rowan that I absolutely cherished from the get-go, was that just like her parents, Rowan wanted to write books for a living. However, her passion was writing romance novels and it was clear that she treasured all the romance novels she read and the authors that wrote them. Through this love of romance novels, the author brought to light the toxic concept of how many women are attacked for the things they truly find comfort in and cherish, and therefore, have instead become a punchline.

Here is my dilemma: my passion is, at best, someone else’s guilty pleasure. Most of the world takes any opportunity to belittle this thing that centers women in a way most other media doesn’t. Romance novels are a punchline, despite being a million-dollar industry.

-Today Tonight Tomorrow, Rachel Lynn Solomon

This was another aspect of the book that I had to applaud out loud (although technically I couldn’t since it was like 2 am when I was reading this) and I was completely about it!! This leads to my last favorite thing I have to mention about this book, although I could go on and on, and it was that I loved the communication and overall relationship between Rowan and Neil. I loved their relationship not only as a pair but as individuals as well. The way the author tackled not only the issues within Rowan and Neil as separate individuals, but she also did such a marvelous job of addressing these issues out loud and showing the growth of communication and seriously talking about issues such as: making comments without truly understanding who you could hurt with what you are saying, normalizing talking about sex rather than it being taboo and embarrassing, deconstructing toxic gender roles, and letting people be truly excited about what they love without the need to make fun of them and tear them down.

All of these issues mentioned applied to both Rowan and Neil, and for their relationship as well, and their growth and learning from their mistakes was so mature!!!!!

After reading this book, I definitely had this need to send it to everyone I knew and yell: READ THIS NOW. This book was a breath of fresh air that I needed and I completely understand the hype for it! I highly recommend picking it up once it is out in the world, it is a story that will stay with you for a long time and for good reasons.

It’s a comfort knowing each book will end up tied up with a neat bow. More than that, the character’s burrowed into my heart. I got invested in their stories, followed them across series as they flirted and fought and fell in love. I swooned when they wound up at a hotel with only one room, which of course contained only one bed. I learned to love love in all its forms, and I wanted it desperately for myself: to write about it, to live it.

-Today Tonight Tomorrow, Rachel Lynn Solomon

Elizabeth

Hi, I’m Elizabeth!! I am 22 with a bachelor degree in English Literary Studies. I love to read and talk about books 24/7, and when I’m not reading I am usually rewatching my comfort movies and shows for the hundredth time—specifically, anything Jane Austen!