Series: Standalone
Release Date: July 14, 2020
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.
• Lesbian supporting character
• Bisexual supporting character
• FF side romance
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
— The Heroine has conversations with an ex to get closure. It stirs up past regret.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing each other away
• No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format:
Rating: 5/5 stars
I was positively giddy reading Today Tonight Tomorrow–the tension between Rowan (the Heroine) and Neil (the Hero), the slow evolution from enemies to friends to more and Rowan’s personality, made the book so much fun!
The Best Heroine
Today Tonight Tomorrow had one of the best Heroines I’ve read recently. Considering how in denial Rowan was about her feelings towards Neil (that her dislike of him was rooted in–seemingly–unrequited attraction), she didn’t grate on my nerves, which is shocking since a purposefully ignorant Heroine is one of my pet peeves.
Rowan’s discussed and brought to attention the rampant sexism, misogyny, toxic masculinity and racism that exists within ‘classic’ literature. Her passion for romance novels was also fantastic and very relatable. Romance is a genre that is seen as less than despite the lessons it can teach and the joy it obviously brings to its readers. Rowan also brought to attention how the dismissal of romance novels and the perpetuation of toxic masculinity can be prevalent in the behaviour of our loved ones (Rowan’s parents and best friends) and reinforced in our trusted institutions (Rowan’s favourite class, AP English, prioritizes novels written by old white dudes).
Lastly, I appreciated how Rowan talked things out with her friends and even Neil when she was called out (or realized herself) that she was unfair and/or rude. I admit there were times Rowan retreated to comfort herself but, considering the book covers only 24 hours, Rowan generally sprang right back up after a hit of reality.
For the Love of Seattle
I thought the senior game–a scavenger hunt with a cash prize–was a really engaging way of teaching the reader the love the author has for Seattle. The author was able to realistically create the Seattle scenery visited by the main characters. I loved how the places mentioned in the book were a mix of tourist places and hole-in-the-walls. My only experience with Seattle previous to Today Tonight Tomorrow is through Grey’s Anatomy.
Enemies to Lovers
Enemies to lovers is a trope that I always have a hard time with because I’m usually of the mind if you dislike someone enough to see them as an ‘enemy,’ you shouldn’t date them. As a result, I judged Neil by very high standards–which he lived up to at 18 but fell short at 14 (shocker). To be explicit, the reason Rowan saw Neil as an enemy was that upping him was her way of getting back at him for humiliating her when they were 14. Neil trivialized Rowan’s love of romance novels and made her feel like a lousy writer (and she wants to be an author). I just hate when people hate on things, not realize the damage their words can do to someone–the insecurity they can foster.
However, as Rowan looked back at her relationship with Neil and makes the decision to actually talk to him, rather than building him up as this horrible person in her mind, she realizes there’s more to Neil than she thought. The enemies to lovers trope allowed the author to fully explore both Rowan and Neil in Today Tonight Tomorrow. The evolution of seeing each other as adversaries to friends to more made the angst and resulting romance even better.
Also, Neil’s family history was so sad but added another dimensionality to his character. It also helped explain his quirks–like an 18-year-old boy wearing a suit to school–and humanized him from this ignorant and caustic teenage boy Rowan saw him as.
Confronting Anti-Semitism
I was skeptical going into Today Tonight Tomorrow about how the author would make the leap in Rowan’s mind from seeing Neil as an arch-nemesis to lover. However, both Neil and Rowan discover in the book they share a religion–they are both Jewish. It speaks to how few students identify as Jewish in their school and even the whole of Seattle that neither Neil nor Rowan knew the other was Jewish. When Neil and Rowan decide to partner together to win the senior scavenger hunt, they also bond over their experiences with Anti-Semitism, which also really helped flesh out Neil’s character. Previously, Rowan was so reluctant to see any redeeming or relatable qualities of Neil’s.
The author also raised awareness about the pervasiveness of anti-Semitism in the USA. The assumption that a person is wealthy because they are Jewish is anti-Semitic; it ignores the discriminatory history in which Jews were (are) seen as greedy and unscrupulous merchants and bankers. The author discusses how Seattle only has two places of worship for Jews as opposed to the five churches just on the Heroine’s street. Also, holiday parties are called ‘holiday’ instead of Christmas parties to be more inclusive. Yet, the decorations strictly celebrate Christianity: red and green decorations, a Christmas tree and Santa Claus. Also, the prejudice Rowan and Neil have faced within the school as teachers blame them for why the classroom can’t have a Christmas tree… instead of having both a tree and menorah. These are all examples of how prevalent and subtle anti-Semitism can be.
In Conclusion
Everything about Today Tonight Tomorrow made the book such a good read. I especially loved the ode to romance novels. Rowan made some excellent points about how people are so quick to judge and dismiss romance novels–I’ve made light of romance novels in the past, suggesting that they’re not as important or meaningful a book because they aren’t a ‘classic.’ However, that’s a learned assumption. Not only are romance novels comforting because of their happy endings, but they also can teach some critical and powerful life lessons along the way to said happily ever after.
I’ve come to equate romance novels as an expression of pure joy, happiness and fun. Like Rowan, I’ve also had my love of romance reading patronized throughout high school. However, I was lucky enough to never feel self-conscious (or as ashamed) as Rowan since my close friends were also into romance, and my parents didn’t really care.
Today Tonight Tomorrow is a 5-star read to me because Rowan challenges traditional popular culture and thoughts by illuminating the sexism, racism and toxic masculinity so prevalent in the idealized literature of the past (which is taught in high school English). The enemies to lovers trope was also done so well and created enough tension and angst that the resulting romance felt believable and so freaking cute. Overall, the book brought to light all the important social issues that need more discussion while also crafting a sweet romance and great coming of age story for teenagers moving on from high school and onto the next chapter in their lives: college.
Buy Today Tonight Tomorrow
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