A review by hkendall70
Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing: A Novel by Allison Winn Scotch
3.0
As the Amazon description says........Cleo McDougal is a born politician. From congresswoman to senator, the magnetic, ambitious single mother now has her eye on the White House—always looking forward, never back. Until an estranged childhood friend shreds her in an op-ed hit piece gone viral.
With seven words—“Cleo McDougal is not a good person”—the presidential hopeful has gone from in control to damage control, and not just in Washington but in life.
Enter Cleo’s “regrets list” of 233 and counting. Her chief of staff has a brilliant idea: pick the top ten, make amends during a media blitz, and repair her reputation. But there are regrets, and there are regrets: like her broken relationship with her sister, her affair with a law school professor…and the regret too big to even say out loud.
But with risk comes reward, and as Cleo makes both peace and amends with her past, she becomes more empowered than ever to tackle her career, confront the hypocrites out to destroy her, and open her heart to what matters most—one regret at a time.
My review: I would rate this book 3.5 stars. I listened to the audio book and at 1.4 speed and it was a good narration speed for me so the book. I highly recommend chaning the speed of narration for most books but this was a bit faster than the 1.25 to 1.3 I normally listen at.
If the first half of the book was not so drawn out and repetitive I would have gien it more stars. Yes, I get it --Cleo McDougal dwells on her regrets. It is not healthly but that is what she does....all 233 of them to be exact as you hear over and over and over and over and over. Only after hearing that (233 regrets) until you want to scream in frustation (and she adds 1 regret) does the story really get interesting.
I was reading this for a book club and may have abandoned it if I didn't have that motivation to press on but honestly, stick with it. Cleo is not a likeable character/ The story really develops in the last 25-30% of the book. It develops so much that I would likely read a 2nd book with her run for the presidency. I am more interested in the relationships she has with her son and the potential love interest and how she goes forward in light of her lessened regrets. Her new relationship with her sister and "friends" she may now have now that she has learned she can depend on other people.
With seven words—“Cleo McDougal is not a good person”—the presidential hopeful has gone from in control to damage control, and not just in Washington but in life.
Enter Cleo’s “regrets list” of 233 and counting. Her chief of staff has a brilliant idea: pick the top ten, make amends during a media blitz, and repair her reputation. But there are regrets, and there are regrets: like her broken relationship with her sister, her affair with a law school professor…and the regret too big to even say out loud.
But with risk comes reward, and as Cleo makes both peace and amends with her past, she becomes more empowered than ever to tackle her career, confront the hypocrites out to destroy her, and open her heart to what matters most—one regret at a time.
My review: I would rate this book 3.5 stars. I listened to the audio book and at 1.4 speed and it was a good narration speed for me so the book. I highly recommend chaning the speed of narration for most books but this was a bit faster than the 1.25 to 1.3 I normally listen at.
If the first half of the book was not so drawn out and repetitive I would have gien it more stars. Yes, I get it --Cleo McDougal dwells on her regrets. It is not healthly but that is what she does....all 233 of them to be exact as you hear over and over and over and over and over. Only after hearing that (233 regrets) until you want to scream in frustation (and she adds 1 regret) does the story really get interesting.
I was reading this for a book club and may have abandoned it if I didn't have that motivation to press on but honestly, stick with it. Cleo is not a likeable character/ The story really develops in the last 25-30% of the book. It develops so much that I would likely read a 2nd book with her run for the presidency. I am more interested in the relationships she has with her son and the potential love interest and how she goes forward in light of her lessened regrets. Her new relationship with her sister and "friends" she may now have now that she has learned she can depend on other people.