Reviews for Take Two, Birdie Maxwell:
Library Journal
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Birdie Maxwell grew up feeling like she only ever belonged when she was with the O'Brien twins—her best friend Mona and secret crush Elliot—or on stage, where she could live out any story. Now she's grown into movie star Birdie Robinson, the queen of rom-coms and America's sweetheart. After she's scapegoated for calling out a popular director's sexist on-set behavior, she impulsively heads to her hometown to ride out the vitriol. There, the discovery of an anonymous love letter from someone in her past gives her an idea—get back in the nation's good graces by living out her own rom-com, tracking down her lost love, and finding her own happily-ever-after. And who better to script Birdie's romance than her off-limits crush, Pulitzer-nominated reporter and childhood friend Elliot O'Brien? Birdie and Elliot drive a ramshackle RV through California to the high-roller tables of Las Vegas, dodging public recognition, the paparazzi, and their own pasts as they search for her mystery man. VERDICT Scotch's (The Rewind) passionate and fast-paced story follows a roller coaster of ups and downs involving fame, friendship, and family. Will satisfy fans of classic rom-coms like Notting Hill and You've Got Mail.—Meagan Day
Publishers Weekly
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Childhood friends team up to revitalize both their careers in this memorable rom-com from Scotch (The Rewind). After an on-set meltdown sends erstwhile America’s sweetheart Birdie Maxwell’s movie career into a downward spiral, she retreats to her family home in Barton, Calif. While pleased to see her best friend, Mona O’Brien, Birdie is less than enthused to see Mona’s twin, Elliot, who ran out on her seven years ago after their one night together. Elliot is now a Pulitzer-nominated journalist who travels the world for his job—which might soon implode if he doesn’t stop skating the ethical line when acquiring sources. After Birdie discovers a love letter sent to her by an anonymous ex, Mona proposes that Birdie and Elliot solve their professional problems by working together to find the letter writer. Elliot will document their journey and in doing so will drum up some good PR for them both. A reluctant road trip is launched. As Birdie reunites with her exes—sparking some serious drama—Elliot struggles to remain objective when all he really wants is to restart the relationship he snipped in the bud years before. Scotch balances wit and introspection beautifully throughout, peeling back her characters’ emotional layers. Readers will have no trouble hopping aboard the Elliot and Birdie bandwagon. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group. (Jan.)
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
After dressing down a director and being canceled by the public, America’s (now former) rom-com sweetheart goes on a road trip to discover which of her exes wrote her an anonymous love letter. Thirty-four-year-old Birdie Robinson, from Medford, Oregon, is movie royalty. Except she’s really Birdie Maxwell from Barton, California, and she's been caught in an epic downward spiral after having a tantrum on the set of her latest movie. The fact that she was really calling out the director for being handsy with extras and day actors is swept under the rug. Her attempt at an apology video is a failure, and the public has turned very much against her, so she finds herself retreating to her childhood home in the middle of California, an origin story she’s kept entirely secret during the rise of her acting career. While she's going through boxes of old papers, she finds an anonymous love letter she'd never seen before—no date, no signature—and decides, for better or worse, that what she needs to rehabilitate her image is a rom-com of her own making in which she tracks down all her exes to ask if they wrote the letter. Along for the ride is Elliot O'Brien, her best friend Mona’s twin brother. She’s known Mona, now a dive bar owner, and Elliot, now a renowned reporter, since the twins moved to town when they were all 12. The story follows the arc of Birdie's quest in a rickety RV to find the handful of exes who could have written the letter and Elliott’s reporting of the effort. Alternating between Birdie's and Elliot's viewpoints, the straightforward story is bolstered by the significant amount of space each main character spends thinking about the crush they've had on the other since they were kids and regretting the awkward end to a one-night stand they had seven years earlier. A drawn-out story of two complicated people scared to tell each other their true feelings, even after more than 20 years. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
What’s an A-list actress to do when she goes viral for the wrong reasons? Former "America’s Sweetheart" Birdie Robinson decides it’s time to bring her rom-com career into her real life. When she finds an unsigned love letter, she sets out on a journey to discover who wrote it as a publicity stunt to get her reputation and career back on track. But now Birdie is forced to confront the mistakes she’s made in her past relationships, romantic and otherwise. Elliot O’Brien was one of Birdie’s childhood best friends before they lost touch. But Elliot is desperate for a story worthy of a star reporter to prove himself to his editor, and Birdie’s journey sounds like just what he needs, even if he does still have feelings for his friend. In this sweet, sometimes silly story about learning from your past mistakes while working on your current ones, Scotch (The Rewind, 2022) weaves a second-chance romance perfect for fans of Schitt’s Creek and Notting Hill.
