The Rehearsals

February 1, 2021

In Bly's Lizzie & Dante, a Shakespearean scholar heads to Italy after an ugly breakup and an end-of-the-road health diagnosis and meets a handsome chef--but is this any time to start a relationship? In debuter Christie's The Rehearsals, Megan Givens and Tom Prescott plan to call off their wedding after a calamitous rehearsal dinner but wake up the next morning in a time loop, endlessly repeating the event until maybe they get it right (100,000-copy first printing). Clancy's Shoulder Season reveals what happens when shy young church organist Sherri Taylor switches paths after her parents' death to become a Playboy bunny (100,000-copy first printing). The New York Times best-selling Guillory's While We Were Dating features Ben Stephens, Theo's brother from The Wedding Party, who's trying to stay strictly professional while working with a famous actress. In Macomber's stand-alone It's Better This Way, Julia Jones has sold her business, moved into a condominium, and put her marital breakup behind her, but she isn't looking for love--until handsome resident Heath comes along. In Island Queen, romance writer Riley goes mainstream historical to reimagine the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, who rose from enslavement to become a rich and powerful landowner in the colonial West Indies (100,000-copy first printing). Pretty Little Liars author Shepard's Safe in My Arms stars three out-of-the-loop moms who try to discover why the principal of the children's elite California preschool was attacked. If you've got Nine Lives, take this journey with Steel from Chicago and Paris to London and Monaco. In Hugo/Bradbury/Eisner winner Straczynski's latest, an unsuccessful young writer pulls together a crew of equally disaffected folks, buys an old bus, and proclaims Together We Will Go--straight to California, where they will then drive off a cliff (100,000-copy first printing). In debuter Yoder's one-of-a-kind Nightbitch, a woman who's convinced that she is turning into a dog ferrets out answers in A Field Guide to Magical Women and links up with a group of mothers with their own secret persuasions. Optioned for film.

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May 17, 2021
Christie’s delightful debut explores a complex romance using a Groundhog Day twist. Megan Givens is ecstatic to finally wed the love of her life, Tom Prescott. The two fell for each other as freshmen at Harvard and have been together ever since. But when a disastrous rehearsal dinner throws together their incompatible families and brings secrets to light—including that Megan shared a one-night stand with Tom’s best man eight years prior—the suddenly unhappy couple call off the wedding. Luckily, fate has something else in mind, and when the pair wake up the next morning, it’s the day before their wedding all over again. As they relive the same nightmarish day multiple times, they realize they have the chance to change things. But will their actions make the future better or worse—or will they be trapped reliving the same awful day for the rest of their lives? Christie’s clever time-loop plot allows for great depth of emotion as her protagonists explore different paths and come to terms with what they can and can’t change about themselves and each other. This charming story delivers equal amounts of honesty and hope and is bound to win the hearts of rom-com fans. Agent: Joelle Hobeika, Alloy Entertainment.

May 15, 2021
After calling off their wedding, a young couple gets stuck in a time loop, reliving the day of their catastrophic rehearsal dinner. Megan and Tom are a picture-perfect couple. With her job as senior visuals editor at GQ and his job as a lawyer at his family's firm, they're living the dream. And now, they're getting married on the picturesque San Juan Island, bringing together their friends and family as they celebrate their love. But all that perfection is merely hiding the problems under the surface. Megan's and Tom's families have never gotten along, and Megan has always felt that Tom takes his family's side over hers. Unbeknownst to Megan, Tom has just accepted a job (at his family's behest) in Missouri, meaning that they'll have to move away from New York City and her job. Meanwhile, Megan privately feels guilt over having slept with Tom's best friend (who is also his best man) years ago. When all the buried secrets come out at their disastrous rehearsal dinner, Megan and Tom angrily call off their wedding...but then they wake up on the morning of their rehearsal dinner, again. Megan and Tom figure out that they're stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop, doomed to repeat the horrific day with the one person they never want to see again. Christie doesn't hold any punches in her adult debut, allowing her characters to act out in surprisingly bold ways. Megan's and Tom's betrayals are explored compassionately and honestly, making both of them feel like fully rounded people who are, if not always completely likable, at least understandable. As Megan and Tom relive the same day and get to know each other in an entirely new way, it's unclear until the very end what will happen with their relationship, creating a level of suspense that will keep readers turning the pages. A compelling story about the power of second chances and forgiveness that's sure to spark conversation.

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June 1, 2021
Megan and Tom have been together since their freshman year of college, and when their wedding weekend finally arrives, it's a perfect day--until two relationship-destroying secrets are revealed at their rehearsal dinner. Years ago, Megan had a one-night stand with Tom's best friend, Leo. Tom, whose life is ruled by his cold, WASPy parents, hasn't told Megan that he's accepted a job in Missouri. The night ends with the formerly happy couple calling off their wedding, only to wake up the next morning to find that they're stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the worst day of their lives until they finally get it right. Each day, the choices Megan and Tom make vary, from Megan running off with Leo to Tom finally saying "no" to his parents. Debut author Christie keeps the tone light, inserting repeating scenarios into each day, and turning the nightmare time loop into a journey of self-discovery. There's a feeling of resolution at the end, which isn't what the characters expected, but it's what they needed. Fans of Christina Lauren and Meg Cabot will savor this charming relationship comedy.

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