Book Review | 9 Days and 9 Nights by Katie Cotugno

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Hello, fellow readers! Earlier this month, I checked out several audiobooks from the Hoopla app through my library. I only have five borrow credits each month, so I usually get audiobooks. I realized after our trip that I never read this book, which is the sequel to 99 Days, and it was scheduled to return at the end of the month. I decided to start it at the gym on a whim. I need to read more by Katie Cotugno now!

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Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ 3.81
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Page Count: 272 pages
Genre(s): YA contemporary
Series: 99 Days #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: May 1, 2018

Plot

Molly Barlow isn’t that girl anymore. A business major at her college in Boston, she’s reinvented herself after everything that went down a year ago . . . after all the people she hurt and the family she tore apart.

Slowly, life is getting back to normal. Molly has just said “I love you” to her new boyfriend, Ian, and they are off on a romantic European vacation together, starting with scenic London. But there on a Tube platform, the past catches up to her in the form of Gabe, her ex, traveling on his own parallel vacation with new girlfriend Sadie.

After comparing itineraries, Ian ends up extending an invite for Gabe and Sadie to join them on the next leg of their trip, to Ireland. Sadie, who’s dying to go there, jumps at the prospect. And Molly and Gabe can’t bring themselves to tell the truth about who they once were to each other to their new significant others.

Now Molly has to spend nine days and nine nights with the boy she once loved, the boy whose heart she shredded, without Ian knowing. Will she make it through as new, improved Molly, or will everything that happened between her and Gabe come rushing back?

Review

No, there is nothing new in 9 Days and 9 Nights, but Katie Cotugno has done it again! This time, Molly and her new boyfriend, Ian, come across Molly’s ex, Gabe, and his new girlfriend, Sadie, while backbacking across Europe. Molly has not disclosed any of her past to Ian, so the two couples end up travelling together.

If you are back for another love triangle, you will find yourself disappointed this time around. Molly is different in this book, but it was a nice change from 99 Days. There were several times that I though the author was taking the story in a direction that I was not going to like, but luckily things played out the way I wanted them to. I know the first book was criticized because there was cheating, both emotionally and physically, as well as a love triangle, which I usually hate. But this story explores the consequences of some of Molly’s actions and how she is trying to move on from her past.

Related: Book Review | 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

Audiobook Review

I believe the narrator was the same as 99 Days, which I also read by audiobook. The narrator uses different voices (thankfully she did not have to do a Southern accent in this one), and she adds enough flair without being dramatic. It is a very easy listen for a road trip or pool day.

Final Thoughts

Although we are just rehashing the same old story, I thought there was some character development for Molly. I felt like she was genuinely trying to change and not make the same mistakes again. The story is more about her than the love story to be honest. Was this book necessary? No, not at all, but I also don’t hate that we got this sequel. I thought the ending was lovely and it was a perfect summer read. Some followers on bookstagram asked me if you need to read the first book. I think enough of the first book is explained in this book for you to get the general idea of what happened, although I am glad I didn’t skip 99 Days just because I enjoyed it so much.

Thank you so much for reading my review! Leave me a comment with some more YA contemporary (or even adult contemporary!) that you think I would enjoy after reading both of this books!