Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing

A Novel

By: Allison Winn Scotch

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Politics is a test of wills in a sharp, funny, and emotional novel about truth and consequences by the New York Times bestselling author.

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.

©2020 Allison Winn Scotch (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Cleo, who is reviewing a list of personal regrets currently numbering 233, is portrayed by Whelan as reflective in addressing her mistakes and accepting in assessing her past. Whelan's portrayals of other characters, including Cleo's moody teenage son, Lucas, help to distinguish them and breathe life into their personalities. Her deliberate pacing fits well with Cleo's highly controlled persona.” --AudioFile Magazine

“Scotch’s trademark humor and heart are on full display in this expertly plotted and characterized outing. The author’s fans will devour this, and it will win her new readers as well.” --Publishers Weekly

I did not fully regret reading this book

If the first half of the book was not so drawn out and repetitive I would have given it more stars. Yes, I get it. Cleo McDougal dwells on all of her regrets. it is not healthy but I guess it is what she does.....all 233 of them as you hear over and over and over and over and over. do you get it? Only after hearing that (233 regrets) until you want to scream in frustration does the story really get interesting.

i was reading (listening to) this for a book club and would likely have abandoned it if I did not have that motivation to press on but honestly, stick with it. The story really develops in the laast 25 to 30% of the book. It develops so well that I would likely listen to 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 and new relationship with her sister and now that she has learned she can depend on other people.

Loved it!!

Great Characters, Story and Narrator. I definitely recommend this book to all. Totally enjoyable, I wanted it to continue instead of ending.

Loved it

Great story and narration! Love the underlying lessons and the focus on relationships and the complexities of the characters.

You Won't Regret This Book!

The story is smart, witty, enjoyable! Narration / performance makes it even better! You'll have no regrets!

Fair to middling + Julia Whelan = better

This book is ok. Not great, not terrible just middle of the road. However, the fact that Julia Whelan reads it makes it infinitely more entertaining than it would have otherwise been (despite the fact that she referred to the main character as Chloe a couple of times instead of Cleo and shockingly mispronounced “fallible” twice - Whelan NEVER mispronounces things!)

Would be a cute Hallmark movie. Maybe.

Loved this story

I loved the story for this book. A strong female lead who makes mistakes. I loved how she grew throughout the book. Her relationship with her son was so typical of a teenage angst. Was not a heavy book but I kept looking for times so I could keep listening to it.

Interesting Time for This Novel

Read it and liked it. Timing was perfect. Good to read feel good political slant.

Loved this

I loved this. We make mistakes. We have flaws. But we are not defined by them.

Rarely review but

This book was such a pleasant & easy to follow lighthearted read. Always love Julia whelan narration as well.

Engaging, fun and tough to stop listening

This was an unexpectedly delightful listen. The story had many levels. The performance perfect.