The Apology Project

By: Jamie Steinberg

“Sorry” can be a difficult word for many of us to say. For Amelia Montgomery, it’s basically a word she never says. She’s a ballsy high-powered attorney who settles for no excuses. She’s currently working on a huge case against a man (Phoebe) accused of sexual assaulting numerous women and the partners of her firm have tasked her with lead chair as she is a woman, and they feel it would help having her as head of defense. What happens next sends Amelia’s life spiraling and ignites “The Apology Project.” However, what starts as a need to right some wrongs, turns more into a search for family and a greater focus on new romance in Jeanette Escudero’s new book – The Apology Project.

Amelia’s Non-Disclosure Agreement keeps me from sharing the reasons behind her “retirement,” but suffice it say she did not leave on friendly terms. In hopes of getting her out of bed and back in the real world, Amelia’s sister Nina gets the bright idea to throw a fortieth birthday party for Amelia. Nina invites her boyfriend (who works at Amelia’s former firm) and a bunch of Amelia’s “friends.” I say “friends” because it has been quite some time since Amelia actually did anything with them. As a busy attorney, she’s not had much spare time. With that said, it will come as no surprise that NO ONE shows up to the party. Okay, so Amelia’s family attends but that is it. Scratch that! John Ellis shows; however, Amelia does not know him. It turns out that the party invite made its way through the firm and, as a new associate, he assumed everyone would attend. He thought wrong. Although, he and Amelia do hit it off right away and, in a drunken haze, they hookup. Oddly enough, the drunken haze is where The Apology Project is created – a list of people to whom Amelia is considering apologizing.

With the first apology under Amelia’s belt and John still interested in getting to know Amelia, we side-step into a whole other plot to the book. Amelia received a 23AndMe kit for her birthday from her mother and the results fascinate Amelia to the point of exploring her heritage. That is on top of the storyline about Amelia’s budding romance with John. In fact, both of these plots quickly overwhelm the entire story of The Apology Project and distract from the entire original premise. I have to say, Escudero hooked me with Amelia’s initial intentions but lost me when our heroine loses her focus as well.

What starts as a tale about a quest to right some wrongs of her past, sadly, becomes less of a focus in The Apology Project. In actuality, the book is more a year in the life of Amelia Montgomery with a hint of apologies, a dash of opening your heart and a smidge of exploring your roots. I advise picking up this book if you’re looking to say sorry to someone in your own life.