Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: November 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy / Teen-Young Adult
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: In this riotous young adult romp for fans of Recommended for You and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, a teen girl has the worst Valentine’s Day ever—only to relive it over and over again.
After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.
Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.
How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?
My Thoughts: I enjoyed this cute romantic comedy quite more than I thought I would. Teenager Emilie finds herself reliving the same Valentine’s Day over and over enduring seeing her boyfriend not only cheating on her but experiencing the same frustrating and annoying interactions with Nick Stark, her chemistry lab partner. No matter what Emilie does to try to change the events that keep her stuck in February 14, she wakes up and it’s still V-Day.
In addition to the cheating boyfriend and annoying lab partner, Emilie also has to deal with the fact that her father has accepted a new job and will be moving out of state and whether Emilie will be joining him and his new family remains to be seen. Emilie also has to deal with the unwelcome news that the summer fellowship she was competing for and won has been snatched away due to a counting error. It’s enough to drive anyone bonkers, but I really enjoyed hanging out with Emilie to see what happen next and how she responds.
And responds she does. She decides to have a Day Of No Consequences. She steals her Dad’s Porsche, gets pulled over and the car gets impounded, she practically kidnaps Nick and they ditch school, visit a tattoo parlor, fast talk their way onto the roof of an office building and share seven minutes of the most breathtaking kiss Emilie has ever experienced. Nothing is off the table, because nobody except Emilie will remember it tomorrow as it will still be February 14. Or will it?
This story was a fun read for me because it was a reminder to live every day to the fullest extent you can even if you are stuck in a time loop and repeat the same day tomorrow. I liked the characters and the dynamics of Emilie’s life with her family and friends was entertaining. The dialog was realistic for the characters and the story moved at a good pace.
My Final Verdict: The Do-Over is my first Lynn Painter novel. I really enjoyed this author’s voice and her sense of humor shines through the story and characters. I recommend this to teen and young adult readers, fans of romantic comedies and anyone who likes their stories to end on a positive note.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of The Do-Over from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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