** 4.5 ⭐️ ***

During anyone's high school years, the last thing you want to find out (and especially on Valentine's Day) is that your boyfriend is cheating on you, you didn't get into the summer program you wanted, your parent is moving out of state, and you keep crashing your car! Any one of these things would send someone into a tailspin, but Emilie is hard pressed to rock the boat even more and tries to take things in stride... until Valentine's Day repeats itself...

Emilie, her close friends, her boyfriend, and her chemistry lab partner all have their crosses to bear in and outside of their school experience. A few adult themes are introduced for these 16yo teens in the way of bereavement, parental divorce, financial issues, and just trying to fit in. While the whole concept of time looping isn't explained (half a point off the rating), what Emilie does during the repeat days (trying to alter/eliminate the sequence of events) nuances the fact that she is acutely aware of her predicament and her own self growth as the day repeats. The romance that was displayed was also heartwarming and brought a tear to my eye. Lynn Painter FTW!!!

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A fun spin on the classic ground hogs day troupe! Not always a fan of this trope but loved the way it was used in this one!

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc!

I meant to post this last year — apologies for that.

I gave the do-over 4.5 stars! To say that Lynn is an amazing writer is an understatement. I love her writing — I think it’s fun, fresh and easy to read. She also adds a lot of pop culture references that are very interesting to read.

This is a stand-alone YA Novel that is a perfect read for anyone interested in a fast-easy read and would even be a great choice if they want to start reading. I love the way Lynn structures her characters and gives us a lot of background into them. It makes the books much more reader connected.

Although the “reliving the same day over and over again” plot has been done a lot, I thought it was executed well! You can truly feel the frustration and confusion as Emilie kept waking up to the same day. The one thing that really stuck out to me was that although she was reliving the same day, there was new information we were finding out each time. Whether it be little details in her pov or the way Emilie went to school, small things were changed. I find that it really helped keep the plot moving while still sticking to the original story.

AND NICK! Once again, Lynn has done it with her mmc’s. I thought he was very fun and sweet! The way Emilie kept bumping into him was both hilarious and adorable.

Overall, I loved this book. I thought it was very interesting, fun and a fast-paced read. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute fluffy YA romance with plot twists and good characters!!!

I laughed, I cried, I swooned and I died at all the Taylor Swift references. Lynn Painter has solidified herself as an auto-buy author for me. Emilie and Nick’s story was heartfelt and sweet and raw and real and I couldn’t put it down. So glad I picked this one up and got it in this year.

I put off reading this book for so long because I’m not a huge fan of time loop books. But I’m also a huge Lynn Painter fan, so deep down I believed that she won’t disappoint me. And I definitely wasn’t disappointed! This is probably the only time loop book that I enjoyed. Do I love this as much as better than the movies? No. But it was still very enjoyable! Nick and Emilie had some really adorable and wholesome moments that made me swoon.

However, the time loop aspect is still my least favourite thing about this book. While Emilie, who is stuck in a time loop, falls for Nick over a period of multiple days, Nick seems to fall for her in only one day!!! This book had the potential to be a 5 stars read if the timeline wasn’t messed up.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

Let’s pretend I read this before the book was published … anyways. I love a good time loop plot. This book was nice to listen to, but I did not connect to the plot or any of the characters. I loved all the adventures with each resetting day and how Emilie and Nick developed with each “new” day. I will say that the final third grasped my attention more.

Also, props to the audiobook narrator, Jesse Vilinsky, because they did a phenomenal job with this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my review.

I LOVED this book - Lynn Painter writes the best teen rom coms. I loved Emilie, I loved Nick, I loved the DONC and how magical it was. Ughhhh. This is Groundhog Day done right!

Trope: Enemies/strangers (?) to lovers, Groundhog Day
TW: Divorce, death of a family member

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy. This was incredible. I had never read something by Lynn Painter before and now i can honestly say i she is on my auto-buy list!

So fun, and a nice quick read.

Five stars

Emilie Hornby has everything in her life planned out. She's going to go to a program that will help with her college tuition, she has amazing friends, and she is about to tell her boyfriend she loves him. Could Valentine's Day be any better?

​But, as her day progresses, she loses her spot in the program, she catches her boyfriend cheating, has a fender bender, and finds out her dad is moving away. She escapes to her beloved Grandmother's, where she has always felt loved and wanted, passing out only to wake up in her own bed on Valentine's Day (part 2). How can she possibly get out of this hellish time loop? And why does she keep crashing in to classmate Nick? Can he help her end this wretched curse?

Lynn Painter has such an amazing sense of humour that bleeds into her young adult novels. You would think the time loop trope would be stale, but Painter breathes new life into it. Slowly, Emilie's world is torn asunder by her own machinations; but as she goes through this time loop she learns her own worth, she grasps her own dreams, and she confronts the people in her life who have made her feel insignificant. While she was blowing her life up my heart rate was ratcheting, but I was also cheering for her. I was cheering for that girl who felt ignored by her family, whose boyfriend did not really know her, and who worked tirelessly to please everyone at the expense of her own happiness.

Nick was such a breath of fresh air character. He's honest, he cares, he tries his hardest to understand Emilie when she seems to be going out of her mind. Emilie helps to pull Nick back from his own sadness, is able to remind him that life is meant to be lived. They bring out the best in each other while they do their worst.

This was another young adult novel where the adults in the story were actively awful to the lead or were completely useless when the lead needed help. Emilie's parents ignore her and her needs, until they have reason to punish her. They don't seem to consider her reasons for what she did, they argue, they offer little help. At the end they seemed to somewhat see what they had been doing, but I think they still neglected to apologize for years of emotional abuse. Gross!

There were also several teary moments in this rom-com. When you find out Nick's backstory, the story behind the jacket Emilie borrows from him. I just cannot believe he will never know all the versions of Emilie through all the time loops, because he was only ever in the present time loop.

I loved this novel though. I loved badass Emilie and partner-in-crime Nick.

I've enjoyed every single one of Lynn Painter's books and I was so excited to be approved for an advanced copy of The Do-Over from @netgalley. I also sooo enjoyed reading this one and discussing with some friends.

This YA Valentine's Day time loop book was so easy to sink into and I loved the way it unfolded. Books for a young adult audience don't always work for me as well as they used to, but this book was heartfelt, hilarious, delightfully fun, and had such great characters. In tone, it reminded me a bit of another YA novel I loved several years ago, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum. I'm always a bit of a sucker for a book that employs a bit of that teenage rebellion/fun day/Ferris Bueller plot point, and this one absolutely delivered that. The ending and final chapters were wonderful too. The reminder to live a little is always a welcome one, too.

Such a fun read!! I love the Groundhog Day trope and thought Lynn Painter did such a great job at it. I read this at just the right time as it was just Valentine's Day so the setting was perfect. Emilie is such a likeable main character who is definitely not perfect but is amazing at the same time. She honestly handles most of the same day over and over again much better than I ever would. Her day of no consequences, aka DONC (which of course may indeed of consequences) gave me all of the Ferris Bueller's Day Off vibes I needed. The story mainly focused on Emilie and Nick on their DONC and we got to see such a nice side of Nick and the real side of Emilie. I wish we got to see a little bit more of Emilie's friends during the DONC because they seem so fun (!!) but it's ok, the ending made up for it. The ending made me so happy and such a great little wrap up to the story.

Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter is my favourite YA book ever….until now. Now Lynn is the author of my TWO favourite YA books.

Wow wow wow I loved this book. I read the last 50% in one sitting - I could not put it down.

Lynn writes the perfect YA to me. It’s not angsty, it’s nostalgic and realistic and makes all of your teenage dreams feel like they come to life.

A Valentine’s time loop?! Pick this up RIGHT now. The perfect love month read. Not a fan of time loops? I’m not usually either but she writes it in a non-repetitive way that totally works.

Nick Stark. THE Nick Stark. Teenage heartthrob, grumpy exterior but sweetest ever on the inside. His banter with Emilie was so fun. My high school self would SWOON (who am I kidding - I swooned now lol) over this guy.

Last name as a nickname/pet name.
Enough said.

That ending. Sobbed. Sweetest. Made me melt and smile through all of the tear.

5 massive stars

I am a hard sell on young adult novels, and that is totally a personal thing. I can’t fully lose myself in them, I don’t connect well with the plot or characters and I just don’t love them properly. In saying that - Lynn Painter could write a restaurant menu and I’d probably read it. There were so many times I actually laughed out loud while reading The Do-Over, which doesn’t happen often for me. Time loops are also a hard sell for me because they’re unrealistic, but this was done so well I barely noticed it. The characters were absolutely LOVELY and so sweet. The love story and the friendships were absolute perfection.

If you’re looking for a cute read for Valentine’s Day, this is it!

When I discovered that this book was about a girl continuously reliving Valentine’s Day, I was a bit nervous. I have read multiple books with a similar synopsis and found them to be too repetitive to be enjoyable. I am glad that this book did not fully follow that suit. There were enough differences amongst Emilie’s repeated Valentine’s Days that it wasn’t tedious to read.

Emilie checks every box she has ever fit into; she is the perfect daughter, the perfect friend, the perfect student, the perfect girlfriend, and she is determined to have the perfect Valentine’s Day! But when she wakes up on February 14 and is faced with one unfortunate circumstance after another, she cannot wait for the day to be over. So you can imagine her dismay when she wakes the next day, only to find that it is Valentine’s Day once again…

I appreciated Emilie’s character because I found myself relating to her a lot. Not that I am perfect by any means, but as a young girl who goes about life not making any waves wherever she goes, you often get overlooked. This girl who feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere in particular (including both of her homes), despite being friends with and liked by all, really pulled on my heartstrings. I felt for her. So when Emilie decided to live one of her Valentine’s Days as a DONC (day of no consequences), I was really intrigued. It’s an interesting concept, being able to live life without worrying about how your decisions will affect your future.

I love the coming-of-age life lessons and emotions that live within the pages of YA novels, and I really enjoy he sweet, budding relationships that Painter writes about during this phase of life. I like that they don’t necessarily have to be serious or full of spice in order to be good and desirable. They’re real and they mean something and they facilitate growth and I am here to devour them!

I found this book slow and I could not finish it. Sorry it just was not for me as the entire nightmare loop was giving me anxiety. I can imagine it be a wonderful read for the right person.

Lynn Painter can do no wrong! I love her writing style. The Do-Over is sweet, laughable, and the perfect read if you are looking to put a smile on your face.

I was worried I wouldnt enjoy the time loop, but I thought it was really well done. I loved the tender moments in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an egalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is my second Lynn Painter novel—and I truly enjoyed every moment. On the one hand, ‘The Do-Over’ is a fun and easy read (I read it in a single day), but even so it still touches on real and serious subjects that are readily relatable and absolutely worth discussion.

Emilie’s journey not only involves an initially disastrous and ever-repeating day, but explores the impact of divorce on children—including their sense of self-worth and belonging, their ideas and expectations for romantic relationships, in this instance a desperation to please and control… And through a secondary character Lynn Painter follows the experience of grief and how one might respond to loss and attempts at guarding oneself from future hurts.

Altogether I considered this an entirely wonderful and recommendable story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Omg! Loved loved loved this one! If you haven't read any of her books then please run out immediately and get them! Or order them!

This was a YA book that was funny, relatable, and unique. I wasn't sure the time loop element would work for me but it was so well done. Loved everything about this one, and devoured it in 2 days this holiday season.

Definitely recommend! 5 stars.

Lynn Painter never misses! I absolutely loved this cute read, and how Emilie develops during her many Valentine’s Days. Her and Nick were so cute together, especially when she dragged him along in the car to get coffee and he went with it just for the fun of it. I did think that Josh got off a bit easy with what his actions were, but I was really glad that Emilie realized fairly quickly that he wasn’t worth her time in a romantic sense. I really enjoyed all of the characters and the differences that Emilie made in each of the redos to see what would allow her to get out of the loop she was stuck in, and will definitely be reading it again!