Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm convinced Lynn Painter is the queen of writing hilarious, joyful romances with tons of fun quips from all her characters. The Do-Over is just that, combined with the Groundhog Day trope and an all-day teen escapade à la Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Every one of Lynn Painter's romances so far has also succeeded in making me shed several tears, and in The Do-Over, she did so during the several somber scenes that discuss the grief after the death of a sibling, fear or abandonment, divorce, infidelity, and more.

I think where The Do-Over fell short for me, is that our main character, Emilie, felt like a carbon copy of every other protagonist written by Lynn Painter--the sunshine-y, full-of-life, golden girl. I also had a hard time believing that Nick fell in love with Emilie after spending just one day with her, considering he barely spoke to or acknowledged her beforehand. Otherwise, I think this book was still a solid YA romance and I think fans of Lynn's previous novels will definitely enjoy The Do-Over.

Thank you @netgalley and @simonteen for the e-arc!

Here are a few things I loved about this book:
• I loved the Groundhog Day aspect.
• Emilie! I loved seeing her story unfold and
watching her fight for what’s important to her.
• all the mishaps have me laughing a lot
• Nick is the best and I loved him
• I wasn’t expecting this book to hit me in the
feels, but it did!!

Lynn Painter is an auto-buy author for me and this book didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t put it down once I started, I needed to know how Emilie’s story would end.

This book was funny, romantic, and it may make you a little misty eyed.
★ ★ ★ ★/5
Steam: kisses
TW: parents divorced who don’t get along, death of a brother (past year)

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I absolutely *loved* Better Than the Movies, so I was so excited to read Lynn's next YA. And it didn't disappoint! I'm generally not a big fan of the time loop trope, but Lynn handled it well, and this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I love her ability to write relatable characters, swoony LIs and engaging plots. It was hard to put this one down!

A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

The Do Over continues to support my belief that Lynn Painter is the queen of YA rom coms👸🏼I loved Better Than the Movies so much and this did not disappoint.

Mini Blurb from Good Reads: Emilie is stuck in a time loop reliving a dumpster fire of a Valentine's Day. How many days can she passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of this mess, what happens when the universe stops handing out do-overs?

YA is not my favorite. I normally get annoyed with characters who are immature and make dumb mistakes. Then here comes Emilie in chapter 1, breaking out a mini binder from her glove compartment with a tabbed section labeled "In case of accident." And I'm suddenly taking notes from a fictional teenager on how to be a better adult (not kidding). Em has everything planned out to get exactly what she wants in life. She is regularly checking her planner and to-do lists, but the universe comes and pulls the rug out from beneath her. Even in my 30s, this concept of believing you did "everything right" only to get dumped on is something I can deeply relate to, and this is why I love Emilie. I ended up rooting for her, even as she made questionable choices
::me shoving my face with popcorn while thinking, "screw it Em, GET THE T-SWIFT TATTOO--FTW"

I felt everything in this book. The teenage pain, the swoons, the personal growth in both Em and Nick, and the ending was bliss. Lynn left me with yet another book hangover. I HIGHLY recommend this one, even if you aren't normally a YA lover either.

Overall; ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Plot: 🛻🛻🛻🛻
Romance: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice: 🌶 (16yr+)

A love story that will rip your soul in pieces & put it back together in the last chapter. I was sucked in in chapter 1, but then was worried about the story line because I’m not a big fan of the “ground hogs day” tropes. But I was pleasantly surprised with this one, and couldn’t put it down!

This book was fantastic.

If you've read Better Than The Movies, you're in for another treat!

Emilie finds herself reliving Valentine's Day over and over again in a groundhog's day nightmare.
I loved watching the variations on the day and how each choice brought different results. I loved how she discovered more about herself and the way it affected her relationships.

It was a little bit of insta-love and I would have loved MORE of the building of that relationship, but I loved it nonetheless.

This book was such a blast to read. Thank you, Netgalley and Simon & Schuester for the early ecopy!

4.5 stars

What to expect in this book: language throughout, deals with divorce, death, and talks about a same kiss/reationship.

This was a delightful book! I have a love/hate relationship with time loop books and this one definitely falls within the love category. I adored Emile. She was a terrific MC and I enjoyed the character arcs of all the people in this book.

Ohk Lynn Painter is a freaking genius & I will hear nothing else! Better Than The Movies was one of my favorite books last year, but honestly, The Do-Over might surpass it! A surly Jess from Gilmore Girls type, a chance to re-do the worst Valentines Day ever, and go on amazing adventures & learn about yourself while all that happens? YES PLEASE! The Do-Over sucks you in from page one & I legit never wanted it to end. So if you love: groundhogs day, Jess Mariano vibes or think leather pants would be totally BA - pick this one up! You will not regret it:)

A fun read, the chemistry between the MC's is solid. There is more language then I like and the ending was a little abrupt but over all, happy with it.
Nick is a great male lead, broody, mysterious but so sweet and good once the shell is cracked.
Watching Emilie figure out who she wants to be and what she wants to change was lovely, and I appreciate that it's a journey.
Rox and Chris were great friends, Josh brings so many funny scenes.
Fun read.

✨It’s giving “see you in chemistry” from Drake and Josh, Before I Fall*, Easy A**, every Taylor Swift song ever, and that one scene in Santa Clause 2 where Scott gets Carol the baby doll.✨

*less tears for sure and there’s absolutely an HEA
**basically just the vibes of Olive not giving a fuck

✨

Isn’t it lovely when a most anticipated read is truly worth it? Especially since Better Than the Movies was That Bitch. Both books do different things, but they both do what they do very well.

In a possibly ill-fated attempt to describe how they’re related, I’m going to rely on Mean Girls because it is a timeless beauty and for some reason I’m in an early 2000s mood. For our purposes, The Plastics have been replaced by their cousin, The Papers. Better Than the Movies is Regina George because again, That Bitch. And it is here before you today that I present The Do-Over as Karen Smith. (Lynn I dare you to mention toaster strudels in book 3.)

✨

The Do-Over just made me feel really happy and fluffy. It was a super quick read and I definitely read it in one sitting. There’s a 30% chance I’m already recommending it (I’m a pusher, I push people). Easy, breezy, beautiful, hardcover girl.

The DONC (day of no consequences) had me STRESSED like girl 90+ in a 45??? Ricky Bobby could never 😮‍💨 We never got to see her day in court lol but my gawd thoughts & prayers. On the DONC note, I love how The Do-Over played with the time loop trope. It’s chaotic and somehow very nostalgic.

As stated in the summary, the loop stopped after the day when Emilie finally lost her moral marbles and went off the rails, dragging Nick with her. (Who are we kidding there was no dragging necessary.) It also didn’t spend too much time recounting the previous days she’d relived, so you didn’t feel like you were rereading pages upon pages.

✨

I will only compare children once: I wish we had more insight into Nick’s feelings towards Emilie prior to the start of the book. We definitely got a hint of it (hello pretending he didn’t remember her) but they made it pretty clear neither had given the other much thought prior to the DONC.

On one hand, this means that the book did a very impressive job building their relationship in a very short amount of space. On the other hand, I’m a greedy gremlin and I always want there to be major secret pining by the love interest (if they’ve gone to school together or are otherwise mildly aware of each other). Like our sweet love sick boy Wes, for example.

The grand gesture here was ADORABLE but I did think we were going to get Nick’s own hastily put together confession box with a hundred scribbled confessions of things he’s loved about Emilie over the years. Endless pining is just something I always want to see, so I can’t not advocate for it here. Again, there were hints but the depth of his previous feelings was never revealed.

✨

Overall, this was such an enjoyable take on the time loop. I already can’t wait to read Lynn’s next YA because there’s just something so relatable and real about her characters. I’ve found both Liz and Emilie to be so wonderfully complex and not pigeonholed into one character type. Younger me feels so at home in a Lynn Painter YA.

My favorite time loop movie concept Groundhog Day meets my favorite playing hooky YA movie concept Ferris Bueller’s Day off! This book was talking to my Gen X soul !

I have to write Netflix executives a letter to inform them instead of spending so much money for nonsense concepts with full of cliches and buy the rights of this book! This is a dreamy YA fantasy plot line they shouldn’t miss!

Here’s the plot line:
Emilie Hornby ( not related with brilliant author Nick Hornby) is straight A student, people pleaser, having long lists and check boxes to control her future. Even her boyfriend Josh is chosen after he clicked all the boxes. She needs guarantee not to fail in relationships like her parents did. After the divorce her parents chose the other significant others. Her father married, with twins and as her mother lives with her boyfriend.

Let’s get to the chase: on her Valentine Day, bad things start hitting Emilie incessantly. First she bumps her car into her broody and handsome lab partner Nick who gives her ride to the school. Then she finds out the fellowship in Chicago for this summer she has been excited is taken away from her. And the worst one is the next: she catches Josh kissing his ex!

When she gets home crying out, her dad tells her something that will change their lives forever.

She finally finds herself at her granny’s house, praying this worst day of her life will be over sooner!

But the very next day she realizes it’s still Valentine’s Day and she’s trapped in a worst kind of time loop!

She tries so hard to change the outcomes! But what if she accepts things she cannot change and learn more about mysterious Nick she keeps bumping into! There might be a reason he gets in her way! She has to find it by experiencing same day by making different decisions!

Overall: it’s easy to devour, enjoyable pop corn read I highly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster’s Children Publishing / Simon& Schuster Books for Young Readers for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

**Review will be published November 10th on my site and socials!!**

THIS WAS FUN.

Painter really does a great job with young adult contemporaries. They have the right vibe I love and the book is filled with some seriousness but also a lot of light and fun that brings a smile to my face.

Groundhog day plots can go multiple directions for me. This one was super fast paced so before I got bogged down in repetitiveness the story moved on to the next day and the fallout arose. I was overly amused noticing all of the little Taylor Swift lyrics thrown in here. And there were a bunch of Ferris Beuller-esque antics that I enjoyed.

Emilie took her life by the steering wheel of the car she couldn’t stop crashing into Nick with and was able to really exhibit some good character growth. I liked that she found the strength to stand-up to her parents and speak her mind about changes she wasn’t fully in control of. Being a child of divorce I felt a lot of these sentiments.

It was a gorgeous story and the romance was SO GOOD. I adored Nick from the get-go. He was kind and a cinnamon roll. Totally obsessed with them. Totally obsessed with Painter’s books. This is easily another one to love on y’all!

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: strong
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: car wreck (nobody is injured), death of a sibling (off page prior to book, recounted), depictions of grief, divorced parents

thank you simon & schuester and netgalley for the earc of this book!

maybe i'm riding on some euphoric high of finishing this book but i genuinely devoured it in less than two days and all i can say is lynn painter and young adult romcoms were truly a match made in heaven.

while this book did deliver a trope i'm not too fond of (groundhog's day esque books have always been hit or miss to me), i truly enjoyed reading this one. the premise is entertaining enough–girl gets stuck in a time loop on valentine's day, which also happens to be a day filled with terrible events back to back, i also loved the way painter didn't quite linger on the repeating days.

the pacing of this book was pretty solid. there were times where i felt it was a bit all over the place (see: time jump after her timeloop situation gets resolved) but i also understand why painter set the pace as it is. nick and emilie's progression WAS a little insta-love esque, but i honestly love that trope from ya books because it just feels real.

painter creates two interesting and fun main characters in this book, and you honestly fall in love with them and their chemistry from the start. i loved their snark towards one another that slowly turns into a genuine connection, and something about em as a main character is so interesting. i know lynn painter paid an ode to jess mariano with nick, but nickemilie TRULY DO remind me of literati from gilmore girls & i'm obsessed!

(um, also: this book is perfect for the taylor swift lovers. lynn painter: i see you and i love you for it. god i can't wait to annotate every reference i highlighted in my eARC)

something i just wish was different was the family plotlines. i don't think the resolution with emilie and her family was written the way i wanted it to be (see unresolved tension with her stepmom & father), but i also know the focus of this book was the romance, not the subplot. still, i do wish it was went about a different way. its not necessarily bad, but if i could change it i would.

all in all, a great follow up to better than the movies! while nick and emilie don't give me QUITE the same buzz as wesliz do, i do adore them. this book was simply just a quick, fun romcom.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

Lynn Painter can do no wrong. Gah this was so amazing and had the BEST premise. The Do-Over follows Emilie Hornby, perfectionist and bookworm, who gets stuck in a time loop on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, this leads to day after day of disasters. But when something good starts to come out of these repeating days (i.e. a dreamy, brooding bad boy), how can Em watch as these moments get erased?

First off, Nick Stark. The Jess Mariano vibes are strong and they gave me life. It was going to be hard to follow up on BTTM’s Wes, but then Lynn writes the ultimate brooding, sarcastic, mysterious “bad boy”. So, yes, she succeeded and surpassed herself. I loved Nick and him and Em had top notch banter.

Second, I absolutely loved Em. I said this with Better Than the Movies, but Teen Ally would have been obsessed with this book. There is a part about what Em’s parents had to ground her from that SPOKE TO ME. Even in my 30s, I relate so much to that stressed, sarcastic girl that is way too attached to her planner.

Third, there is a grand gesture moment in this book that made me emit an inhuman sound that scared my dogs. It was that adorable. I will never be over it.

The Do-Over gets all the stars from me. I will never recover from the cuteness. Or from the Taylor Swift references.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC.
Lynn Painter has moved permanently onto my favorite author's list. I read and LOVED her YA book, Better Than the Movies, last year and after reading her adult romances and email serials, I will read anything she writes. She is just so funny and that humor is threaded throughout this book. I am skeptical of Groundhog Day tropes, but I knew I had to try this book. It worked so well for me because it wasn't overdone. I didn't feel like it was the exact same every day, even though it was the same day. Each day, Emilie does different, sometimes something hilarious, almost always awkward in the way teenagers are to get out of this time loop. Her growth as a character was genuine. The DONC day was so much fun. And I'm a sucker for some YA romance because I married my high school sweetheart. So anytime I get to read about teenagers exploring relationships and love, it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. And the ending was *chef's kiss.* I had so much fun reading this book, and I know other YA fans will also love it.

“I didn’t know you this morning, and now I know the feel of your hand in mine, the sound of your voice when you’re trying not to cry, and the taste of your mouth.”

Emilie and Nick. She’s stuck in a time loop, having to relive Valentine’s Day over and over again. A day she wanted to go perfectly but ended up going terribly. Each day she tries to do things differently but no matter what, it’s still the same day and she still crashes into Nick Stark. Her surly, grumpy chemistry lab partner that she’s never spoken to. Their friendship begins to blossom and feelings start to grow, but will Emilie be able to break out of the time loop or is she stuck living the same day over again?

THIS BOOK!! It was so cute, hilarious and filled with so much sweetness! My heart is swooning over Emilie and Nick. The teasing, the flirting, the adventures that they went on together truly made me smile so much! A favorite read!

💝READ IF YOU LIKE💝:
- enemies to lovers
- a surly, grumpy hero
- witty banter & sarcastic teasing
- time loops
- Valentine’s Day
- confessions
- pro’s & con’s x to-do lists
- drinking tea
- Jess Mariano vibes
- promposals & piggyback rides
- Titanic
- purple unicorn cake

cw: death of loved one, divorce

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the advanced copy! The Do-Over is available on November 15, 2022!

Emilie believes that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself, even lend a hand to fate. It's Valentine's Day and she is finally going to tell her boyfriend she loves him. On her way to school though, she wrecks into (literally) Nick, her chemistry lab partner, causing her to be late to school. One thing after another goes wrong later that day, she finds her boyfriend cheating on her, she loses a fellowship, she finds out her dad is moving away and didn't even consider her feelings. After all this, she just wants to hole up, eat some ice cream and start fresh tomorrow. But tomorrow doesn't come, she has to relive Valentine's Day over and over again because she seems to be stuck in some sort of time loop.
Each day she wakes up she tries to make the day happen differently, but every single day, no matter what she does, she runs into Nick Stark. Each day he gives her a ride to school and each day he is less broody than the last. So while she thought she was heartbroken over her boyfriend cheating on her, it might have been enough to open her eyes to what else is out there and not just check boxes you think are supposed to be checked. So when she decides to throw caution to the wind and have a DONC (day of no consequences) she really goes for broke. What does it matter when the day will reset anyways? Well, the whole time I kept thinking, oooof, what if it doesn't reset and you are left with consequences.
This story is really about healing, speaking up for what you want, opening your eyes to all that is out there and growing up. I absolutely ADORED Em and Nick. Each day you saw a little bit more of them interacting and how she was just drawn to him. When she kidnapped him for her DONC, him opening up to her and us seeing a different side to both of them really melted my heart.
Thank you to Lynn Painter, Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children for an early copy.

I was super excited for this book after having read and loved Painter's first YA book, Better Than The Movies.
I will say that Better Than The Movies is still my favorite, but I did enjoy this book a lot!
I thought the plot/premise was super fun! (Emilie suddenly finds herself repeating a horrible Valentine's Day over and over again) And I really enjoyed Nick and Emilie - they were so cute and I loved their growth across the story!
I really enjoyed the witty banter between the characters and there were many laugh -out-loud and super cute moments! The building friendship and romantic tension between Em and Nick on their Day-of-no-Consequences together was soo good!

I was only a bit confused about the 'how' and the 'why' behind the repeating day.. like it just suddenly happened out of no where after she fell asleep that night (no big hit on the head or traumatic event that made it happen haha) and then towards the end when she seemed to be piecing it all together.. as the reader I didn't really follow or understand why the time-loop just ended.. Like what had she learned or accomplished or achieved to make it end? But maybe that was just me, maybe I missed some details haha.
But I was able to look past those things/suspend my belief and just have a lot of fun with this story! And I was happy with the timing (if you know you know:) Em and Nick are soo cute together! Nick is SO SWEET under his surliness! (:

My only complaint is the strong language. Strong language, especially in YA, is not my thing. I understand that kids may talk like that in real life, but I don't enjoy reading it. Especially when it feels like there's so much.
The F-word is used 10+ times, along with several other curse words through-out, and using the Lord's name in vain many times. I was able to read past them and still enjoy the story overall, but the amount of language was uncomfortable, distracting and too much in my opinion.
The romance aspect was perfect and fantastic and totally YA appropriate! Swoony kisses only! Love that!
"I fell in love with you on Valentine's Day, Emilie, but I need more than just seven minutes." *swoooon!
4.5 stars

Thank you so much for the early copy!!

Okay I was upset at first that there was no way to send to my kindle, but after actually reading the book anyway I found that I enjoyed it!

OH MY GOSH this is one of my favorite books I've ever read. I hardly even know where to begin.

I started this book and then proceeded to read the entire book in one sitting. Lynn Painter captured my attention so quickly. I adored how she did the time-loop plot in this book. Every day felt unique and kept me engaged, despite it being set on the same day. Emilie was an entertaining main character and I felt for her. I loved watching her grow as a character and seeing her reaction to being stuck within the time-loop!

Then don't even get me started on the romance!! Oh my gosh. Emilie and Nick were perfect for each other. The banter was laugh-out-loud funny and every time they were in the same room I could feel the chemistry. I loved watching these two fall for each other during the time-loop.

After reading this, Lynn Painter has secured her spot as one of my all time favorite auto-buy authors who I know I will be reading from again and again.