Member Reviews
Quite the unique spin on a true day from hell, over and over again. This one will keep you guessing as to how it’s actually going to turn out! You’re going to love Emilie and find yourself cheering for her victory over this messed up day, again and again. Loved it!
This was like Groundhogs Day, but on Valentines. This was a really cute YA romance and I loved the witty banter throughout.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I stopped reading about halfway and skimmed to the end. She's not a likeable protagonist and there's just too much going on here. When there's clearly a big element (the repeating days), you don't need as much extra drama as there was in this story.
I loved this story! It's Groundhog Day but takes place on the never-ending Valentines Day with so much more teen angst. Emilie is a relatable character, even for adults, because she's getting pulled in so many directions and she just needs validation. Her DONC was the best thing I've read in a long time and I snorted out loud several times throughout the whole thing. I couldn't get enough of this story and didn't want to put it down. Highly recommended for those who need a pick me up or just a good laugh.
I started listening to the YA time loop romcom The Do-Over by @lynnpainterkirkle yesterday and could not put it down. She’s definitely on my list of favorite authors, and I loved Better Than the Movies. But I think I may have liked this one even better.
Super-planner Emilie Hornby has the perfect Valentine’s Day planned. She got Josh, her boyfriend of three months, the perfect gift and plans to tell him she loves him for the very first time. But the day does not go as planned. First she rearends her lab partner, Nick, who claims not to recognize her and that may actually be the highlight of the day. Unfortunately, when she wakes up the next morning, it’s Valentine’s Day all over again.
I was a little wary of the time loop aspect. While I love a good time loop story, I’ve read a bunch of them recently. But I needn’t have worried. I’m in good hands with Lynn Painter. After many terrible repeated days, Emilie—who is exceedingly worried about pleasing everyone else from her boyfriend to her difficult divorced parents—decides that since there are no consequences for the day, she will do exactly what she wants. I don’t want to spoil anything, but what follows is an exquisite day that reminded me of so many of my favorite things: Before Sunrise (the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy movie where two strangers walked through the streets of Vienna talking), Jess from Gilmore Girls (which I’ve heard was an inspiration for a character in the book and I am 100% team Jess), and every imaginary date I ever planned in my head. I was swooning through the whole second half of this book. A lot. Probably more than an adult mother of two teens should be swooning.
Even though this is a romcom, there are heavier moments and really great themes about the importance of standing up for yourself and telling people what you really need.
To say I loved this one would be an understatement. If you are a fan of YA romance you have to read it. But you probably already know that.
Lynn Painter creates a very cute YA romance that young and old readers can enjoy. The story is very much ground hogs' day where she is stuck in a time loop wishing the day would come to an end instead of waking up and living the worst day all over again.
The Do-Over has a lot of pop culture conference that can work for the here and now. In the end the book will not last the ages because of the pop culture references. With that being said the The Do-Over is a quick easy read for those needing a little romance and humor for their day.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of Lynn Painter The Do-Over
I read the previous book by the author from kindle unlimited and enjoyed it so I was looking forward to reading this new story as soon as I’ve seen it on NetGalley.
It starts slowly for me, the repetition of the same day and do over of the same routine had put me off for a second if I’m being honest. But I’m happy that I didn’t gave up and read it to the end.
It’s a sweet YA story that takes us to a Valentine’s Day reloaded when Emily has seen her love interest with some other girl and that breaks her heart. After trying to make sense of what’s happening, she decided to change the curse of that day and make amends where needed.
Do not pass on this book, the writing is great, the characters while very young and naive at times, are very reliable and interesting for their age, and the overall story is great.
📖NetGalley arc
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
Rating: ★ ★ ★
Genre: 𝐲𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Format: 𝐞-𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤
Length: 𝟑𝟎𝟒 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬
Trigger Warnings: 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡
✨Read this book if you enjoy✨
⏰Groundhogs day plot
💖Sweet/closed door romance
I just started reading Lynn Painter’s books this year and I have to say that I love her work. This story wasn’t my favorite of her work so far. The issues for me really lie in the fact that there is such a focus on Emilie, so while we see her growth throughout the story the other characters are stuck in a loop so there isn’t much they can do differently. I really loved the family dynamics and the love interest. But I wanted to see these storylines more flushed out. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and quick read.
𝓜𝔂 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻,
" "𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠?"
𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑎 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑙𝑒, 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑡, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘."
Lynn Painters has quickly become one of my favorite authors to read. Her wit and humor are unmatched. The Do-Over was a cute young-adult rom-com that will have you crackling through the entire book. I LOVED this book and all its Valentine Loop glory! 💞
The entire book sucks you to its fun and swoony rom-com nature. A one-sitting read kind of book! Lynn continues to write beautiful stories with adorable, quirky female leads & tall, dark and handsome male leads that capture your heart. 🫰
You will adore Emilie with her quick wit, checklists, and positive personality & Nick Stark will have all Jess Mariano fans swooning over his surly personality and side smiles!
"𝐼𝑡'𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦, ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑘. 𝐻𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔."
If you are a fan of heartwarming stories with perfect wit, charming characters, and a fun plot, you NEED to pick The Do-Over up!
While you're at it, you should go ahead and order Better Than The Movies as well! You won't be disappointed!
𝓐𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼 ~
𝓜𝔂 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓨𝓸𝓾
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕠-𝕆𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕪 𝕃𝕪𝕟𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣
Published by Simon & Schuster
✨Thank you, Netgalley & Simon & Schuster, for the advanced copy
💭𝓟.𝓢. ~ Read if you like:
Time loops
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Valentines day cuteness
Enemies to lovers
Jess Mariano vibes
People Pleaser FMC who finally lets loose
Taylor Swift feels
Metallica
Sarcasm
Family Dynamics
Adorable piggyback rides
An epic promposal
Nose Kisses
Being Incancesently happy
This is my second time-loop romance from a beloved YA author, but Lynn Painter Kirkle can do no wrong. Her YA romances always just make you feel so good!
Emilie was such a great main character. She learns quickly from her mistakes and isn't afraid to stand up for herself. The side characters in this story are amazing too: the love interest, the meddling grandma, and Emilie's best friends.
Despite the time loop, the plot didn't get stale. Emilie actually doesn't spend that long in the time loop compared to others I've read, so there's a lot more to the story than her aggravation at the repeats.
Lynn's YA books are everything I love about YA, with none of the aspects of the genre that irk me. I will always read her books!
4.5🌟 sometimes you absolutely just need a book that is gonna make you giggle and feel like you are enveloped in a warm hug! and that was this book! i could not put it down from the second i started reading. yes, it's cheesy, yes it's insta-lovey, but i honestly loved it and it felt right for the YA romance time-loop story that it is. i appreciated that even though emilie was repeating the same day, the story never felt dull or repetitive. the banter? A+! the taylor swift references? so fitting! the characters still had depth and faced real issues amidst the fun of their day together, which made it all the more convincing.
this was just pure sweetness and fun, and you need a little of that magic every once in awhile🥰
*thank you simon and schuster & netgalley for the eARC!
if you know the book is written by lynn painter, you know it’s going to be good. 5 stars!
this book was honestly so cute and i loved em and nick so much! the character development of both characters really showed growth and i loved watching em not give a fuck about everyone else 🥹🫶🏻 and nick, the grumpy, quiet man who showed his soft side to em. this book was definitely my top books of 2022. this was one of my favorite books by lynn painter (better than the movies being first of course) but i enjoyed this so much.
thank you netgalley and simonteen for the arc <3
In my eyes, Lynn Painter can do wrong when it comes to YA books 🥰 BETTER THAN THE MOVIES was an easy 5⭐️ read for me and so is THE DO-OVER!
What I loved:
-Nick 🫶🏻
-Grandma Max & Emilies relationship
-T Swift & Gilmore Girls references
-YA but deals w tough topics like: half siblings & step parents, divorce, sibling death
THE DO-OVER was such a unique, & refreshing feel good read that I think everyone should pick up even if you aren’t typically a YA reader 🤗 it doesn’t give off the typical moody, immature & naive vibes you’d expect with a YA book/romance. There is way more depth which I loved!
Thank you so much to Netgalley & Simon Pulse for the arc!
Honestly, Lynn Painter can do no wrong, and TDO was no exception.
If you’ve read Lynn’s adult novels, you know she’s the QUEEN of hilarious banter between her characters, and I am happy to report that the banter here was utter perfection, as always.
This story was so wholesome, and I was completely enamored with the time loop as a device to really force Emilie to focus completely on the things that matter most and forget about the superficial. I’m trash for a time loop anyway, but a time loop as a way to give us this stunning, coming of age, important life lesson story was just chef’s kiss.
I love Lynn Painter, and I loved this book.
No one writes YA romance like Lynn Painter. No. One. I loved Better Than the Movies and The Do-Over is right up there alongside it.
Painter’s ability to create relatable, loveable characters is bar none and the banter they engage in is always perfection. I become fully invested in their personal growth as well as their romantic entanglements and by the time the story comes to it’s conclusion, I cannot deal with these characters having anything but the happiest of endings.
What made this story so unique to me is the “ground hog day” plot device. It was a great way to convey to young adult readers the important vs. the superficial, by having Emilie stuck in a time loop until she figures out for herself what matters most in her life and how to go about getting it. I cannot recommend this one enough. It is the perfect mix of YA and adult romance and I think readers of all ages will love it all the same.
Read if you like:
• witty banter
• wholesome romance
• magical realism
• groundhog day/ferris buehler
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book is really cute, but I did think it was a little too long. Also, when I started reading it, I immediately thought of Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, and, while Painter is not trying to be Oliver, it's hard to compare these two writers.
The premise, repeating Valentine's Day over and over, felt a little cliche (I also thought of the Midnight Library), but Emilie is a likable character, and I was so happy when she started just not giving a damn about anyone else. I am a big Swiftie, and I couldn't decide if I liked all the lyrics or not.. still debating, I guess. The love story was also cute and not too sappy.. but I do wish we had more of Grandma Max (I think I'm showing that I may not be the target age for this book with that opinion!)
3.5 stars-- cute, trendy, fun
The Do-Over is a YA version of a Groundhog’s day romance but on Valentine’s Day with a large dose of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off thrown in for good measure. (Is this book actually written for teens? What teens today have seen Groundhog’s Day and Ferris Bueller?)
Most of the book was fun and compulsively readable. The two main characters were enjoyable and had good chemistry. The friends were fun. The parents sucked. You know … a very typical YA. Lol.
BUT the last few chapters had major pacing issues with weird time jumps in the middle of a page. Super jarring. AND the explanation for the repeating day trope was very flimsy and made zero sense.
(Also I just want to note that the characters didn’t speak like teens in my opinion. In my experience of being a mom to a teen..16 year olds don’t speak or act this way. These characters behaved and spoke like people in their 20s. But that seems to be a common thing in YA contemporary to have the characters be aged up behavior wise so I didn’t take a star off for that even though it truly bugged me.)
Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Such a cute and funny rom-com! I devoured this book in one night! The plot isn’t unique but I still enjoyed it. It’s a quick and lighthearted romance. I loved the characters and found the MC relatable. I really enjoyed this book and would read more by this author.
thank u thank u to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc <3
4.5 - LYNN PAINTER WRITES MAGIC!
i wish i could give you a good coherent review but the truth is something about lynn painter’s ya just turns me into a sparkly gooey pile of mush.
this books is literally rory and jess mixed with taylor swift references and a time loop. so yeah, it’s really good. and there’s so. much. banter.
let me say i did not love this as much as better than the movies, but will i ever love anything as much as better than the movies?? it’s not feeling likely.
but i did still adore this and absolutely flew through it. it’s strange, flawed, tropey, and a little insta-love. and it works. why? because sometimes i want to read a book about huge teenage feelings and sort of ridiculous love because it’s fun and joyful (but still with some heavy stuff that was challenging and good!) and this was so much of that!
i think the do-over plot needed to be strengthened a tiny bit, hence my inability to go to the fulllllll 5 stars, but still! em and nick forever (nick btw… ya dream boy!)
cws: toxic families, death of a loved one, grief, depression, cheating, car accident
This was such a fun twist on the Groundhog Day trope - can it be considered a trope at this point?
Either way, Lynn Painter knows how to tug at my heartstrings with the characters she writes. With having us going through the same day over and over, it could've gotten repetitive but there was also something new happening, and Emilie really kept us on our feet. This has incredible heart and humor and if you're a fan of Better Than The Movies - then you'll love this one just as much!