I really liked the idea of Lily being forced to go back to college & running into her ex-boyfriend turned TA. But i've been really struggling to get through the book. Any time she's around the "typical" college age students from her classes, that's the only thing the book seems to focus on. It really feels like the author had a personal fear or dislike of turning 30 and could only focus on that while writing the book. Even in Lily's interactions with Jake, she acts like he could never be attracted to her because "she's 30 and wrinkled".

There are some genuinely funny banter & comments throughout the book which made it more enjoyable to read. But I just don't see myself enjoying the rest of this book.

Thank you to Avon and Suzanne Park for sending me an ARC!

I had different expectations going into this book, and though it didn't live up to them, I wasn't disappointed. I loved the take on this second chance romance and I'd always wanted to try Suzanne Park's books, but I'm not the biggest fan of YA lol.

Lily has had a successful career and is a bestselling author, but when interviewing for a new job she gets some unexpected news…when they did a background check, she doesn’t actually have her college degree! She came just a few credits short 10 years ago. Now she has a decision to make…put her life on pause to go back to school, or admit failure? With the help of her best friend Mia, and the TA that she has a past with, she navigates through all the changes to the college experience 10 years later.

This was a cute idea for a story, but I found it overall lacked enough to keep my attention. I liked Lily’s book idea and the work that she was doing. I liked her friends, and Jake. But I would’ve liked to see more with Jake. And when it came to some of her college requirements to graduate, I just saw it as silly and a little unrealistic. Overall it was just ok, but I probably wouldn’t pick it up for myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy of this book.

AAPI Heritage Month #5

rep: Korean American

I think I'm going to add second chance romances to the cozy mystery and YA pile of things that don't work for me. I'm a realist. Or a pessimist? If things don't work out the first time, I don't see why you'd return to them.

Lily Lee is a published author. When she applies for a new job, she is flabbergasted when she fails their background check. Turns out she is a few credits short of a degree.

I appreciate the concept that Suzanne put out here. Mental health and anxiety aren't talked about enough in Asian American households. I also have high functioning anxiety. When I mentioned it to my dad recently, he told me to stop being anxious.

So the anxiety part of the book works for me. So do the friendships. Mia is a hoot. And a roomie who bakes? Sign me up. I also wanted a little something something with Ethan, because hello, a noona romance? But alas.

Jake was fine. I was never hot for teacher TA. I was also never hot for returning to any of my past mistakes. So that I don't get.

The last 1/3 of the book felt rushed. Everything seemed to happen so quickly. Some things weren't explained. Some things were explained poorly.

I actually moved this up my tbr because there is an in person author event with Lily Chu and Suzanne Park at Zibby's Bookshop tomorrow and I was thinking of going after work. Anyone interested?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

First of all, love the asian representation as always. I think this writer does great work and I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I can't wait to read more from her.

In the middle of a career advancement Lily realizes she never really graduated. She has to go back to college. She gets the entire college experience too. New roommate, no money, and a crush. But it's the same crush she had when she was in college the first time, except this time, he's her TA.

This was a fun rom-com that really made me feel old. I'm the same age as the main character and I can relate to her experiences of meeting other college students. Great read for someone in their mid-thirties for sure but anyone will love it!

The Do-Over by Suzanne Park was not what I was expecting. I have enjoyed previous books by this author but this one struck out for me. I thought this story would focus more on a romantic do-over, but that was more of secondary story. This was more of Lily's college do-over instead. Hoping for more from the author's next book.

Unfortunately this one didn't quite work for me. I believe this book was marketed as a contemporary romance, but the romance is very minor in this story. The book focuses more on our main character and her personal journey and growth, which is not inherently an issue, but I don't feel it delivers on the marketing focus of this book. I would want my patrons to know what they are getting, picking something up and getting something different can be frustrating. I didn't find the romance itself to be particularly engaging, probably because it was a minor element of Lily's story. I also really struggled with the writing style. Specifically, I thought that the dialogue felt incredibly stilted, unrealistic, and awkward. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, because it makes the characters feel very flat and two-dimensional. It makes it hard for me engage with the characters, story, and relationships. It didn't work great for me. That was a bummer because I was very intrigued by the premise of returning to college with a new perspective and life experiences.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Harper Collins. I’m really torn on my rating for this book. For the first half of the book it was great! I flew through it, the dialogue was a little clunky sometimes but not terrible, and the characters were great. The second half of the book felt like one giant infomercial for self-help. It just didn’t click with me and it all felt very rushed compared to the first half of the book. Everything was very much told instead of shown which was a big departure from the first half of the book. I’m not sure if the author was rushed to finish the book or if they lost inspiration halfway through but it really fell apart at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Although I enjoyed the premise of this book, I found the characters, dialogue, and relationships between characters to be unrealistic.

This was a fun women’s fiction, about empowerment even if this plot was over the top. I wanted this to be more of a second chance romance but it took a backseat and wasn’t as developed as I hoped. Just wasn’t quite marketed this way.

This book had a super interesting premise. I liked the main character and her friends, but I felt the main male character was a little underwhelming. The mc’s opposition was definitely very predictable. However there were a few laugh out loud moments than greatly improved the book for me.

This is a cute story about believing in yourself, friendship and second chances.

Lily lee is a bestselling writer author and is set to land her dream job in the corporate world. But that all changes when a background check reveals that she never got her college degree. Believing this is all just a misunderstanding, Lily returns to her alma mater and learns in order to get her degree she must re-enroll and take a few classes. Now back in school, Lily is trying to navigate being a college student again when the TA of one of her classes is her ex-boyfriend Jake Cho. Lily is determined to finish her degree and get her dream job back before anyone finds out the truth. It can't be that hard, right?

I really enjoyed the books themes, which deals mostly with Lily overcoming the high expectations put on her by her family and herself. Also Lily's friendship with her best friend and roommate are the highlights of this book. There is a romance with Jake, but it's not the main story of the book -- which is fine, but I think marketing this as a romance is not accurate. It's more women's fiction, which I don't mind. I think the marketing gives readers false expectations and could lead to disappoint.

Overall, I think it's a fun, quick read. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑⁣
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: 𝐒𝐮𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 ⁣
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝟎𝟒.𝟎𝟒.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 ⁣
⁣
I spent the weekend in LA’s Little Tokyo and Korea Town hanging out in coffee shops while I allowed myself to get lost in Suzanne Park’s latest novel, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑.⁣
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Having read all of Suzanne Park’s books, I strongly believe that 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 is one of her personal best. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 is about Lily Lee who after landing the job of her dreams, shockingly discovers through a background check that she never technically finished college. She goes back to finish her senior year and finds herself in a class with Jake Cho, her college ex-boyfriend who is now a TA while finishing his PhD. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 has all the elements of a Suzanne Park masterpiece - a story that is full of heart, complete with the doting Korean parents, a love interest that molded into the Kdrama star of your dreams, imperfect characters that can overcome impossible situations, but always relatable, and hopeful. ⁣
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I loved going back to the past and seeing how things would change if given another chance at life, love, and circumstance, while armed with life experiences and knowing what you know now. It’s a wonderful premise of a story that is uniquely original, poignant, and oh so fun to read.

Loved loved loved this book. The characters were awesome. It was more than a romance and it kept me in it

Lily is the author of a bestselling book series all about being successful in the workforce. As she is writing her new book on landing the perfect job, while working to get her personal dream job at a top firm, a background check reveals she didn’t actually graduate college. Ten years after she thought she graduated, Lily returns to her college to finish the last few credits needed to earn her degree. She fully dives back into college life - living in a dorm room with a roommate, attending frat parties, eating in the dining hall, and to make things even weirder, her college boyfriend happens to be her TA.

This book is all about self-growth and empowerment. Anyone who goes into it expecting a romance focus will likely be disappointed. The romance in this book is secondary to the character’s personal development. While the description makes it sound like a second chance romance, the book is more about second chances in life and finding a new path. That being said, I don’t often read synopsis and typically go into books blind, and I loved it. I thought Lily’s journey was inspiring and a great reminder that it is okay for life to go differently than planned. I also enjoyed seeing her fully embrace college life and have more fun than she did the first time around. Overall, I thought this was a fun read!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. Our main character Lily is on the trajectory toward her dream job when she finds out she didn’t actually have enough credits to graduate college. She ends up going back to school to finish out her degree and finds that the requirements have changed. She takes on some new STEM courses and finds out her ex is her TA for one of her courses.

Lily was a character you really wanted to root for. Her friends were honestly too good to be true, and I thought the past with Jake was a little rough around the edges. However, I loved her journey of self reflection and growth, and how she persevered through adversity.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#TheDoOver
#NetGalley
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Do-Over by Suzanne Park. If you like Suzanne Park's books you will defiantly want to read this one!

This was cute! I loved the premise of having to return back to college. I enjoyed watching Lily’s growth throughout the book and her friendships were A+! The second chance romance was done pretty well also. One critique I did have of the book was how many times Lily shamed herself for having gained weight since her original college days. I don’t feel like it added anything to the story, but it also decreased as Lily regained her confidence so it may just be indicative of where her head was at the time. Overall, super cute book, great friendships, would recommend!

Well, now I have a new fear to add to the list of college-related nightmares that pop up years after graduating...

But despite the anxiety that the first few chapters gave me, this was a really cute read! It kind of struck me as a mix of Legally Blonde and a less problematic version of Never Been Kissed.

Lily's do-over of her last semester of undergrad, ten years after she thought she graduated, was equal parts awkward and endearing. She starts off just intending to finish out her original degree but discovers that she might have skills and interests outside of her original major and career path.

The tech-related jargon might a little cringey for those familiar with the world of tech, but it wasn't the worst I've read. And it was a minor enough part of the book that it was easy enough to ignore.

Overall, very fun and sweet. Would recommend!

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