The Do-Over by Phoebe MacLeod

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to Boldwood Books, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a heartfelt, moving read that emphasizes how it is never too late to change direction. There is a little bit of romance in this one, but the main point is personal growth and self-discovery.

Thea Rogers, the MC, is a corporate lawyer who begins to question the choices that have led her to this moment. Right at the start of the book, Thea is portrayed as a workaholic who is consumed by her career, which leaves her disconnected from her family and life as a whole. Though she justifies these choices by focusing on becoming a senior partner (which she does), reality soon begins to set in. Thea is forced to face the discontent and emptiness she feels. Therefore, she decides to pursue a different path in life in order to discover herself.

The supporting characters are well-written and work to complement the plot well. Overall, The Do-Over focuses on the idea of getting a "do-over" in life and features relatable moments/experiences. It’s a thought-provoking, engaging story that certainly brings a more unique spin to traditional rom-coms.

Thea is a young lawyer at a cut-throat London firm. She's distant from her family and extremely devoted to her career, to the exclusion of anything but work relationships. But a sudden realization after a co-worker's death has her examining her life choices and wondering what she wants the rest of her life to look like. Previously closed-off to anything but her focus on work, she begins to open herself up to new possibilities and new relationships. So, I struggled a little at first because it felt like it took a while to get to Thea's turning point (the first 20% of the book was exposition). And the story as a whole doesn't feel cohesive as Thea transitions to different stages of her life, which is an issue I also had when reading some of the author's previous books. That said, I think it works for Thea. She was so cut off from what she really wanted in her life at various points in the book, and I think the at-times choppy feel of the story could act as a reflection of Thea's feelings. Thea's overall personality is a bit dry, and I engaged with her most when she was being vulnerable. I did warm up to her eventually and was invested enough to keep going. The supporting characters are well-written and complement the story well. (Alasdair bumped my overall book rating up a bit, I actually thought he was the most engaging character in the book.) This book is definitely an idealized daydream of what you do when you're burnt out at work and need to take a sharp left turn away from what you thought your life was supposed to look like. A final note: despite the book's description, it was not a romantic comedy as I interpret that to mean (i.e., light-to-moderate levels of madcap situations, a focus on romantic relationships, with humor pervasive throughout the story and actual laugh-out-loud moments). There are a few moments of dry humor in this story but that's not the pervasive tone in this book. Rather, readers looking for a book about life journeys and self-realizations with a satisfactory conclusion for the main character will enjoy this one. I gave this 4 stars but it's actually closer to 3.5 stars for me. Publishes November 28 2024.

A lovely story which cheered me up no end. A real feel good story which had me laughing out loud quite a lot. Perfect for curling up on the sofa on a cold afternoon. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Phoebe MacLeod, this isn't one of my favourites.
Thea is married to her job as a lawyer in corporate law, she's given up so much to pursue her dream of being the firm’s youngest ever female partner. After the sudden death of a senior partner she can't shake the feeling that if she disappeared tomorrow would anyone care of even miss her.
I'm a fan of the rom com elements of Phoebe's books, this was far more focused on self discovery and growth, this isn't a negative just different to what I had expected from the story.
Thank you NetGalley, Phoebe MacLeod and Boldwood Books for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

Thea is a corporate lawyer who is obsessed with her career, however something happens that makes her rethink her priorities.
I really grew to love this book, I liked post-lawyer Thea, although I'm not sure that I would feel the same for her whilst she was working and she certainly wouldn't have time for someone like me. I have worked in an environment where you were considered a skiver if you left on time, but nowhere near the excess that she enjoyed / endured. Whilst she is considering her future she becomes hooked on the TV program "Homes under the Hammer", a show that I've enjoyed. Without spoiling the plot too much she, along with a friend, takes on a major renovation which isn't straightforward as they hoped. She has support from her friends and family who help her through her self-discoverey into her new life, and the bumps on the way. From other reviews not everybody enjoyed this book, but for me and my taste it was a definite hit.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

What a perfect friends lo lovers book.

This follows Thea, who after achieving her life long dream of making partner at one of the most prestigious law firms, does a complete 360 and leave to renovate a mill cottage in Kent.

What follows is a will they won't they including to love interest but in a romantic way, there's no sneaking or being sly. It's just a woman finding out what she wants.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one, the writing was great a really good pace. So glad the ending wasn't rushed like some books just.to show where a person is now.

Just a really easy, fun read and would recommend it to anyone looking for a cute romance.

The Do Over by Phoebe MacLeod, This book is about single career woman Thea, who wants to be a junior assistant at the law firm, she has been grinding away at for the adult years of her life. The only socializing she does is with Alistair, a friend with benefits associate. her social life is so null and void when she finally gets the position she has no one to tell except her mom who doesn’t really get what a big deal it is. The next moment of pause Thea has is when a coworker dies, and she goes to his funeral only to see other coworkers there hoping their attendance counts for something and not because they’re going to miss or feel any loss at the death of their coworker. she realizes she is on the same empty life track in the end who will miss her? This is when in a split second decision she decides to quit her job. right here is where the book lost me. I felt like Thea seemed as loss in this pointless as her new existence and by the time we got to her buying the windmill form I was so over it. It took almost 40% of the book to even get to this point, I do want to say I love the authors book someone else’s honeymoon because OMG that was so funny and so good. It’s also the reason why I will definitely continue reading the authors books also I guess I’m going to be “that“ person because in the book says she wish she had a different name because Thea didn’t sound like the name of a warrior but it is the name of a Greek immortal goddess, which in my opinion is much better than a warrior. I love the authors books, but sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t and I guess with The Do Over I just didn’t. I am still rating it three stars because as far as women’s fiction goes, I did like their friendship, but this is definitely not a romcom. It is more women’s fiction and if it sounds like something you like, definitely give it a read. #NetGalley, #BoldWoodBooks, #PhoebeMacLeod, #TheDoOver,.

after multiple attempts at reading- I have decided to DNF. I’m hoping to return to it in the future but right now i’m unable to connect with the author’s writing style.

Thea is a corporate lawyer that works in mergers and acquisitions. She doesn’t have a relationship nor any friendships. She is pretty much married to her work. She’s even on track to become the firm’s youngest junior partner. But then a senior partner dies and Thea starts questioning what she wants. She decides to take a different path with her life with an unexpected friend. Something’s missing however, but what, or who, is going to fill that void?

So…. this book was just okay. I loved the first part of the book where she knew what she wanted and went for it – the youngest female junior partner at the law firm she worked at. It’s sort of inspiring. I get feeling overworked. I get questioning whether it’s the right path. But to just change like she did seemed out of character for her. And then the book got really boring. It felt like the book was going nowhere, and not even fast. It was going no where very slowly.

This is advertised as a rom-com, but there’s barely any romance in it. It’s more of a self discovery story really. Thea was on a journey of self discovery to find what made her happy. There were a few chapters with romance thrown in there, but it was VERY minimal. I really would have liked more of the romance and less of the watermill.

There is supposed a be a book two, but I don’t know if I’m going to read it.

Thea has dedicated her life to her law career and doing so has forgotten about her fiends, herself and her love life. When a partner at her firm dies she realizes how precious life is and if she was to die tomorrow would anyone care? She takes this pivotal moment to make a change in her life and focus on things that bring her joy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

The Do-Over by Phoebe MacLeod is about Thea Rogers, a woman who has spent her whole life focused on her career in corporate law. She’s worked hard and is on track to become the youngest female partner at her firm. Besides her longtime friend and occasional fling, Alasdair, she’s sacrificed friendships and relationships to get ahead. She should be happy, but when a senior partner unexpectedly passes away, Thea realizes that the people at his funeral were only there because they had to be. It makes her question if anyone would even care if she disappeared tomorrow.

As Thea starts to rethink her life choices, she faces a tough decision: stick with her original career path or try something completely new. She starts to wonder if she can change her life and fill it with things that truly matter. But when things start looking better for her, she also feels like there’s something—or someone—she can’t quite replace.

This story is about second chances and figuring out what makes life worthwhile. This was a fun, quick, and easy read that will keep you entertained till the end but will also make you think. #TheDoOver, #Boldwoodbooks, PhoebeMacLeod
3.95 Stars!

I'm not sure why I didn't like this novel - I have enjoyed Phoebe's stories in the past.

I think maybe the main character giving up being a junior partner so early in the book might have been part of the problem? I also think her being on and off with the male love interest from the start made the story predictable? I'm not sure what exactly my problem was.

I think it was interesting how she completely switched careers, but the story did not hold my attention.

Nonetheless, I will continue to read Phoebe's books.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an e-copy of THE DO-OVER to review.

I rate THE DO-OVER three out of five stars.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Thea Rogers is a young attorney , dedicating her life to her job, and her desire to become partner at the prestigious law firm where she works. Thrilled to be promoted to junior partner, she has little time to revel in her success until a senior partner dies, Realizing the peopler at his funeral are there because they have to be, she begins to question her life and if it's what she really wants anymore. When a deal goes off-track, she decides she's had enough, and quits with no game plan for employment on the horizon. She moves back in with her parents, and begins to figure out what life she really wants to live. This is touted as a rom-com, but while there is some romance in it, I would tag it more as a "personal growth" story, as Thea pivots and goes for will make her happy. I would give this a little over a 3 star rating, as it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped, but still was enjoyable.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I read the little blurb on the back, and thought it might be a sweet, finding yourself style story, like the novel equivalent of Hometown Cha Cha Cha for all my K-Drama lovers. Unfortunately, this book was just boring. I give it 2/5 stars (rounded up) for premise and potential, because with editing (and a goddamn active voice) this book could have been wonderful.

This book is a textbook example of telling vs showing. Prologue Thea tells us why she became a high powered lawyer, rather than letting the reader figure it out on their own through the character’s actions. The premise is that she has a quarter-life crisis and leaves her high-powered job to start something completely new and unexpected, and yet, the set-up takes forever and nothing actually happens for the first 23%, which is about when Thea has a pivotal dream that influences her big decision. Rather than show the reader the dream, once again, the author simply has Thea tell her friend what it was over brunch.

I found myself skimming huge sections of the book, just waiting for something, anything to happen. But whenever anything did happen, it was either off-page during a time skip, or explained in exposition from one character to another. I finished the book, but only barely.

Things I loved: Alisdair, the only character with personality. Pre-crisis Thea - wish me got more of her hard-ass energy tbh. Thea and Rebecca’s parking spot rivalry

Things I didn’t: Pretty much everything else. This was the most boring book I’ve read in a while, and I love slice of life, character studies. But this just fell flat, in the worst way.

Perfect for fans of: Old mills, technical jargon, long meandering stories with no real climax

This was a light and quick read. A nice books to pick up and feel light alongside reading.
But I did feel the topic and storyline could've and perhaps should have been longer, more in depth. Because it was so warming I could have invested more to it. And in not having this it ended up feeling a little too rushed and flipped through some of the subject matter.
But having not read any of the authors books before this could be her style. And if that's the case then actually I'm all for it. As sometimes these books totally have a place on my bookshelf and are a set I love to pick up and snuggle down to at certain moments and moods.

Thank you netgalley and publishers for an advanced copy of this book for my honest opinion. I've noticed this book so far has a fair few ratings 3 & under, I would look beyond that and give it a chance. Its labelled rom.com, which I think it just about can get away with that, for me this was more a book about second chances.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Phoebe MacLeod for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book, easy read but not one that had me very invested. Thea was equally great and frustrating. I enjoyed seeing her grow outside of being a lawyer - learn to connect with her family and build friendships.

Thea is married to her job as a lawyer- it is literally her personality. She has a co-worker/friends with benefits but other than that, just work. After seeing a senior partner in the firm pass away and have very few significant personal relationships to show for it Thea finds herself lacking her unwavering dedication to her work.

After a while, she finds herself resigning much to everyone’s shock. Soon, her neighbor and Thea team up to flip a fixer upper only they end up with more than they expected.

I didn’t understand how quickly she can start/stop/adjust feelings for people and the romance if it all felt very much an afterthought.

Closed door.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I've read a lot of Phoebe Macleod books, and I love her style of writing! I was really loving where this one was going, but about halfway thru it felt like a different story and I wasn't sure where it was going anymore. I really loved Alasdair and the scenes with him and Thea together, wish there had been more of that! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!!

Is there more to life than your job?
That is what main character, Thea, has to decide.
The plot was interesting though a bit confusing.
There is a little romance in the story. Nothing major though.
All in all, I did laugh out loud a few times and enjoyed reading The Do-Over.

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed this book.

I loved the characters, and Thea who finally realizes that what the job she’s doing isn’t really that satisfying.

The story kept me hooked and the twist, I did not see coming.

I recommend this book.