The Do-Over

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Confession: I’m a Lynn Painter fangirl. I’ve had this book on pre-order since it was announced and I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release. Did I scream when I got approved for an ARC? Maybe. Were my expectations high? Yes (blame BTTM and its general fantasticness).

I have good news: The Do-Over was marvellous. It was really adorable YA, that actually felt like YA. A few books I’ve read lately have had MCs that spoke and behaved way older than 16yos (this annoys me). The Do-Over was on the money.

Emilie has a terrible Valentine’s day, then ends up repeating it. She also bumps into Nick every repeated day, quite literally. She keeps trying to do the day over to get what she wants, but finds that the bad things keep happening anyway. Time to throw the to-do lists and plans to the wind!

The time loop concept is a popular one (I also loved Rachel Lynn Solomon’s “See You Yesterday” – another 2022 time loop book). I was intrigued to see what would set The Do-Over apart from the others- what was the fresh take on the time looping concept? This time loop story wasn’t as much about the science and “why” of the time loop, as it was about the growth of the lead female main character, Emilie. *SPOILER* I particularly liked that it was the “day of no consequences” (DONC) that was the day that followed through. Most other time loop stories have a DONC as a comic relief/frustration-release plot device, so I liked watching the leads take on the consequences of the DONC. *END SPOILER*

On the romance side of things, Nick as the male lead was lovely and charming. I do think there was scope to amp up his previous feelings about Em for *extra swoons*, but the parts of him we saw over the DONC and the earlier looping days perfectly delivered the charm you expect in YA romance. Nick and Em’s banter was sensational, and I loved how every time loop day their interactions came out differently. Such a sassy pair!

There were a few sections of the book (and I don’t know if this was just my e-book proof) that seemed to lack spacing or indications of time breaks. I felt there were time progressions that jumped really quickly without context. I also think there were a few rapid turnarounds of the initial repeats - a little more detail would be nice (but I also get that it can be tedious to repeat the same content over and over – a tough balance to strike!)

In short: bantery, hilarious YA with some good lessons on what it means to be yourself (and ya know, kissing).

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lynn painter has done it again folks, she has this way of writing compulsively readable books. You pick them up and in about 24 hours you're done. Her books feel exactly like a good rom-com. If you ever need a sweet pick up I definetly recommend this book or better than the movies 💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lynn has knocked another one out of the park!

This sets around a rom com style Groundhog Day which I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever pick up and read so when I found myself constantly smiling and loving it, I was happily surprised.

The chemistry (as always) was written so well and such as easy flow to this book I read it in one day.

Lynn never lets us down. Her writing is fantastic and I always say, my favourite romance author.

100% recommend this book and all other books she’s written.

okay oh my god this book is AMAZING
thankyou Simon and Schuster for this ARC i really enjoyed this book!! this book was well written, GREAT PLOT, very adventurous i loved it all so much Lynn Painter is now my favourite author. im giving this 5 stars because this was such an emotional rollercoaster and such a page turner for me!!

The Do-Over is a cute young-adult romantic comedy that had me charmed from the very beginning. The book focuses on Emilie Hornby who is forced to re-live Valentine’s Day over and over again. Unfortunately for her, it is not the best day for her to be reliving. She has to watch her boyfriend, Josh, kiss another girl. She also finds herself being drawn to her mysterious chem lab partner, Nick Stark.

I don’t usually enjoy Groundhog Day retellings because I find that it can get quite monotonous after a while. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Lynn Painter does a beautiful job of keeping the readers’ interest while Emilie relives the same day. And she even provides a subtle clue as to why this all may be happening!

The main characters are fleshed out very well. Emilie is a delightful protagonist who goes through a beautiful character arc. Nick makes for a swoon-worthy love interest and has a depth to him that I have rarely seen in young-adult novels. The side characters are not as developed but that didn’t bother me given that we do not spend as much time with them.

The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars is because there was an element of insta-love to it. I won’t say much more on that as I don’t want to spoil the book.

Overall, this was a great read! It was my first Lynn Painter book, but it certainly won’t be my last! Pick this up if you want a rom com that is not only cute but has depth.

Most Memorable Quote:
Nothing makes you feel alone quite like thinking you're the only one who is alone

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest review!

Love,
Penny

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Wow... just wow. I read Better Than the Movies and enjoyed it, but I love this Lynn Painter novel even more. Maybe it's the fact that Emilie understood her predicament and took charge immediately. Maybe it was the fact that Nick was so swoon-worthy and mature, or maybe it was because it was so entertaining I forgot I was reading. It was all of those things, making this novel everything I hoped it would be.
I'll be recommending this book and making sure my daughter reads it when she gets to high school.

"I felt like he knew me. And I rarely felt that from anyone."

I think this may be one of my new favourite books. Emmie and Nick find themselves meeting again and again, but there is a plot twist on Emmie's end. When Emmie asked Nick to spend the day with her because of the DONC and he gets up without hesitation, their story begins. We see them go on adventures and watch them slowly fall for each other. The way they understood each other and were able to open up about themselves without feeling like they were being judged was so special to me.

THE BANTER!!!! THE FRIENDS TO LOVERS!!!!! THE GRUMPY X SUNSHINE !!!! I related to Emilie so much, I wanted to give her a big hug. My precious little boy Nick, he was so special, I love him so much. Lynn Painter books just scratch the right part of my brain and I absolutely adore them. Everytime there was a Taylor Swift reference I would get so smiley. I love the way Lynn Painter writes and I cant wait to read more of her future work <3



Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers SO MUCH for this arc!! I was absolutely thrilled to receive it :)

“It felt like there was an invisible string, pulling me in his direction. An invisible string that had an electric current.”

💜

Quick summary:
♥️ Set on Valentine’s Day
🔬 Lab partners to lovers
⏰ Time loop
👩🏼‍🦰 People pleasing FMC who lets loose
🧑🏻 He pretends not to know her to play it cool, but is really obsessed with her
🌲 Lots of pining
👱🏻‍♀️ Taylor Swift references
🛻 Riding in cars with Nick Stark
❤️‍🔥 Great banter and tension
👨‍👩‍👧 Complicated parental relationships

Let me preface this by saying I LOVE LYNN PAINTER. Every book of hers that I’ve read has just hit me right in the feels and always leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy. I loved Nick and Emilie’s story. Emilie starts off being a high achieving people pleaser, trying to appease her parents, compete academically with her boyfriend and get into her dream school. All is going to plan, except for a horrendous Valentine’s Day, which turns into a time loop nightmare. Emilie is a great character - I loved seeing her slowly let go and go after the things she wants, including Nick Stark. Her ‘Day Of No Consequences’ has him tagging along and them both realising they were the perfect match. Although half the shit Emilie got up to had me stressing OUT. Nick is such a fun character - most of what he said had me laughing. Also, we love a smitten boy who will do anything for her. I really enjoyed this and read it in one sitting!


Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Release date: November 30, 2022 (might be earlier in other places!)

this book has:

- groundhog day/time loop situation
- frenemies/chem partners to lovers
- witty banter & wholesome fluff
- taylor swift references
- day of no consequences (donc)

emilie has a terrible valentine's day & finds herself stuck repeating the same day over and over again. the time loop has her constantly crossing paths with her chemistry partner, nick & after several repeated days, emilie decides to let loose and have a day of no consequences, doing whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and she also invites nick to be part of her donc.

i've been a fan of lynn painter since i read better than the movies, and all the other books of hers i've read since then has only further confirmed that! i'm not a big fan of YA books but she writes them perfectly! i adored both mcs and they both had amazing and realistic character growth throughout the book. this book also had great discussions of complicated family relationships as well as healthy depictions of therapy. lynn painter is definitely one of my favourite authors and i would read anything that she writes!

tw: loss of family member, divorce & strained family relationships

thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic book by the one and only Lynn Painter. I fell in love with her writing when I read Better than the movies, but I've more deeply loved this book.
I loved how all the characters come together, especially Em & Nick. The time loop, how everything pans out on Valentine's day.
If you love rom.com books, this one is definitely for you, you won't be disappointed.
I give this five stars out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.
The Do-over by Lynn Painter is out on 30 November 2022.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think I’m officially addicted to Lynn Painter’s books. I read Better than the Movies last month and really enjoyed it so I was thrilled by the opportunity to read more of her work.

In this book, Emiline is trapped in a ‘groundhog day’ time loop where she keeps re-living the 14th of February. Unlike the perfect Valentine’s Day she planned, she keeps reliving the day where anything that can go wrong - absolutely does. The time loop aspect was done so well as each day was really different and I kept giggling about how everything would backfire. What makes this story though is the characters - I’m obsessed with Emiline and Nick, I loved how their relationship developed it was the perfect ‘strangers’ to lovers story. I just need to find my ‘Nick’ for a day of not caring. This relationship is amazing but I think why I love this book so much is Emiline overcoming her internal struggles - it was great to see her go from living for everyone else to living for herself. And I loved explanation as to why the ‘timeloop’ happened it was just so sweet.

If you were hesitant to pick this one up because it’s a YA Rom Com, I would still definitely recommend this one. Lynn Painter has a way of writing characters that are so incredible that the stories don’t feel young or immature. Instead we get these incredible self-discovery stories and explorations as to how they are shaped by their past.

I would highly recommend checking this one out when it comes out on the 15/11/2022. (eBook) - in Aus the paperback comes out on the 30/11/2022. If you loved Better than the Movies you’ll love this one.

Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for gifting this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own, I will continue to provide honest reviews of all books.

*Possible triggers warnings* Please be aware that there is an incident of cheating/infidelity between the FMC’s boyfriend and other female. This book does also explore complex emotions around living with split parents/separate living environments.

5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I loved this. I picked The Do-Over up for the fun-sounding groundhog's day synopsis, but the real winner here is the character development of Emilie, the main protagonist.

Emilie's starting point in this novel paints someone who is settling for what everyone else wants for her life. Her parents' divorce and subsequent lax parenting of her because she's "such a good kid" has done enough damage to her belief system of being important enough. At first, I was a little dubious about how this would all affect her when the repetition of Valentine's Day kept occurring, but the startling evidence of how each day could still keep her as seemingly irrelevant in several areas of her life was written well. I enjoyed watching Emilie grow exasperated with every repeating day, and almost every opportunity by the adults and important figures in her life being thrown away. Despite the anxiety I felt on the 'DONC', this is where the book and Emilie's character development began to shine. I was so invested in her opening up and showing the world more than what they were getting from her, and sharing those vulnerabilities with Nick, that by the time bigger revelations came into play, I was emotionally attached. I wanted Emilie to have more from her family, her schooling ideals, and as an individual. I'm not ashamed to say this book made me cry!

Nick is a fantastic MMC. I loved him from the first moment we meet him, and the revelation of why he behaved the way he did was heart-wrenching. I could have read about Nick all day long. And when the romance picked up between Nick and Emilie, it was believable, very rewarding, and just the right level of steam and wholesome for a teen romance. I wish I had a Nick when I was Emilie's age.

The reason why Valentine's Day kept repeating was incorporated well. Was it 100% realistic? No, but I was satisfied with the importance of the date and the need for both Nick and Emilie to spend it together.

The tone of this book is very YA-appropriate. I felt like I was reading about a sixteen-year-old girl, and her reactions - even the dramatic ones - were on point. I also appreciated that Nick, who has gone through a great deal and spends more time with adults as a result, had a more mature personality, and yet was still a teenager trying to deal with complicated emotions. I really commend the author for capturing their ages right.

This was my first time reading something written by Lynn Painter, but it definitely won't be the last. I enjoyed every moment of this book, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an emotional but wholesome self-discovery YA novel.

I couldn't put this book down! What a fun quick read with some really enjoyable characters. The concept was great and the witty banter was lots of fun. I'll be putting Lynn Painter on my must read list!

Thank you to NetGallery for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I did not know how I was going to like this book going in to it. Especially being my first time reading a book written by Lynn Painter. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

It follows Emilie who relives Valentines day over and over again. And as she tries to figure out how to get out of this endless loop she may find herself falling in love. But not with who she would have expected.

I loved this story for a few reasons. Firstly I thought it was written well and easy to follow. Also the story itself was interesting enough that it kept you wanting to read more and more to find out what was going to happen next. I loved how Emilie realised that doing things perfectly isn't always the answer and you need to live a little.

I think people are going to really enjoy this. No matter if they've read one of Lynn's other books or not. This is the book for every fan of YA.

4.5⭐️ This was such a fun read! I loved all of the characters and finished it all in one sitting as it was just written so wonderfully by Lynn Painter 🙌🏼 A definite must read for anyone looking for a great YA read to add to their TBR lists! 💕
.
.
A big thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia and Netgalley for this advanced digital copy to read and review! The Do-Over is available on 30 November ✨