The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky

Standalone Young Adult Romance.

A few months ago I picked up The Do-Over by Lynn Painter at my local Barnes & Noble because I had never seen a romcom with painted edges. This one had adorable blue hearts and I remembered I loved a previous book by Lynn Painter so I bought it. When I got home, I realized it was YA and much of my excitement waned.

I finally got the audiobook a few weeks ago and I’m glad I did! The Do-Over was a light, cute, fun escape. It was a like combination of Groundhog Day and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off rolled into one. (Boy, am I showing my age or what?)

Emilie had a disastrous Valentine’s Day. She got in an accident with a classmate, Nick, (who didn’t remember her) on the way to school, she lost her spot in a special summer program, her dad gave her really bad news, and she caught her boyfriend kissing another girl. She couldn’t wait for the terrible day to end. Only the next morning she wakes up and it’s Valentine’s Day again!

All of the same things happen. Emilie tries going a different route, waking at a different time, etc. But nothing works. She keeps repeating almost the same day. Each day she gets to know Nick, but he never remembers her because he’s not stuck in the loop with her.

Then she realizes that she can basically do anything and there will be no consequences the next day, because there isn’t a next day. So she launches the DONC (Day of No Consequences), and takes Nick on the Ferris Bueller-like day of skipping school.

Both Nick and Emilie took a while to warm up to, but once I did, I loved him,I loved her, and I loved them together. The Do-Over was a cute YA romance with an adult feel. I never felt like I was reading a kids’ book except for the fact that the characters are in high school.

Likes:

Felt more mature than YA.
A cute, fun, light read.
Adorable banter.
How Emilie finally finds her true self when she stops people-pleasing.
There were very little side characters to keep track of.
The confessions at the start of each chapter.
I am not a Swiftie, but if you are you will love all of the Taylor references.
I was so rooting for the couple to get together!

Dislikes:

Both characters were hard to like at first.

The Narration:

Jesse Vilinsky did a phenomenal job with the narration I think it made the story even better.

The Down & Dirty:

The Do-Over was a cute, light and fluffy YA that I listened to in a day. It was like a combo of Groundhog Day and Ferris Bueller and I was here for it. Being YA, it was filled with lots of Taylor Swift stuff, so if you’re a fan, this could be a fun book for you. I liked the message it sent, that life can’t always be perfectly arranged and laid out for you. It’s about accepting that the unexpected WILL happen. And it’s about living your life on your own terms, for yourself, not just to please others. The Do-Over was a fun read for any age.