I am in awe of how Ms Bell seems to so effortlessly create characters that easily melt into your heart. There's chemistry (as is in most romance stories, you hope any way), warmth, genuineness, and general overall believability that draws you into their flaws, joy, sorrows, and hopes and dreams.

Jack and Maddie’s story has all the elements to not only providing warmth, but also heartbreak, strategically interwoven to bring out the true essence of who they are to each other and those around them. The ending left me with a smile and a sigh, as only a well written romance can do.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Do Over is an entertaining read!! I fell for Jack & Maddie from pretty much page one. The author creates interesting & real characters. And the sexy time is smoking hot.

I loved the love story & their little boy was adorable & made the HEA even more special.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Maddie and Jack were best friends when they were kids, then drifted apart only to come together one night in college. That night would forever keep them together for they now have a son. He told her at the time he would help her, but he could not be the father she was looking for. Now five years later and still agreeing with the terms to have his son on certain weekends, it is his turn. The difference this weekend is that both his mother and sister are out of town and he must step up and deal with Gabe one on one. As the night progresses it takes a strange twist of fate, for Maddie ends up back at his front door with a problem. Now not being to go back to her own apartment due to her boyfriend and best friend in the throes of playing hide and seek. Now Jack did not like the guy anyway and lets her spend the night which turns into until she finds an apartment. The thing is that now he finds himself not wanting to hang out with his friends, or at the bar. He is turning down the automatic dates that he could always have and wants to get home, my bad their not a couple. Maddie finds herself still attracted to Jack, she has always been. It is more than just having Gabe. She also is giving him encouragement when his own father who is a jack ass messes with his head. You find yourself wanting these two to be together, but she is still looking for a place and neither will tell the other one how they fell. Jack won’t even tell her the real story of the night five years ago which would help everything. Can these two get out of their own way? Read this very good book with many good characters, even Jack’s one friend who is a jerk needed to be in the story because every guy has at least one. A very good book.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the first from this author for me, and I really did like this read and I felt as if this was more than a fantasy book, and is something that many go through.

Characters Maddie and Jack grew up together, and as young children were best friends. Because of life, they grew apart until one day they hook up and Maddie finds herself pregnant. While never a couple, Maddie raises her son with love and gives 110% while Jack is hesitant, nervous, and has his mom and sister help more than they should. While their relationship is amicable, Jack and Maddie are awkward together, whereas that was never a problem in their friendship. However, Jack always feels protective of Maddie, often more than with the son he never lets himself get too close to. Then, their lives take a turn and Jack has a larger presence in his sons life, and in Maggie's.

I really did enjoy this book, and did get angry at Jack fro his behavior and also hope that he would be able to do what was needed to be a better man for himself, a better friend or more for Maggie, and a better father for his son. However, I also think that parts of this book hit close to home, as I've seen friends whose relationship mirror the patterns laid out by the characters in this book. For some, this may too realistic of a book to enjoy, but I did like it and rooted for their family to be together because as the book progressed, there were hints that this is what would make Jack and Maggie happy and more whole, and not just because of their son.

I voluntarily read an advanced reviewers copy of this book

I really liked this book. Serena Bell did a great job capturing how hard it is to be a single mother and move on to find someone new....especially when your still in love with the father of the child.

This was a great second chance romance because you could see how the pain from their pasts changed their future. It was honestly refreshing to see that this wasn't an instant romance but a real deal romance where everyone wasn't perfect but was willing to take huge risks at a chance for love.

Overall a really good book. Great job Serena!

Do Over by Serena Bell was a story of having a "Do Over" on a relationship. Jack and Maddie, grew up together, were friends and then were one-time lovers. That one time created a son. Jack had such a horrible childhood that he does not think he can be a good dad. He provides child support and a bit of time spent with his son. Maddie still loves Jack but can she trust him? She doesn't have much of a chance as she is dumped in her former relationship and has no where to go. Jack lets her stay with him until she finds a new apartment. Jack wants her back in his life and pulls out all the stops. This was a great story that I recommend to all.

Netgalley gave me an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

I read it, I enjoyed it, and then I pretty much forgot about it. Jack's lackadaisical approach to parenting really irked me, and I was glad to watch him slowly "man up" over the course of the book.

When, oh when, will authors STOP writing heroes who say things like “I go in knowing that I’m going to close the deal, and that seems to open legs.” Because those types of heroes? I have very little interest in reading about. And the “hero” in this story had that attitude for over half of the book. It made it really hard to like him, or understand why the heroine, would want him still, five years after their son was conceived.

My difficulty with this story came from two things. First, I’ve read Serena Bell before, where she previously wrote very compelling and heartfelt heroes in her Returning Home series. There was none of this cocky, arrogant assholery that Jack exuded for so much of this book. I try not to have expectations, but sometimes it’s hard not to – especially if you really liked the characters from the previous books. Second, from the synopsis, you think you’re going to read a story about a hero who knows he made a mistake with the love of his life the first time around, has a second chance to get her back, and then goes for it with everything he has. And that isn’t what you get AT ALL.

Jack is your stereotypical 27 year-old player/man-child. He works construction, has a couple of good friends he hangs out with at the bar picking up women, and has a visitation agreement of every third weekend with Maddie, the mother of his four year old son (where his mom and sister actually do most of the “heavy lifting” – as Jack puts it). He has no interest in being any more adult than he already is. No relationships, no responsibility to anyone but himself is all he wants.

When Maddie’s relationship with her live-in boyfriend goes south, she shows up at Jack’s door with no place to go. Without really thinking, Jack tells Maddie she and their son, Gabe, can stay with him until they can find someplace else to live. The attraction between them is still there, and they decide on a short-term friends-with-benefits arrangement for as long as Maddie and Gabe are staying with him.

It isn’t until after the 50% point that things started to change for Jack. We get little bits of background, and get to see that Jack and Maddie have quite a bit more history than just a one-time hookup that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. Jack has some issues from his childhood that help him be a bit more sympathetic of a character instead of just a jerk. And where I was previously mostly frustrated with Maddie for wanting someone who is rather self-centered, we get to understand why she feels the way she does. As Jack and Maddie spend more time together, Maddie just gets more despondent that she’ll never have what she wants with Jack, and Jack starts to think maybe, perhaps, it might be possible that having Maddie around all the time wouldn’t be such a bad thing…

I know this change in Jack’s attitude should be chalked up to character development, blah blah blah…but I just can’t get past the fact that I could hardly stand him for half the book. And having this change of heart in the last 5% of the story was too little, too late for what the synopsis led me to think I was going to read.

Regardless of how I felt about the hero, I did enjoy the writing of this book. With the story told in “real time” interspersed with several flashbacks to the past, the author did a great job of keeping the pace of the story, and doling out important information about Jack and Maddie’s past at relevant times. Plus, there was no alluding to the big dark secret or major events to artificially conjure up drama – and where there easily could have been some drama with another woman, that didn’t materialize either. So bravo to the author for that! Once we got past all of the macho crap, and Maddie and Jack started spending more time together with Gabe, this was a really, really good story. It just took getting through Jack’s distasteful thoughts and behavior in the first half of the book to get there.

* thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

A second chance romance that will make you laugh, cry and sigh. Maddie and Jack were childhood friends now lovers. But an unplanned pregnancy shook their world. Maddie had the baby, Gabe, and their relationship continued with Jack having Gabe on weekends. He loved Gabe, just was afraid to be too engaged with him because of his own fathers terrible parenting. But a disruption in Maddie’s and Gabe’s life ends with Jack encouraging them to stay with him till Maddie can get back on her feet. Then the fun begins. Lies from the past have to be dealt with, trust and honesty have to be earned, all wrapped up in the love of their little boy. Awesome epilogue!

A story of second chances at first love for Jack, Maddie and little Gabe. An excellent read. I liked how Jack stepped up to help Maddie out when she went through a relationship trauma not of her making. It was sweet how Jack started being a better father and tried to get Maddie interested in him. The story was medium paced and the plot had twists and turns of the fun and sometimes quirky kind.

Jack is your typical insecure man who covers that with the bravado of ‘am not good enough as husband material’. So, he blew his chances with Maddie five years prior even though she was pregnant with their son. So now he knew what he has lost, but he was still too stubborn to grovel. It took a happenstance of Maddie being ‘homeless’ and ‘relationship-less’ for him to start re thinking his choices. The truth came out at last and they got together and ‘live happily ever after. Their son, Gabe was a hero here too. That boy was cute. He got me when he said point blank that Maddie’s ex boyfriend was not his dad. Period. End of story.

Second chance romances are my absolute favorite! I loved the Do Over, after reading the blurb I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

Jack and Maddie were best friends as kids and as they got older drifted apart. One night at a party one thing leads to another. Jack was up front with Maggie letting her know this was a one-time thing. When she later finds out she’s pregnant his feeling haven’t changed but he is going to take responsibility.

With the help of Jack’s family he helps raise his son on his weekends. He still isn’t sure about this whole dad thing. Things change when Maddie and their son Gabe move with Jack. Will Maddie and Jack find a way to reconnect and make it work?

Favorite Quote:Jack and I are bound together, and even though in a lot of ways it makes no sense at all, in other ways, it is the most logical thing in the world.

I will pretty much always read a book where the MCs had a baby together but aren’t together and now get their second chance at love. I have read several books by Serena Bell and I am never disappointed, this book was no exception. It’s sweet and sexy and emotional in all the ways that I like.

The hero, Jack, believes he is worthless. He grew up with an abusive dad and carries that with him. He thinks he can’t be a good partner or father and it is holding him back. He is currently living a bachelor life and sees his son on weekends but even on his weekends, leaves the heavy lifting to his mom and sister.

Maddie, the heroine, finds herself without a place for her and her son to live so she ends up staying with Jack, her baby daddy. Maddie is a good mom to their son Gabe. She wants the best for him. She and Jack were childhood friends and she always believed in him, until he broke her heart.

This story is all about them reconnecting. It starts out of a necessity, because of the place to stay and grows from there. Maddie arrives on Jack’s door crying and he just can’t have that. He comforts her with kisses, as you do. So the time spent together forces them both to reevaluate things. Jack has to face his abilities as a father, his career, his ability to love and some things in his past. Maddie has to come to terms with some things as well. But Jack definitely has more shit to work through.

One thing I really, really liked about this book is that there is a secondary character, a woman who Jack had a on-going sexual relationship with ends up being a friend of Jack’s sister. And when Maddie meets her, there is an appropriate amount of jealousy, but this other woman does not get cast as a bitch or a slut or in competition for Jack. I want to see this more in romance. I am so tired of exes being portrayed in the worst possible ways.

I really enjoyed this book. It was sexy and sweet and I love reading about a family working their way back to each other. I was pretty invested in the story and the conflict was not overly done or outlandish. There is some grovel, if you’re into that kind of thing. Also some forearm porn. This also broke my slump of C reads.

Grade: B

I really enjoyed this second chance romance. I loved how Jack and Maddie discovered each other again. Nothing was rushed. And when they were together, wow, hot. And Gabe was adorable. This was a very well written story that flowed effortlessly. And I loved the ending.

A hot second-chance romance.

Despite feeling like Jack’s asshole-ish tendencies were a bit exaggerated at times, I felt like I could see where he was coming from. I did want to throat punch his two friends, Henry and Clark, however.

I feel like a bit more attention could have been paid to Maddie’s background/past. I get that Jack’s hang ups were a direct result of his relationship with his father, but beyond saying her parents moved to warmer climes, nothing was really discussed.

This was my first book by the author, but I’ll definitely be checking out her other work.

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Second Chance Romance
Trigger: Unplanned pregnancy, cheating

This is a dual point of view story where you get to see a friends-to-lovers relationship have a few hiccups but ultimately, thrive.

Jack and Maddie have always had chemistry. But their friendship is what solidified their lives together. When Maddie is needing comfort, she seeks Jack out. In that night, they had the best night of their lives thus far and started on a journey that would lead them in very different directions.

Maddie and Jack’s son is not what they believe is their mistake. Jack knows that he threw away something precious in Maddie, but he can’t seem to figure out how to prove to her that he can be more than what he’s shown her. He also knows that he has to prove to himself that he’s worthy of someone like Maddie and their son. He has been shirking his responsibility – letting his mom and sister take care of his son when it’s “his turn” and he knows that needs to stop.

Maddie is hesitant to have Jack any more involved in her and her son’s life. She wasn’t able to count on him when it mattered and even though he’s letting them stay with him now, she’s not all about the trust yet. While she won’t totally write him off, she knows that there needs to be more than what she’s seen.

Maddie and Jack’s relationship isn’t overly dramatic, they don’t fight a ton and they are good at putting their son first. I think this was a sweet story about finding the balance and love again. That making poor choices earlier in their lives didn’t mean it had to dictate their future together. It’s a sweet story and one that is great from both points of view.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I haven't read many books like this. A guy gets a girl pregnant and doesn't see himself as father material. He's not against her keeping the baby, but he feels like he won't make a good dad. Picturing himself as a young child and listening to his dad scream and curse isn't what he wants to be remembered for. So, he financially helps with the child and with his mom and sister, seeks visitation with the child.

As a woman, I can empathize with Maddie. She's loved Jack for years and when she got pregnant, she just knew that he would step up and be the man she's always seen in him. However, she let her doubts and fears of not being loved enough to question the trust and faith she had in Jack. Jack, reacting to that loss, told her what she expected to hear.

As Maddie has raised their son with little help from Jack, she's come to realize that she can do it all on her own. She doesn't want to, she wants a home and family and more children. What she doesn't expect is to have it with Jack. But life doesn't always go as planned and sometimes fate is a quirky girl who lands you back in the place that will make you ask yourself, "Can I really have a do over?"


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is a sweet and sexy second chance romance. Jack and Maggie have a lifetime of history together and they share a son they both love very much. But it isn’t until Maggie’s life starts to collapse that she and Jack are able to get to know and care for each other as adults.

Jack is a difficult character to like at the start of the story. He is a proud player. He’s a happy bachelor and a lad’s lad. He is a little bit of a Peter Pan character who lets his mum and sister do most of the difficult care for the son he likes to play with. He gets better through the story and he does start to grow up – but there are moments when I just thought he was a complete arse.

Maggie is a nicer character but she’s pretty mild and bland and I feel like I’ve seen her far too many times before in romance writing. She’s a noble, struggling single mum with all sorts of emotional hang-ups.

This is very much a family romance. Jack and Maggie’s son, Gabe, is their focus and he adds all sorts of cute kid moments to the story. The story is fairly predictable. Even the major miscommunications are predictable and I’m pretty sure I’ve read this ending before too.

Ultimately, this is a sweet chic-lit romance. It is formulaic and predictable, but it is also an entertaining beach read.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
Do Over is a good second chance romance. It has some great lines from Gabe, the four-year-old son of not-together Jack and Maddie, and some funny bachelor man gaffes as well.

I loved how we get both sides of the story. Particularly as Jack learned about himself, in relation to his son, and his dating life, being conditioned fears due to his father's bad behaviour. It was so lovely to see him experiencing the good side of being a dad, as well as getting the chance with Maddie.

I liked the twists and turns which forced Jack to think about what he wanted, and gave Maddie the courage to fight for her longtime friend to be the man she wanted all along.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Jack and Maddie were friends growing up and when they were 21, had an affair that ended with Maddie falling pregnant. Gabe is now 4 years old and Jack is a weekend dad, but Jack and Maddie are not together. When Maddie needs somewhere to live temporarlily, Jack invites her and Gabe to stay with him.

It was fun watching Jack and Maddie try to keep out of each other's pants. They don't succeed for long and they are dynamite together. I love the change in Jack through the story. He goes from being a dad that isn't very involved in his son's life to living with his son, doing the bedtime routine, and being involved in his everyday life and actually wanting to spend time with Gabe. Female readers, you are going to love Jack hard. I know I did.

This story is dual point of view, so we get to see how their relationship looks from both sides. At times the story takes us back for snippets of Jack and Maddie's past and we learn about what happened that lead them to where they are today and why they are not together.

Do Over is a story about two regular people and that is a huge plus for me – I love that. It makes it easy to relate to the characters and their lives. Do Over is also a second chance story as well as a friends-to-lovers story and all these elements put together make a fun, sex, hot romance but one that also pulled at my heart strings. A solid four star read for me.

This book was such a pleasant surprise, and I wasn't expecting it to be such an emotional read. I found myself in tears several times over the misunderstandings and feelings between Maddie and Jack. I liked the growth that both characters went through in finding their way back to each other. Equal parts sweet and sexy, don't miss out on this emotional second chance romance!

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Do Over is my favorite kind of second-chance romance. Jack, our hero, was once very dumb but not abusive or monstrous. Maddie, our heroine, had no time for his crap and got outta there, taking their kid with her. She’s been playing the single mom game for a while and Jack has been slowly cleaning up his emotional act. When Maddie needs a place to stay, Jack offers his spare room, and the rest is history. There’s groveling, honest conversations, really hot sex, and gut wrenching vulnerability. Oh, and did I mention it’s also a friends-to-lovers story? I can see so many one-click fingers twitching. Give in, you won’t regret it.

Jack and Maddie grew up together and were quite close. That changed after a kiss during high school, when Jack’s home life was thrown into chaos and Maddie, being youngish as well, didn’t know how to reach out and so didn’t. They drifted, not really communicating, but the narrative makes it clear that their emotional connection didn’t waver.

Fast forward a few years and Maddie comes home from college on a break nursing a broken heart. After a lot of feet dragging, she joins her best friend at a bonfire party and finds Jack there, too. They get to talking, Maddie starts crying over the ex, Jack doesn’t know what to do with crying women, really, so he kisses her, and then….

Not only do they reconnect that night, but Maddie ends up pregnant. Jack makes it clear to her that he is 100% there for her and his son financially, but not emotionally. So for the next five years, he’s ‘Fun Uncle’ - he has his son – Gabe - every weekend, but all the heavy lifting of parenting during those weekends is done by his mother and his sister. He thinks that's a massive secret by the way, but Maddie is hip to his battle plan and knows what’s going on. Jack is not neglectful by any means - he just never changes diapers or cooks meals or administers discipline. In other words, he does the fun stuff of being a dad but never actually parents his son.

Our story picks up when Maddie discovers her live-in-boyfriend-almost-fiancé screwing her best friend in their house. Gabe is at Jack’s for the evening, and so in a daze she drives there. After some trauma-induced making out, Jack offers his place as her crash pad until she finds a new house, and that’s when I nearly clapped my hands in glee. Forced proximity! Man child trying to grow into a father! Strong woman who can do it alone but doesn’t want to! My trope boxes kept getting ticked, and I was delighted.

This plot could have easily hovered at surface level and been just a second-chance romance full of chemistry-laden sex. Instead, Ms. Bell takes the risk of exploring emotions and the book is all the better for it. I would have enjoyed the novel without it, but I'm so glad it’s included, because she does the work and elevates the story as a result. And by ‘work’, I mean she makes Jack and Maddie excavate their pasts and really talk to each other. They rehash past choices and fears of the future and then, with eyes truly wide open, they walk boldly into that future together. When I closed my Kindle, I knew these three were going to be okay. Additionally, Gabe is not a plot device moppet (a pet peeve), and is very much his own character.

Fans of second-chance romance are going to love this, I’m sure of it. If you’re looking for a fun and grounded read, make sure to pick up Do Over.

Buy it at: A/BN/iB/K

I'm indifferent about the Do over. I'm usually not a fan of second chances the blurb about this book sounded cute.
Unfortunately, I found the book to be cliche with the lack of communication for both characters.
I wish the book would have had more of a plot. I was getting a bit tired of both characters wishy washy behavior. I felt that myself getting whiplash.
I also had a difficult time envisioning these two as friends. I never really got a connection between the two. They never clicked for me.

The ending was sweet but it took a lot to get them there

Do Over by Serena Bell is a sexy second chance romance for two friends who give into their sexual attraction for a brief affair - that has long term consequences.

Jack Parker and Maddie Adams were best friends as kids but drifted apart as young teens for a variety of reasons. Through high school, they were both aware of each other, but ran in different circles. One night at a party and a few drinks led to a brief fling, though Jack was up front that he didn't want a relationship. And when Maddie finds out she's pregnant and brings the news to Jack, he's clear that his feelings haven't changed, though he's willing to take responsibility .

Four years later, Maddie and Jack have taken well to co-parenting their son Gabe. Jack gets him every second weekend and with the help of his mom and sister has been a good father if somewhat uninvolved, acting more like an 'uncle' than a Dad. That all changes when Maddie's current relationship dissolves when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend (double ouch!) and she needs a place to live on short notice. Jack offers to let her and Gabe stay with him while she searches for a place to live. In doing so, the two of them have a chance to reconnect as friends, and then as lovers. But is it enough to make them consider a future together as a real family?

I'm a big fan of Serena Bell's books, such that I'm likely to pick up her stories even without reading the blurb. As a result, I didn't actually know what the story was about when I started reading it. But once again she has impressed me with her ability to take an interesting premise and deliver a solid, emotional and steamy romance.

Jack and Maddie have a complicated history, and unlike most unexpected pregnancy stories, the fact that Maddie is going to have a baby is not what brings them together. It's five years after the fact, when they've gotten into their routine of being the best separated parents they can be for their son that things take a new turn. Their friendship from childhood is always in the back of their minds but until they are living together they don't delve into why it ended. Jack's father was abusive to him as a child, and the dissolving of his parent's relationship shaped his teenage years and his attitude towards relationships. Maddie is able to coax out of him the truth - that his worries about becoming like his father have kept him from considering a long term relationship. Even the birth of his child has left him a bit wary of taking on the full-time commitment of fatherhood without another relative to come to his aide. Once that shell cracks open, Jack and Maddie are able to move their relationship forward as Jack becomes a full time father figure.

There are several steamy scenes between the couple as they rekindle their relationship (though this time, birth control is higher on the priority list). Still Maddie is wary about letting Jack know how much she really cares for him. They both have to admit to some painful truths before they get to their happy ending but it's definitely worth it in the end for them, and their son. There is a sweet epilogue too. I highly recommend this entertaining and unique second chance romance!

This review has been posted at Harlequin Junkie and feedback updated with the link. It has been posted at sale sites and will be posted at goodreads when the blog link goes live.