Lynn Painter’s THE DO-OVER is perfect for fans of time loops, Groundhog Day plots, and ultimately, second chances.

The YA gem sparkles in many spots, and readers will root for Emilie and Nick as they both traverse the people and situations holding them back.

Brief plot summary: Emilie has had the worst Valentine’s Day. For several days in a row. Each time she sleeps, she awakens to February 14th, take two, or three…etc. each time, she tried to change one thing that will hopefully end her time loop, and let her move on with her life. But no matter how many ways she tries to actor prevent THE INCIDENT, nothing works. Until, finally FINALLY, Emilie throws her plans and lists and schemes out the door and decides to do what SHE wants! The consequences will just erase themselves, right?

ALEXA, PLAY ‘MASTERMIND’ BY TAYLOR SWIFT

This was delightful!! I actually started and stopped this a few weeks ago because I’ve been in a really bad reading slump lately, but I decided to give it another go tonight and I’m SO GLAD! This is the first time in over a month that I’ve enjoyed reading something so much— this book had me kicking, giggling, screaming and punching the air like a maniac! SO FREAKING CUTE

I loved this way more than the other two Painter books I’ve read (BTTM and MWN). I expected the plot of this to be fairly standard Groundhog Day romance of ‘girl gets stuck in time loop, discovers boy has ALSO been stuck in time loop’ but I was surprised with how this turned out! I will say that the reason I bumped it down a star was because I wasn’t totally happy with how the loop ended and the third act “breakup” annoyed me immensely. But I love Nick and Emilie so so much, they’re just adorable!

Also had so much fun with all the Taylor Swift Easter eggs 😊

Let me start by saying that I love a good Groundhog Day story and the tropes that come with it. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver was one of favorites when I was a teenager. But unfortunately, The Do-Over did not manage to do what Before I Fall did and I’d recommend you just read BIF instead.

The premise: 5/5
The family drama: 5/5
The characters believability: 1.5/5
The romantic buy-in: 1/5

Emilie’s 🚩:
- Existing on a diet of black coffee and energy drinks
- Protein bar - “a slice of sugar and carbs was no way to start the day”
- Binge eating references made light of
Random stuff that really bothered me:
- 3 year old twins, but Lisa is carrying one on each hip 🤨
- Nick told her to name 3 Metallica songs, and then called her a poser. What year is this?
- The dialogue is so bad. “Just make sure you let him see the real you; then the guy doesn’t stand a chance.” Said from the same guy who called the FMC a poser ten pages earlier. A 16/17 year old guy does not talk like that.

Thank you to netgalley for an eARC. Wish I had better things to say.

I love time loops and Lynn Painter novels so this book was a no brainer for me. I got so many feels in this book so that's how I know for sure this was a great book.

The confessions at the beginning of each chapter were hilarious. So much of this book was funny, but those particularly stuck out to me.

Nick was so stinking cute. I loved seeing a million iterations of him as Emilie went through her Valentine's day loop. He was adorable and sarcastic and funny in each one. I also loved how much I learned about him each day. All of my knowledge of him didn't just come from one day, but gradually, over the days Emilie spent trying to escape the loop.

Also, there was a really good reason for the time loop. And, like, I actually teared up when it all came to light.

My only complaint is this book was too short! I wanted more of Nick and Emilie, especially after their Ferris Bueler day.

Overall, this is one you have to check out, especially if you like time loops. And this time loop wasn't like other time loops so that's another reason to read this book. Painter, you have solidified your "instant buy" place in my life.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really love Lynn Painter's writing. Her characters' voices are authentic and moving. Her plots are compelling and readable, and this one is no different from the other's I've read. While I feel like the Groundhog's Day theme in YA has been really prevalent lately, this story was adorable and I really rooted for the characters.

To say I devoured this book is an understatement. I don’t know what voodoo magic Lynn has with words, but every book she writes is exactly what I needed in my life.

Emilie is the quintessential list maker, never deviating from her well curated plan. There’s nothing I enjoyed more than seeing her slowly unravel into a person that she had been binding behind her check boxes. These are the kinds of character development I enjoy. Though the story was fantasy, Emilie progressed into and opened up in a way that felt natural to her character. This author has a knack for writing characters that are relatable to the reader and also where the reader can see parts of themselves in them.

This story was just so much fun. Though it’s a storyline that has been done before, the author provided her own unique twist laced with emotion and tons of humor. It’s a feel good book that will make you smile and make your heart sing. Plus it totally helps that Nick is basically Jess Mariano reincarnated. Because all us bookish girls truly love those mysterious, quietly smart, and endearing bad boys.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC

I love time loop stories, and when I'd heard that in this one, the protagonist, Emilie, would have to deal with the consequences of her "day of no consequences," I couldn't wait to start it. However, it didn't live up to my expectations. I think the main thing was that I didn't really like Emilie and how a chunk of the plot revolves around her being a "good girl" (studying for tests, not getting a ticket, not being mean to people) and then we're supposed to be happy and proud of her when she changes to "love her life." I also ended up pretty much skimming the whole part that I'd been looking forward to because it just felt contrived and overdone, even for this time-loop lover and with a unique twist. I've been meaning to read Lynn Painter's other books, but now I don't think I will.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

What must it be like to have the absolute worst Valentines Day ever and relive it over and over again? The main character Em can tell you.

In this delightful romcom, we follow as Emilie Hornby witnesses her boyfriend cheat on her in a time loop of multiple Valentines Day’s. Em tries to figure out what she must correct to make the day perfect to escape the endless torment of bad V-days.

This book was warm and lovely, packed full with humor, sadness, and an abnormally (but I’m not complaining) large amount of Taylor Swift lyrics.

Lynn Painter’s style of writing is a dream and she does not disappoint.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

👉🏼 Publishes 11/15/22

Genre: RomCom, YA
Tropes: Insta-love
⚠️ TW: Death of sibling, divorced parents

📖 Read if You Like 📖
🎤 T Swift References
⏰ Timeloop stories
👧🏼 YA genre
🕶️ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
🫶🏻 Books that feel like a hug
🚪 Closed door romance

💭 Thoughts:
Lynn Painter doesn’t miss, y’all! This is my third book that I’ve read by her, and I’ve loved them all! The Do Over is a heartwarming YA story that involves a FMC break out of her mold and come into her own, all while re-living the same day. No spoilers here, but there’s a swoon-worthy MMC, pining, banter, and ✨ t swift references ✨. Honestly, what more could you want in a book?! Run, don’t walk, to check out this one! 🏃🏼‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

*I will be posting on my bookstagram account (@therapist.book.swap) on pub day, 11/15.

I didn’t think it was possible to top Better Than the Movies but The Do-Over definitely did! This story follows Emilie, a HS junior, who finds herself stuck in a time loop having to relive a Valentines day gone wrong. Waking up each morning with no one else but her remembering the events from the day before, she decides to live one day with zero consequences. Painter did a great job with the Groundhogs Day trope (it is usually a miss for me in YA books). I appreciated how each day Emilie relived was different, how the writing itself did not feel repetitive and how author provided subtle clues as to why this was happening. I loved Emilie as a protagonist, Nick made a great swoon-worthy love interest, and the little details between her friends, family and typical high school stressors made this story come to life. The audiobook was also also AMAZING!!

Read if you like:
-YA rom-coms
-Taylor Switft references
-Groundhogs Day/ Ferris Buller’s Day Off mashups
-Great character growth
-Beautiful HEAs

Valentine’s Day. Emilie plans to tell her boyfriend of 3 months, the dreamy Josh Sutton, that she loves him. When her morning doesn’t go well—a car accident, not getting into a summer program—the real cherry on top is when she sees Josh kissing another girl. But, the kicker? She wakes up in the morning, and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. Could this be her second chance to make the most of it? Or would it take three chances? Four?

As far as time loops go, you skeptics, THE DO-OVER was such a fun read! Yes, there was some insta-love involved but the epic day, which was the bulk of the story, made it believable, carefree, super nonchalant, and I loved it! Nick Stark was such a swoony guy. I absolutely loved him. There were some serious touches with divorce, death of a sibling, but the moral of the story was plainly carpe freaking diem!

I absolutely love Lynn's writing, it soo beautiful. I would read anything she writes💖
This book is awesome❤️❤️

Lynn Painters books always put the biggest smile on my face and this book was just amazing. Her writing is immaculate and I can’t wait for her next book.

Y’all, I read this book in one day. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down. The story is like Groundhog Day meets Ferris Buller’s Day Off, but on Valentine’s day. Emilie is stuck repeating a pretty disappointing Valentine’s Day and each time, she tries to figure out how to fix it. Lynn Painter said that Nick was inspired by Jess Mariano from Gilmore Girls (#teamjess forever) and I could picture that same Jess-smirk on Nick’s face with all his smarty pants remarks to Emilie. This YA book is written so well and I could picture all of the hilarious moments as I read. For example, one line that illustrated Emilie’s feeling at the moment is this…
In my head, “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys was playing as I strutted toward Chem. I could hear that song and knew exactly how Emilie felt as she walked down the school hallway. There are humorous situations, heartbreaking moments, and lines that just made me swoon. I don’t want to say too much because the fun of this book is the anticipation of what’s next. Let me just say that it’s an adorably cute YA romcom with two high schoolers who figure out a whole lot about themselves thanks to one seeming-endlessly repeating day. I highly recommend this book if you like laugh out loud YA romcoms.

Thank you Simon Teen and NetGalley for the free digital ARC.

lynn painter has done it once again! i absolutely loved. nothing will ever top better than the movies for me but this…. this was a close call

Premise: It is Valentine's Day, and Emilie cannot wait to tell her boyfriend Josh that she loves him. A series of unfortunate events unfolds, including witnessing Josh cheating on her. Suddenly Emilie finds herself reliving this horrible day over and over again. To make things worse, she can't seem to get away from the intriguing Nick, her Chemistry partner who she repeatedly crashes into (literally). How many times must Emilie relive this awful day and what will it take for her to get to February 15th?

Thoughts: This is easily a new top YA read. While I loved Painter's Better Than The Movies, this one was even better. I don't always love Groundhog's Day premises but the way Painter wrote this one worked SO well. Emilie was an excellent MC, and her life experiences would absolutely be relatable to many YA readers. The banter between Emilie and Nick was well-written, and I was rooting for them the entire time. I can't wait to recommend this book to some of my high schoolers!

2.5 stars -- 5 stars for the child of divorced parents plot, 0 for the romance

I don't know..... I have really mixed feelings about The Do-Over. The Groundhog's Day / repeating Valentine's Day plot felt generic and overdone. But I loved the last Valentine's Day and then Emilie's growth in dealing with the consequences when she finally got out of the time loop.

The relationship with Nick didn't do much for me -- it felt kind of contrived and like it took away from Emilie's growth. And Nick is kind of an actual jerk, so I really didn't fall for him. The romance wasn't really there, and it felt like Emilie was making up a version of Nick that she liked instead of falling for the real him.

I did really love the backstory of how Emilie is a child of divorce. Her experience with going back and forth between her Mom's and Dad's houses was so real. I felt exactly like her growing up -- like you aren't fully at home at either house, and that since you're the "good, quiet reader kid" you just get kind of forgotten at both houses. I really related to all of that. The divorce element was really well done, and I wish it played a bit of a bigger role in the overall story.

Honestly... you'd be good to read through the first Valentine's Day, then skip to the last one at like 2/3 of the way through the book and then finish from there. The middle was pretty unnecessary to read if you've already read a time loop YA book.

Overall: I didn't love this one:(
It was an enjoyable enough read, but I wouldn't pick it up again. If you like the repeating day trope, absolutely go for this one!! It's not one of my favorite tropes, so the book was just meh for me:(

This is a story about discovering yourself. Emilie is someone who likes a plan — and does not like to cause trouble. The child of parents who divorced after a whirlwind romance, she never feels quite at home in either of their houses with their new families. Believing she is learning from her parents’ mistakes, she tries to approach romance logically. She believes she has found a boyfriend who she is perfectly compatible with, and has a plan to make the upcoming Valentine’s Day special.

But then Valentine’s Day goes south from the very beginning. On her way to school, she gets into a car accident with her aloof lab partner, Nick, who acts like he does not recognize her. At school, she finds out she did not get a journalism summer internship she believes she needs to get into college. And worse of all, she catches her seemingly perfect boyfriend cheating on her. Eager for the day to end, Emilie goes to her grandmother’s house to spend the night. But when she wakes up, Emilie realizes she is reliving the same day again. And again. And again.

The longer she is in the time loop, the more she takes chances — throwing out the careful planning and make-no-waves approach that has defined her life. As she increasingly throws caution to the wind, believing any consequences of her actions will be erased when Valentine’s Day repeats itself, she finds herself growing closer to Nick, who is nothing like she expected, and learning that her old approach to life may not have been all it was cracked up to be. But as she finds herself falling for Nick and growing comfortable with her new life philosophy, she also becomes increasingly frustrated that nothing persists beyond Valentine’s Day. Will Emilie ever get out of the time loop? And if she does, what will her life look like on the other side?

This book is just a pure delight. I really enjoyed the author’s previous YA novel, Better Than The Movies, so I was excited to dive into her latest. And it exceeded my high expectations. The author does a terrific job of establishing how Emilie approached life, and why she did so, before she finds herself repeating Valentine’s Day. And then the book deftly uses the time loop device to explore Emilie’s journey and how she comes to interrogate her own choices and assumptions. I particularly appreciated how the book portrays Emilie coming to understand her need for plans and her belief that she can never cause trouble stems from the uncertainty from her family life, and how she learns the ways it is actually holding her back. And the relationship between Emilie and Nick is so well developed over the course of the story, as Emilie continues to learn more about Nick even as each day is fresh for him. The book is an outstanding combination of stories of self-discovery, family life, and romance.

Very highly recommended!

4 stars

With _The Do-Over_, Painter presents another charming YA romance that is more focused on the heroine's growth than the romantic elements (to my liking). It's a speedy read and an enjoyable adventure.

Emilie, the m.c., is having the strangest Valentine's Day of her life. She's hopeful about how the day will evolve with her boyfriend, how she'll enjoy school (where she is a star student), and how she'll engage with charming friends (whom I wish we'd gotten to know better - they seem great). But things go awry very quickly for Emilie in a number of ways, not least of which is the Groundhog Day situation. She isn't going to experience this awful day once; she'll get more than one of the titular do-overs.

For me, the Groundhog Day trope can get tiresome quickly because of the required repetition. That noted, I didn't have that sense AT ALL while reading this one. Painter balances the concept with Emilie's growth and both slight and major alterations to various events. The pacing is really nicely executed here, which, considering the format, was an added surprise. While readers get to know Emilie pretty well, the brevity of the book overall leads to some fewer details/interactions than I'd have liked with (as noted) Emilie's friends and her mom. These minor gripes aside, I really enjoyed this and will definitely be recommending it to students looking for a quick YA coming-of-age/ romance. Painter remains a reliably fun-to-read writer, and I'll continue to pop these novels straight to the top of the queue every time.

I'm a huge fan of the author, I think her writing is so catchy and sweeps you into the story where you're on whatever adventure that book holds. There are things that aren't my favorite throughout the story, but the way the writing overtakes you, it just breezes you to the next page. The surprising thing for me is that even at times when maybe I didn't love some of the phrasing, or maybe it was a little like, oh really to the characters, I couldn't help but want to keep reading and reading and reading. And this is a mark of a good book for me. I want a book that makes me want to come back it, I want to be wishing I didn't have to go to bed already because I'm so intrigued by this book, and every time I've read a book by this author, that's the feel that I get. All of her books have kept me completely invested and I enjoy almost every little bit about them. It's a fun read with heart to it. The characters not only are personable, fleshed out, but they also have growth throughout the book. I love reading anything by this author, and would highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me have this ARC! It was a wonderful read.