I thought that this book was very very funny, but those who have issues with counting calories should definitely avoid this book. The main character Perci is fat and her mother is constantly trying to tell her the calories in items of foods and tell her to lose weight. Apart from being funny, the book is very self-aware, in the book Perci does something really horrible and as I was thinking that she was a B, she called herself one. The romance, while there, does not start really until like 50% of the book which was a little annoying to me and the beginning dragged. I also wish that we got more from Mathias' character because he felt a little 2D. Once Lilah and Nate were introduced it was really easy to like those characters. They were funny and wholesome. Overall, I just feel like the pacing in the book was very off and the main character was somewhat hypocritical and unlikeable. I am rating this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to Bookouture for a free ARC of this book for an honest review.

I really liked this book. The characters were great, and there were lots of times they had me laughing out loud.

This will definitely make you feel good after reading this book. Very well written and the author made you want to keep reading. I couldn’t put it down. It was very emotional and inspirational. Had tears and smiles through out the book. Every page you were rooting for Perci, cheering her on to find herself or to just love who she was. We all need a Mimi and/or a Lilah in our lives. This is one of those books you didn’t want to end. I wanted more of everyone. “We’re not-perfect together”, but this was a perfect book for me. Fantastic job Ms. Peterson and am looking forward to reading more of your work.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this for my honest opinion.

3 stars!

"The Do-Over" is a mostly enjoyable debut novel by Sharon M. Peterson that's all about being true to yourself, even if others push you to be someone else.

Persephone (Perci) has just been dumped. Over the radio. For concert tickets. To an AC/DC cover band. And, her now ex-boyfriend called her boring for the entire city to hear. AHHHHH!! The cruel humiliation! Perci is unhappy about where she is in life. She doesn't like her job (she works for her dad at his mortgage lending company). She doesn't like the way she looks. She doesn't like being compared to her beauty queen sister Phee. She's picked at and criticized by her mom constantly. She deems herself a failure. After a New Year's Eve full of heavy drinking, Perci's best friend Matthias writes a list of un-resolutions for her to follow so she will stop trying to be the unattainable 'perfect person' that society (and her mother) expects her to be. She quits her job, starts working at a nearby daycare, and soon meets her next-door neighbor Nate, whose daughter Lilah attends the daycare where she works. Perci tells a zany lie that finds her and Nate fake-dating so she can save face in front of her horrible, critical mother. Could romance be blossoming between the two of them for real?

I thought Perci getting dumped on the radio for concert tickets was an engaging way to open the book (despite being an absolutely horrendous thing to go through...and also, screw Brent forever). Perci's journey of self-acceptance is well-developed. I could see a little bit of myself in her. I found myself rooting for Perci to become the person she's always wanted to be. Any romance in this novel is secondary to Perci's pilgrimage to self-love. I 110% haaaaaated her mother Roberta. I wished I could crawl through the screen of my Kindle and smack the bejeezus out of her. I guess this just proves how well-written her character is. On the other hand, I loved Perci's wacky grandmother Mimi, a woman full of quirky witticisms about life. I also love how quickly she throws shade back at Roberta in Perci's defense.

My main criticism is that I found "The Do-Over" a little repetitive. It seems as if Perci goes through the same motions over and over again, and much of the book is written in the same way, with the same phrases, over and over. I found myself predicting to the tee what would happen as the story went on. I didn't feel much of a connection between Nate and Perci until the last 5% of the book. Also, certain plot points that seem like they're supposed to be more important than they are are merely handled off-book and then divulged after the fact. Some of the secondary characters needed a little more fleshing out. While Perci makes a lot of progress changing her opinion of herself, the family dynamics don't ever seem to change, and this bothered me a lot. Finally, for a book preaching self-acceptance and loving yourself for who you are, it rubbed me the wrong way that Nate is constantly referred to as "not handsome" or "un-handsome." It happens more than once. I get it, the author is trying to show how he softens when he smiles around Perci, but something about it bugged me.

"The Do-Over" will certainly please a lot of readers, but keep in mind that this book leans more toward women's fiction than pure romance. The bones are there, but something stopped me from loving this one. Also, this is a 0/5 on the steam scale, so keep that in mind if it matters to you.

**Thank you to NetGalley, and the author, for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated in any way for my review.**

This is one of those reads where I'm enjoying it for most of the book and something happens that leaves me disappointed. I'm so disappointed because I really liked this book for the most part. The biggest problem for me is that I'm left feeling like Perci (our main character) doesn't really have much character development by the end, that all the character development and agency was temporary.

[spoilers redacted]

Speaking of her mother, I'm not a fan of her character depiction mostly because I don't think some of the actions she took to interfere in her daughters' lives were excusable by the reasons we get in the story. Partly because the reason isn't built up to and just happens, and I think more character development could have helped maybe. And partly maybe because we don't really see the mother in any positive light at all throughout the book.

The romance was okay, I don't really have any strong feelings about it. And the rest of the characters were also okay.

Overall, I think this had a lot of potential but it just didn't work for me. I wish the secondary characters were fleshed out a bit more, more scenes with them or even a dual perspective from somebody like Phee could have helped.

Thank you so much to @netgalley @bookouture and @stone4031 for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Do Over by Sharon M. Peterson comes out on 01/08/22.

You guys!! I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh this hard. I read most of this at work and it took everything in me not to burst out laughing 😂

In The Do Over we follow Perci Mayfield who, after getting broken up with in a pretty humiliating way, decides to reinvent herself and with the help of her best friend sets herself some Anti Resolutions for the new year ahead.

I loved Perci as our main character, she was very relatable in many ways and her struggles felt so realistic! At the beginning of the book Perci is 27 years old and she finds that she is not exactly happy with where her life is headed. This includes her current career, relationships (romantic and familial alike) and also her relationship with herself.
I think we've all been in Perci's place, I'm in this situation currently, and it was refreshing to see these struggles represented.

This is definitely not what we see on mainstream social media, where everybody has their life together and is a fully independent adult who has everything figured out by the time they turn 20. In contrast to this 'ideal', Perci's journey to happiness and self acceptance felt much more lifelike and honest.

The romance between Perci and Nate was the subplot and not the main focus of the novel, but I preferred it that way. I think the structure of the whole book was very well balanced.

Another thing I absolutely loved about this book is that it felt like a mix of some of my favorite romcom movies, the whole time I felt like I was watching a movie and not reading a book. Bridget Jones, 27 Dresses and The Proposal all came to my mind as I was reading.

Read if you like:
🌸 laugh out loud moments straight from a romcom movie
🌸 emotional support fish
🌸 hilarious, feisty grandmas
🌸 adorable 8 year olds obsessed with bird trivia
🌸 single dad trope (+ very slight fake dating)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was so much more than 'just a romcom' it was refreshing, wholesome and feel good with some romance thrown in, with the occasional pun and slightly dirty joke and I loved it.
I instantly felt a connection to Perci (Persephone) I loved and envied her relationship with her grandmother.I fell so hard for Nate, I did not however care for her meddling, overbearing mother but grew to understand where she was coming from. I enjoyed the mimi-isms at the start of each chapter, they had me laughing out loud.
I love how she grows and changes into New Perci, the woman she is meant to be, not without some mishaps and drama of course.
Perci is now one of my favourite characters of all time.
Thank you netgalley and bookouture for the arc copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

I liked this book, it definitely held my interest and rendered itself un-put-down-able. But I won't lie, there were a lot of misses.

While I found it funny and charming, the main character was endearing and the family drama was fun, but it focused more on the chaos that the main character endured with her family, rather than the love story. Which is misleading because the cover hints at this being a full romcom but it's really not.

I found Perci and Nate's interactions cute and it made me smile like a dufus, because Perci was absolute chaos and Nate took it all in stride. But I felt starved for more interaction between them. There just wasn't enough and that was kind of a bummer because when they did interact it was highly entertaining. There was a larger focus on the subplot between her sister and her best friend and everything was all just so PG-13. Like there was no initimate scenes, not a curse word in sight. My foul mouthed self who likes a little smut could not handle it.

I did like the relationship growth between Perci and her family but I'd really have preferred a much more stern telling off. Because her mother took overbearing to a whole new level, I felt like it warranted an explosion a lot louder. While (spoiler!) a food fight and airing all your dirty laundry in public was loud it just didn't hit that spot for me. Like Perci needed to speak her truth and I felt like everything she did was all a reaction spurred on by intense emotions rather than a conscious decision because she's actually changed and recognised that she needed to be treated differently. That said, there was significant character growth on her behalf, so kudos.

This could have been an ace romantic comedy if there wasn’t so many misses. I liked it enough and the characters were great but I wanted to love this story. I'd still recommend it though, I think it's worth giving a shot.

There is nothing I love more in a book than a plus-size heroine going through a journey of self acceptance and love, and The Do-Over sure does deliver on that! Perci lives her life to please her family, but mostly her overbearing mother, but after being dumped in one of the most embarrassing ways, she makes some anti-New Year's resolutions with her best friend Mathias. She flips her world upside-down to become the New Perci and meets her intriguing neighbor, Nate, in the process. Through it all, Perci gets wonderful life advice from her beloved grandmother, Mimi. Honestly, I think we all should have some Mimi and Mimi-isms in our lives!

I really really enjoyed this book from start to finish. If you are a fan of clean romance, this book is just for you, with just a few small hints at some spiciness. Some other themes you'll find:

-Fake dating
-Single parent love interest
-Plus size main character
-Adorable badass grandma

Stars: 5 out of 5
Spicy: 0.5 out of 5


*Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Do-Over in exchange for my honest review*

This was a light beach-y read that was good to pass the time on a flight, but not something I'd enthusiastically recommend. The reader sees much more than Perci seems to, and although I was rooting for the many ways she tried to change her life for the better, I was also frustrated by her inability to truly ever really take control.

<spoiler> In particular, I noted that the ending was just a continuation of the same: Perci's parents making decisions for her (start your own business! reconnect with the guy who broke up with you!) instead of Perci taking the helm of her own life decisions. </spoiler>

Before I say anything else, I just want to express how much this book has marked me. Not only was it my first ever ARC (advanced readers copy), but also followed the story of a plus sized main character who found love and learned to love herself. I will admit that, for most of my life, my thoughts about myself and my life have been the same as Perci's in the beginning of the book. However, watching her change her mentality along the book and learn to love herself inspired me to try doing the same. Who knows, maybe one day I'll even find my own Nate.

You should read this book if you like:
🦉 Fake dating
🦉 Single dad
🦉 Wholesome romcoms
🦉 Plus sized MC
🦉 Great advice (Mimi is the wisest of us)
🦉 Journey to self love


Always check trigger warnings ⚠️

An easy read with a predictable, but none the worse for that, storyline. There's something innately appealing about a novel that doesn't test you, sometimes, and throws no curve-balls or sudden, unwelcome, twists. A great poolside read, you will quickly come to like our heroine as she finds her voice and learns to be who she wants to be, rather than model the woman her mother wishes she was - perhaps something a lot of women can relate to!

Persephone (Perci) Mayfield lives a mediocre life controlled and constanty put down by her mother. Its when her boyfriend breaks up with her on national radio that she decides to change her life by not listening to her mother and goes against dating, or so we thnk.

this was easily a 5 star read! i loved the writing, i found it super light and entertaining. in my opinion, the storyline was so simple yet i was hooked from the start. i love how each chapter started with a different quote and despite this being a contemporary romance, the whole story was not centered around that and rather on Perci"s (main character) and her personal battles. the friendship she shares with Mathias is so pure and everyone needs a grandmother like hers in their life. if i could go back in time and read this for the first time, i would do it a thousand times over.

Never judge a book by its cover, because I know for sure I was getting a romance....and while there was some of that, this book was SO MUCH MORE! A book about self discovery and I was there for it! You cannot help by root for Perci as she gains confidences, and learns to love who she is out of her mom's crazy standards. Love all the characters, very relatable! This book is humorous, heartfelt, light and serious at the same time...and a quick read.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

**Thank you to Netgalley & Bookouture for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I picked this book up excepting a fun romance, but it was so much more than that.

the book opens with Perci getting dumped over the radio. sucks, right? so she makes a plan to not date. of course, this is intriguing in it of itself, and that part of the plot was phenomenal — laugh out loud worthy sometimes too.

but not only is there a perfect amount of romantic comedy in this book, there’s a perfect amount of character development as well. Perci, as a plus-sized woman, learns to love herself for who she is, and I was cheering for her for the entirety of this book. It was so wonderful to see her accept and love herself as much as I loved her as a reader.

and of course, i can’t write this review without mentioning Lilah. this little girl was an absolute ray of sunshine!! i miss her already.

The Do-Over is the perfect amount of romantic and heart-warming and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

The Do Over had an eye catching cover which made me excited to get started reading the book.

The story starts well and had me fully engaged within the first few pages. The book is written from Perci’s perspective and her brilliant sense of humour shines through each page. I loved her reliance on Sal the fish for advice, this was a unique take on the usual cat/dog relationship and was genuinely funny.

Perci’s most important relationship in this story was with herself. Learning to trust and love herself.

The build up between Perci and Nate was great. A bit more chemistry would have had them sizzling, but it was really well written.

I loved the dynamics with Perci’s family and how she navigates this.

This was a fabulous book. Easy to read and engaging with awesome characters!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

After the first couple of chapters I already knew this book was going to be good but I didn’t expect it to be THIS good. I thought it was going to go how every other romance/romcom book goes. Girl meets guy. Girl falls for guy. Guy screws up, girl finds worth & they all live happily ever after. Don’t get me wrong I love the stereotypical BUT I also love more depth too. This book had that. Each character was thought out enough to where I kind of new each of them without actually being their minds & that’s something I love about books. Not everything needs to be a surprise. Don’t get me wrong I hated everyone but Perci, MiMi, & Matthias for 3/4 of the book but I can accept when people want to change. So the ending I was grateful for, no miscommunication, no cheating, just growth. I loved how we saw Ms. Perci grow into a confident, curvy women who stands up for herself & doesn’t take peoples crap no more! The curvy/plus size rep was exactly what I needed, being plus size myself. All I’m trying to say here though is, THIS BOOK GAVE. You should pre-order, buy, request whatever just READ THIS NOW. I’m super excited to read more of Sharon’s books so thank you NetGalley for helping me find this wonderful arc & thank you to the publishers & the author herself!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Sharon M. Peterson for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my review!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. At least you know it’ll be better than the movie” -Mimi(isim)


Our main character Perci is extremely likeable. We first meet Perci as an insecure woman who’s always shrinking under what her mother has to say to her, comparing herself to her sister, and stuck in a job she hates. But we slowly watch her grow into a stronger, more confident, happier version of herself as she finds a job she truly loves, and learns to live for herself.
While I loved the bits of romance in this book with Nate, that definitely didn’t feel like the focus here. I guess it’s still technically a rom-com, but I just really felt like it was more focused on us watching Perci grow into a stronger woman, while finding love along the way.

I was surprised with how much I liked this! I couldn’t put it down from the very beginning. This is an amazing debut novel from the author! So well done. Well put together, funny, and really great writing. I would have loved to see more details regarding the romance between Perci and Nate, and maybe more of a detailed ending, but either way I’m looking forward to seeing more books from the author!

I've never related so much to a book character as I have Perci
This book has everything you need, I was constantly laughing.
It's nice seeing a different kind of FMC find her happily ever after.
Definitely one to read!

This is everything I want in a romance and then some!

It is rare that I am able to connect with a protagonist the way I was with Perci. I loved going on the journey with her as she discovered what it was she wanted and made her happy in life. I am currently in the same stage of life. I am leaving a job that I went to school for and am searching for a career that with be fulfilling.

While Perci is a fictional character, her story made me feel seen and understood! Plus I loved the added bonus of having a main character that is plus size. We need more representation of all body types in books. Curvy girls want and deserve love too.

Mimi was the star of the book for me! I literally found myself laughing hysterically as I read her quotes in the beginning of each chapter. While she filled this book with humor, she also brought wise advice and unconditional love. We all need a Mimi in our lives.

This was a true four star read for me! I picked it up and could not put it down. It has heart, humor, love, self-discovery, and so much more.

As a fan of love stories I struggle with them being super smutty. I want to read a book without explicit love scenes filling the pages. Peterson’s talent shines through by creating a romance book that captured a beautiful love story and didn’t need to be cheapened by erotica. I will be on the lookout for all of Peterson’s works in the future and recommending her to everyone I know!

Special thanks to NetGalley.com and a Bookouture for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!