I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I was hoping I would. The book didn't feel like a rom-com and several of the characters were annoying.

I have to start saying that I’m a little disappointed with this book. When you read the synopsis you expect a funny rom - com that probably has the potential to make you laugh and fall in love a little with the male main character, but unfortunately that's not the case. This is more like a coming of age book or something like that.

Perci has many issues with her controlling mother, she suffers from fatphobia and that's why she struggles with her body image. We meet Perci at a point where she doesn’t know what she wants, what she wants to do with her life and for an extra punch to her miserable life, her boyfriend breaks up with her on radio.

In this book we know more about her, about all these issues with her mother, her family, and how she tries to overcome it with a bit of romance, because listen up people! Even though we have a love interest in this book, it's like he doesn’t exist! Ok, fine they had one or two nice moments but all the time, Perci only talked about the things they did together, the author never showed those things and that made it impossible for me to believe that this was a rom com. It is not a romance book if the love interest is not there or the story isn’t around the main characters. At first I liked Perci a bit because I was able to connect with her in her desire to please everyone, in her struggles with her body image, but with every thing that she did to confront her bullies and that way being a “new Perci” makes me hate her.

Another thing that I didn’t like was that the other characters felt as if they were there just to move the story even though we have one or two more sub stories because of them, they are irrelevant.
And to finish this, I feel that nothing was resolved, that everything was forgiven with the magic of love, and yes, you can not forgive those who hurt you even when they are your family.

I thought this was a very sweet story. It was wonderful to see Perci take back control of her life and grow a backbone after being controlled and put down by her family and colleagues for so long. I really enjoyed all the characters- Nate and Lilah were my favourite (after Perci) but Mathias and all of the others were memorable and (mostly!) likeable in their own way.
A lovely, easy read with a fabulous ending.

THE DO-OVER By Sharon M. Peterson

Percy gets dumped by her boyfriend live on radio while she was in the dentist's chair. Her BFF makes a new year resolutions list for her. While she is trying to go through the list of things where she aces a few , there is one where she is failing miserably - Stop trying to please my mother.

What i liked -

Fake Dating/Friends to lovers.
Firstly I AM Perci. The whole being overweight , love food, love for the weirdest clothes, always trying to please others and low in confidence. (i just wish i get a Nate like she did)
I liked that the book mostly revolved around Perci - her trials, her life, her failures, her dynamics with people around her. Nate was sort of a supportive character.
I absolutely loved Mimi, she is a hoot.
I loved that each chapter started with Mimi's quotes.
I loved how real all the characters were. (I have a few of these in my life , but thankfully not in my house and not those exact relations.. read it, you will know what I am talking about).
This is the first time I felt that the swoon and sweet kissings were enough.



What could have been better -

I know mother's want the best for their children , but I wish Bobby Jo wasn't so over the top.
I wish Joel "Jackass" Allen didn't bring out the worst in me.


Who Should read :
Beginner's
Romance lover
Fake Dating


My Rating : 4/5
 
P.s- If you are the kind of person who cusses out loud at characters then please readit while you are alone. And mind you i do not cuss very easily.

Thank you to NetGalley , Sharon M. Peterson and Bookouture for sending me a copy.

I absolutely adored this beautiful writen book!
Couldn't put down as soon as I started reading. Highly recommend to everyone.

I really liked the characters in this book, and I loved how every chapter started with a quote from Mimi. Even though I felt like the pacing and structure of this book was a little bit off, the reading experience was really good. I loved the secondary characters (although I wanted more insider information about Mathias and Phee) and how they were all portrayed as complex characters; the way they interacted with Perci was really well-rounded and there was a lot of nuance in the relationships that were present. This was a light-hearted book that definitely delivered what was promised!

Nice summer read about a girl called Percie who finally finds her place in the world, Percie lacks a back bone, and finally stands up to her over bearing mother in the worst way possible. A lovely story, somewhat predictable - I wanted to know more about the characters, unfortunately as I read about them, I didn’t really feel any particular warmth,

I really enjoyed this book. I feel this was a book about self discovery with a bit of romance. This was a well written book. The storyline held my interest throughout. The characters were well developed and likable (except Brent and Joel). The main character was dealing with a very public break up, career questions, and family issues. I rooted for Perci throughout the story. I loved Mimi and the Mimi-isms.

The Do-Over
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 8/1/22
Author: Sharon M. Peterson
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages: 335
Goodreads Rating: 4.21

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Bookouture and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Getting dumped on live radio is the most humiliating thing ever to happen to Perci. My life is in serious need of a do-over. Cue my anti New Year’s resolutions that even I can’t fail at: Stop dating, trying to lose weight, working so hard, trying to live up to unrealistic expectations, & trying to please my mother. To keep my mother from meddling, an imaginary boyfriend seemed to be the fix, until I blurted out my neighbor’s name… Nate, the bad boy next door with gorgeous hazel eyes, a razor-sharp jawline and a mysterious scar, might be hot, but he’s definitely not my boyfriend. Now all I need to do is stick to my resolutions while also keeping my interfering family away from my non-existent lover who has no idea that we’re fake dating. What could possibly go wrong?

My Thoughts: First, let me say I love how the author has embraced plus size women. You walk along this journey with Perci as she learns who she is, how to stand in her truth, and more importantly, learns to love herself no matter what. The characters were developed so well, they had depth, witty banter, chemistry, and growth. I adored Perci and rooted for her the entire way, you just feel connected to her struggles and her victories. The story is narrated in first person POV. I also loved one of the supporting characters, Mimi, her “sayings” were amazing. The author’s writing style was complex, thought provoking, transforming, humorous, and brilliant. This story delivers such an important message in today’s world, it is important to embrace change, being comfortable in your own skin, and always standing in your truth. While this book is classified as a Romance, I think it is more Women’s Fiction. This was such a charming read that I loved so much. It was released at the beginning of the month, I highly suggest you go pick up a copy!

I really enjoyed the book!
I could relate to some of the things Perci was going thorugh, like her mom always commenting about her weight, feeling she wasn't doing as good as her younger sister.
The book was cute, funny, and also felt realistic.

Wow! I absolutely loved reading this book. It was a fun read and the characters felt real to me. I was happy to just keep reading it and if I had to put it down, it was so easy to pick straight back up. It made me laugh many times. I loved the Mimi quotes and her colourful, fearless personality. You can see where Perci gets her characteristics from.

This book is easy to read with substance to the story. All round, it was complete enjoyment! I would definitely read another book from this author. Thank you so much to you and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Even reading the acknowledgments at the end, bought a tear to my eye.

This book was so Funny and Cute, It’s really a good book for summer 🫶🏻
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the book 💕

I tend to save rating a book at five stars solely for certain books. Those that make my heart hurt, that make me sob into my pillow as I’m made to think of my own life but also… those books that make me want to cry all the happy tears and make me smile & laugh.

The Do Over was one of those books from beginning to end I fell in love with these characters. I was completely enamored with the character of Perci & I could just cry thinking of how much I was able to relate to her. I can’t even begin to describe how much I felt for her character when she believed that she wasn’t good enough because of her mom, that staying in a job she wasn’t happy in was what she had to do, and so many other instances. Getting broken up with over live radio has to be one of the worst things that could happen to any human being but for Perci? It set off a chain of events that made her character grow in a myriad of ways. Then when the character of Nate and his adorable daughter Lilah entered, he had his own demons of course but, the three of them brought this story to life in so many ways.

I can’t end this review without mentioning Mimi of course, Perci’s grandmother who with her Mimi-isms made this book even more of a joy to read. Now go grab this book today, right this second. Trust me when I say you will never regret reading this one. As for me, thank you SO much to the author and Netgalley for sending me an e-galley of this book that I loved so much that I’ll be purchasing a physical copy of because I need to have it yesterday.

The writing style was really fun and the romantic element was cute, but this was really a story about trying to overcome a meddling mother and become your own person. But her mother was SO horrible that I didn’t enjoy the book very much. I started skimming over the mother scenes because I didn’t want to read her manipulative, abusive crap anymore. I was hopeful this book would have a strong body positive message, since the synopsis included a new year’s resolution to “stop trying to lose weight”… but 75% of the book includes tons of body shaming, mostly by the mother, but also the main character’s internal thoughts. Her mother tells her constantly that she needs to lose weight and tells her the caloric value of every food on the table. I wouldn’t have minded that just at the beginning, as the starting point. But no, I had to read it repeatedly, almost until the end, and I really didn’t want to. Perci’s feelings about her body changed all of a sudden at the end of the book, without much progression or struggle, and that didn’t feel realistic at all. There was just a nice little summary about how she was all good with her body now.

Overall, I felt like the focus of the book was all over the place. Scenes that I wanted to read were summarized and scenes I didn’t care about were overly detailed. Perci was funny in an awkward way, but I wouldn’t label this a rom-com. It’s women’s fiction. It’s really about the three generations of women in this family. Mimi was the best character by far! Also, I was way more into the Mathias and Phee storyline than Perci and Nate’s. I would love a closer look at their relationship. If we could get their story as a real romance novel I would read it and probably like it much more than this one.

Do-over: the chance to do something for a second time, after an unsuccessful first attempt.

This seems like a simple concept when we’re talking about the abstract. However, when the abstract turns into bone and flesh, with a beating heart, named Perci, doing something over might turn into a complex task after all.

Perci’s life falls apart from night to day. Her boyfriend breaks up with her live on the radio in exchange for concert tickets, her mom keeps judging her life choices and her overall appearance, her sister is marrying a douchecanoe and her job isn’t fulfilling to her anymore.

More than a rom-com, this is a book about learning to love yourself and your body exactly the way they are. How many attempts are too many? The answer is none. You just gotta keep trying to make it work no matter what. Even if to make it work all you gotta do is to learn how to be your true self.

It is very easy to empathize with Perci, however, she managed to get on my nerves countless times. MAKE THEM HEAR YOUR VOICE, PERCI. That’s all I kept wanting to shout at her. I wish her relationship with her mother, Phee, and Nate, had been a wee bit more developed, but I do understand this was meant to be a short, sweet, meaningful book, played out to have all the focus on the growth Perci goes through in order to be happy.

This book was a wonderful, light, read. A great debut novel.

It’s a three-star for me because, PERSONALLY, I do wish we had been given more of Perci’s story. It all happens super fast and I feel like there’s something lacking but I can’t put my finger on what it is exactly. Nonetheless, I do recommend everyone read this fluff of a book.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I adored this book. My favourite thing about this book is the quotes from the beginning of each chapter which was just adorable and hilarious.

I adored each and every character and the struggles that they all go through but the beautiful message of being true to oneself.

The reader follows Perci on her journey to truly find herself and not to be bogged down by the expectation of a relationship or the perfect life. I do love a romance novel that is more than just the romance. I related to Perci so much about her insecurities and feelings of inadequacy as they are similar to mine (including verbal diarrhea when nervous). It was so lovely to read how she moves on with her life to becoming the happiest she can be for herself.

This book is full of love and laughter and Mimi and Lilah are just delightful side characters.

The writing is so easy to read and understanding. It flows so well and really engages the reader.

Totally recommend and an excellent first book and I cannot wait to read more in the future.

I was expecting something different. It felt more like contemporary book than a romance, nevertheless I loved it!

It is a charming story about finding who you are and starting to feel comfortable with yourself! And it is presented in very easy and funny way!

Nothing special about the story yet it has a huge impact on you. That in itself is amazing. The author did a great job and I can not wait to read more from her! She has a unique style!

Thank you for lovely time!

The Do-Over was an enjoyable story about self-discovery and standing up for yourself. I liked that the story line centered more in the main character understanding herself and fighting for her place in the world, than in the romance. I have read a few books in which it seems all the problems of the heroine get solved when she falls in love with the perfect guy. So a very good point for this one!

In general though, I think I had trouble really connecting with the main character. I liked her but I didn't really understand her, she was in a very privileged situation, of course, with a few issues/obstacles. But, she was more than capable of overcoming them and it took her a long chunk of the book to realise that. She complained a lot of her mum, and how meddling she was, but the way she decided to confront her didn't sit well with me.

Apart from that, as I said, I enjoyed the book and it actually made me think a lot, which is always a good sign. Also, I adored the grandma, she really was a breath of fresh air. And the best friend too! He was very straight-forward and hands on and a good support for the main character.

The Do-Over strives to be a transformative story about accepting oneself but focuses on the self-hatred instead of the self-love.

As a plus-sized person. I seek out plus-sized stories. I don't mind when the plus-sized MC struggles with his/her weight or when it's a plot point, but overall I like to read plus-sized stories where the MCs weight isn't the most "interesting" thing about them. Unfortunately, this story focused too much on the MC's perceived "fatness" than it did on anything of substance.

I say PERCEIVED fatness because I was never fully convinced the MC was fat. The only reason I went into it thinking she was was the cover. The MCs mom makes comments about how she could be skinnier, reminds her how many calories are in everything she eats (TOXIC MUCH?!), and the MC herself talks about how she cringes at the scale or "could stand to lose a few pounds." But there wasn't a description of what she truly LOOKED LIKE from what I can remember. She could be a size 6 who perceives that as overweight for all I know.

I could take some fat phobic comments here and there if there was real change and self-love by the end. However, I do not think that happened in this novel. The MC stopped caring what anyone else thought (go her), but would still make comments here and there about her clothes being too big now which puts across the message that there WAS something wrong with her for being fat and she can only learn to accept herself when living in a smaller body.

I could tell the author had good intentions, but the execution was lacking. I didn't go into this story expecting the MC's weight to be as huge a plot point as it was. The fat phobic comments by her mom and sister's boyfriend were extremely triggering to read. If the author had dialed back on that and had focused on the MC's hobbies or even the romance a bit more, this book would have been worlds better.

Let's talk about the romance. Overall it was fine, but the third act breakup was extremelyyyyyy moronic. It felt like the book didn't have a clear focus on whether it was a romance book or women's fiction and, looking back, I'd say the romance took a serious back burner to the MC's family life, job, and insecurities.

There were a couple of things I enjoyed about the book. The writing style flowed nicely and was easy to read quickly. I loved the MCs best friend and sister. I kind of wished they were the MCs of this book. Oops.

If you're looking for a steamy romance book, this is not the one for that. I don't know what else to say here... okay bye.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I wanted to read this book because I love the cover featuring a fat main character. Came for the cover, but definitely stayed for the story. I loved this one so much and found Perci so likable and relatable. I loved Mimi and the joy she brought to the story. This was truly a fun read about a woman taking back her life and learning to make herself happy. It was such a joy to read and I can't wait for more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this fantastic ARC. All opinions are my own.