I went into this book without any defined expectations and it turned out to be one of my top 5 audiobooks this year.

I could relate to the idea of growing up feeling like I wasn’t accepted the way I was. The entire book was a great testament to how much of an influence our families have on who we become. My favorite part, however, was how the main character (Perci) discovered that she was allowed to do things over and be whoever she wanted to be. It was realistic to see her slowly attempt to defy the structures her family had set in place for her.

While Perci’s journey was ultimately worth it, there were times when it was difficult to hear about how much she put up with from others. Her mother and sister’s boyfriend, especially, were toxic so it was painful to see them walk all over her. Was all of this realistic for someone who had spent her whole life in that environment? Yes. Was it still difficult to read about? Yes.

I know that the cover presents this as a romance novel, with both characters’ pictures and their blurbs. However, I would venture to say this is more women’s fiction with the main character developing a romantic relationship. The focus on the book is truly on Perci figuring out who she is, who she wants to be, and making that happen. I loved that she had to carve that out for herself and that simply finding a love interest didn’t magically fix it.

Recommending this book to anyone who enjoys: fake dating, characters learning their self worth, and second chances.

Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I mainly listened to the audio version of this but did read a bit of the ebook too. This is Sharon’s debut book and she is most definitely going on my must-read list.

This book is so funny. I absolutely loved the Mimi quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Mimi was possibly my favourite character but it’s a close one between her and Lilah. Both were very funny. Mimi has that wise older lady knowledge and Lilah has that childlike innocence that you can’t help but love.

Perci is a main character you instantly root for. She really goes through it at the beginning of this book and her mother well what a mean woman! She never says anything nice to Perci and that birthday dinner! Wow! I was so proud of Perci when she started to stand up for herself.

I really liked next-door neighbour Nate. He is such a good guy. As you read more and more about him you just can’t help but fall for him. He is such a breath of fresh air in Perci’s world. I also loved how good he is with Lilah. He really shows her that it’s okay to be yourself and it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks as long as you are happy with yourself. This is a message that we could all do with embracing.

I really enjoyed the narrator. Elise has an excellent southern American voice which is perfect for this Texan setting. I found it very easy to listen to and my mind didn’t wander, which is always a sign of a good narrator.

This book is heartwarming, funny and thought-provoking. I would highly recommend it if you are looking for an uplifting read.

I listened to this audiobook and loved it! The narrator did a great job bringing Perci’s story to life.

Who knew when you stopped making New Years resolutions that your life would go the way you actually want it to?

Perci was dumped over the radio so her BF could win some concert tickets, which turned out to be the best thing for her. She finally started sticking up for her self, introduced herself to her neighbor Nate, and found a job she loved. Don’t worry there is still plenty of drama in her life before she fully lands her happily ever after.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture audio for a copy of this audiobook. This is my voluntary honest opinion.

A cosy comfy audio book with a fabulous narrator and a fun romance read - definitely one to listen to again

The Do Over
Sharon M Peterson

Perci feels life is not working her way after she is dumped by her boyfriend and boss on the radio. So she makes non-resolutions with her friend Mathias to help her stop doing what everyone wishes of her. She is to stop trying to date, stop trying to lose weight… This sets up this cute and utterly charming listen.

While I love a good fake dating trope, I did have a little trouble seeing Nate as the bad boy. And while the rom com is good, Grandma MiMi steals the show. She’s spunky and larger than life. And each chapter starts with a MiMi-ism. As with most rom coms, you can predict it, but the journey was so enjoyable with the Peterson’s writing and Elise Roth’s narration.

This is a great debut rom com and I enjoyed every minute of my listen.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the complementary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I REALLY wanted to love this book. At the end of the day, I found the overall plot to be quite disorientating. At the beginning I thought they handled the topic of weight and body dismorphia quite well, but as the story progressed it because too centralised and Percy’s mother became too fixated on her daughters weight for it to not to be the centre of the story. Her mother also displayed some straight up toxic characteristics as the story went on and as a result, I found it quite frustrating to listen to; especially with the constant comparisons between Percy and her ‘perfect’ sister Fi. I did however like the comic relief MiMi brought to the story as the fun-loving grandmother, but I found it really hard to look past the obsessive focus on Percy’s weight defining her entire personality.

Narrator Elise Roth ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Soothing voice. My ears were loving this voice

The Do-Over by Sharon M. Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really enjoyed this book. The way Percy's parents treated her in the begging was painful and almost made me put the book down because I thought this was going to be another weak women gets strong at the end but this was completely the opposite.
I loved the evolution of Percy and her new self.

I wanted more by this author so headed over to the Kindle store to but what ever was available and was shocked to find this was a debut novel!!! Definitely a author I want to read more of.

This book feels like a warm fuzzy blanket for all us bigger girls with well-meaning moms and a self-sabotaging mind.
I loved this book with every fiber of my being, it hit all the right spots. I loved the MCs, their characterization, the way they interacted with each other, they felt real and accurate.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

The book starts off with Percy being dumped on the radio for concert tickets. And turns into such an amazing story of transformation. There were times I felt I was reading a little about my life, such a relatable book.

I was captivated from the very beginning. I loved watching her character from a people pleaser to wanting to live her own life and be happy. I also loved how she stopped focusing on her weight and felt so much better in her body for it. Also, the Mimi-ism's at the beginning of every chapter were one of my favourite parts!

I loved, loved , loved this book!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the Arc.

I loved this! I read this ARC about a month ago and adored it. When I got the chance to listen, I liked it just as much. I liked being able to jump back into this world!

Cute book about the underdog daughter with an over bearing mother and perfect sister. The book sends a good message about love and family but a lot of the supposed funny scenes made me cringe instead of laugh.

The Do Over was a totally relatable rom com with no shortage of humor and self-deprecation. Percy tries desperately to become her own person by using reverse psychology with her New Years’ resolutions. It was a quick, easy read - the perfect escape! I was provided a free ARC in exchange for this review, but my opinions are all my own.

The only reason why I didn't give this 5 stars is because based on the cover and the blurb I thought this book would have more romance than it did, which was a bit disappointing. The coming of age story though, was so relatable - insecure Percy who has an over scrutinizing mother, struggles with her appearance and direction of her life. I loved her relationship with her grandmother who lives life un-apologetically. Though Nate was introduced early in the book, the romance via fake dating started around the 50% mark - I just wish they got together sooner, I was rooting for them the whole book!
This story has it all.. laugh out loud moments, anger, frustration and love. This would be an excellent movie premise!

Very well narrated. Highly recommend this read and/or listen!

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Perci, experiences a humiliating breakup. But when she also dislikes her job and her life is just living day to day, with a mother who is constantly criticised by her mother she chooses to shake it up.

I really enjoyed this, especially the quotes from Mimi, her grandmother, at the begging of every chapter.
Peterson writes a witty and intriguing novel. There are so many characters that you can't help but love in this novel, but also conflicting characters; such as her Mother. But I did love the character of Mimi the best.

This narrative is based roughly over a year, in which a lot of family drama happens but that all shows great development over this period.

This is an easy read to get through and one that is very enjoyable.

The expectations

I often ignore blurbs or only skim them. This was not the case – the blurb and the cover are what made me pick up this book. I was expecting a story about a journey to self-acceptance framed as a rom-com, and to a degree, that’s what the story was, but the romance was a comparatively small part of the book.
The line on the cover promises: A totally laugh-out-loud, feel-good romantic comedy. Yes, there were numerous comedic tropes used, but rarely in a “feel-good” way. On the contrary, they left me cringing and annoyed at the characters.
A lot of my issues with the book come from the book simply not meeting my expectations. I enjoyed some parts of it; I was exasperated with others.

The premise

Perci is dumped on radio by her boyfriend Brent, whom she works with in her father’s company. Her mother is meddling in her life, her father is unsupportive, her job doesn’t bring her any joy and she is unhappy with her looks. Trying to regain some control of her life, Perci tries to become New Perci: she quits her current job (so she no longer needs to deal with Brent and her father) and claims to have started dating her neighbor, Nate (so her mother stops trying to get her back with Brent).
Oh, and her friend, Mathias, makes up a list of anti-resolutions for her to follow:
1. I will not try to lose weight.
2. I will not try to be more confident.
3. I will not put more effort into my job.
4. I will not date.
5. I will not try to be a better daughter and sister.
Each of these points is explored in the book through var, as Perci more or less consciously tries to stick (or not) to these resolutions and we explore each of the points through her various relationships: with her ex-boyfriend, parents, protegees, love interest, best friend, sister, sister’s fiancé, grandmother. There’s a lot going on besides the romance.
[

The romance

The fake dating that we’re promised in the blurb starts only at around 50% mark of the book, though we’re introduced to Nate earlier. Even though she only knew him as her neighbor and the father of a child at her daycare, Perci told her family she’s dating Nate to try to dissuade her mother from setting her up with Brent. I disliked that she does not consult this with Nate in any way: making up an imaginary boyfriend is one thing, using a real person, without their knowledge, is another. Fortunately, Perci does acknowledge it was a shitty thing to do. The fake dating ensues, Perci also helps Nate by babysitting Lilah (Nate’s niece), though I felt Nate and Perci spent very little time together on page and we never saw any depth in their relationship.

The characters and the relationships

TL; DR everyone is an asshole, I was struggling to find anyone likeable

Perci

She’s 27, lives alone, works at her parent’s company. At the start of the novel, she’s insecure, meek, afraid to speak her mind. She has many issues with her controlling mother, she constantly compares herself to her younger sister, Phoebe. She struggles with her body image, she’s miserable with her life, she isn’t sure what she wants, she lacks agency, is susceptible to pressure from others, avoids conflict but is hot-headed at the same time. There are very few people who are not exploitive of her. She clearly doesn’t like herself and, frankly, I don’t blame her, because it is difficult to like her. She’s mostly reactive to what’s happening around her, and the very few things she decides on her own are mostly to get her mother off her back: getting a job at a daycare, (fake) dating Nate. The New Perci she’s trying to become is just her spiraling the other way into becoming a total asshole, like pretty much everyone in the book. She’s completely blind to the fact that she treats others the very way her mother treats her (more on that later) and the whole time I was reading this book I (metaphorically) wanted to throw something at her. Examples: She's upset Brent broke up with her on the radio (completely understandable to be upset) but then she drags her issues with her mother and with Brent publicly, in front of her parent's friends, during their wedding anniversary party. Instead of learning to be in charge of her emotions and discussing her issues with people involved, Percy just goes on to be a total assholeTM. She also had no business spilling Phoebe's secrets in front of a crowd of their family friends, and being drunk is no excuse: if you can't control your behavior while intoxicated, you should control your drink intake.

Perci only starts to be likeable around 90% mark of the novel, when finally, finally she sees how her actions are affecting others, though it takes some nudging from others for her to realize it. And I’m glad most of her issues were addressed, but I felt it was all done too late and it was exhausting dealing with her through first-person narration of someone who doesn’t see a problem with herself for the bulk of the story.

💎 The grandmother, Mimi 💎

This woman is the true villain of this story from the very first sentence of the book.

There was a rumor my grandmother, Mona Raye Perkins, bashed my grandfather in the head with a frying pan.

💎 We're told that Mimi hits her husband with a frying pan when she finds out he's cheated on her. The husband ends up in a hospital. Mimi never faces any consequences for that, because her husband doesn't want to admit his wife hit him. This is used to characterize Mimi as a bad-ass, take-no-shit character, who is a role model to Perci. It’s problematic to say the least – there are other ways to create a strong character and using physical violence against your partner and being proud of landing someone in a hospital is not one of them! Domestic abuse against men is still widely unacknowledged in the real world, and this book just perpetuates the idea that it’s ok for women to be violent with men. I don’t find the circumstances of this case extenuating, I felt uncomfortable seeing the violence presented in a positive light with no pushback from any of the characters.

💎 Mimi's daughter (and Perci’s mother) legally changed her name to Roberta 15 years ago and Mimi still uses the old name when referring to her. That's just icky. The daughter is set up as the bad guy, so we're supposed to clap along to Mimi mistreating her? You can call her on her bullshit, that's all right with me, but straight up ignoring her wishes on what she wants to be called is just callous and petty. Maybe if you didn’t name your daughter Bobbie Jo she wouldn’t have changed her name, have you thought about that? Not once in the whole story does she address her daughter as Roberta, always sticking to ‘Bobbie Jo’, even after being explicitly asked not to do that.

💎 Mimi ridicules her daughter for running for high school president her senior year to make positive changes. Really? Your child wants to do something good and instead of showing support you bring it up years later, mocking her because it's so obvious she lost to another candidate, whose only contribution to the community was buying beer? Way to go.

💎 When Roberta finally speaks up to Mimi about some of her childhood issues (though she does so in a public way, on the wedding anniversary party when everyone decides to be a jerk), instead ow acknowledging her daughter’s feelings, Mimi reacts by downplaying her issues. Then she spills her drink on Roberta, makes another cutting remark her way and throws a quiche at her face. I just can't. Was this supposed to be funny? Your daughter is opening up to you with her feelings, she puts herself in a vulnerable spot!

💎 She confesses to Perci, "This might be hard to believe, but I’ve made an awful lot of mistakes in my life." No Mimi, it's not hard to believe at all! I was waiting since the very first sentence of the book for someone to acknowledge this already. Though there is some sort of reconciliation between Mimi and Roberta at the end of the book (”You make some decisions I don’t agree with, but that’s okay. You are you and I am me, but it doesn’t mean I love you any less.”), Mimi doesn’t apologize once for mistreating her daughter.

💎 When Roberta is commenting on Perci's weight, saying that she needs to lose a few pounds for her sister's wedding, otherwise she will embarrass herself (yuck!), Mimi tells everyone that Bobbie Jo was "a chubby little thing when she was little", and tells her "Now your skinny and a bitch. Eat some cake honey, we'd all appreciate it." Mimi, have you ever stopped to wonder how your daughter managed to grow up to be such an asshole? Gee, I wonder who she got the example from.

The ex-boyfriend, Brent

OMG this guy made me want to flip a table. He breaks up with Perci on radio, by calling the radio hotline during a segment made specifically for people to call in and break up with their SO in exchange for concert tickets. Look at what he says about her: “I’ll die of boredom if I stay with her one more day. And it’s New Year’s. A good time for change.” What a jerk. He later says he’s sorry for that, but it’s a half-hearted apology at best, preceded by things like “I didn’t think you’d mind” and “I hoped we wouldn’t have any hard feelings”.

And he is the only person who has any business being a total unlikeable jerk – we’re supposed to hate him and to commiserate with Perci, so job well done here. Another plus for the annoying voice he has in the audiobook.

He’s also, like pretty much everyone of the book, a person trying to pressure Perci to behave a certain way: to ignore how he treated her with the breakup and to behave professionally at work.
What I absolutely hated is how everyone treated Brent after the breakup. No one in her family seemed to care how he humiliated Percy. OK, Phoebe, the sister, came to Perci to check in on her afterwards and was very sympathetic, but that’s about it. Her father and mother certainly did not give a damn. And I can understand why he was kept in the family company: business and private lives are separate, it’s not like they can fire him for how he treated their daughter. But it seems like both the father and the mother see nothing wrong in his behavior. They keep trying to get Perci back together with Brent! Brent is constantly invited to various family events! He’s still treated as a friend of the family, he is invited to the wedding anniversary of Perci’s parents, and he’s even present at the very last scene of the book, at the New Year’s Eve dinner party for the Mayfield family. He never showed any true remorse for what he’s done! Why is no one bothered by his presence! Perci got way more sympathy for the whole radio breakup thing from total strangers than from her own family.

The best friend, Mathias

He makes up a whole list of resolutions for Perci, with the purpose of making her more assertive and less prone to bowing down to her family's influence. She's supposed to turn down requests from her coworkers and ignore the pressure her mother puts on her. At the same time, he asks her to give a presentation in front of a group of people (he was supposed to do that and something else came up, he needed a replacement). He ignores her protest, hangs up on her and disregards her discomfort. He's doing the same thing Perci's family and coworkers are doing, and it's even worse in his case, since he's supposed to be her friend.

Another thing that made me scream NO, NO, NO! : withe kisses Phoebe (Perci’s sister, whom he is in love with, but who is engaged to another men) without her consent (!) during a meeting with her to discuss the photography that he’s supposed to do at her upcoming wedding (!).

The sister, Phoebe

Perci has a complicated relationship with Phee – she's supportive, she's attentive, but there's some resentment stemming from the unequal treatment the girls receive from their parents: Phoebe is the younger sister who has the looks, the job, and the man, while Perci is the failure of the family.
Phoebe is one of the few people who’s not a total asshole. She is packing some issues herself, but at least she's supportive of Perci... Till the moment she basically manipulates Perci into organizing a 30th-wedding-anniversary party for their parents. Which, again Perci explicitly says she doesn't want to do, but is ignored. Another person who was supposed to be in Perci’s corner and failed to do that.

I don’t understand why is she dating the asshole Joel Allen (news anchor at the station she works at)? The reason we're given is that her mother, Roberta, explained to her she should find a man who will help her advance her career. Baffling, since Joe behaves like a man-child and is no support on the career front. The fact that Phoebe is exchanging one controlling relationship (that with her mother) to another one (that with Allen) is a huge flag she needs to work some things out for herself. She dumps his ass in a public way, which is a nice call back to Brent dumping Perci, but at least here Joel 100% percent deserved what he got: he was controlling (picking out exact outfits for Phoebe), unsupportive (belittled her career, wanted her to quit her job once they have children; he even went as far as telling the producer of their show he would quit if they offered Phee a promotion), straight-up mean to people she cares about (i.e. Perci).

Oh, and the kiss with Mathias, the one without her consent? She slaps him in the face for that, deservedly so.

I suppose she would be one of the few people I could find likeable if not for her relationship with Joel that lasted 90% of the book. I wish Phoebe all the happiness, but she, as well as the rest of her family, deserves to get some therapy.

The mother, Roberta

Yes, she was an asshole, too, but just like Brent, that’s the way she was supposed to be. She is the epitome of controlling: picking outfits for her daughters, commenting on their looks, choosing their haircuts, disapproving of their partners, setting them up on dates, counting the calories they eat…
She even purchases the building where the daycare Perci works at is located, all to hike up the rent and run them out of business, just so Perci doesn’t have to work at a daycare, which in Roberta’s opinion is not a suitable job for one of her daughters. She clearly cares about the appearances more than anything else, she also ropes in her husband to aid her meddling.

But I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards her, seeing how her own mother treated her. At the end of the book, Roberta and her husband are seeing a marriage counselor, but I would love to see Roberta and Mimi working on their relationship as well.

The love interest, Nate

I admit, Nate was not an asshole. He was supportive, attentive, helpful, responsible and never made Perci feel like she was not enough. Even when Perci was at her worst, he still had her back. I also loved seeing him taking care of Lilah, but I have a soft spot for single parents in romance. Though Nate was nearly perfect in every aspect, even he did not escape the trend of ignoring Perci’s wishes: While Perci and Nate are sort of fake dating, Roberta calls Perci and invites them to an Easter lunch. Perci tries to decline on Nate's behalf (they're not actually dating, they're practically strangers - they had one fake date in front of Perci's family and other than that their interactions were all just different instances when Perci was babbling to Nate). Nate, however, asks to speak with Roberta. Perci refuses to give him the phone (and she is in every right to do so, it's her mother she's speaking to and it's an invitation to a meal with her family, after all). Nate ignores her refusal and takes the phone away from her, speaks to Roberta and accepts the invitation. And this is all somehow framed to look as if Nate is doing Perci a favor. Come on.

The father, who was so insignificant I have already forgot his name, but who still managed to be an asshole

Obviously, an asshole, I don’t have much to add except this: at the end of the book, when Perci (who went back to working for her father’s company) comes in to his office with the intention of resigning from work, he fires her. He doesn’t know Perci wants to quit.

“You know your mother and I love you very much, and even though we haven’t seen eye-to-eye at times, we only want you to be happy. […] So, in the name of all that, you’re fired.”
[…]
“But why?”
“Because we realize you’ll never be happy working here.”

We’re at the end of the book. Issues are supposed to be resolved, characters are supposed to have developed and learnt from their mistakes. Nope, not here. Once again people go behind Perci’s back and decide things for her. I know she’s already decided to quit her job, her father firing her doesn’t change her plans. I have issue that still things are not discussed with Perci! He gives her the building where the daycare she worked at was located, and it is what Perci wants, but could someone finally consult Perci first?

Oh, and he also forgot Perci’s birthday, when a family dinner was scheduled to celebrate it, he thought it was Phoebe’s birthday and not Perci’s. Though this one I guess was a deliberate part of assholery, as it happened in the middle of the story – he is supposed to grow from there.
I just can’t believe both of Perci’s parents claim to love her and to want what’s best for her while treating her like shit.

The protégées, Lilah and Bria

Lilah is an 8-year-old kid, Nate’s niece, who attends the daycare Perci works at. She is the too-wise-for-her-age, observant, intelligent child, and I don’t mind the clichés one bit.
She is the most emotionally mature character in the whole book. Every character in this story should aspire to be like Lilah.

Perci is projecting her childhood issues onto Lilah and tells her how she shouldn't do bird calls for a school's talent show, because other children may make fun of her for that. But Perci, don't you think the responsibility is on the other children to be respectful and not on Lilah not to pursue her talent? This is a theme in Perci's family, mothers shutting down their children's dreams instead of being supportive (though Perci is not a mother here, but daycare worker / babysitter). In this case, Perci has a lot to learn from Lilah, who just doesn't care what others may think of her. Cheers to you Lilah, Perci has been trying to get there since the beginning of the book, maybe talking to you will give her some insights!
She goes as far as suggesting other skills Lilah might want to show off AND telling Nate she feels Lilah will be laughed at. Thankfully, Nate shuts her down. Seriously, Perci, your lack of support is disquieting. Why try to take away the one thing the kid is truly passionate about? That's what Mimi did to Roberta and what Roberta did to you, and look how it turned out.

After Lilah's performance, Perci is admiring how Nate supported Lilah and thinking back how she never got that support from her parents. Really, Perci? You do think kids need support from the adults in their lives? Because your actions show otherwise.

Bria is an ex-convict who tries get back her place in the society again and is struggling to find a sustainable employment. Perci volunteers at the facility which aims to help people in a situation like Bria’s, and that’s where the two meet and Perci takes Bria under her wing.

Perci arranges a job interview for Bria before even letting her know about the job opportunity. I know she has Bria's best interest in mind, but she's doing exactly what her mother does to her. While reading, I was afraid the way Perci treats Bria was going to remain unacknowledged, but thankfully it was one of the few things that were addressed early on. Bria challenges Perci after the interview and finally, finally Perci recognizes that she has been behaving exactly like her mother. I thought this realization would be the end of this plotline, maybe culminating in Perci apologizing to Bria later on. Close, but no cigar. Perci indeed reconciles with Bria and apologizes to her, however, in the ending of the story, Perci does it again: she arranges a job for Bria at her father's company. Looks like she's learnt nothing. As a side note, I would not wish on my worst enemy to work with Perci’s family, since, y’know – they’re all assholes.
(hide spoiler)]

____
Yes, there was growth in this story. Perci learnt to accept herself, not to obsess about her weight, to love herself for who she is, to like her body, to speak up for herself.
I wish other characters grew with her, since what we saw on page seemed surface-level to me and was not enough.

I liked some of the humorous parts of the story, and the format of the Mimi-cisms, though those were somehow spoilt for me by Mimi herself. I kept reading for the hope to see the numerous issues be finally addressed, and many of they were, I just wish some of them were dealt with earlier, since it was a struggle to read about characters I did not like.

This book has all the feels! You'll run the gamut of laughter, tears, anger, frustration and more right alongside the main character. This character is so relatable for so many of us who try to go along to get along and not make a fuss. So many of us are insecure with our appearance, our life choices and what to do about feeling stuck, yet we often carry on with the status quo as it is just easier to go along and get along with everyone else. The beauty of this story is that as you walk beside the main character as she blossoms, with a few hiccups along the way, into accepting the person she is and being happy with herself you start to feel inspired to take a hard look at your own life and start accepting yourself. It's a cute rom com with a happily ever after, but it will leave you feeling optimistic about your own choices or at least the idea of making them. I absolutely loved the narrator as she really brought Percy and the other characters to life by showcasing their emotions so very well. I really look forward to more from this author!

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio copy of this title in exchange for my review.

Poor Percy! Her mom - good grief. Thankfully she has her grandma, Mimi, and best friend Mathias, even if she also has a job she hates. And is newly single. She feels like a total failure compared to her 'perfect' younger sister - young, thin, pretty, with a job on TV and the perfect fiancé. Or that's the way it seems.

Overall I enjoyed this story, getting to know Percy and the people in her life. Her mom - wow! I know that her mom's constant comments about Percy's weight - and calorie content of every food nearby - served a purpose to the story overall, and it felt like a believable character trait, but as someone who struggles with body image and food, it was hard to listen to and really made me want to turn the book off. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because in the end, it was a great story about Percy learning what she wanted in life, taking control of herself and her life and finding happiness.

4 stars, "really liked it"

Well narrated, funny and serious at times. This book had it all. Character development was great and really showed how much we adjust ourselves for others and often it doesnt seem enough. If only we could always stay true to ourselves. I found a lot in common with Perci, probably why k Loved this book so much

🌟Audiobook Review🌟

📚 The Do-Over by Sharon M. Peterson
@stone4031

A laugh-out-loud funny novel about starting over, taking chances, and personal growth.

Perci Mayfield is having a hell of a time. Her boyfriend breaks up with her over voicemail, she's stuck in a job she hates, and her mother is trying to run her life. Sick of feeling stuck, Perci vows to make some changes, to stop trying to please everyone else, and live for herself. Unfortunately, one little lie to get her mother off her back lands her with a fake boyfriend who just so happens to be her next-door neighbor and... Oh no, she might have caught feelings.

Perci is a delightfully relatable character. I think we have all been stuck in life at some point and, at times, felt like we didn't measure up. The Do-Over has us sit with Perci and those feelings and takes the reader on a journey towards self-acceptance and joy in every aspect of life.

I loved that Perci felt real and tangible—all of the characters did. Everyone was beautifully flawed. They were allowed to make mistakes, endure the consequences, and learn from them.

Peterson's novel was brought to life by the wonderful and talented narrator, Elise Roth. Her voice truly embodied Perci and made a wonderful story even more perfect.

This novel has wonderful representation of a plus-sized character and deals with topics of body image and weight loss in a very realistic and gentle way.

Content Warning for fatphobia, emotional abuse, toxic family relationships, and discussions of the death of a parent.

The Do-Over was delightful, heartwarming, and relatable. I've already recommended it to so many people. If you're into rom-coms, go listen to it now!

4 out of 5 stars!

Thank you @netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this ALC!

#netgalley #TheDoOver #audiobook #audiobookreview #bookreview #bookrecommendation

This book was very interesting at first and it really made me intrigued as to how will our main character do over her life and thinking. However, as we go along the book, it just wasn't catching up with my initial excitement and interest over it. I find everybody in here to be insufferable, except for Mimi. The narrator did save this book a little bit but the actual content, it's boring for me.